View Full Version : Emergency Items On Person (Not In Pack)
What do you carry on your person, not in your pack, at all times when hiking? You could get injured just going to the privy or going down the hill for water, out of sight of the trail or camp site. Maybe even get lost. And a lot of folks don't carry their packs everywhere, especially when stopped for the night or the unscheduled trip "out in the woods" with trowel and paper in hand. In order of importance to me I carry a whistle, coin sized compass, and butane lighter. I will not go anywhere without at least my whistle. Just curious as to what, if anything, others might make a habit of always having available. Any comments?
I have one of those little lights that operate when you pinch them tethered to the fleece jacket I wear most of the time when it's cold. When it's not cold, the days are long and there's more daylight so I'm not so concerned about getting lost in the dark. (Usually I can see well enough to get around in the dark anyway.) I carry my pack if I'm going very far, like down to a spring that's out of sight of the trail.
orangebug
11-29-2005, 14:17
Small chain with pen knife/Leatherman Micra, Photon 2 LED light, whistle, block of magnesium with flint for fire starter.
Uncle Silly
11-29-2005, 14:23
Leatherman squirt p-4, watch w/ builtin digital compass, Spyderco lockblade knife, tobacco and a lighter. Everything else is in the pack (tho for longer jaunts I take the daypack w/ more handy-dandy emergency equipment).
The Solemates
11-29-2005, 15:10
the only thing i carry on person is my camera, in my pocket for easy access.
Kerosene
11-29-2005, 17:03
Only my sense of direction, combined with a constant assessment of whether I'm using common sense, plus I suppose a dash of luck.
max patch
11-29-2005, 17:34
nothing!!!
peter_pan
11-29-2005, 17:54
I wear a thin cord necklace with an ultra thin emergence whistle and a photo III light ( 24-7) ... left pocket has a bic lighter (clear view with a safety pin duct taped with 16 inch length of 1 inch wide duct tape around the base... This puts the pin loop out for a dummy cord looped to a belt loop... right pocket has a 1.3 inch lock blade attached with a similiar dummy cord... dummy cords are about 16 inches long and 95 % of all uses don't require removal from attachment...
Pan
I keep around my neck a compass, small flashlight, the kind you squeeze, and a whistle. I usually keep a knife and lighter on my person if I'm wearing pockedts, if not, in the hip-belt pocket of my pack.
cigarette lighter and pocketknife.
saimyoji
11-29-2005, 19:16
Multitool, 5-in-1 survival whistle (compass, mirror, flint, waterproof matchbox case), accute attention to the natural world around me...which usually ends up with me tripping over a root, or some sharp pointy rock....:(
justusryans
11-29-2005, 19:45
Herbal refreshments!!
Very small knife & a photon light on a thin rope round my neck. Not really there for emergency, just a handy place to carry them, as there are really no useful pockets on my kilt.
Doctari.
Fiddleback
11-29-2005, 21:02
I carry my full up survival kit and first aid kit on my person via small camera pouches on my belt. And I don't like the arrangement.:( My premise was that the contents should always be at hand and I still believe that. But the pouches are a hassle...they get in the way of the hip belt and their weight combines to pull the belt out of the pants when putting on/taking off the pants.
I tried carrying much of the stuff in the thigh pocket of the cargo-style pants I use on the trail but I couldn't tolerate the sense of unbalanced weight...it might help if there was a thigh pocket on each leg but that ain't what I got.
So...I still believe the first aid and survival kits should always be worn but I'm working to reduce the amount of stuff and find more suitable pouches.
FB
jackiebolen
11-29-2005, 23:45
Uh, yes, well essentially nothing on my person. I hope for the best and if I trip and die on the way to the privy, well so be it.
.44 magnum in case my brain isn't working then I can shoot it. Gawd, is hiking season so far away that we have to talk about absolutely nothing?
Shutterbug
11-30-2005, 00:38
The only thing that hasn't been mentioned by others is a pen. I carry a swiss army knife that includes a small ball point pen. It is amazing how often I have a need to leave a note somewhere. I keep a couple of post-it notes in my billfold.
I carry my full up survival kit and first aid kit on my person via small camera pouches on my belt. And I don't like the arrangement.:( My premise was that the contents should always be at hand and I still believe that. But the pouches are a hassle...they get in the way of the hip belt and their weight combines to pull the belt out of the pants when putting on/taking off the pants.
I tried carrying much of the stuff in the thigh pocket of the cargo-style pants I use on the trail but I couldn't tolerate the sense of unbalanced weight...it might help if there was a thigh pocket on each leg but that ain't what I got.
So...I still believe the first aid and survival kits should always be worn but I'm working to reduce the amount of stuff and find more suitable pouches.
FB
they're your pants. sew on an extra pocket.
peter_pan
11-30-2005, 09:03
I wear a thin cord necklace with an ultra thin emergence whistle and a photo III light ( 24-7) ... left pocket has a bic lighter (clear view with a safety pin duct taped with 16 inch length of 1 inch wide duct tape around the base... This puts the pin loop out for a dummy cord looped to a belt loop... right pocket has a 1.3 inch lock blade attached with a similiar dummy cord... dummy cords are about 16 inches long and 95 % of all uses don't require removal from attachment...
Pan
Forgot that I also wear a GI field type watch with a small compass.
That and many years of experience, field duty, Scouting and serious primitive skills should handle most challenges encountered... What is between our ears is truly our greatest asset.
Pan
I wear an SPF-rated LLBean shirt with 2 velcro pockets. In them I carry TP, a tube of SSSStingStop (for insect bites), and my current 1-page map copied from my guide book. Pants pockets contain plastic wallet, small pocket knife, small bottle of Purell, bandana (when it's dry), and a trailside snack.
