So.....What do you have in your survival "kit?"

This is in a response to a recent thread, but I thought it might

better stand on it's own. There is always the possibility of not

finding one's way back to the car after a shoot, and having to spend

a night out or worse yet, suffering an injury. Being alone, lost,

and injured in a wild place is a serious matter and its easy to

suppose we'd have a first aid kit, GPS or compass and topo map of

every area we're driving through and all sorts of other survival

gear with us as a matter of course. Not! At least not while on a

short jaunt from the car. I find that carrying a LF camera, holders,

tripod, and the rest of the needed photo gear is about as much as

I'd realistically be carrying on a short hike. As a habit, I always

have a book of matches, a mini mag-light, and a leatherman or swiss

army knife(not for killing chargeing panthers, but for tightening

screws and cutting sandwiches and apples)a spare pair of socks, and

a light jacket in the small day pack that I use to carry film

holders, light meter, lens, dark cloth and filters etc... So my

question is this: What items in a Large Format kit can be employed

in a survival scenario? This isn't as hokey as it sounds as a

person often is unaware of the resources they have at hand when

confronted with an unplanned night out.

Heres my contribution:

 

Unscrewing a lens element to use as a magnifying glass to start a

fire.

 

A tripod leg can also be a crutch or splint.

 

A sheet of film can splint smaller areas like fingers.

 

Pages from a note book for tinder for fire starting.

 

Dark cloth can be torn into strips for splinting, or, white side out

it can be rigged into a burnoose to protect against the sun.

 

What would you add to the list?

 

--------------Cheers!

A ham and cheese sandwich, a package of Lays peanut butter/malt crackers/ and a can of Diet Pepsi. Oh yeah, and since I got old, I stay away from those bad places (If it's more than 100 yards from the road it ain't photogenic -- Brett Weston).

With the terrain we have here in Western Norway, a coil of rope would be the single most useful thing that I don't already bring. I leave it at home to avoid the temptation of rock climbing with LF gear...

An English-Spanish phrase book would be handy for me, in some of the neighborhoods I venture into, and maybe some doggie treats to ward off unwanted canine attention (less confrontational than a pointed tripod leg), and model's releases. I leave the wilderness to you landscape guys.

sheet of plastic & a cup ...

dig a small hole put the cup in the bottom of the hole, put plastic ontop of the hole,

cover the edges of plastic with sand/dirt/rocks. and put a small rock / weight in the

middle of plastic sheet. ..

 

water will eveporate out of the ground, and fall into the cup.

 

the water might taste earthy, like a cup of indonesian coffee, YUMM!,

if you area lost in the desert, or the woods, a "solar still" could save your life.

 

hoping you don't have to use one!

 

-john

How about a phone?

It's different when I plan to go a few miles but just in case I get drawn out further than intended I have added some things to the 4x5 pack. A very thin emergency poncho, plastic whistle, matches and one of those cheap thin survival space blankets. It adds only a couple of oz. but would sure help if I had to sit out for a night or needed to wait for help.

One fall I was shooting 810 at the Tufa reserve at Mono lake when a nasty cold squall blew in and started sleeting. Since I use a heavy Navy sweatshirt for a dark cloth, it instantly got pressed into service aas it's previous intended use. Then the only question is "take this next shot?.. or freeze to death??" Out here in wild Nevada I should have a snake bite kit, but I don't. I was chasing wild horses around yesterday with the 420 on 4X5 and it started to rain pretty good so I simply went back to the truck. That's my normal survival mode.

Water! At least a 1 liter bottle of water.

Leatherman wave, rope, a mylar sheet I found at a camping store it is a few onces and opens big enough so that I can conserve heat, water purifying pills (iodine) and a compass. I can live with this...

a 4x4 Lexus SUV, Tent, portable generator, portable air conditioner, Refrigerator, caviar, champagne, truffles, Pate, chocolate, satelite TV,portable swimming pool,sauna, goose down bed,orthopedic pillows,Egyptian cotton sheets, camp cook, guide, driver, pack animals to carry cameras, I think thats all I need.

 

 

CP Goerz

C.P., when's your next workshop?

 

I always carry a compass and whistle somewhere in my

clothing. In winter I always have a bivvi bag and something to

insulate my bum from the snow. With those, I'll survive, although

all that Rambo stuff makes life more comfortable. Best luxury: a

headtorch.

 

The rescue people I know (all Europe) say the best of the

technological gizmos is a cellphone. Coverage varies: Norway

is great, Sweden is awful, Scotland is somewhere in between.

Make sure you have insurance if you call out a chopper in

Switzerland.

