We got a LOT of snow last night so I though this might be a good idea for a thread. We have people die from the cold every year in Saskatchewan and it seems they all make the same mistake. They get stuck and leave their cars. They tell you over and over to stay in your car and wait until someone comes to get you.

So it makes sense to plan your survival kit with the assumption that you will be stuck in the car. Water ,emergency candles some salt or gravel ,a shovel ,jumper cables ,tow strap, any medication and of couurse a cell phone. Remember a cell phone does not even need to be active to be able to call 9/11. All it needs is a
charge. This is a great use for those old cells.

i was actualy thinking of going the distance of buying one of those cheap prepaids just to keep in case of an emergency and my normal cell would be dead.

buy some rubber boots, the leather ones freeze
carry some easy to light fire tabs, dryer lint is fine
if possable get a heavy water proof parka insalated with wool, I made mine
metal or alluminum cantines are now needed for water
carry extra emergincy blankets

actually cell phones also have an extra batterey life in them that you can activate or automatically activate when you call 911.

also maybe some like extra socks and gloves, gloves and feet are always the first thing to get cold and wet when i work in the snow.
aslo some spare parts for you car and maybe some gasoline would be usful and might prevent you from getting stranded.
of course im sure the bigger problem is people getting stuck not running out of gas.

Cell phones do not have extra battery life in them: http://www.snopes.com/inboxer/household/cellphones.asp
A car charger might be better than a spare phone, assuming your car battery & alternator & gas tank aren't simultaneously dead.

The big thing I'd add to the list is some food that is high in calories and isn't impacted by freezing temperatures (e.g. candy/energy bars, jerkey, nuts/trail mix). BTW, make sure your water containers have a way to expand when frozen... it's a bad deal when the freeze/thaw cycle leaves you with wet gear and no water.

Finally, don't forget the obvious (everyone always carries road flares, right?) - flares can light almost anything in a pinch.

lots of good adivce here

I used to have bucket in my trunk with some of the above in it

now I just use my go bag as my emergency bad

I do need something to biol water in though

hmmm

canteen cup

i have one of the red cross battery/hand crank radios. has radio/tv bands, light, siren and best of all, cell phone charger. in a pinch i could crank the phone back to life.

hand crank generators wear out on me
I dont put any thing like that in my bob
mini mag and silva is the most modern thing in there

I have a couple Nalgene bottles 2/3ds full of water so they won't burst although nalgene bottles are supposed to be able to handle freezing. I really like those little survival candles ,a couple of them can keep a car warm all night. The only problem is I had some melt this summer.


Here is my fave camping mess kit. I replaced the old canteen for a new German one but the tin cup is really impressive. You can cook in it ,boil water and the handles can be held with bare hands. This all fits together in the case that can be worn on the belt or pack.


Here is another great tool for any BOB or car/truck kit.


Remember you can go almost 3 weeks without food but will freeze to death in hours without proper clothing/shelter and not much longer without water.


The wool insulated parka is a great idea. I love wool it is the best insulator
I usually have a modern shell and old style wool sweater.

metal artic canteens are way better then plastic ones
http://imsplus.com/ims1a.html
only place I can find em

Today is a good day to talk about cell phones I understand that SASKtel has been down since sunday and there is no cell service in Saskatchewan.
If that happened in a storm image what could happen to you if you relied to heavily on your cell phone

Excellent post and ideas as well! <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/thumbup.gif" alt="" /> Don't forget a roll of toilet paper - good for the obvious as well as fire-starter. I keep a small bottle of hand sanitizer and a few paper towels with the TP in a heavy plastic bag that had contained pillow-cases. I also keep a few heat-paks - 18 to 24 hour lengths, and a wool blanket and sleeping bag in the vehicle I'm driving. I also keep a crank-type light as well as two flashlights in the vehicle. The metal canteen and cup is an excellent idea, along with a few heat tabs (trioxane). Foods such as jerky, ramen noodles, granola bars, instant coffee and/or tea is a good idea to keep in your kit as well. I always keep a Katadyn filter in my vehicles, although I have never needed it. Just a few suggestions - those traveling in more remote locations can certainly add more items to the list. Tom

Your right coyote our cell service was down all weekend. It is because it is such a small company with a HUGE service area. I really like Sasktel but this was a big outage and during the first big snowstorm of the year. I am not really worried though as it was the first time this has happened and I am sure they will fix it.

Yeah, I freeze mine every day. I fill one (standard large wide mouth) to about 30 oz and put it in the freezer. Just keep the lid a little loose to allow the compressed (by expanding ice) air to escape, or they will swell up. I had this happen a few times, but as it slowly shrunk back as the ice melted. Anyway, when it’s frozen solid, I fill it to the top with water, and put it in my insulated Nalgene bottle holder with strap. Two bottles last me all day. One in the sleeve and one is in the freezer. By the time the ice melts in the first bottle and the water starts getting warm, I fill the bottle to 30 oz and swap it for the one in the freezer. Even in the hot summer, I only need two bottles. The ice lasts like 10 hours or so.

