survival pack ...

[jeffryscott]

I've been asked by my boss to put together a kit to send out with photographers/reporters who may need to spend a day or two out in the boonies covering wildfires this year. This would primarily be food/drink items for two, possibly three people to fit into a 32 to 48-quart cooler. We will keep it packed, ready to go (nothing will be kept cold except ice packs to throw in on the way out).

All clothing items/sleeping gear/personal items are the responsibility of the individuals. This is to just supplement so nobody dehydrates or starves.

My initial random thoughts, quantities conservative (more if the cooler fits more):

2 one gallon bottles of water
6 quart bottles of gatorade
12 high protein energy bars

Beef jerky
Trail mix

first aid kit
flashlight


As for the rest, I'm going blank on what other food items would be good/don't require refrigeration and would be ready to go after sitting for weeks in a back room.

If it was soley for me, I'd throw some canned meat (spam or similar) in there, but I know that wouldn't be too popular ... but it doesn't go bad and besides, Monty Python makes me laugh.

Suggestions?

[Tucson T4R]

Looks like a pretty good start. From my personal experience I have found that Gookinaid Hydralyte is more effective than Gatorade. Just a personal preference.

http://www.summithut.com/catalog/remap/product.asp/DeptID/363/SortOrder/1/pfid/3081/

[BogusBlake]

Funny thing about food you you consider gross while sitting in your living room- it tastes pretty damn good when it's the only thing you have and you're hungry!

Take Potted Meat for example. The only ingredients listed are "meat and meat byproducts". That sounds like kneecaps and buttholes to me. However, I distinctly remember how good it tasted spread on a tortilla with EZ cheese on the 5th day of a 6 day backpacking trip.

I wouldn't hesitate to put that SPAM in there! :chowtime: Hawaiians love it!

[1leglance]

I would recommend a few 1L bottles instead of 2 gal. jugs. Easy to store, carry and use for multi people. Ask spread leak risk.
If you toss in a dry fuel stove & sierra cup you can add dehydr food packs to add the comfort of hot food. Also you can now add hot choc & oatmeal.
enjoy
1leglance

[bigreen505]

I'm not sure what they're called, but if you go to your favorite outdoor store, you can buy these food packets in the dried food section that is an intant ho meal -- pull the string and it does its thing.

[Brian McVickers]

Jeff,
If there is a military base in Tucson and you can gain access, you can buy MREs (Meals Ready to Eat) at the base grocery store or at the base exchange. They are about $7 each and include everything from tea & crackers, carbs, protien, to a mint toilet paper and matches!

If you can't get on base then take a look online. There are several companies that make them - note I did a detailed post on this somewhere around here - and since your a news organization you may be able to buy them by the case at wholesale.

Brian:chowtime:

[Nullifier]

Most army navy stores are a good soure for the MRE. Although in our personal hurricane emergency box we have Backpackers Pantry meals. Same principal as an MRE just a heck of alot better tasting LOL!

I also agree about several small water containers Especially in the environment that they will possibly be facing. Incase of a vehicle ditch it will be easier to divide and carry smaller bottles. I would however probably pack it in a back pack rather then a cooler incase this situation actually presents itself.

I would try to avoid can goods since packing them and toting them back out is a barrier for most people. Even in a survival period having things that can burn or be easily carried out are great.

I would probably place a small pelican case with a lighter, small led light like key chain size and micro first aid kit in as well.

For meals I would probably stick with original power bars. No chocolate to melt etc. Plus they will survive through a nuclear war LOL!

I would forgo those frozen ice blocks. Given that your items will be warm the ice block will thaw rather quick since the items in the cooler will not be cold. it will not be effectve more then a few hours and the space those things take up could be used for other survival items.

My last suggestion would be a large ammo box to protect the contents of the back pack from smoke and other elements while in the field. Cheap easy to use plus it seals out the bad stuff. Just a thought.

[offroad_nomad]

Is this something that your personnel won't have to carry (that is its acting like a supply cache to resupply their own packs) or will they be expected to carry these supplies while covering the wildland fires? If possible, keep them portable and I'd even suggest you use backpacks. In the event you have to bail you can still run and carry your supplies as well.

