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
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 ?
ReplyDeleteI'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.
To; anonymous 6:23
ReplyDeleteWhen 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
AIR is one category that is easy to forget. Water, fire, etc. are much more obvious! THANK YOU.
ReplyDeleteMade a wishlist of the items so far on Amazon
ReplyDeletehttp://www.amazon.com/gp/registry/registry.html?ie=UTF8&id=1V36GH2VNNEYA&type=wishlist
I admit that I'd have forgotten about this entirely.
ReplyDeleteI'm really appreciating this set of posts. Thanks for your work on this.
These are also good if you happen to run into someone thats sick and needs help, as well as for air quality control.
ReplyDeleteVery resourceful!
ReplyDeleteHaving 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.
ReplyDelete