Monday, August 20, 2012

DIY Survival Gear - Building a Survival Kit - Part Five - Air


In Building a Survival Kit - Part Four, a magnesium firestarter and a lighter were added to our survival kit. These items created at least two options for starting a fire should it be required for our survival. This time the gear item that will be added is going to serve two separate functions. Remember, our goal continues to be the process of building a quality survival kit that will be easy to use.




The eight gear item that will be added to our survival kit is a small dust mask. This dust mask will create a means to add some measure of protection to the air we breathe. It can limit our exposure to biological contaminants, smoke or dust. While space does not permit a larger and more comprehensive mask, even a simple dust mask is going to be better than nothing at all.  The dust mask can also be used as an expedient water filter in an emergency. This gear item adds $ 1.50 to the cost (a three pack of dust masks costs about $4.50) and adds no significant additional weight to our survival kit. It stores flat quite nicely and takes up very little room in our kit.

Ina survival situation, the ability to protect the air you breathe and your exposure to air-borne contaminants can be a critical part of your survival. Having gear items with additional uses is also important when your resources may be limited.

Here is a current summary of the contents of our survival kit:

Gear Item                                    Cost                            Weight

Container                                      $5.00                        5 oz.

Mirror                                            $3.00                        1 oz.

Whistle                                          $2.00                       1 oz.

LED Flashlight                              $1.00                      1 oz.

Sewing Kit                                     $1.00                      1 oz.

Cordage                                        $1.00                      1 oz.
                                                  
Mini Bic Lighter                             $ .50                       1 oz.

Magnesium Firestarter                $4.50                       2 oz.

Dust Mask                                   $1.50                        0 oz.                                                          
                                                    _____                       ______

Totals                                           $19.50                     13 oz.


Don’t forget to leave a comment. Thanks.


Got DIY Survival Kit ?


Staying above the water line!


Riverwalker

8 comments:

Anonymous said...

I don't know how well the dust mask seals, but I have read that facial hair can ruin the seal around a real gas mask. So maybe wrapping this mask with a bandana (double filtration) might help in that case ?

I'm sure a lot of World Trade Center survivors would have appreciated having this mask available to them, a lot of them are now suffering from building material inhalation diseases and other health issues.

Thank you Riverwalker - this series is very educational.

riverwalker said...

To; anonymous 6:23

When I worked in the oilfield on wells where poison gas shows were a possibility, we had air masks with self-contained air tanks.

You couldn't have any kind of facial hair or you wouldn't get a good seal on your mask...

I haven't got to adding a bandanna yet but it's coming. Any level of protection can only help.

Thanks anon.

RW

JaMee said...

AIR is one category that is easy to forget. Water, fire, etc. are much more obvious! THANK YOU.

Unknown said...

Made a wishlist of the items so far on Amazon

http://www.amazon.com/gp/registry/registry.html?ie=UTF8&id=1V36GH2VNNEYA&type=wishlist

Jenna Bird said...

I admit that I'd have forgotten about this entirely.

I'm really appreciating this set of posts. Thanks for your work on this.

Addie said...

These are also good if you happen to run into someone thats sick and needs help, as well as for air quality control.

ARC said...

Very resourceful!

MacTx53 said...

Having read the comments, it appears I am not the only one to over look 'air'. Interesting, since I had two experiences that a dust mask over a wet bandanna would have been handy. Once in a for real dust storm in central Nevada, even though we were in a pickup. The other near Truckie, California near an on going forest fire.

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