Survival Kits | Disaster Survival Kits

Survival First Aid Kits

By admin on August 3rd, 2011

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If you are new to this outdoor thing, you might be wondering what is the deal with all these fire starting products. What happened to good old matches?!? First and foremost, shame on you! Just kidding. Matches can be good. There's one problem though, you HAVE to keep these dry and sometimes that isn't possible if you are in a rainy place like the Jungle or.. Seattle. They do have waterproof matches, but from what I hear, this is touch and go. Sometimes they work, sometimes they don't.

Frankly, when you are out in the middle of no where and you want warmth or you need to cook food or you want to boost your morale, you can't have a touch and go situation. You NEED it to work the first time. In this case, you have Fire Starter kits. These kits actually come in variations like the matches, all of which have high praise. First off you have the Torch. Sounds scary. It's not. This is a little torch that is filled with none other than butane. If you have ever seen these torch like cigarette lighters, it's the same basis, but on a much more durable level.

Secondly, you have good old Flint and Steel. Flint (or flint stone) is a hard, sedimentary cryptocrystalline form of the mineral quartz. When struck against steel, a flint edge will produce sparks. The hard flint edge shaves off a particle of the steel that, heated by the friction, reacts with oxygen from the atmosphere and can ignite the proper tinder. Prior to the wide availability of steel, rocks of iron pyrites would be used along with the flint, in a similar (but more time-consuming) way. These methods are popular in woodcraft, bush craft, and among those who wish to use traditional skills. This is on the "harder" side of things.

It can be done almost always IF you have the skill, patience and determination to get it done. Lastly, you have fire pistons, Ferrocerium fire starting rods, fire starters (literally) and gas igniters (only helpful if you have gas). Fire pistons by Wilderness Solutions are the only compression fire starters endorsed by knowledgeable outdoors men such as Ron Hood of Hoods Woods, Mountain Mel Deweese and Allan "Bow" Beauchamp. The Fire Piston is a primitive fire starting device. In the mid 1850's, English explorers found it widely used by primitive tribes in the jungles of SE Asia- Borneo, Malaysia, Burma, Philippines.

Unlike other primitive fire starting methods such as the bow drill, hand drill, fire saw, fire thong, flint and steel, the Fire Piston operates by compression, same principle as a diesel engine. Ferrocerium is a man-made metallic material that has the ability to give off a large number of hot sparks when scraped against a rough surface (pyrophoricity), such as ridged steel. They are the best compact fire starters which can be easily used. Its dependability made it a favorite of survival experts hunters, fishermen and campers. Ferrocerium rods works equally well when wet or dry.

For the most part you probably won't be buying these on their own. Usually they come with the first aid kit or the survival kit. First aid kits, though they are meant for injured patients, can also include various items for various situations. If you find a really high quality kit that includes a less than stellar fire starter, you can just go out and buy this item separately. Some of the most popular brands to look at for the actual kits are 5.11, Adventure Medical Kits and Tactical Medical Solutions. These will have some amazing options for almost ANY situation you are going in to have it be as an individual, group, or team situation.

9 Responses to “Survival First Aid Kits”

1. H2o 4 Chocolate says:

   August 3, 2011 at 9:33 pm

   Do you have a survival/first-aid kit in your vehicles??
2. no_einstein says:

   August 11, 2011 at 5:41 am

   When are bandages too old to use in a first aid kit?
   I’m currently revamping my first aid/survival kit that I’ve been ignoring for a long while now; I’d thought I’d best check up on what I do and do not have in stock, with all the natural disasters of late, I want to be as prepared as I can.
   I’ve noticed that some of my ‘sterile’ bandages have ‘wet’ blotches from the adhesive portion. Are they still considered safe to use?
3. Jim says:

   August 22, 2011 at 7:38 pm

   They should have an expiration date on them, but if you need them for emergency purposes, it is better to use them then some unsterilized cloth.
4. Dior says:

   August 26, 2011 at 1:27 pm

   what should I have in my survival/first aid kit?
   It has occured to me that I should probably have some sort of small kit in my purse incase a friend has an injury/i need a bandaid/iget stuck in the wildreness/nuclear appoclapse comes…basicallyt a ‘stay alive kit’ – suggestions as to where i can find one/how to make one?
5. red torch says:

   August 28, 2011 at 6:22 pm

   Charmons (sp?) toilet paper to go
   you can get little first aid kits (they are about hand sized) they have:
   -bandaids
   -neosporin
   hand sanitizer
   tide to go pens
   and maybe a little lint roller

   thats all is really necessary
6. Hello says:

   August 29, 2011 at 9:19 pm

   First Aid Checklist – What Essentials Should A First Aid Survival Kit Contain?
   Looking to get my checklist (and first aid basics) right.
7. maggie209 says:

   August 30, 2011 at 3:40 am

   I don’t…I know I should just in case…but the last time I was involved in an awful accident…my car was totally destroyed to the point that we couldn’t find any of my stuff I had in there… so much for the first-aid kit.
8. Jesse says:

   August 30, 2011 at 10:31 pm

   Your first aid checklist -
   1 packet of 50 individually wrapped adhesive dressings
   4 sterile eye pads
   4 sterile coverings for serious wounds
   4 triangular bandages
   8 small sterile unmedicated wound dressings
   4 medium sterile unmedicated wound dressings
   4 large sterile unmedicated wound dressings
   1 roll adhesive tape
   2 crepe bandages
   2 elastic bandages
   12 safety pins
   1 pair scissors
   1 pair disposable gloves
   1 resuscitation mask
   1 pair tweezers
   First aid booklet
9. Colouriings says:

   August 31, 2011 at 11:36 pm

   I think the kit in a can is good, because it comes with a few first aid things but it also comes with survival things, but the others mainly come just with first aid supplies. Also its little so it looks like it could be easier to carry around. Hope you enjoy your adventures