Is the two one gallon jugs of water per person or for 2-3 people? Having been in the field for close to 48 hours on SAR missions, I've easily gone through that amount of water myself.

I mix up my food in my SAR pack. We're required to have enough for at least 48 hours. Beef jerky, banana chips, raisins, pop tarts, and Clif Bars all hold up well in varying environmental conditions.

Extra headlamps/flashlights with plenty of spare batteries and bulbs.

Extra toilet paper.

Skip the canned meats.

Save weight and pack the first aid, lighters, candles, and ect inside zip lock bags. The Pelican cases are abit bulky and add extraweight. I've organized many of my items in my SAR pack within freezer lip lock bags.

I pack most of my SAR gear, packs and vest inside Contico storage lockers available at Wal-Mart for $28 (cheap and light). I've had zero problems with them hauling my SAR gear in those storage lockers on my roof rack.

There are alot of good suggestions posted here. The problem comes deciding what will work well for your particular situation. It took me a while to figure out what I really needed to carry on task and still try to keep my kit light (or at least light as possible).

[rmarz]

X2 on the Gookinaid/Hydralyte over Gatorade/Sqwincher type drinks. I have seen folks in distress recover much faster with the Hydralyte and have used it myself to avoid it.

[jeffryscott]

lots of good ideas ... what makes it challenging is I don't know who will use it when, so it needs to be basic, and easy to throw into a car and generic enough to suit different tastes.:chowtime:

This is not a kit designed for people doing any heavy hiking or wandering about. People will be close to their vehicle (the fire service keeps tabs on us nowadays) so neither weight nor portability in the field are issues.

The bulk of the kit will be water, gatorade-like liquid and powerbars I would guess. But I like the idea of the self-heating meals and or MRE's. For a community kit I'd like to stay away from camp stoves, etc ... as that gets complicated and those items tend to disappear over time.

Thanks for all the good ideas ...

[asteffes]

Have you tried to subsist on Gatorade and PowerBars? I start to feel ill after the first bar and bottle are consumed. I would suggest some "real food" like poptarts, granola bars and the like if for not other reason than to not feel like a victim when you have to dig into your rations.

[DesertRose]

2 one gallon bottles of water
6 quart bottles of gatorade
12 high protein energy bars

Beef jerky
Trail mix

first aid kit
flashlight



More than one flashlight (Costco has wind-up generator flashlights - not a bad idea, since no one ever checks batteries regularly in emergency kits!)

Exposure blanket/s just in case - they are versatile, too.

Don't worry about fancy food or cooking, energy bars are more than enough and they last pretty well; MREs just fine, too - maybe a good idea. Go to Miller's on 6th Avenue. (McVickers - I assume you are having punctuation challenges, or do MREs now come with mint toilet paper? How thoughtful!)

Is PK Weiss still at the Citizen?? Tell him I said HI (he knew me as Roseann Beggy)! Also Chihak and that cranky Kimble.

[calamaridog]

Powerbars are disgusting and they recommend you drink one quart of water per bar. I would also recommend some of those Quaker granola bars or something like that as well.

Liquids should definitely be in smaller containers for ease of use.

LED lights have a great runtime and should be fine with new batteries in them for many years.

Sunscreen and sunhats.

Baby wipes.

Exposure blankets are also a good recommendation, especially since they are small and cheap.

[DesertRose]

God, I completely forgot, these are newspeople.

A bottle of tequila and lime juice.

Jeez, can't believe we forgot.

Be sure to tell your boss!

[computeruser]

I'm not sure what they're called, but if you go to your favorite outdoor store, you can buy these food packets in the dried food section that is an intant ho meal -- pull the string and it does its thing.

What if you're not a ho, though? Is there a similar product for the rest of us?

[SOAZ]

lots of good ideas ... what makes it challenging is I don't know who will use it when, so it needs to be basic, and easy to throw into a car and generic enough to suit different tastes.:chowtime:

This is not a kit designed for people doing any heavy hiking or wandering about. People will be close to their vehicle (the fire service keeps tabs on us nowadays) so neither weight nor portability in the field are issues.

