Tailor Your Kit to Your Destination
THINK OF YOUR COMPLETE SURVIVAL KIT as something that should evolve
and change according to your needs, rather than as something that you
assemble once and toss into your pack each time you travel. The com-
plete survival kit I’ve listed above should help you through most emer-
gencies, but survival is situation-specific, and certain tools that may help
you in the Arctic or the boreal forest will do you little good in the desert
or jungle.
And as you’ll soon see, different forces are at work in different areas.
Ignore them at your peril. If I’m going tripping in the boreal forest of
northern Ontario in the middle of May, the first thing I know I need is
bug netting, which is specific to that region and time of year. Do I need
to pack bug netting if I’m skiing across the Arctic tundra in the middle of
November? Nope. It’s important that you take these factors into consider-
ation before every trip.
Arid Regions, Deserts, and Canyons
Acquiring water is paramount when traveling in these areas, so your sur-
vival kit should address this critical fact. Make sure you carry a clear gar-
bage bag in your kit in case you need to construct a solar still or vegetation
still. A long, thin drinking tube is useful too. You might also consider carry-
ing a small trowel or collapsible shovel to make digging for water easier.
Boreal and Other Temperate Forests
Blackflies and mosquitoes were reputed to have driven many of the early
Canadian explorers insane. So I highly recommend bug netting for any
region where you expect to be dealing with insects. Why netting as opposed
to bug spray? Several reasons. Bug spray is bulky and heavy, whereas net-
ting is light and can be folded to take up very little space. Also, while you will
eventually run out of bug spray, your netting will last indefinitely, provided
it doesn’t tear (and even then, you can repair it).
You may also consider taking along a bug shirt and bug pants, a vari-
ety of which are now on the market.
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