Biggest mistake is not having the proper items. The priorities of survival never change. First aid, protection, shelter (to include fire), water, signaling/navigation and food. In that order.
For the underpackers, regardless of weight it’s gonna suck absolute ass either way. Pack for long term survival cause you’ll never know when you need it. If it’s too much weight, then work out more. Fitness goes hand in hand with survival
The best survival gear is the gear you have when a situation arises. When SAR begin their process they often work with local police to gain access to the victims car. Specifically the trunk. This is typically done to obtain a scent item for the search dogs. Know what they find? The survival kit. Neatly packed. Thoroughly thought out. And left behind “cuz we’re only doing the 1.7 mile nature trail”
My current mini kit is about 2x1 inch with a 1 inch depth. It contains 2painkillers, 3 bandaids, a needle with a long piece of embroiderythread (one thread has 6 strands that can be separated), 4 screwdriver card thingy that measures 2x2 cm, a razorblade, a small soap, magnet stuck on outside and 3 rubberbands, mini vicks, and mini tweezers. So, in my environment, i can use all of them in multiple ways. Eg. Vicks for flu, headache or starting fire, needle and thread for wound suture, needle compass, cloth mending, tying, screwdriver for piercing? And boring holes, soap for disinfection and lubrication?, razor blade to make other sharp tools for rougher use, etc.
Absolutely!! I unfortunately am a carry to much type of person. But Im learning!! Working on fire...water and first aid right now.....to start. I actually got a Suture block for medical practice on how to sew up a wound. Cant wait for it to come. Awesome videos!!! Thanks so much!! God bless😊 Christina
The number one biggest mistake with survival kits, is buying one that someone else put together. I don't care who they are or how much experience they have. You need to build your own kit. what is the use of you having stuff that someone else knows how to use but you may never have seen or used it before yourself? You need to purchase the items or make the items you know how to use reliably. And what works best for you. Not a kit with clearance items that were useless and they are trying to Pawn off on other people so they put it in a kit with other worthless junk. The second biggest mistake is to only have one kit. You should have one at the house and one in your vehicle at bare minimum. One in your vehicle if you're away from the house when emergency strikes, and one at your house in case you become separated from your vehicle due to theft or something else. Third, the items in your kit should be like your regular gear that you use all the time. And you should leave gadgety stuff out of it. Only select dependable and reliable items that you have a lot of experience with. Just because you watched a couple of RU-vid videos on how to make a bow drill doesn't mean you're going to be able to make a fire with one on your first go-around. So at least have three other sources to make fire. Having a piece of paracord to make the bow drill is not considered a fire making tool by itself. And if you have a feral Rod but never used one and don't know how to make feather sticks or how to prep your materials you're probably not going to get a fire regardless of how many Sparks you are throwing. And those mylar space blankets are ridiculous. If you listen to people telling you it will protect you from the cold you're probably going to die. They work well as a cover against the elements when used like a tarp. They also reflect heat from a fire so you can put it behind you. But they are not a blanket. It has absolutely no insulating properties. And if it's touching your skin it's going to suck the heat out of you at a greater rate than it is supposedly reflecting it back at you unless you have layers between you and it. Even then it's going to generate a lot of condensation. So don't think you have it covered just because you have a mylar blanket a large Ziploc baggie and a fire Striker. It's also important to point out that survival cards are a total scam. Anyone who purchases these are telling everyone they don't know the first thing about survival. You really want to gamble your life with these little cards that have makeshift knife blades that are so small about the only thing that's going to cut is your hand, little saws on it that will do more notching than cutting and hurt your hand. Chintzy little spear tips that bend when they encounter the leather that is the animal skin. And flimsy little fat fishing hooks that will bend with any sideways force and are so big they are guaranteed to scare off any fish within a mile of it. And what are you going to use if you do get one of them off the card it doesn't come with fishing line. If you're going to have to carry fishing line or some kind of string anyway why not a real damn fish hook? Get a piece of cork from a wine bottle, and wrap fishing line around it at least six to eight feet worth. And stick a couple of hooks in the end of it and you're good to go. Maybe add some shot weight to the fishing line. What you have now is