Survival situations can happen when you least expect it, or in places where such a thing doesn’t make sense. Even your regular run or evening walk can turn dangerous, and a simple survival kit can make all the difference.

These items are lightweight, easily-carried and could save your life if you're injured while running. From left: handwarmers, cell phone, flashlight, knife, Boy Scout flint stick, whistle, and firestarter.

by Leon Pantenburg

Maybe you’ve gotten into the habit  of taking a run in the same urban area every evening. Then, one evening, the endorphins kick in, and you decide to double the usual mileage. As darkness approaches, you realize you have to get back to the car before it gets really dark. You slip, twist your ankle and can’t move.

Or you might decide to go for a walk and just take off without thinking to tell someone where you went. You’re strolling along, relaxing and enjoying the iPod, and letting the stress from the office dissipate. Then, as it starts to get dark, you realize you’ve taken a wrong turn and are lost. And pretty soon, it will be pitch dark, and you can’t see the path.

Maybe you have your routine down, and are so set in the pattern that you don’t consider the potential danger. After all, you don’t  go that far from your home, and this isn’t some wilderness area…

A similar situation happened to Bend, Oregon resident Karen Johnson. (Click on highlighted word to read Johnson’s complete story.)  She nearly died of hypothermia after slipping on the ice and  breaking her leg. The area she was running in was a popular, well-used trail. But when Johnson was injured, there was no one around. Only prior preparations, her survival equipment, and being very, very lucky saved her.

Here’s a few tips on what survival equipment to take, and the links to find them,  on a run or an evening walk. These items are lightweight, take up little space and can easily be fitted into a fanny pack or jacket pocket.

• Leave a note or verbal message about where you’re going and when you’ll be back: Even if you’re only expecting to be gone for a little while, nobody will know where to look for you. They might think you went to a movie, the library or some place where you had to shut off your cell phone.
• STOP: Stop, Think, Observe, Plan. This survival mindset exercise applies to every survival situation. Know how to use it.
• Cell phone: You can call for help if you need to. Even if you can’t get coverage, leave your phone on. The pings to your phone from the nearest cell tower can be traced.
• Small flashlight: If you end up out after dark, the flashlight can help you get safety out of the dark places. Not to mention, the psychological boost it can provide if you have to stay in one place and wait for help.
• Whistle:A whistle carries further than your voice, and won’t give out. You
  

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  can signal for help more effectively, and sometimes a whistle works to scare off potential bad guys.

• Flint stick or lighter and firestarter: If you’re injured, you may be able to build a fire for warmth, signaling and as a morale boost. It will help you stay in one place so you can be rescued. Strike It, Matchless Firestarter
• Small knife: I carry a Swiss Army knife Classic everywhere. The blade can be used to strike sparks of a flint stick, whittle kindling,  or cut string. The tweezers, scissors, toothpick and file also have multiple uses. Victorinox Swiss Army Classic Pocket Knife
• Lanyard: Combine everything together on a lanyard so you can wear it around your neck or tie it to your clothing. If the gear is tied to you, it won’t be lost.
• Handwarmers: Even if the weather is warm, a runner will cool rapidly if he can’t move. The handwarmers can be placed on the chest or torso to keep the vital areas warm. HeatMax Hot Hands 2 Handwarmer (40 pairs)
• Water: Hydration is always a good idea. If the water gets too heavy, you can always drink it, or pour it out. Platypus Sport Bottle

http://www.survivalcommonsense.com

Leon Pantenburg at Smith Rock State Park

A woman sprained her ankle at dusk, in the middle of a forested urban park on a routine evening winter run and almost froze to death. A car got stuck in the snow on a rural road only a few miles from a major highway and the driver died of hypothermia and dehydration.  A man took a day-hike on a well known trail, got lost and was never seen again.  These avoidable tragedies happen all the time.

Most people never think about the need to survive anything. But you, the average person, could easily be one slip, journey, natural disaster or crash away from real trouble.

This website, written by Leon Pantenburg, is about proven and tested common sense survival techniques that anyone should learn whether living in a major metropolitan region or recreating in the wilderness.

• Using your common sense to survive any unexpected calamity can turn a dangerous situation into a mere inconvenience.
•  Pack and easily carry the right tools with the confidence to know how to use them and you and your family will survive any emergency.
• Check out the categories on the left hand side of this page to learn how to be completely prepared for anything that life throws at you.

http://www.survivalcommonsense.com

Your first line of defence against hypothermia is your clothing. Make the right choices to survive!

by Leon Pantenburg
Dressing to survive starts with knowing what fabrics to wear. Different fabrics have radically different properties. Choosing the wrong type, or mixing clothing of

These Troop 18 Boy Scouts stayed warm on this winter hike because they all dressed correctly for the weather conditions.

different materials, can be disastrous!

You may not be able to tell what a garment is made of by looking. A nice, fuzzy, thick 100-percent cotton flannel shirt will be warm and cozy until it gets wet. Then that wet shirt may suck the heat out of your torso and cause hypothermia!

