Compass

Very few tools in the history of man have been depended upon as much as the compass, the compass does one function and does it extremely well- it points north through aligning its pointer (a needle of sorts) with the earth magnetic fields.

While other methods and tools do exist to help you navigate none have endured the test of time quite like the compass.

In a survival situation you will want to be able to quickly and reliably find your position and the direction you decide to head towards and a compass will help you achieve that.

Modern compasses come in all shapes and sizes with different methods of finding north, while an electric compass or a gyrocompass may seems easier to use the problem lies with what those tools depend on- Electricity.

In a survival situation you should expect your equipment to have problems or break and as such depending on tools that have a simple base design and very few needs/moving parts can only insure that your tools will work when you most need them to.

You should pick a magnetized needle/dial compass which is suspended inside a liquid, most of the time the liquid in question is kerosene, alcohol or some sort of oil. The compass you choose should be set in a sturdy case and you should know its reliability prior to putting it in your bug out bag.

They come in all price ranges and specifications, pick one according to your budget- I have had nothing but good experiences with the silva line of compasses.

Water purification tablets

I stated before that water was one of the most important resources in a survival situation however the quality of the water you will find is often questionable at best. While the general rule of thumb is “if the water source is running then its safe” you can never be too sure. Having a way to quickly make water safe and potable cannot be emphasized enough.

If you have time then you can simply boil water to kill any harmful bacteria, however if you are in a situation were it is not wise or impossible to boil water then water purification tablets are the best alternative.

To purify water you can use bleach with the following guidelines; 14 drops per gallon, the health aspects of using chlorine bleach to purify water have been debated many times and the general consensus is that its safe as long as you take proper precautions (right amount).

Commercial survival kits often come with soluble water purification tablets that you just drop in your water bottle and wait for it to dissolve. I find the tablets extremely useful for short term survival or to put in a bug out bag simply because they do not require a fragile container to be stored.

Again with water purification tablets choice is not lacking just make sure that the ones you pick are iodine based due to its effectiveness against water based pathogens and Giardia.

Thick garbage bags

Thick garbage bags are incredibly useful in a survival situation, they can shield you from the elements, keep you warm by filling them with leaves and using it as a make shift insulation blanket/mattress but more importantly they are cheap, available and extremely versatile.

Much like para cord the use you will get out of garbage bags will much depend on your imagination, break down the core functions and materials of a garbage bag and think about how you can use it. You can use one as a bivvy, to carry water, as a blanket, as tarp/waterproof material for a roof when you build a shelter by splitting the bag accross the seam and turning it into a large water tight sheet. Hamocks and emergency stretchers are easily created with them too.

The fact that they are lightweight, easily modified and expendable means you really shouldn’t neglect to pack one in your bug out bag, try to pick one that is designed for heavy duty use like gardening.

[I am having some problems with some of the functions of wordpress due to me meddling with widgets and code, the site works fine however some of the features including comments are temperamental, will try and get it sorted out soon.]

Right, so you have your bag now so lets start filling it!

Water.

Not only is water delicious you also need it to survive, while you may be under the (misguided) impression that you can be happy with 1ltr of water a day you would be sadly mistaken, while you may be “ok” with 1ltr a day after having done no excersise in reality (bugging out) you would be out for the count after your adrenalin runs out. You will be trying to remember if you have everything and running as fast as you can to get out of dodge, this means that you will use insane amounts of energy and as such will need to consume far more water than normal to remain fit and alert.

So lets talk options; in my previous post I discussed having a hydration bladder which is essentially a water bottle built into your bag, Very useful invention. But you want to bring along the more tradionational type of water containers simply because they tend to be far more rugged and as such will not tear. They are easier to fill up and you can give them to a friend should he not have thought about potential end of the world scenerios like you (How silly, everyone knows zombies are just waiting to take over the world).

Water bottles come in various shapes and sizes and more importantly price ranges so I will just focus on the more popular models:

• Nalgene bottles; cheap, sexy and expendable. plus they come in various sizes and flavors (read: colors).
• Military water bottles; cheap, tough and kinda sexy- you can buy them everywhere and they will treat you well, an added benefit is that they can come with a pouch with molle straps so attaching it on the outside of your rucksack is a cinch.
• Thermos; not as funky as the choices above me but when your stuck in the wild with angry squirrels wanting to devour you…you will be glad to have something comforting like hot irish coffee (or whatever tickles your fancy).

You may also want to have a big evian (or coke) bottle full of delicious water in your rucksack in case you don’t find any water along your route (always prepare for the worst so when the worst happens you can punch it in the face).

I personally have two Thermos aluminum bottles and one military bottle, however not everyone can pull off such a daring look, at then end of the day choose what is right for you.

Bic lighters

Bic lighters amongst offering fire making abilities happens to be the universal symbol for awesome, intelligent and sexy individual.

Everyone knows what they look like so I will spare you 500+ words on the magical properties of the blaze orange version (although red/pink/blaze orange is a good color simply because if you drop your Bic it will be easy to find. Something to think about).

And finally, the Multi-tool.

Swiss army knives are made by two companies, Victorinox and Wenger. Which you will choose is up to you- both are unrivaled for the price (Save perhaps Opinel & Mora) and will serve you faithfully for various task such as preparing food, opening beer bottles and sharpening a stick to fend of would be invaders. I personally carry a Wenger Ranger purely because I am a rebel and dig rooting for the underdog.

I don’t personally own a Leathermans however I will just say this-

Leatherman tools are supposedly fucking ace and are off the hook reliable with a long history of producing quality products.

A popular choice is the Leatherman wave.

Thats all for today but this week (I promise) I will work towards getting at least halfway through the list.