a cork bobber, weights and a hook you can use for either hand fishing. Or tied to the end of a stick to make a makeshift Pole like the old cane poles people used to use. Survival kits are only popular because people are getting filthy rich off of selling them do people who don't know any better due to lack of experience and or common sense. The whole purpose of a survival kit is to survive. You don't have to carry around a suitcase. But it better be big enough to have items you can actually survive from using. Get a military surplus canteen with a cup and your water problem is solved because you can always boil the water in the cup. Get a 5 or 6 in knife, Walmart has ones that will work well for around $20 that come with their own sheath and some of them even have their own sharpening stones. Not fancy but it works. Throw in a Bic lighter, some waterproof matches and a feral rod and you have your fire covered. Throw in a mylar blanket you can use as a tarp. And you have your shelter covered. Throw in a dollar or two headlamp and a candle and you have your candling covered. And you can finish off your kit with 150 yd spool of dental floss which you can use as cordage. If memory serves it is rated to hold 60 to 100 lbs, which would hold up your blanket and tie sticks together, or if you want to get super fancy they have Kevlar micro cordage and you can just wrap some of that around something either way the entire pack is not much bigger than the canteen will fit in in the first place. In fact if your canteen has a cover on it you can attach and stash everything listed in that canteen cover. I have two of them myself set up that way only I have added extra stuff like safety pins, a small travel spool of thread and two needles, and of course that fishing kit I described consisting of a cork 8 ft of fishing line, two hooks and of course the shot weight
Three questions do you think it’s better to buy a premade ready kit build your own kit from the ground up or spend the extra money and try to find items you want from cheap kits and army surplus stores because I struggle all the time trying to find items I want for a kit and then it gets complicated because I feel like I am putting too much stuff that I don’t need rather I need does that mean I should build multiple different style of kits
You're better off buying a pre-made kid and learning how to use everything in it Or Buying tools and items you know how to use or are looking forward to learning how to use. The biggest advice is to use and learn how to use things safely and effectively.
Most pre-made kits unfortunately fail in a few key areas but they can be a way to get started if you're willing to spend money to replace, add or remove items as you learn what works and what doesn't. It's best to seek training to understand how to use everything you have in your kit and actually practice with it, and replace what is consumable immediately. The more you know, the less you'll need to carry. Knowledge weighs nothing so pack as much of it as you can.
If you are considering walking as part of your plans then you should be practicing. If you consider carrying a pack and walking you really need to practice. Me, I've got over a thousand miles in the last 365 days with a 25 pound pack. In addition to all the other daily stuff I do.
The first mistake is thinkin you can live off a survival kit. Yeah sure for a few days maybe even a couple weeks. Yeah it’s fun getting a bug out bag ready. But you need to learn real life survival skills. Trapping, snaring, foraging. Stuff like that. I’m definitely not saying don’t have a bag ready to go. They are extremely useful but don’t just expect to live out of that bag. Learn real life skills otherwise when that bag runs out of food you will starve. Won’t be no going to the grocery store or getting a door dash delivery.
A survival kit is one of those things that hopefully you never actually end up needing but when you do need your damn glad that you have it. For example I've only needed my get home bag once so far and I was so glad to have it. And I'm constantly going through it too. As should you.
There's also packing the wrong survival kits for the wrong occasions. Carry a wilderness survival kit when you go hunting or camping, keep a natural disaster and nuclear missile survival kit at home, and keep a survival kit with signaling radios/flares etc. in your car.
I think I just need a bigger pack or some way to carry a tarp. If I can do that, I'm good to go. That said, I'd love to carry BOTH of my axes... and all of my Bowie knives... and all my folders and Fixed blades... and my multitools... I have too much stuff lol
Lol I hate to say it but mine is carrying to much. To be honest I have gotten a lot better but its easy to get caught up in all of it. It boils down to you and what your life is like. EDC especially can differ greatly from one person to the next.
What I see is Erin thinks they can get the biggest mountain air backpack that to Ken that is the biggest mistake, having a big backpack makes you think you can put a lot, and it's a signal that you have gear, a kids back pack is safest, TSA took my hello kitty pack, I miss that pack, it was cute hahaha
