In the wake of James Kim's death and what happened to his family I decided that I would make emergency kits for both of the vehicles in my family. The kits for sale in stores were filled with poor quality items that I couldn't trust in a serious situation, so I made my own.
Making your own lets you adjust its contents to your climate, budget and situations. I hope people will take the kit I've put together as a base to start their own.
Lets get started...
Making your own lets you adjust its contents to your climate, budget and situations. I hope people will take the kit I've put together as a base to start their own.
Lets get started...
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Signing UpStep 1: Assembling the contents
This emergency kit consists of:
1.) Jumper cables (aka booster cables)
2.) Multi-Tool (one of those pliers that have tons of tools in the handle)
3.) Map (local area or area you'll be traveling)
4.) First-aid kit
5.) Flashlight
6.) Rag
7.) Duct tape (because you can fix a lot of things with Duct tape)
8.) Rain coat (the folded $1 type)
9.) Emergency blanket (the folded $1 type)
10.) Folding shovel (entrenching tool)
11.) Fuses for fuse box
12.) Water bottles
13.) Protein bars or M.R.E. (meal-ready-to-eat)
14.) Reflective tape or reflective triangles (flares are hard to find)
15.) Old Cell phone, fully charged. Call customer service via the phone to make sure it works. Do not make test calls to 911 (Service is not needed to make 911 calls). Most modern cell phones and cell networks can triangulate your position, this is very handy in an emergency.
16.) Lighter or water proof matches, or flint rod.
17.) Compass
18.) 550 cord (named after its tensile strength) or para cord. Google the number of uses for this stuff, you'll be amazed.
I'll address some of these items in the next few steps.
1.) Jumper cables (aka booster cables)
2.) Multi-Tool (one of those pliers that have tons of tools in the handle)
3.) Map (local area or area you'll be traveling)
4.) First-aid kit
5.) Flashlight
6.) Rag
7.) Duct tape (because you can fix a lot of things with Duct tape)
8.) Rain coat (the folded $1 type)
9.) Emergency blanket (the folded $1 type)
10.) Folding shovel (entrenching tool)
11.) Fuses for fuse box
12.) Water bottles
13.) Protein bars or M.R.E. (meal-ready-to-eat)
14.) Reflective tape or reflective triangles (flares are hard to find)
15.) Old Cell phone, fully charged. Call customer service via the phone to make sure it works. Do not make test calls to 911 (Service is not needed to make 911 calls). Most modern cell phones and cell networks can triangulate your position, this is very handy in an emergency.
16.) Lighter or water proof matches, or flint rod.
17.) Compass
18.) 550 cord (named after its tensile strength) or para cord. Google the number of uses for this stuff, you'll be amazed.
I'll address some of these items in the next few steps.
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first off a .22 is just going to annoy the bear, pretty much anywhere you hit it. yeah an eye shot might make him think twice but while you have a several hundered pound bear coming your way with eyes the size of maybe two thumbs and he is shaking his head in rage. you can shoot all you want, "I" though will climb a tree as I already know I can't outrun the durn thing. Feel free to shoot though. While he is eating you I can get out of there.
Good luck to you.
Granted, most "emergencies" are likely to be just a flat tire or a broken belt on the side of the road. Here in Portugal, the law says you've got to have a vest along with the reflective triangle and you've got to wear the vest even if you're just replacing a tire on the side of the road. It has saved many drivers lives.
Also, those chinese jumper cables are not reliable at all. I often had situations where I couldn't jump start another car because the battery had been completely drained trying to use the starter to move the car out of the road. Most of the cable is insulation and the little conductor will dissipate any energy you're trying to get on the other car.
A better thing to do is take the cables apart and replace the stock cable with some proper welding cable or many strands of finer wires. Won't be cheap, but it will last for ages.
http://www.campingsurvival.com/aqblpuemdrwa.html
these are good to use
If it's a pay-as-you-go, in the UK some operators disconnect Cell phones that have not received a call for six months or more.
