Hi, everybody -- I am putting together a survival kit to stow aboard my kayak -- I figure thinking about and preparing for emergencies is a good way to keep them from happening in the first place. What are your recommendations for the contents a survival kit used in daytrip/overnight camp context? Also, I've been looking for a small survival handbook to tuck into the kit, but it seems to me most of the ones I find on Amazon deal with woodland or desert survival. Is there a good reference out there on sea survival for people in very small boats? Lisa W. PS. After three years of renting/borrowing, I bought a P&H Quest. I've taken it out five times, and I'm thrilled with it. It handles slopola (confused waves, channel currents) better than any boat I've paddled. ______________________________ lisa_at_cadence90.com bikes, books, internet radio *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List - Any opinions or suggestions expressed here are solely those of the writer(s). You must assume the entire responsibility for reliance upon them. All postings copyright the author. Submissions: PaddleWise_at_PaddleWise.net Subscriptions: PaddleWise-request_at_PaddleWise.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************
> Also, I've been looking for a small survival handbook to tuck into the > kit, but it seems to me most of the ones I find on Amazon deal with > woodland or desert survival. Is there a good reference out there on sea > survival for people in very small boats? Lisa, I'm confused... can you clear up a question for me? If the book is going to be tucked away in your survival kit, than my assumption is that you will refer to it in a survival scenario where you need a refresher on making shelters, first aid, signaling, etc. To get to the book and be able to read it, you'll already be on land. So, the woodland book might be appropriate. If your intention is to have it available while actually on the water either still in or hanging on to your kayak, then how will you get to and read it, and what type of content are you looking for? If you were in a yacht or a sailboat, then I'd understand a bit better, but from a kayak..... I'm confused. Rick *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List - Any opinions or suggestions expressed here are solely those of the writer(s). You must assume the entire responsibility for reliance upon them. All postings copyright the author. Submissions: PaddleWise_at_PaddleWise.net Subscriptions: PaddleWise-request_at_PaddleWise.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************
Quoting Lisa Williams <lisa_at_cadence90.com>: > Hi, everybody -- > > I am putting together a survival kit to stow aboard my kayak -- I figure > thinking about and preparing for emergencies is a good way to keep them > from happening in the first place. Your survival kit will depend on where you paddle and how long you might be isolated. For instance, near civilization, the most important part of the kit might be a credit card and change for a pay phone. (Since one of the last things I do before entering my kayak is to put my "civilian" pants into one of the compartments, I always have my billfold and keys with me.) Away from civilization, even when not very far, I recommend extra clothing, some kind of shelter like a tube tent or plastic bag, emergency food and water, fire-starting materials, signaling gear, perhaps a Swiss Army knife or a small multi-tool, and a small flashlight. All this, with the exception of the water and clothing, might fit into a liter-size dry bag. Cooking gear is unnecessary, unless you risk being stranded for days. My wife and I learned from the BCU to each carry a complete change of insulating clothing in the kayak, mostly to help hypothermia victims, but in a pinch, we could layer it with our other clothing and sleep in it. We might not be comfortable, but I think we could survive a night or two or more that way. Normal kayaking gear, such as a drysuit or paddle jacket, can be used as survival gear. Last April, when my car was rear-ended in a snowstorm on the way to the ISK cold-water immersion test, I was much more comfortable standing next to the vehicles in my drysuit than was the other driver, who was wearing a sweatshirt but no wind protection. When camping, I always have a small personal first-aid kit and a larger group first-aid kit in the kayak, even on day trips, and I always have an orange plastic survival bag in the back pocket of my PFD. I always have a headlamp and VHF radio in the day compartment. And since we normally store all our food in the kayaks when camping, we have that with us on day trips, too. About the only thing we would lack on a day trip in the wilderness would be our tent, sleeping bags and pads, cooking gear, and extra clothing beyond the emergency stuff. Chuck Holst *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List - Any opinions or suggestions expressed here are solely those of the writer(s). You must assume the entire responsibility for reliance upon them. All postings copyright the author. Submissions: PaddleWise_at_PaddleWise.net Subscriptions: PaddleWise-request_at_PaddleWise.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************
Take a look at the Water Tribe web site http://www.watertribe.com/ There are a number of very good articles on the subject. Some of the best I have seen anywhere. The following WaterTribe Kit article is very good: http://www.watertribe.com/Magazine/2003_1January/IsaacTheWaterTribeKit.asp cholst_at_bitstream.net wrote: > Quoting Lisa Williams <lisa_at_cadence90.com>: > >Hi, everybody -- > >I am putting together a survival kit to stow aboard my kayak -- I figure >thinking about and preparing for emergencies is a good way to keep them >from happening in the first place. -- Jan Mason *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List - Any opinions or suggestions expressed here are solely those of the writer(s). You must assume the entire responsibility for reliance upon them. All postings copyright the author. Submissions: PaddleWise_at_PaddleWise.net Subscriptions: PaddleWise-request_at_PaddleWise.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************