On the other side of the equation is wool. My hands-down favorite in the winter, wool, is generally a bad choice for a desert hike in August. Wool traps heat, and while it provides some UV protection, the material will prevent your body from cooling.
So, the buyer needs to beware.

Before buying any clothing item, read the labels and find out what the material is. Ignore fashion or what’s trendy (I know that’s hard – I have a 16-year-old daughter!), and make your purchase based on the activity and the clothing protection that will be needed.

Here are some common fabric choices:

* Cotton:  Depending on where you live, cotton clothing can kill you. Cotton is hydrophilic, meaning it is no good at wicking wetness away from the skin, and can become damp just by being exposed to humidity.

Since I’ve spent a lot of time in the Deep South, my favorite hot weather shirt is a medium-weight, white, 100 percent cotton Navy surplus shirt. The shirt has a collar that can be pulled up to shade my neck, and pockets with flaps and buttons. Cotton also has a reasonable amount of UV protection.

Both of these 100% cotton garments would keep you warm until they got wet. Then, this clothing can become dangerous to wear!

On really hot days in a canoe, a cotton shirt can be soaked with water, and worn to cool you down. On a desert hike, help prevent heat stroke by using a few ounces of water to wet the shirt down. (The water can come from anywhere, including that algae-edged stock tank. The evaporation is what cools you!)

Typical urban casual garb is probably all cotton: sweatsocks, Hanes or Fruit of the Loom underwear, jeans, tee shirt, flannel shirt and sweatshirt. This outfit may keep you warm in town, but don’t wear it into the backcountry! Once the cotton gets wet, you could end up in trouble.

Don’t be mislead by the looks and camouflage patterns of 100 percent cotton hunting clothes. These garments may be just what you need for a hot, September dove hunt in Mississippi, but they become cold and clammy when damp or wet, just like anything else made of cotton.

* Polypropylene: This material doesn’t absorb water, so it is a hydrophobic. This makes it a great base layer, since it wicks moisture away from your body.  The bad news is that polypropylene melts, so a spark from the campfire may melt holes in your clothing.

* Wool: Where I live in Central Oregon, wool is the standard for  six months of the year. A good pair of wool pants and wool socks are the first clothing items we recommend to new Boy Scouts in our troop. For our winter scout excursions, any sort of cotton clothing is strongly discouraged. Jeans are banned.

Wool absorbs moisture, but stays warmer than many other fabrics. Wool is also inherently flame retardant.

* Polyester: This is essentially fabric made from plastic, and it’s good stuff. The material has good insulative and windstopping value, and can be made into many different thicknesses.

Dressed completely in wool, I was warm and comfortable on this winter hike. I took off my hat and coat for the photo.

* Nylon: The fabric is pretty tough and can be used on your outer layer. It doesn’t absorb much moisture, and what does evaporates quickly. It is best used as some sort of windbreaker, to keep your clothing from being compromised by the wind.

* Down: This material is not a fabric, but rather, fluffy feathers stuffed inside a garment or sleeping bag. When dry, down is one of my favorite insulative materials.

In addition, a down sleeping bag or garment is virtually impossible to dry out in the backcountry, even with a roaring campfire.

http://www.survivalcommonsense.com

Editor’s note: “Water, water, everywhere, nor any drop to drink…” Recent widespread flooding throughout many parts of the United States makes this quote from “The Rime of the Ancient Mariner” particularly appropriate. The mariner was stuck in the middle of the sea, so he was surrounded by salt water he couldn’t drink.

But flood victims, people awaiting evacuation, or trapped by rising waters are in the same situation. Being

Click here to visit Peter Kummerfeldt's website!

By Peter Kummerfeldt

The Problem: When the water we use or lose each day, through normal body functions (urination, defecation and sweating) is not replaced, dehydration results.

Where could you find drinkable water?

Dehydration severely reduces the body’s ability to function efficiently which frequently results in poor decision-making and contributes to accidents occurring. The loss of one-to-two quarts of water, from a starting water level of about twenty quarts in the body, can result in a significant reduction in working efficiency.

Contributing Factors:

Altitude – The air we breathe contains less humidity as we travel higher — dry air has to be humidified before it reaches the lungs.

Many of the fluids (coffee, tea, alcohol and colas) we drink daily contain diuretics, chemicals that cause us to lose even more water.

Increased activity increases water loss by sweating.

Injury and illness, especially diarrhea, can increase water loss.

Mouth breathing increases water loss.

Note: Dehydration is a contributing factor in many other medical problems that occur in the outdoors. It is also a significant factor in determining how successfully the body can keep itself warm — a dehydrated person will have a much more difficult time staying warm than a hydrated one.

Water disinfecting:

Boiling – Bringing water to a rolling boil is sufficient to kill all harmful organisms.

Halogens – Chemicals such as iodine and chlorine kill microorganisms.

Filtration – Filters remove all harmful agents except viruses.

Purifiers – remove all harmful agents including viruses.