With all battery devices, such as battery torches and strobes, if it has an even number of cells, reverse half of them, that way if the switch is accidentally turned-on [can easily happen in a bag], the batteries will not be discharged when you come to use it. Of course, you'll need to make sure the batteries are properly installed to use it.
Alternately, insert a disk of thin cardboard or hard PVC or similar plastic [e.g. a piece of CD / DVD or the CD / DVD case. Cut with a Dremel, hot wire or similar.] between the batteries for the same effect. That way, even if it's been left switched-on for six months or a year or so, the batteries will still work, just r'remove the disk and replace the batteries and it will work o.k.
Take a CD / DVD place a battery from the torch for your kit on the CD or piece of cardboard and draw around it with a suitable marker. Cut-out disk. Try in torch for 'fit'. Trimming may be required!
Label it 'battery insulator' 'KEEP!'
Instruct your partner and children about the need to remove it and why it's there!
Label all items that have a shelf-life. Batteries should be marked if not marked by the manufacturer.
Never use zinc chloride batteries for emergency battery devices. They have a small capacity, suffer from self-discharge and therefore have a very short shelf-life. Then they tend to leak corrosive fluid.
Alkaline batteries are best, they have a much greater capacity and long shelf-life because their self-discharge rate is so low that they will remain usable for years. In the UK, own-brand alkaline batteries from supermarkets and DIY stores offer the best value at ~50% of the price of the premium brands. Take twice as many batteries for the same price!
The best batteries are Lithium types. Highest capacity, best performance at low temperatures, longest shelf life, highest price.
For some reason I was unable to preview this! Apologies for any formatting errors!
1- the jumper cables you want accessible, as the chances of them being needed vs power bars is pretty high if you're in a cold climate.
2-there are a number of LED strobes (like bike tail lights) that are very reliable and will be very visible if you power them with alkaline batteries, although their effacacy will drop when it's cold out. e
3- water. food is good, especially in cold areas, but a few bottles of water are a must. both for topping off an over heated radiator, and for drinking. dont' worry if it freezes.
4-toss a pair of nitrile covered gardening gloves, and a ~18x36" scrap of carpet. makes changing a tire much more pleasant, and gives you a little traction if need be. also gives you a modicum of insulation to not handle cold metal in the winter.
5-spare headlight lamp. nuf said.
6-hand crank radio with weather channels, and ideally a lighter outlet to power that cel phone (with charger) which will be dead when you want it.
7- if you're a naughty biscuit airplane blankets come in handy little plastic bags that can be stashed under your passenger seat to have clean blankets (also nice for picnics)
8-remember to rotate out consumables (batteries, water, foods) every ~6 months (like when you rotate your tires, or change to winter ones, or *cough* change your oil)
I put together a kit like this for my mom, focusing more on the mundane car problems than strictly on survival. (She already carries plenty of munchies, and a phone.)
The devil's in the details: Changing GM taillights takes a T30 Torx, which none of the store-bought kits included. They also usually include ATO fuses, while her van takes Mini and Maxi sizes only.
As for first-aid kits, the store-bought ones are always, always crap. They always include more bandages than antiseptic wipes, and shouldn't you use at least one of the latter every time you use one of the former? I start from scratch with a lock & lock container and add exactly the supplies I want from Minimus, the single-serving emporium.
Definitely add more water. You can go a long time without food but something to drink is essential. I like Capri Sun because the pouches don't burst when they freeze.
Whatever you physically put into your kit, there's one more piece to the puzzle: Familiarize yourself with it, every six months when you set the clocks for DST, change your smoke detector batteries, cycle all your circuit breakers, and check the contents of your home-based emergency kit. Dump the bag and repack the kit. Replace aging supplies like the food bars, and think through possible emergency scenarios. Make sure everyone who drives your vehicle knows where the kit is stored and what's in it.