Tuesday, December 7, 2010

What to carry in your sled for survival

Some friends asked me the other day, "What should I carry with me in case I have to stay the night while snowmobiling"?
I told them what I carried and then I thought I should write this down and put this info on my Blog..

First off you need to make sure you have a couple of different ways to start a fire.
I pack a good wind proof lighter along with a magnesium striker.
Matches always seem to break up and are worthless if it's windy.
To start the fire I carry "Fire Paste." This comes in a tube like toothpaste and is easy to carry. Put a little on some sticks and light it. It's as easy as that.
To keep warm I always carry the shake hand warmers, which work great to warm your fingers back up when you have your gloves off to start the fire.
As for space blankets I use "Heatsheets" I carry the Emegency Bivvy and the Survival Blanket.
The Bivvy is similar to a sleeping bag and you can get into it. These will hold up to 90% of your body heat.
As for the blanket, I would use this for either a roof or a floor depending on what I may need it for.
Candles, If you either make a windproof shelter or end up in a cabin it's nice to have light.
A saw,  A lot of today's shovels have a saw inside connected to the handle and they work great.
A multi-purpose knife... Leatherman..
A small flashlight.
A signal mirror. If you need to signal someone the mirror works great.
A whistle.
An aluminium cup to melt snow if you run out of water.
I went to Sportsman and I spent less than $50.00 on all of this.
Make sure you pack all these items in some kind of protected bag or case.

On extra clothing I like to carry 2 extra pairs of gloves and an extra hat.
The experts suggest also another pair of socks.
Food, Snacks and water. I always carry a big bottle of water and a small bottle of Gatorade.
On snacks I like to always keep a snickers bar a couple of trail bars, ie.. Cliff bars, Granola bars,
and lots of beef jerky.
You need to remember that the beef jerky is loaded with salt and will dehydrate you so if you are stranded you may not want to chow down on lots of jerky if your water supply is limited.

Radios are a must with big groups. My group uses the Rhino 120's. These have the GPS functions, so if I can talk to them the GPS will show me where who ever I am talking to is on the monitor.

You can never have enough equipment to ensure your safety for any situation but with this info you should be able to survive a few of the things that Mother Nature may throw at you.

I am not an expert survivalists.
But I do believe in being as prepared as possible.

If you have any questions you would like me to address send me an email.

Thanks for reading, and happy sledding!
David