“TREATING DEHYDRATION IS MUCH MORE DIFFICULT THAN PREVENTING IT AND MAY BE IMPOSSIBLE IN THE

OUTDOORS.”

Peter Kummerfeldt has walked the talk in the wilderness survival field for  more than 40 years.

Peter grew up in Kenya, East Africa and came to America in 1965 and joined the U.S. Air Force. He is a graduate of the Air Force Survival Instructor Training School and has served as an instructor at the Basic Survival School, Spokane, Washington; the Arctic Survival School, Fairbanks, Alaska, and the Jungle Survival School, Republic of the Philippines. For

Peter Kummerfeldt

twelve years, Peter was the Survival Training Director at the United States Air Force Academy, Colorado Springs, Colorado. He retired from the Air Force in 1995 after 30 years of service.

In 1992, concerned with the number of accidents that were occurring in the outdoors annually and the number of tourists traveling overseas who were involved in unpleasant and sometimes life-threatening incidents Peter created OutdoorSafe.com. He is the author of  Surviving a Wilderness Emergency and has addressed over 20,000 people as the featured speaker at numerous seminars, conferences and national conventions.

Click here to visit Peter’s website!

http://www.survivalcommonsense.com

It was a bad time for the weather to get really nasty. The angry, black clouds threatened snow and boiled over the nearby mountains as they headed toward us.

By Leon Pantenburg

My brother Mike and I were on an elk hunt, and had backpacked miles back from any road into Idaho’s Clearwater National Forest.

This emergency tarp shelter is quick to set up and the componants are easily-carried. In an emergency, you will probably not have the time and necessary skills to make a waterproof shelter out of native materials.

Because we had to go light, our only shelter was two blue plastic tarps. We looked around quickly, tied a line between two trees that were about 15 feet apart, and quickly set the 10-by-12-foot across it in an A-Frame fashion. We set the tarp so the uphill tree’s dripline would hit it about two feet downhill. We anchored the edges and corners with rocks.

The other tarp was placed inside as a ground cover. The uphill edges were raised with rocks, so water would flow around the sleeping bags, backpacks and rifles that were stacked on it.

TV survival shows to the contrary,  it is virtually impossible to make a waterproof shelter out of natural materials, even if you have the time, tools and practice! Even with a tarp, you must have some idea or plan on how to fashion a refuge from the elements.

Setting up our tarp shelter took less than five minutes, and then the wind and rain hit. For the next 15 hours, as the rain fell steadily, we slept, snoozed and talked. There was no interior condensation problem, and we could cook without danger of asphyxiation. Neither of us got wet or cold at all, and I doubt a tent could have served us as well.

I hiked the more than 200 miles of the John Muir Trail; two weeks and 100 or so miles through the Yellowstone backcountry, and completed several shorter mountain trips with only a tarp as my shelter. On these trips, my choice of shelter was made deliberately to lighten my backpack.

If you decide to go tarp camping, and use the A-Frame style, here’s what you need to take along:

A tarp, 50 feet of parachute cord or light rope and four aluminum tent stakes are the basis of a quick shelter.

• Knowledge: Learn functional knots to secure the cord at each end.
  Know your trees: find two about 15 to 20 feet apart, with a slight elevation difference, so any moisture will drain. Stand between these trees and look up to check for dead branches that could fall. Know how to improvise if there aren’t appropriate trees. Practice setting up this shelter before you head out!
• Large (My favorite size is about eight by ten foot) tarp with sturdy grommets at the corners and middle for the covering.
  
• Smaller, waterproof tarp, groundcloth or poncho for the floor. Remember to elevate the edges for water runoff
• Lots of parachute cord or light rope. Take a minimum of 25 feet. I always take about 100 feet. The cord is light, compact and you’ll always find a use for it!
• Four aluminum tent stakes. These can be used if there is a shortage of rocks in the area. They can also be helpful if you decide to modify the basic design

This tip came from my college roommate, Bob Patterson, of Mankato,  Mn. Bob camps year-round in the frozen north!

Place a smaller tarp or poncho inside the A-Frame, with the edges raised. This will provide a dry sleeping area, and will keep water from draining downhill onto your gear.

“One cold weather wrinkle on the A-Frame with no poncho is to stack pine boughs and moss on the outside and line the floor with pine boughs,” Bob wrote. “Then stuff it full of leaves, moss, or whatever, and burrow down inside of it like a squirrel’s nest.  It’s better than sitting up all night under a tree!”

If wet or nasty weather is anticipated, take along a tent appropriate for the season. If you are headed on a winter campout, or into an area with mosquitoes and/or the potential for creepy, crawly visitors at night, take a tent with mosquito netting

In other instances, though, the A -Frame tarp shelter may be all you need, and sometimes may be the best choice!

http://www.survivalcommonsense.com

Click here to visit Peter Kummerfelt's website!

I met survival expert Peter Kummerfeldt during one of his “Myths of Survival” presentations at the Central Oregon Sportsmans Show several years ago. With no idea of who this guy was, or his abilities, I sat in on the seminar out of curiosity.

