DIY Survival Gear - Building a Survival Kit - Part Seven - First Aid

In Building a Survival Kit - Part Six, a mini-tool and a small knife were added to our survival kit. This gave us some basic tools to complete a number of different tasks that could make a difference in our ability to survive during a crisis. These items gave us the ability to accomplish small tasks that may have been impossible to achieve using only our hands. As we move towards our goal of building a quality survival kit, it may need to be modified to match your skill levels and goals.

The next gear item that will be added to our survival kit is a few band-aids. These will be useful for small cuts or scrapes only. More serious injuries will require more drastic measures to insure your survival. Hopefully, a blister from walking will be the worst that happens. Remember, if you do have to use a band-aid, save the paper wrapper. It makes excellent tinder if you need to start a fire. This gear item and the next one add $ 1.00 to the cost and add no additional weight to our survival kit.

The other gear item for first aid that will be added to our survival kit is a couple of alcohol wipes. The risk of infection can be minimized if a wound is properly cleaned. Remember, that even a small injury can cause serious and life-threatening problems if it becomes infected. Here too, you will want to save your used alcohol wipes. They also make excellent tinder for starting a fire. Both items were put in a small zip-lock bag and placed in the bottom of our survival kit.

In a survival situation, you will need to remember that a small survival kit isn’t designed to replace a good first aid kit. The survival kit’s purpose is to help you survive the little things that can make your life miserable while you are waiting for help, rescue or are in the process of finding your way back. Each situation will be different and having a few basic items may mean the difference in your survival.

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.                                                         

Mini-Tool                                      $5.50                           2 oz 

Knife                                            $12.00                         1 oz

First Aid Items                             $1.00                           0 oz

                                                    _____                       ______

Totals                                           $38.00                      17 oz.

The next installment will be:

DIY Survival Gear - Building a Survival Kit - Part Eight

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Staying above the water line!

Riverwalker