They can also hold boiling water, I’ve done this too. For a handwarmer, I heated up some boiling water in a pan, and poured it in. It kept me warm for about an hour. I also kept some Aladdin thermoses that I got for a couple dollars at Goodwill and filled them with boiling water too. When the water in the Nalgene bottle got cold, I poured in near boiling water from the thermos. I could stay warm for hours. It kept warm longer if wrapped with something to insulate the Nalgene bottle like a wool scarf or hat.

While difficult, you can also purify water with fire in a Nalgene bottle. It’s a good survival skill to remember in case you’re ever in a situation where it’s all you had. You have to heat up rocks in the fire, and using tongs made from green wood, hold them suspended in water in the Nalgene bottle until the water boils. As the temperature lowers as the rock cools, swap it for a hotter rock from the fire. Just don’t touch the bottle with the rock, or it will melt it!

not to brag but believe it or not i live in some of the worst winter weather in america,its not my opinion its a fact.their are days where we have the coldest temps in the country for that day including alaska.we got over 100 inches of snow in two days last year....look it up.

i dont have the time now for all my thoughts but will reply later.
for now......proper foot wear is obviously a must.i prefer g.i. micky mouse boots even though their heavy as hell.

hell,half you guys live at the top of the world,you know what you need.i guess the only thing i have is this.

in my opinion winter survival is the hardest and most serious.heaven forbid your not familiar with it and find your self looking it in the face.i think harsh,harsh winter weather will kill you faster than any type of hot weather.its hard to do anything in -20 windchill.

to me their is no room for cheap,medeoker gear or cutting corners when it comes to cold weather gear if you know your going to be in it.for those of you have literally frozen your @$$ off you know what i mean because even great gear cant help you sometimes.if your not ready to prepare properly dont even bother.

i know how fast and hard -0 weather can suck the life out of you and have a deep respect for it.

I use a combo of canadian army winter gear and decent commercial stuff. It goes down to below -50C +wind often for months at a time here and over the last couple days we got several feet of snow. Today I replaced my worn out all seasons with good winter tires and the difference was incredible. If you have anything more than a couple days of snow forget those lame all seasons ang get some proper snow tires. It is expensive but it is well worth it.

For our American friends -40 C is the same as -40 F, it is the only place on the two scales that match identically. When we say 0 C that equally 32 F

Not knocking Sasktel just pointing out that relying on cell service can get you in trouble. Most of BC doesn't have cell coveage so it is very possible to be stuck in an area without service

Thats one of the reasons I like sasktel ,it has coverage through most of the bush except in the very far north. I would love a sat phone and do have a CB(in a box in the basement).

Cellular phones are basic line of site technology,you live in a fairly flat part of the world, BC is different with the mountains and such.
I have a cb that plugs into a lighter so that is the one I tend to use, but nowadays not many people in my area use cb's
Being well equiped means that if one thing doesn't work you will have a second option.
Like I bought a handheld GPS about 8 years ago, I have never used it hunting or camping because I just couldn't give up my compass and map.
I still $crew around with the GPS but I could never convince myself to use it as my main equipment.
However I have used it to very good results when fishing on large lakes or on the ocean

Just another vote for flares. I keep them in my truck along with an axe.

Remember that when you get cold, if you are not quick your motor skills will suffer. If you delay, making a fancy shaved stick to start a fire will be hard or impossible.

With a road flare, throw a bunch of stick in a pile, light the flare and away you go. Flares are easy to light and do not require any fine motor skill. I have tested them for firestarting and if it will burn, flares will light it!

I will put flares on my list for sure. I thought they might work better than pepper spray against dogs or maybe even bears because animals fear flames?

Jumper cables the longer the better.

If you have a truck that can take 2 batteries do it. My truck has the electricks for 2 but at the moment only has the one. If you are running a lot of electric powered devices like a big stereo or lights a bigger alternator is also a good idea but mostly I do it because I think it's cool. If there was a Police version of your car or truck that's the alternator you want because they have to run the lights ,siren ,computer etc.

I much prefer a compass just out of paranoia. I hate the idea of a device that stores everywhere I go all the time ,especially in my car or even worse my phone.
My phone has GPS but Sasktel does not support it but if they did you can't turn off the police being able to check it.

What about a Bluetooth GPS for your phone? That’s what I’m planning on getting. They’re really small, about like a pack of gum, run up to 23 hours on a charge, and cost $40-$60 or so. I have a Blackjack, so it’s pretty compact too. I plan on eventually building a solar charger that can charge them both. I have an unlimited data plan, and plan to use it with Windows Live or Google Maps apps on my phone.

Thanks Andy ,this is about the 4th or 5th piece of really good advice you have given mne personally.