My pocketknife is always in my pocket. This saved me from an embarassing and potentially hazardout situation once when a privy door closed and somehow latched itself from the outside. My pocketknife blade was just long enough to slip through the crack and lift the latch. Good thing I carry a knife with a 2.5 inch blade or I would have been in that privy a long time (or until I overcame my embarassment and yelled).
I usually carried nothing on my person, but tried not to get too far from my pack. My safety whisle/compass hung handy from one packstrap. My photon flashlight, p38 can opener and tiny size swiss army knife were strung on one ring so I had all of them in hand when venturing into the bushes or to the privy.
Oops, I forgot, there was ONE emergency item I always had on me. I have epilepsy. So I got a bit spooked when my roommate at NOC was found unconscious on the grounds and had to be medivaced. After that I laminated a printout with my name, address, phone number, blood type, medications and the fact I had epilepsy to make a little 1"x2" waterproof card I wore around my neck at all times for the rest of my hike. That way if I were ever found unconscious others would have all the info needed.
fiddlehead
11-30-2005, 17:37
nothing!!!
Ditto!
I'm never far from my pack
johnny quest
11-30-2005, 23:56
.44 magnum in case my brain isn't working then I can shoot it. Gawd, is hiking season so far away that we have to talk about absolutely nothing?
i disagree that this thread is "absolutely nothing". i think proper prior planning calls for some degree of basic emergency gear to be carried on the person. the military is taught to carry "1st tier" or basic survival gear in the chest pockets, 2nd tier on the personal harness and the 3rd tier in the pack itself. i think it would be a fruitful and interesting discussion to find some uniform way for hikers to do the same. i hate to carry anything in shorts or pants pockets and often the light shirts i wear hiking wont accomodate much. any ideas?
mini ferrocerium rod on key chain. one tablespoon of powdered magnesium in small ziplock. 6 strike anywhere matches. hypothermia, number one killer of lost/injured hikers
Uncle Silly
12-01-2005, 00:49
Do street smarts really help on the trail?
I usually have my current map, data book pages, pen and notebook in the cargo pocket of my hiking shorts. I'm not crazy about the extra weight in the pants but what can you do?
Do street smarts really help on the trail?
LOL Apparently not.
MedicineMan
12-01-2005, 06:22
http://www.paddling.net/store/showProduct.html?product=125
justusryans
12-01-2005, 07:08
I never understood why a backpacker needed survival items on his person, when everything he needs to survive comfortably is in his pack. I don't get far from my pack.
Just a knife, clipped inside my pants pocket. Oh and of course my vehicle key. I just have to know where that is at all times.
Cheers,
PKH
Toolshed
12-01-2005, 07:55
I carry my "camper" model Swiss army knife, my trail map in a ziplock, car key and bandanna.
If I were to need to leave my pack somewhere for more than a couple of minutes, I keep my 10-15 essentials in a small waistpack that I can slip out ofthe top pocket and carry with me.
i disagree that this thread is "absolutely nothing". i think proper prior planning calls for some degree of basic emergency gear to be carried on the person. the military is taught to carry "1st tier" or basic survival gear in the chest pockets, 2nd tier on the personal harness and the 3rd tier in the pack itself. i think it would be a fruitful and interesting discussion to find some uniform way for hikers to do the same. i hate to carry anything in shorts or pants pockets and often the light shirts i wear hiking wont accomodate much. any ideas?
OK. Comment withdrawn. As others have said, if you are near your pack (even when dayhiking, I have a small pack), what is the issue? I know, if I put my pack down to go to the privy, I need to be prepared in case I get lost on the way back to camp or the shelter mice have taken a stand, weapons loaded and locked, when I return, right? :rolleyes:
i always carry a spare lighter...so i can send up smoke signals so tin man doesn't shoot me. and when in doubt, i can use his stove to cook hot meals A+
i always carry a spare lighter...so i can send up smoke signals so tin man doesn't shoot me. and when in doubt, i can use his stove to cook hot meals A+
Actually, I don't even own a gun and I am very non-violent by nature - I was just being a wiseasss. I would be happy to share my cookstove with you or anyone else as long as you are sharing your favorite libation. :D
RockyTrail
12-01-2005, 13:23
A small plastic "survival" whistle; orange with a lanyard and no moving parts you can get them at outfitters or camping stores. Especially when hiking alone; a slip and fall may take you just off the trail.
While on this subject, I recently went through this same question for my vehicles. I never carried a 1st aid kit until this summer when genious here slashed his hand wide open trying to reach under the dash to fix an A/C vent (don't ask:( ). When I finally got to a drug store for some bandages my car looked like Bonnie & Clydes' with all the blood!
Another thing every driver should have at arms reachable length: a box cutter to cut stuck seat belts and a center punch to shatter the window open after a crash. Otherwise you're stuck, baby, and pray the leaking fuel doesn't light off! I was in Ellijay last week and a local wrecker showed me a formerly nice BMW that rolled off USFS 42 last week on the way up to Springer, so it does happen.
johnny quest
12-01-2005, 23:44
amen. none of us are immune to bad luck, brainfarts or just plain accidents. go back and read about hikers who have had things go bad. sure, common sense plus good training is imperative. but a logical result of those two is being physically prepared with the right equipment to use that knowledge.
MedicineMan
12-02-2005, 00:55
http://www.equipped.com/rangerrick_necklace.htm
the basics around your neck, weight is very good, price OK, and not weighty in the pockets.
MedicineMan
12-02-2005, 01:37
http://www.equipped.com/pro_belt_kit.htm
that is if you wear a belt.