> Also, I've been looking for a small survival handbook to tuck into the > kit, but it seems to me most of the ones I find on Amazon deal with > woodland or desert survival. Is there a good reference out there on sea > survival for people in very small boats? I have a book I bought years ago titled "How To Survive On Land & Sea" which is really pretty thorough. It is prepared and printed by the United States Navel Institute as a manual for survival techniques for combat naval pilots. I particularly like the part where they describe how to fish using hand grenades :-) But there really is a ton of very useful information in it as well. Scott So.Cal. *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List - Any opinions or suggestions expressed here are solely those of the writer(s). You must assume the entire responsibility for reliance upon them. All postings copyright the author. Submissions: PaddleWise_at_PaddleWise.net Subscriptions: PaddleWise-request_at_PaddleWise.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************
Lisa wrote: - >Also, I've been looking for a small >survival handbook to tuck into the kit, G'Day Lisa and Paddlewise, You might want to take a look at "The Grab Bag Book" by Frances and Michael Howarth published by Adlard Coles Nautical London ISBN 0-7136-6221-2. Its meant for yachties who have to resort to life rafts but some of it could be useful to kayakers. Another book by the same company, I've seen but haven't read is "First Aid at Sea" by Douglas Justins & Colin Berry, 0-7136-4922-4. Theres a lot taught in various books - but a lot is missing too. Although the above are useful thought starters an additional approach is risk analysis / scenario planning in discussions with knowledgeable friends. All the best, PeterO *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List - Any opinions or suggestions expressed here are solely those of the writer(s). You must assume the entire responsibility for reliance upon them. All postings copyright the author. Submissions: PaddleWise_at_PaddleWise.net Subscriptions: PaddleWise-request_at_PaddleWise.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************
Rick said: >If your intention is to have it available while >actually on the water either still in or hanging on to your kayak, then >how will you get to and read it, and what type of content are you >looking for? While I have been known to read a book while walking down the sidewalk, reading a book while hanging on to the side of a capsized kayak doesn't fit even my admittedly loose standards for where and when to read. It's true I would either be reading it before I launched or after I managed to get to shore. Perhaps your answer (which in the original indicated that the woodland book may be appropriate) actually answers my original question. After perusing a few pocket-size survival handbooks, the extra content I would appreciate in addition to the content provided in these books would include: -- VHF procedure refresher -- edibles that are found along shorelines -- special attention to first-aid situations that are likely to happen in an ocean setting -- hypothermia, seawater rashes, jellyfish stings, etc. The first aid sections seem to be covered in the standard survival manuals, sometimes, although usually in passing, except for hypothermia, which usually recieves good coverage (and is also likely to be the most serious condition for a kayaker). VHF and shoreline plants/other edibles usually aren't covered. To be sure, I'd want to know most of this before I ever put in, but I figure if I ever wash up on shore it might calm me down to have written directions to slow down and think about before I go dashing off doing one thing or another. Lisa W. *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List - Any opinions or suggestions expressed here are solely those of the writer(s). You must assume the entire responsibility for reliance upon them. All postings copyright the author. Submissions: PaddleWise_at_PaddleWise.net Subscriptions: PaddleWise-request_at_PaddleWise.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************
Here's a fairly comprehensive one for coastal paddling, including some uses (and double uses) for many of the items: http://www.kayakforum.com/cgi-sys/cgiwrap/guille/wiki.pl?Ditch_Kit Feel free to add items as deemed important... Shawn __________________________________ Do you Yahoo!? The New Yahoo! Search - Faster. Easier. Bingo. http://search.yahoo.com *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List - Any opinions or suggestions expressed here are solely those of the writer(s). You must assume the entire responsibility for reliance upon them. All postings copyright the author. Submissions: PaddleWise_at_PaddleWise.net Subscriptions: PaddleWise-request_at_PaddleWise.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************
some musings from my collection Complete Sea Kayak Touring - Jonathan Hanson The Backpackers Field Manual - Rick Curtis (excellent text and US based) SAS Active Library - Emergency Medic - Barry Davis Coplete Wilderness Training Book - Hugh Mcmanners The SAS Survival Handbook - John 'lofty' Wiseman Mountaincraft and Leadership - Eric Langmuir Survival Kit I always carry flares, mirror, army ration biscuits, matches, space blanket and personal radio in or on my PFD. I paddle in very cold water in mostly isolated locations. On long trips I carry spares of everything but always have a small kit in my PFD in case i tip out and lose the lot. hope that helps Steve Dent *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List - Any opinions or suggestions expressed here are solely those of the writer(s). You must assume the entire responsibility for reliance upon them. All postings copyright the author. Submissions: PaddleWise_at_PaddleWise.net Subscriptions: PaddleWise-request_at_PaddleWise.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************
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