I am loving the new winter tires I got for my truck. It was awful before I got them on as we had it dump several feet of snow and melt and refreeze so it was very very slippery. It was almost impossible just to start from a complete stop at a stop sign before and now it is almost like driving on pavement. I still need some weight in the back but the change from the worn all seasons to real snow tires(Cooper weather masters)was as dramatic as going to 4X4 maybe even better.

The coopers were even cheap ,I saved about 450$ over Michelin, Bridgestone etc.

Glad to help. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/laugh.gif" alt="" />

I once read where Tom Brown Jr said if you were to break down etc in an isolated place in winter you should fill your car with leaves and turn it into a debris shelter.
Bit of a bummer havin to clean your car out once you are rescued but I guess it's a small price to pay if it saves your life !

I would rather die!

I think spare blankets, emergency candles, and water would cover %90 of what you would need. But the more gear you carry, the better off and more comfortable you will be.

A pot to melt that water that is frozen in the trunk or maybe a small stove. Some hot drinks and a few cans of food goes a long way in winter as well. Spare mitts for all and winter hats, a heavy sweater or two. I carry medium size can of gas in winter as well. Ifind sleeping bags better than blankets. Sturdy wide shovel, flares, playing cards and reading material to pass time.

Hound

this post has made me think about the supplies i carry with me. i usually have enough for me to survive for a couple of days if need be, but i need to remember i am usually traveling with the wife and kids on trips. need to have adequate supplies for them as well.

It is -24(-11F) outside and their is a howling wind and I have to go run errands.
Global warming can't happen fast enough.

wow. that's chilly. When i was in college (penn state) i had a rule. if the wind chill was below -20. i didn't go to class. the coldest day i've been out in was -26 with a wind chill of -50. had an exam so i couldn't exempt myself. don't know how you northern folk deal with it.

It is -24C(11F) before the wind chill and -35 with it. After I get used to it I don't mind winter though. I can handle the cold a lot better than the heat. I also have some pretty neat cold weather gear. Some of the neat Canadian army gear I have not had a chance to try yet.

Just cause it is on my clipboard here is the new Spyderco Mule team knife in 52100. Obviously I am going to do a comparison between it and the Swarden and Strider ED.


Here is what I had planned on posting ,my canadian army winter gloves. I have 2 pair and these are the more beat up of the 2. They are goatskin with nylon cuffs and goretex linings. They are designed to be the heaviest gloves that you can still operate machinery with. If you have ever rode a quad or skidoo you will know how cold your hands get out in the wind and these work really well in all but the coldest weather. I also have the super cold weather mitts which are really over kill except for snowmobiling on the coldest days. I will go grab a photo of the issue mukluc boots before it gets to dark. It is 4.30 and already dusk.

the only problem with having a lot of gear is you open yourself up to theives. If you can hide them in a trunk great but i've always had an suv or pick-up. I try to make the container look like [email]cr@p[/email] so it won't interest thieves

Trash bags! That's what my friend that lives in the ghetto in Detroit does. Make it look as worthless as possible.

Great idea Andy! <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/thumbup.gif" alt="" /> <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif" alt="" />

Worked for me when I was driving a truck with a lockable canopy. That and really ratty looking old duffle bags. A few pieces of obvious junk in plain sight doesn't hurt either. It's not fool proof, but it worked most of the time.

If I ever again venture north of Tennessee, I calling you first, Unsub. I haven't been in really cold weather for 29 years! I wear tee shirts year round.

I will hold you to that Vic.

We get a lot of Canadians who Winter here. I don't know why they don't go on down to Florida, but many stay on Jekyll Island in Winter year after year. You are welcome to visit here if the cold gets to be too much, Lance. Winter is the best time to whack the palmettos. They rule my yard. I should start collecting the berries and selling them to health food stores.

Heck, I need winter survival skills tonight. We're having a freakish cold snap(20's F) and it's 46*F with the heater on in my place. Now, where did I put that really warm sleeping bag? I was wearing a t-shirt today and no jacket. I have no idea what happened, it's crazy.

Thanks HD I would love to make it to Daytona for the race and some of the Vendors but I don't think I would like the crowds. Or a bike trip through a bunch of civil war historical sites.

I complain about the cold but I really don't mind it that much. It is actually a lot of fun to get out on the sleds and you feel like a real viking knee deep in snow. With the right gear you can be pretty comfortable. Some people handle it much better than others. The natives here walk around in just a light jacket in -30 all the time and it does not seem to bother them. These poor Somalians though
had never seen snow ,they were renting a house from a friend and the furnace quit at -50. We went over to fix it and it was not that cold in the house as there were electric heaters but these poor guys looked so awful and sad you would not believe it. Still they could handle heat that drop me like a .308 shell.

Always said you can dress for the cold but not the heat. Not often I get cold but boy the heat sure kills me