At the end of the hour-long session, I followed Peter back to his booth and plied him with questions. That night, I went home and threw away several items that had been part of my backcountry survival gear for years. Peter is the epitome of common sense survival, and he speaks from decades of experience. Here is one of his best presentations! – Leon

by Peter Kummerfeldt

Much of the information available to people who want to learn more about survival and surviving is based on material that is outdated and in some cases, totally incorrect. Unfortunately, early outdoor writers created a problem for those  interested in learning how to survive a wilderness emergency today.  Techniques and procedures that were once state-of-the-art are no longer valid.  Some of what was once thought of as an appropriate method is now not only inappropriate, but in some cases, dangerous.

The times have changed.  The needs of a recreationist who gets lost today are different from the needs of the mountainmen who trapped beaver in the American west and lived off the land while doing so.  The individual who gets in trouble today is unlikely to have devoted sufficient time to practicing survival skills; is unlikely to have clothed and equipped him or herself adequately; and, consequently, is unlikely to be able to spend a night out without great discomfort.  Skills that were once second nature can no longer be counted on when difficulties arise.  Even a once commonplace skill, such as striking a match to light a fire, is no longer commonplace.

If you were to open some of the currently available “how-to-survive” books you would find techniques and procedures that date back to those who survived by manufacturing what they needed from the resources on hand.

The question is “How appropriate are these techniques and procedures today?”In many cases they are not!   However, despite the passing of time, the fact that the advice given is still in printed form, implies that the information must still be valid.

In many cases it is not!

New and better procedures have developed.  New equipment is available.The result of all of this misinformation is that inexperienced people who find themselves in trouble today still believe that they can rub sticks together and start a fire.  They believe that a waterproof, wind proof shelter can be built from natural materials.  They believe that they can live off the land until they are rescued.  It must be so – it’s in the book!

Many current, popular outdoor press writers perpetuate the problem.  Much of the rubbish that is published would never be published if the writer (or the editor) first went out and tested the procedures they write about.  Instead they go to their bookshelf, remove a survival or woods lore book written fifty years ago, extract from it some procedure used by Jim Bridger to build a fire and present it once again as if the procedure is still valid today.  Sometimes it is, but most often it isn’t.

More confusion results from the contemporary experiences of those who survived traumatic incidents.  They quickly become the newest “survival expert!”  They survived, therefore, what they did to survive must be valid!  Sometimes it is and sometimes it isn’t.  Sometimes, people survive despite what they did.  They got lucky!

Many myths, misconceptions and misunderstandings still exist today. As a result, the inexperienced  person who, when confronted with a night out in the bush, experiences unnecessary discomfort, hardship, injury and sometimes death because of their reliance on antiquated information.

The following is a short discussion of some of the more blatant myths and misconceptions commonly found in print today.

Firecraft: Building and maintaining a fire is fundamental to surviving. Were you to believe the advice given in most survival literature, producing heat and light is easy.  Simply rub sticks together and – Presto! – you have fire.  Nothing can be further from the truth.

Without considerable practice and prior preparation producing fire by rubbing sticks together is impossible!  Even with practice and preparation starting a fire by rubbing sticks together can be very difficult! When rubbing sticks together was the primary way to produce a fire, the necessary pieces were carried by the user, much as we today would carry a BIC lighter or a match.

The use of a magnifying lens is another fire starting method that is more myth than reality.  The writers of the articles would have you believe that tinder can be ignited using the lens from your eye glasses.  Or that you can remove the glass lenses from your camera or binocular and then using the lens, focus a beam of sunlight onto the tinder until it ignites.

The writers talk of “shaving and shaping a piece of ice into a lens” and then using it to ignite the tinder!  This begs the question: “When do you need a fire?”  Not on a bright sunny day in the middle of summer, but on a cold wintry day when the sun is low on the southern horizon or as the sun is about to set or the storm about to break and your spouse or child is dying from hypothermia!

Carrying a magnifying glass to start a fire makes no sense when there are other much more reliable devices that can be depended on.

Cigarette lighters have been often touted as a piece of equipment that should be carried in your survival kit.  Cigarette lighters are difficult to light when your hands have lost their dexterity, they do not perform well under cold conditions or at higher altitudes and if dropped into a fire accidentally, they explode sending shrapnel in every direction!

Matches come in many forms and to the unknowing they may all look alike.  Another trap!  What do the words “safety,” “strike anywhere,” “stormproof,” and “waterproof” really mean?

Two plastic match containers have been taped together. One holds cotton balls and petroleum jelly, and the other carries REI Stormproof matches. A Boy Scout Hot Spark is taped to the kit.

In each case there are significant survival ramifications!

“Safety” means the match can only be ignited using the striker on the side of the box from which the match was removed – they may not work on the striker of another  box!

The words “strike anywhere” would lead us to believe that the match could be literally “struck anywhere!  Nothing could be further from the truth.  While these matches do not need the matchbox striker to be ignited, finding a suitable substitute is not always possible

“Stormproof” matches are less susceptible to wind and water than other matches but are often hard to light and quickly wear out the matchbox striking surface.

