The perfect equipment.
Only when you know your destination does it make sense to start packing your outdoor backpack, because which outdoor equipment takes up the limited space of your backpack essentially depends on the terrain and duration of your survival trip. A sharp knife with a fixed blade is part of basic outdoor equipment. Even if it certainly does a fist wedge – a sharp outdoor knife takes up little space and gives you a certain comfort that you don’t have to do without to experience a real survival adventure. A tightly sealable water bottle is essential and an integral part of good basic equipment, because once you have found a clean water source, you should at least have enough to go to the next clean source – in this context you should refrain from taking too big a risk – after all, a survival trip is all about survival. In addition, any good survival equipment needs a means of disinfecting water. This can be in the form of a filter or tablets. Of course you could also fill a sock with pebbles, sand, blades of grass and charcoal and let the water run through this “natural filter” – but this assumes that the sock is still reasonably clean 🙂 As a rule: clear and fast flowing water is edible in most cases. You should keep as far away from stagnant and cloudy water as possible if you cannot boil it.
A list of some important ingredients for your survival kit:
Magnesium stick/matches (waterproof stow)
Map/Compass/GPS
Flashlight with good illumination and enough batteries
knives
Nylon cord or binding wire (min. 10m)
Water disinfecting agent
Candle (wrapped in aluminium foil)
plastic sheet
Snap hook/safety pin
Jug/container (best closed tightly with at least 500 ml)
Fishing equipment (fishing line can be used for many purposes)
Light stick, torch or smoke body for emergency signals
Sewing and repair set
Sterile Pads, Plaster and Tape
Neosporin against skin and eye infections
Aspirin and anti-diarrhoea remedies (charcoal may also help)
This list is for guidance only, as what you add depends largely on your experience and carrying capacity. It is therefore a good idea to be on the move with more than one, as this will allow you to have plenty of reserve and equipment on several shoulders.
Of course, real outdoor equipment is not just lying around in every supermarket. Therefore there are special Survival Shops, Outdoor Shops and even Bundeswehr Shops which offer professional and proven Survival Equipment. The advantage of special equipment is that these products are developed by professionals and are primarily functional and robust. A surcharge compared to conventional products can be justified by the fact that professional outdoor equipment usually performs a faithful service for many years.
Your outdoor clothing will determine how your survival trip goes, because there is not much room for choice in your outdoor backpack besides the basic equipment.
So there are certain criteria that your outdoor clothing must meet to cope with the changing conditions on your trip. Your outdoor clothing must be functional, durable and quick-drying. In addition, the textiles must be breathable and sweat-regulating, so that you are not permanently wet sweated, which would make you more susceptible to cold. Of course, the choice depends very much on the season (temperatures) and the expected rainfall. However, as with any outdoor physical activity, the onion principle applies: several layers of breathable clothing that you can put on and take off as you need to be prepared for both cold and heat. In this context, water-repellent softshell jackets in combination with breathable and high-closing fleece jackets are recommended. Softshell jackets provide good protection against low rainfall and wind, yet are quick to stow and easy to transport. In the evening a warm high-closing jacket can protect your neck from the cold in front of a cosy campfire. Functional trousers with a stretch component give you the necessary mobility, dry quickly and can be turned into shorts in a few simple steps. With their many pockets, they also provide enough storage space for all the little things you can’t imagine a survival trip without and should always be ready to hand. Not to forget a light rain jacket that can be rolled up and stowed in a backpack.
At Week 99’er you will learn about what survival trip is, as the name implies, characterized by a focus on survival in the great outdoors – so it’s not about comfort, but about functional outdoor equipment that is robust and versatile.