Ideas please - survival kit XMAS pressies

[Sebastiaan56]

I have two boys and XMAS is coming. I thought a wilderness survival kit ea for them would be fun to put together. A potential list of items could include;

- a plastic sheet (collecting dew for drinking)
- waterproof matches (if they are still available)
- a length of string or dental floss
- a razor blade
- crepe bandage
- compass (or is there a way to add something to calculate latitude?)
- water purifying tablets
- insect repellant

There would need to be an instruction sheet for the individual items and I'll probably put it all a plastic bag so that it would be easy to carry. Any added suggestions would be welcome. The geekier the better.

BTW they both have a pen knife.

[jmk89]

a mirror (for signalling and, in a pinch, to light fire)
something to carry water to put the purifying tablets in
paracetamol and bandaids

[Sebastiaan56]

Thx,

and a whistle

[Pat]

Replace string with "para (http://www.kitbag.com.au/category136_1.htm)" cord. Light weight and very strong.

[The Bleeder]

How old are they?

Torch (LED type)

[jmk89]

Torch - I agree - get one of those wind up LED ones so they don't need batteries

[arose62]

A candle.

Plus, you can waterproof your own matches by dipping them in wax.

Cheers,
Andrew

[arose62]

I was going to add "tin can" - can be used for cooking, drinking etc. or squashed to use as shovel...

then I saw "geekier the better". So, mobile phone, parabolic aerial to guarantee reception, and solar panels for power.

[snowyskiesau]

A field trip to put theory into practice.

[Master Splinter]

Wilderness survival magnesium fire starter...bargain at $5 each.

DealExtreme: $4.95 Wilderness Survival Fire Sparkle and Blade Cutter Tool (http://www.dealextreme.com/details.dx/sku.12305)

[funkychicken]

I don't advise giving them anything that creates fire, speaking from experience here...

How about a small sharpening stone for their knives, a blunt knife is useless.
They'll need at least 20m of rope
A compass and orienteering knowledge
A basic first aid kit
Walkie Talkies (very geeky, but soo cool)

And actual experience in the great outdoors

[Sebastiaan56]

Thanks guys, there is some good stuff there. Those fire strikers are waaaaay cool. I like the simplicity of some of these items.

I agree that some actual bush time is an imperative. We go camping regularly so sleeping rough is not a big deal but a decent walk, say the Six Foot Track ( Six Foot Track - Land and Property Management Authority (http://www.lands.nsw.gov.au/crown_land/walking_tracks/six_foot_track)) is called for. My ankle is nearly ready for the challenge, maybe late summer 2010.

[Old-Biker-UK]

Add to the mag striker a poly zip bag with a tampon (best tinder there is) & small scraps of tire inner tube, they can then impress their pals by firelighting in the pouring rain......

[watson]

Item #37853 Part No. 9640 from Rockby Electronic Components (http://www.rockby.com.au) is a Military style compass for $11.50.
Their service is excellent too.

[petersemple]

A booklet on general bush survival - how to use some of the gear in the kit. How to locate edible bush tucker. How to work out the best direction to move in based on terrain etc. There is a small downloadable one here http://www.big.com.au/koa/koa.pdf There are others (larger) that can be purchased. I have no idea how good any of them are.

Peter

[kiwigeo]

If your boys are considering any serious bushwalking then insist that they carry an EPIRB with them. These devices save lives and also the huge cost of an extensive search and rescue operation.

[ian]

My 2 cents worth

steel wool – better than a tampon for catching a spark to start a fire
stainless steel mirror with a hole in the centre – when signalling you look through the hole to make sure you're reflecting the sun in the right direction
compass – my preference are the oil dampened plastic ones that allow you to set the magnetic declination
water proof / wind proof matches – also known as flares, though they take some skill to strike
course in navigation and map reading skills – if you know where you are, you're not lost, but how do you work out where you are?
the Australian Geographic (or kathmandu) catalogue used to have a varient of the wood chip stove on this site <ClearDome SolaReflex Parabolic heating products> (http://home.att.net/~cleardomesolar/parabolic.html) though I think the solar stove is very geeky