Survival equipment basics

The ultimate value of life depends upon awareness and the power of contemplation rather than upon mere survival.

- Aristotle -

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I've spent a lot of time in remote and wilderness places where survival meant being self-reliant and well-prepared. Fortunately, I was both but it wasn't an innate ability, rather, an acquired skill gained through trial and error, training, faults and failures, study and observation all heavily peppered with commonsense which is an innate skill.

I've come across many people who are ill-prepared for the places they go and in the remote and wilderness areas I spoke of earlier a lack of preparation, when things go awry, usually ends badly; getting lost or injured can mean getting dead really quickly. As an aside, a lack of preparation in urban locations can cause the same or similar issues should an emergency situation arise. But this post is about wilderness survival.

Survival in the outback, remote locations and wilderness, isn't just for people like me who operate in these environments regularly; a day-hiker can get into just as much trouble as someone deep in the wilderness and the it'll be ok, I'll not go far, ethos doesn't mean it will be ok at all. Indeed, that casual approach to one's own safety and ill-preparedness is often the reason trouble occurs in the first place.

As a general rule I always take certain equipment with me. It lives in a go-bag (backpack) in my four wheel drive so no matter where I happen to be I'm prepared. I augment that equipment with area-specific things, additional food and water and the like as needed, but generally I have what I need in the vehicle all the time. I'll do a layout post of that go-bag one of these days, I've been meaning to for a while now. Today though, I wanted to outline a few items most of us could easily find (fairly cheaply) that will go a long way towards ensuring a higher degree of safety, self-reliance and preparedness in remote areas.

It's not an exhaustive list, more a list of important items, and I'm going to try and keep it very simple. Thought must be given to determining what location-specific items may be relevant to the individual though as various equipment will be required for different locations and climates. The list will not include every item I have and use, just what I see as the very basics and it's important to note that one must know how to use these items or they are simply useless. In no particular order:

Knife or multitool

I have both but one or the other will work provided the right choices are made. Multitools should be of good quality, I always use Leatherman products, and should be kept in good condition. A knife should be of at least 12-15 centimetres in length, full tang, and very sharp. Avoid cheap and nasty items...your life is worth spending a little more on a good knife, don't you think?

Fire

This is an important one and not just to keep warm. Water needs purification and things need cooking and fire is a good method of doing both. I usually have three different ways of making fire: Weatherproof matches, a lighter and a ferro rod. I also know how to make fire with friction, batteries and other means but those three are the essentials. Additionally, tinder may be required which can be taken with or gathered from the environment depending on location and season. Just on this, I generally take a JetBoil as well, however simple fire can work perfectly too.

Metal nesting cups

I have a small set of these, basically metal cups that can double as saucepans for boiling water, cooking and for carrying water. There's many good options around and they are reasonably cheap. An army disposals store is the best place to start. Make sure at least one has a metal handle for hanging over a fire.

Paracord

This extremely tough cordage is made of seven strands of nylon woven together. There's so many uses for paracord; I've done a post about it previously. This is one of those things a person needs to research and learn about though, the uses for it, as making it up once things have gone south isn't going to end well. It's reasonably lightweight so several metres can be carried easily. I have a bracelet woven from it also which is convenient as it takes no room. That's it below.

Space blanket/cover

This is an item you can be creative with. I've seen people use purpose-made space blankets, lightweight tarps, raincoats (I don't like this option), and even large heavy-duty garbage bags. This item is used to make shelter, for carrying things, bringing body temperature up, ground covering, shade, moisture-barrier, a water carrier and a myriad of other things. My tip is to choose something sturdy and adaptable.

Duct tape

I use Gorilla tape as it's super-strong. I've lost count of the things I've fixed with Gorilla tape; I've even taped up wounds. Furthermore it can be used to make things, like cups, splints, general repairs and for waterproofing. It's so cheap and its uses are only limited to the imagination.

Navigation

This is a potential rabbit hole. There's no point having a compass if you don't know how to use it. However, with a decent sighting compass and some skill, one will be able to do basic point A to point B navigation. Maps will come in handy but again, without skills, they're useless. There's so many different types of compasses that the choice can be difficult but their importance is high. I generally also take my Garmin handheld GPS but electronic items can fail, and batteries are required. With navigation it's best to be proficient at a few methods. Learning how to navigate by sun and stars isn't a bad option and there's other ways as well. There's good books on navigation and it's not as complicated as it looks - it just takes work.

First aid

I have several of these and they live in my go-bags, vehicles and house. In the wilderness a small cut, sting or graze can turn nasty very quickly so one must have means of treating it. My light kit consists of antiseptic cream, iodine, alcohol wipes, bandaids, bandages, pop-sticks for splints, tweezers, scissors, nail clippers, needles, various threads, eye wash solution, paracetamol, pseudoephedrine, ibuprofen, lip balm, and the like. The key though, is knowing how to use these items. Make sure you keep it in a waterproof container - the dry bag option as below - for instance.

Torch or light

I am a bit of a light snob to be honest, meaning I don't compromise and have various means of creating it. For the sake of this post I'm going to suggest a headlight though. They are powerful and generally LED so use little low power and they leave the hands free. I'm not a fan of lights that cast light in all directions, like lanterns, as their beams generally don't penetrate far but I have a small solar version. I use Ledlenser and Nitcore lights mainly and have never been let down.

Dry bag

These items are so great, easily carried and so versatile. They're waterproof so can protect water-sensitive items and can double as a bucket to carry water. I have several different sizes some of which I use when I kayak to protect my phone, camera and car key device but when hiking they have uses too. I always take one in my backpack and have my water-sensitive items in there for protection. I suggest a minimum of 5L capacity and Sharkskin do a reasonably good product.

In summary

The above forms a very basic list of items that I believe everyone should have when in remote areas. They are not difficult to find, mostly cheap except for the GPS, knife and multitool items which should be of a very good quality. These are not the only things a person should have, not by any means, just a list of the most basic.

I've heard of people getting lost only a few kilometres from base camp or the car park; trust me, it happens. Getting turned around is a very easy thing to have happen. Personally, yeah I've been lost. I started out using the sun as reference and then it became very overcast. It was not a good moment and I learned a lot after the seven hours of hiking to find something familiar and then the three hours back to camp. I was an idiot, it happens.

Fortunately I had some gear and should I have had to spend a night in the wilderness would have been ok. That happened to me and I have skills, many do not. So, a little preparation can go a long way.

Have you put some thought towards self-reliance and preparation? I don't just mean for the wilderness but at home too. What things have you got in place for emergencies or times of crisis? Feel free to share below in the comments.