“Waterproof” matches are coated with a lacquer-like material which must be worn through before the striking surface of the matchbox comes in contact with flammable material on the match head.  Every time a match head is scraped across the striking surface, the lacquer is deposited on that striking surface and will eventually (before you run out of matches) so contaminate the surface that other matches will not light.

Sheltering: Confusion exists about the kinds of shelters built to protect those that ventured in the outdoors to hunt, fish, backpack etc.  and those needed by a survivor.

This trash can liner can provide a quick emergency shelter. (Peter Kummerfeldt photo)

Most survivors first become aware of the need for shelter as it begins to rain or as the sun  sets over the western horizon.  Most survivors are dehydrated and possibly hypothermic as they begin their survival experience! Some are injured.

Could they build a lean-to or debris hut?  I doubt it!

Building a shelter from natural materials is possible if time allows, if there are plenty of natural materials available, if the survivor has practiced building an emergency shelter previously; if cutting tools (knife or saw) are available and if the survivor is uninjured!

But lacking time, skill, natural resources, tools and the use of both hands building a windproof, waterproof shelter from natural materials becomes impossible.

It is wiser to carry waterproof material with you. Carry large plastic bags or tarps that you can crawl into or crawl under to protect yourself rather than trying to build one of the many survival shelters shown in the books.

Bags or blankets made from Mylar plastic are the most commonly carried survival shelter material and the most useless in an emergency! (Editor’s note: I had carried two Mylar blankets for years – they were among the equipment I trashed!)

This material is difficult to remove from the container!  Mylar plastic bags and blankets are difficult to unfold; (especially if you were injured and only have the use of one hand) The blankets are generally too small to adequately protect an adult; two hands are required to hold the blanket around you; Mylar plastic is very noisy when the material is pulled over your head (you can’t hear the rescuers) and  tears very easily when  nicked or  punctured.

Signaling: In addition to staying alive, a survivor’s greatest need is to be rescued as quickly as possible and to do that they must be able to indicate to others that they are in trouble and need help.

Once again the books, manuals and magazine articles are full of nonsense.  Three fires placed in a triangle, wetting a slab of wood to form a reflective surface and other labor intensive, less-than-effective procedures are commonly featured in survival literature.  With the equipment available today, inexpensive, effective devices are available with which to signal.

Survival medicine: Defined as the medicine that survivors would administer to themselves or to others that were with them, survival medicine is another area where many myths, misconceptions and misunderstanding exist.

Unlike the medical community, who are required to attend Continual Medical Education training annually,  those who recreate or work in the outdoors have no such requirement.  Their knowledge of medicine and medical practice is based on first aid courses they may have taken and once again on what they read in the popular outdoor press – which may or may not be current.

For example,  there are many who still believe that “cut and suck” is the standard treatment for snakebite! (Editor’s note: My snakebite kit also was trashed!) Some still think that the treatment for a frostbite injury is to rub the frozen tissue with snow!  Still others are reluctant to render aid to a lightning strike victim for fear that they will be electrocuted when they touch the victim!

Much confusion exists over how long water should be boiled before it can be consumed safely!  The treatment of hypothermia is another area where the knowledge of the non-medical community lags far behind the current standards of practice as advocated by the Wilderness Medical Society.  Remember – you may be the patient and your own doc!

To survive an emergency is difficult but not impossible if the survivor is prepared.  That preparation must be based on good information, selecting your clothing  and equipment carefully and practicing your survival skills.

Select your “experts” carefully. Read widely and compare the recommendations that are given.  What worked for one may or may not work for you.

Select procedures and techniques that work under a wide variety of conditions – procedures and techniques that work for you.  Just because you are told something works, don’t accept it until you have tested it in the field.

Peter Kummerfeldt has taught wilderness survival for more than 40 years, all over the world, in different environments.

Peter Kummerfeldt has walked the talk in the wilderness survival field for decades. Peter grew up in Kenya, East Africa and came to America in 1965 and joined the U.S. Air Force. He is a graduate of the Air Force Survival Instructor Training School and has served as an instructor at the Basic Survival School, Spokane, Washington; the Arctic Survival School, Fairbanks, Alaska, and the Jungle Survival School, Republic of the Philippines.

For twelve years, Peter was the Survival Training Director at the United States Air Force Academy, Colorado Springs, Colorado. He retired from the Air Force in 1995 after 30 years of service.

In 1992, concerned with the number of accidents that were occurring in the outdoors annually and the number of tourists traveling overseas who were involved in unpleasant and sometimes life-threatening incidents Peter created Outdoorsafe.com

He is the author of Surviving a Wilderness Emergency and has addressed over 20,000 people as the featured speaker at numerous seminars, conferences and national conventions .

http://www.survivalcommonsense.com

One of the things you don’t want to have to improvise is a good sleeping bag. If you can’t sleep at night because you’re cold, the next day is guaranteed to be exhausting. Too light a bag can put you in danger of hypothermia. Too heavy a bag may be  too hot for comfort and impractical for easy transport. Here’s how to pick a good bag to meet your specific needs.

