Survival Belt Kit
Intro: Survival Belt Kit
I was on a convoy, between Larnaca and Nicosia, on the island of Cyprus. It was hot, and I'm talking middle east hot.
Our vehicle, a wheeled lightly-armoured personnel carrier, decided to pack it in halfway to Nicosia, and there we were: Skinny Bill, my co-driver, and Tommi Potx stuck on the side of the road with what we had in our pockets: some Greek Cypriot pounds, Turk Cypriot lira, smokes, a lighter, a compass, dogtags, and a wallet with a totally superfluous U.N. ID card.
So, ever since that long, hot, thirsty afternoon, when on just about any task, I've carried a small pack or belt kit of some kind, with the items needed to see me through 24-48 hours, until the vehicle is recovered, or we exfiltrated. Even now, after getting out of the army after 25 years of service, I find the Battle Belt (Belt Kit aka Man Purse or 'Murse') indispensable when camping, hiking or cycling, or when the apocalypse arrives...
STEP 1: The Belt Kit Complete
STEP 2: The Base Component
This is an expensive rig, which took me three years to purchase and assemble. The components are made by Maxpedition and 5-11 Tactical, perhaps some of the finest, most bombproof tactical nylon equipment I've ever used.
The base component, the butt pack, is a 1 liter capacity Octa Versipack by Maxpedition. The equipment they make has to be seen to be appreciated. It took me a full hour to explore all the nooks and crannies on this thing. Despite its appearance, this thing can hold a lot of stuff.
STEP 3: External Additives: Tools, Fire and Comms
STEP 4: External Additives: Power
STEP 5: External Additives: Optics and Comms
I went looking on purpose for a good Blackberry pouch, as it doesn't need beating up; I found an awesome SpecOps pouch with a padded front and a lid which totally covers the phone; this adds a further layer of protection for the cell phone, in addition to its Otterbox armoured case. This protects your comms device so you can call Mum, and text or email friends about the Zombies you've whupped.
STEP 6: External Additives: Navigation
STEP 7: External Additives: Loss Prevention
STEP 8: Assembling the External Additives: Slick Sticks
STEP 9: Maxpedition TacTies
STEP 10: Blackhawk Speed Clips
STEP 11: ALICE Clips
STEP 12: Top Rigged GPS
STEP 13: The Complete Rig
STEP 14: Checklist
Vector meal replacement bars [3]
Nuun hydration Tablets [tube of 12]
5 Hour Energy drink [1] Hopefully you’re sorted out within 5 hours, or save it until the chopper arrives.
Leatherman tool
Radio / cell phone
Digital Camera
GPS with external antenna
Swiss army knife
Magnesium fire starter bar
Fox Survival tool
Business card sized Survival guide.
Mini Maglite
Solid fuel hexamine fuel tablets [6]
Page of newspaper or dryer lint in a plastic bag= tinder
Bic lighter and matches in waterproof cylinder.
AA batteries [6] in waterproof container
Aquatabs-Water purifying tabs- 1 tab + 1 liter+ 30 minutes= drinking water
10’ paracord
6 zip ties
Rubber bands constructed from bicycle Inner tube
Emergency Space blanket
Expanding towels- add water and you have a moist towel.
Toilet paper
Dental floss and a big-eyed needle
Lip balm
'Scrape and scratch' first aid supplies
Sunscreen-good in winter too.
Bugjuice- seasonal
Small plastic meds bottle with Advil or Motrin 400mg [8]
Whistle
small drybag
Signal mirror
Survival book
Pen Flares and launcher.
STEP 15: The Contents-up Close
There is still room for a penflare launcher, penflares, signal mirror and small survival book within the Belt kit.
Inside the drybag is the 'scratches and scrapes' first aid kit, dental floss, towellettes, more H20 purifiers, lip balm, and
an emergency space blanket.
I realize a lot of cash went downrange for this one; however, if it's important to you, as it is to me, then it would seem justified. I didn't go out and get all this stuff all in one day; its a combination of three years of looking around, collecting the gear, and using all my experiences put into what is most likely to be required for a 24-48 hour period if you are stranded somewhere.
I hope that anyone building this never has the opportunity to use it. It is excellent for hiking or biking, and though weighty when loaded, rests comfortably over one hip, and is well worth the effort when looking after ones own well-being.
6 Comments
Emperor Towhid 9 years ago
Wow I also wanna make this.
Largrin 11 years ago
Excellent! Thanks for sharing.
a2photoguy 11 years ago
Lorddrake 11 years ago
edvannatta68 12 years ago
like information on this want us this back park and hunting or camping in outdoor or us suruival all? can write hear or at e-mail
wolfthunder68@yahoo,com or espiritwild09@hotmail.com
mikeasaurus 12 years ago
Cool belt!
Thanks for listing what you keep in there, those are all must-haves when camping.