The bulk of the kit will be water, gatorade-like liquid and powerbars I would guess. But I like the idea of the self-heating meals and or MRE's. For a community kit I'd like to stay away from camp stoves, etc ... as that gets complicated and those items tend to disappear over time.

Thanks for all the good ideas ...

My first instinct was a flint for fire... hmm. They'll have plenty of fire around though. :shakin:
Throw in a bottle of iodine for clean water or a small water purifier maybe??

[robert]

Be careful which candles you buy if you decide to throw some in- most melt in the hot environment of a car into a worthless blob.

More water! You can live without food for a while, but dehrdration sets in pretty quick in the desert.

MREs are a good choice, but will reach their expiration date much faster in the heat. Freeze dried foods (Mountain House makes some decent ones) are easy and light to pack but will require you to add additional water to your list.

Esbit stoves are cheap and easy to pack and will heat water for coffee or freeze dried foods just fine. Cheaper than Dirt sells them for under $2/each and extra fuel tabs are cheap too http://www.cheaperthandirt.com/MLT9089-1269-1391.html

[j_nigrelli]

i don't know how it tastes, but maybe some "ensure" type of nurishment drink that can be chugged right on the spot?

energy bars do take a lot of water to choke down.

don't forget hard candy. and i remember Hershey's used to make tropical chocolate bars that wouldn't melt. or course it bordered on "baker's chocolate" - but it din't melt in the backpack!

[Kermit]

Most army navy stores are a good soure for the MRE.
Do they still have saltpeter in them? :D

[thallca]

As a working news photographer I always thought that if I was out on a assignment and it turned into a survival situation I would just eat the journalist! They are so tender! You know the ones, showing up at a major disaster with nothing more than skirt and heels for the ladies or sports jacket for the guys and the best hair and makeup you have ever seen in your life. Now thats good eaten!:chowtime:

[calamaridog]

As a working news photographer I always thought that if I was out on a assignment and it turned into a survival situation I would just eat the journalist! They are so tender! You know the ones, showing up at a major disaster with nothing more than skirt and heels for the ladies or sports jacket for the guys and the best hair and makeup you have ever seen in your life. Now thats good eaten!:chowtime:

Thanks. I got a good laugh from that:)

[spunky2268]

Jeff,

Sorry 'bout the necropost, but was wondering if you had utilized this with the current situations out West.

Did you have any luck with this? Any final inventory or words of wisdom? Still using a cooler as your container? Taste tests on the jurnos?:chowtime:

Thanks for sharing!

Spunky

[CoastalDefender]

I'd pack everyone a Nalgene bottle with a snaplink on the cap tether. You never know what situation they'll be in, or just how far they'll have to hike to "get that shot". It would also help prevent against littering, as well as work better than pallets of waterbottles in their vehicles. Few gallon-size water containers and nalgene bottles.

And give each person the bottle, don't just leave them in the rig to get mixed up, etc.

I'd also stay away from providing trail mix or anything that has nuts in it. People have allergies, (and I think we all know how dangerous nut allergies are), and even someone else eating a nut in the vicinity could be very very bad in the wrong situation.

However, you should look at what's most important in the short term- water, salt, carbs.

I'd go with the powerbars like you suggested. But get the "harvest bar" type and such, as the "powerbar" style (very compact) tends to be hard as a rock in the cold, and difficult to eat. The more "light" type bars are still edible when it's cold. We all know how cold it can get in the high-desert in the nights and mornings.

For salt I would stick with pretzels. Get a huge bag at Frito-Lay warehouse in your area of the small snack sized ones and throw a bunch in each kit. may not be everyone's favorite, but they're a decent source of sodium and keep very well over long periods of time.

I would also pack an emergency strobe for each vehicle, or if possible even on each person. In case someone gets separated from the group and finds themself in a life/death situation. With all the air-support in the area, someone is bound to notice a strobe.

Hope that helps, and that I didn't go over something already hashed.

[CoastalDefender]

Holy crap! Total necrothread! :archaeolo


I didn't even check the dates, just posted thinking this was about San Diego. :bike_rider:

[spunky2268]

Jeff posted the thread starter back in May of this year. Hadn't seen any wildfires 'til now. Wondered what direction he took with the pack.

Spunky