This 1977 photo from Lassen National Forest in northern California shows my gear was pretty sketchy. I did invest in a quality knife, sleeping bag and boots.

by Leon Pantenburg

I graduated, less than penniless, from Iowa State University in 1976, and decided to go backpacking in the mountains.

And I did. Trips to the Bighorn and Pryor Mountains in Wyoming only whetted my appetite for more, and I couch-surfed at John Nerness’ house in Mountainview, CA, between trips. In addition to several weekenders around central California,  my grand finale was a 14-day hike of the John Muir Trail in the Sierras.

My backpack came from Target. My clothing was whatever I had – at the time I’d never heard of cotton killing anyone. My shelter was a piece of visqueen. Freeze-dried food was too expensive, for the most part, so my diet consisted of such things as macaroni and cheese. I borrowed a Swea 123 backpacking stove.

But I didn’t scrimp on a few items. My Buck folding knife was purchased for $25 at the Ace Hardware Store in Lovell, WY. My boots were on sale at the War Surplus Store in in Powell, WY, for about $30. But my sleeping bag was bought at an upper end backpacking store for about $80, which, at the time, was about a third of all my “assets.”

A heavy winter bag would be needed to sleep in this igloo. It would also need to be one that dries out easily.

That gear was used extensively in the next few years. The Buck, a Swea 123 and the sleeping bag went on several major backpacking trips and ended being used on my six-month canoe trip down the Mississippi River. None of this gear ever let me down.

Today, I have close to a dozen sleeping bags, ranging from indoor sleepover styles to a pair of  -15 degree winter bags. All  have their specific purposes. You will decide what the best sleeping bag is for you, and here are some considerations to help you choose wisely.

Where will the bag be used? Location is  important. I have slept on top of a sleeping bag in Louisiana, when the night time temperature was about 90 degrees, and snuggled deep in an arctic bag one night during a raging Iowa blizzard when the temperature got to -10 degrees.

Both bags were adequate for their jobs, but radically different from each other. One could not have safely replaced the other in those dramatically-different circumstances.

If you will be tent camping, you won’t need as warm a bag as if you’re sleeping under the stars. But that doesn’t mean you can or should buy a cheap, light bag!

Possible uses: The size, weight and composition of the insulation will all  be determined by the potential uses of the bag. A backpacking mummy bag is different from a full-cut bag designed for car camping. The car camping or elk camp sleeping bag, that won’t be carried anywhere, can be roomier, bigger and

heavier. If you intend to backpack, or canoe, you’ll need something smaller and more compact.

Mummy or full cut: These  are the two main styles of bag. You wear a mummy bag, so if claustrophobia is an issue, don’t get one! (One of my mummy bags is so snug-fitting it feels like I’m wearing a loose sausage casing. It doesn’t bother me, but make sure you to crawl inside any prospective bag in the store before buying it.) A full-cut bag is roomier, but the additional bulk and weight makes it harder to backpack.

These heavy winter synthetic-fill sleeping bags were slightly damp from condensation inside a tent. They dried quickly in the sunlight, even though it wasn't warm outside.

Type of insulation: Sleeping bag insulation can be broken down basically into two categories: down and synthetic. Decide before buying: What is the potential for the bag getting wet?

Goose down insulation is the classic insulation used in sleeping bags, and, despite all the technological advances, is still the most efficient insulation around. Goose down provides the most warmth for the least bulk and weight, allowing for very warm sleeping bags that are in very, very small packages.

But goose down insulation is USELESS when wet, and it can take forever to dry. This could be deadly: What if you fall in a creek, soak all your gear and desperately need to warm up? Or suppose part of the bag gets soaked inadvertently during a rain? I don’t own a down bag, and get along very well with my synthetics.

But some of the very experienced Boy Scout leaders I backpack and camp with do use down bags. They swear by them, and I must admit, the tiny, light bundles the down bags compress into is a very appealing aspect!

Synthetics: There are a variety of good synthetic insulation fills on the market, and
generally you’ll get what you pay for. Check the internet and manufacturers’ specifications to decide which will be best for you.

My first synthetic bag paid for itself in my first two days in the Sierras. Here’s an excerpt (to read the whole story, click here) from my 1976 John Muir Trail Journal:

Sunday July 25
“Last night was the worst I’ve spent in the mountains so far. It rained all night, and I got completely soaked in my sleeping bag. The rain started after I was sound asleep, and drenched me before I even woke up. (I’d slept under the stars, and not bothered to set up the tarp).
“The bag kept me warm, but it was sure was wet and clammy. Stayed awake most of the night. The rain kept stopping, then pouring down, so I kept getting wet, then getting wetter.
My camp was at 10,500 feet, so the temperature was pretty cold. Some of my clothes got wet, but I made sure to keep my boots dry.
“Got up, wrung out the sleeping bag and placed everything on rocks to dry. The sun is just coming up over the mountains, and the sky is clear. Looks like another nice day.

It rained, intermittently for  nine days straight after that, and keeping anything dry was a real struggle. I’m glad I didn’t have a down bag on that trip!

Weight: Sleeping bag weight is supposed to be a determination of how warm the bag might be. But beware! A lightweight down sleeping bag will be very warm, while a heavy, cheap cotton-filled bag will be heavy and cool. A better indication of warmth is probably the temperature rating.

Temperature Rating: My experience is that the manufacturers are very optimistic and that these ratings are more a statement of purpose than anything else! My rule of thumb is to look at the temperature rating and subtract 20 degrees.

Also, some people sleep colder than others. My snow camping equipment consists of a four-season dome tent and a minus 15 degree sleeping bag. I have slept comfortably in that setup down to zero, during blizzards with gale-force winds. But my wife took the same gear on a June Girl Scout campout in Oregon and was very comfortable.

What about getting sleeping bags that zip together so the loved one can snuggle? Again, this will depend on the couple.  If one is a colder sleeper than the other, both will be miserable. Make your sleeping bag choices wisely. Otherwise, you may have some really long, uncomfortable nights to think about and regret your hasty choices!

For more survival gear reviews, click here

http://www.survivalcommonsense.com

Flash floods are the number one weather-related killer in the United States! Here are some of the things to look for if you know you are in an area that might have a flash flood!

A flash flood can happen incredibly quickly in many areas. Know what to look for! (NASA photo)

by Peter Kummerfeldt

Most flash flooding is caused by slow-moving thunderstorms repeatedly moving over the same area, or heavy rains from hurricanes and tropical storms. The two key elements that contribute to flash flooding are rainfall intensity and duration. Intensity is the rate of rainfall, and duration is how long the rain lasts.

Topography, soil conditions, and ground cover also play an important role.  Flash floods can occur within a few minutes or may occur within hours of heavy rainfall.  Rapidly rising water can reach heights of thirty feet or more and can trigger catastrophic mud slides.

Here are some safety rules:

• Pay attention to the warnings and watches announced by the National Weather Service and your local radio.  You will not always have a warning that these deadly, sudden floods are coming.  Many deaths occur because the victims waited too long to take action or were distracted while trying to save personal belongings.
• Never try to walk, swim, or drive through swift water. If you come upon flood waters, STOP! TURN AROUND AND GO ANOTHER WAY. Even six inches of fast-moving water can knock you off your feet and water two feet deep will float your car!
• Plan Ahead.  Determine ahead of time where you would go if told to evacuate.  Select higher ground where you could climb above the high water.  Many flash floods occur at night, greatly complicating evacuation efforts!
• The sound of distant thunder could forewarn you of flooding.
• Watch for quickly rising water and if present take action quickly

A weather radio is the best means to receive warnings from the National Weather Service which continuously broadcasts updated weather warnings and forecasts. Depending on topography, the average range for these radios is about 40 miles.  Purchase a radio that has both a battery backup and a tone-alert feature which automatically alerts you when a watch or warning is issued.

Stay informed about the weather by listening to NOAA weather radio, commercial radio, and television for the latest watches warnings, and advisories. Plan your activities around the forecasted weather.  Decide what you will do when the weather deteriorates and implement the plan before you are in danger.

Weather can make you very uncomfortable but, with some preparation, it shouldn’t kill you!

Peter Kummerfeldt has walked the talk in the wilderness survival field for decades. Peter grew up in

Peter Kummerfeldt has taught wilderness and emergency survival for more than 40 years.

Kenya, East Africa and came to America in 1965 and joined the U.S. Air Force. He is a graduate of the Air Force Survival Instructor Training School and has served as an instructor at the Basic Survival School, Spokane, Washington; the Arctic Survival School, Fairbanks, Alaska, and the Jungle Survival School, Republic of the Philippines. For twelve years, Peter was the Survival Training Director at the United States Air Force Academy, Colorado Springs, Colorado. He retired from the Air Force in 1995 after 30 years of service.

In 1992, concerned with the number of accidents that were occurring in the outdoors annually and the number of tourists traveling overseas who were involved in unpleasant and sometimes life-threatening incidents Peter created OutdoorSafe.com

He is the author of Surviving a Wilderness Emergency and has addressed over 20,000 people as the featured speaker at numerous seminars, conferences and national conventions.

Check out Peter’s blog at: OutdoorSafe.blogspot.com

For more Peter Kummerfeldt and OutdoorSafe survival tips, click on:

• Are you afraid of the dark?
• STOP: You are lost!
• Preparing to survive
• The importance of water to survival.
• Avoid becoming an altitude casualty.
• Wilderness emergency management
• Making water safe to drink.
• Don’t become a lightning casualty.
• Questionable water: to Drink or Not?
• Self Rescue: when staying put is not an Option
• Survival Kit List for beginners
• Preventing dehydration during emergencies
• Winter Survival Equipment Test: Blizzard vests and emergency blankets

http://www.survivalcommonsense.com

Survival food is sustenance that can be made easily during a survival or emergency situation with simple, long-term storage food items, cooked outdoors, using off-the-grid methods.

Wheat berries can make a great snack and a nutritious addition to salads and baked potatoes.

Suppose you have a lot of wheat berries stored for whatever disaster might happen. At some point, you might be wondering: What are some of the options for using this resource?

This is a great recipe to use whole wheat. It stores very well, and and this makes a fun snack. It is also great sprinkled on salads or as a topping for baked potatoes.

And perhaps best of all, this simple recipe can be cooked over a campfire in a cast iron skillet or Dutch oven!

Popped Wheat

1 c whole wheat berries

2 c water

3 TBS oil

seasonings (see below)

Soak wheat berries overnight, then the next morning, bring to a medium boil and cook for 30 minutes. Drain very well. In a heavy skillet, heat oil to about 350 degrees, fry small portions of the wheat berries until golden (about 30-45 seconds – you will actually hear a bit of popping sound!) Remove and drain on a paper towel. As soon as you remove from the oil sprinkle on the seasonings. Continue popping in bunches, drain and season.

Seasoning suggestions: salt and pepper; garlic, salt, barbecue seasoning and salt; ranch dressing, salt, pepper and Parmesan cheese; Italian seasoning and salt, garlic granules, salt and pepper and cheese blend powder etc.

Use your imagination! Cool, completely and store in a glass jar with a tight-fitting lid until gone – if  it lasts that long!

- From “Jan’s Fabulous Food Storage Recipes: Converting Stored Foods into Usable Meals“ by Jan LaBaron

http://www.survivalcommonsense.com

After finishing my first Peter Kummerfeldt survival seminar, I threw away the two plastic mylar blankets I had carried for years as part of my survival gear.
Peter’s demonstration with a  mylar blanket – which I have shamelessly stolen and replicated many times for different classes – proves that the flimsy, noisy sheets of plastic cannot be depended on!

So I read with great interest this equipment review Peter did  on the Blizzard  vest and emergency blanket. -  Leon

by Peter Kummerfeldt

Blizzard Products – vests, blankets and sleeping bags. I had actually come across these products several years ago but didn’t pay them much attention to them because of my bias against anything made from “space blanket” material.

The Blizzard blanket was tested and proven in the field by Peter Kummerfeldt's students.

Late last year I was sent some samples by PerSys Medical and asked to evaluate the effectiveness of the devices in a survival scenario.

PerSys Medical is a company that “specializes in bringing life-saving innovations to the market.”

Their mission is to “provide military and civilian caregivers with the most innovative solutions to improve the quality of care and ultimately save lives.”

Initially, again because of my biases, I was very skeptical that the Refelexcell material would stand up to the rigors of a night or two sleeping in an emergency shelter.

I was proven wrong! Not only did they remain largely intact but they also offered considerable protection!

I say “largely intact” only because the outer layer did tear on occasion, but when it was punctured the inner layer remained intact and the users safety and protection was not compromised.

No piece of emergency equipment should be considered a replacement for being adequately prepared in the first place!

Some of my students used all three products during field survival training exercises. First in Montana during the five day survival and navigation training program I run every September and then in Washington in the Olympic National Forest during a three-day field survival exercise.

In each instance the reports I received from those that used either the vest, sleeping bag or the blanket were very complimentary.

The inability of the fabric to breath was the only negative reported by the “testers.” Some condensation accumulated on the inner surface of the fabric during the night. While unpleasant, this relatively small amount of moisture can be tolerated, especially when compared against the possibility of becoming totally wet when lacking any other protective shelter material.

Initially there was some concern regarding the noise created by the fabric, especially if the fabric covered a person’s head. This turned out not to be an issue at all with all users reporting getting a good night’s sleep.

Peter Kummerfeldt has walked the talk in the wilderness survival field for decades. Peter grew up in

Peter Kummerfeldt has taught wilderness and emergency survival for more than 40 years.

Kenya, East Africa and came to America in 1965 and joined the U.S. Air Force. He is a graduate of the Air Force Survival Instructor Training School and has served as an instructor at the Basic Survival School, Spokane, Washington; the Arctic Survival School, Fairbanks, Alaska, and the Jungle Survival School, Republic of the Philippines.

For twelve years, Peter was the Survival Training Director at the United States Air Force Academy, Colorado Springs, Colorado. He retired from the Air Force in 1995 after 30 years of service.

In 1992, concerned with the number of accidents that were occurring in the outdoors annually and the number of tourists traveling overseas who were involved in unpleasant and sometimes life-threatening incidents Peter created OutdoorSafe.com

He is the author of Surviving a Wilderness Emergency and has addressed over 20,000 people as the featured speaker at numerous seminars, conferences and national conventions.

Check out Peter’s blog at: OutdoorSafe.blogspot.com

http://www.survivalcommonsense.com