C.P.: Miss Piggy says that her idea of roughing it is when room service shuts down at 10 PM. I take it that you are also of that persuasion, as am I.

I always carry a Texas snake bit kit which consists of a scalpel, a suction device to draw out the venom, a fifth of Jack Daniel, and a snake.

A comb.

 

Since I've lost most of my hair, I don't use it much any more. It does come in handy for prying cactus out of my ... well, you get the idea. Cholla cactus is worse than the "Tar Baby" without a comb.

 

Tim, Sunny Tucson

Survival kit depends on location and type of equipment used. 8x10 needs its own little toolbox but I'm seldom far away from the car, whereas the 6x9 can go anywhere. Sweden is generally safe, no need for precautions for snake bites or scorpion stings.

 

Multi-tool (I have Swiss-Tool and a leatherman micra). Duct tape. Superglue. Bathroom tissue in a plastic bag (never leave trash behind). Compass, of course. Palm PDA with sunset calculator and tide calculator, perhaps not really a survival tool. Flashlight - the new LED-based lights are amazingly efficient. Spare batteries to my light meter - I learned my lesson once. One large plastic garbage bag for sudden rain. A few business cards.

 

Definitely a mobile phone (contrary to Struan's statement above, I find coverage here in Sweden to be excellent, but I guess it depends on where you go and which operator is used). Charged spare battery to mobile phone.

 

And (OT), starting this week - the product code for the key to my lug nut locks... Got a flat last week, could not find the key, No details, but it got more than a bit expensive...

 

Finally, I'm sure that carbon fiber tripod makes for excellent firewood - another advantage over metal tripods ;-)

Åke, I was really referring to the interiors of the national parks up

in Norrland. The coverage maps have big holes between the

major roads and settlements, but it's true you do have to move

some distance from the car before it becomes a problem.

Friends in Norway say that it is/was official policy to ensure

100% coverage as part of their mountain and other rescue

services. Certainly I've never run out of coverage on my climbing

trips there.

John,

<p>

How about a GPS system, a satellite-linked cell phone, and a gorgeous tall blonde or

brunette female to get lost with?

:>)

<p>

Cheers

<p>

PS.... maybe we should bring chocolate too!

H.C.-----If I had a blonde or brunette with me I wouldn't need the GPS or cell phone=my wife would track me down!( come to think of it, if I were single and had a blonde or brunette with me, why on earth would I want to be rescued?)

When skiing in high Tatras I always carry a map, an altimeter and a small flair booster (German made) so I can shoot into the sky for help. If anybody notices fireworks in a stormy or foggy weather is another question. Years ago I have been dreaming about two ways radios, but then changed my mind and nowadays will not take cellular phone with me. May be I am a gambler, but to mobilize all my resources, when I go on a tour, I want to rely on myself. (I always go alone). Either you make it or you do not. And the altimeter have saved at least once my life - in spite of a total fog during the entire trip I knew where I was, and at some point the chances of going back or continuing were 50/50.

 

I also used to take a heavy dawn sleeping bag guaranteed to keep me warm in frosty T to -30 deg.C. The theory was that if, for some reason, I do not return home on time, the bag would protect me, until the rescue comes. The theory was never tested in practice. However, in recent years I got crazy idea to take my Linhof, instead of Contax RTS (which was too heavy, that�s how I got Linhof!!!) on these tours. Consequently, I leave the bag home because of excessive weight, beyond my capability. The risks are now much greater, but so is the excitement, and I hope I will be able to make many tours this coming winter. If you do not hear from me, or do not see any new winter photographs posted here by next Spring, it means I froze somewhere on the rocks.

I like C.P.'s way of thinking....but the obvious question here

is........if you were caught out in the middle of nowhere and you

had to start a fire by magnifing with a LF lens...what would be the

best focal length? would you use...a Red Dot Artar or a Claron?

......decisions ....decisions........

It seems like I've got way too much time on my hands----hows this:emergency sun glasses out of sheet film! Cut the film so it fits over the bridge of your schnozzola and make narrow slits to look through. Attach it to your glasses or rig up something to keep it in place. Handy in sun or snow!

This is my favorite thread this week by far from a humor perspective. The fact that it might save my life someday is a plus.

 

Anyway, hopefully adding to the wisdom already shared, how about letting someone else know your plans so that if you don't return at the appointed time they know something is wrong and where to start looking for you?

 

The other one concerns working in very hot areas. If your car breaks down or you find yourself far from where you'd like to be, stay put in the shade (under the car is good) until nightfall, and then start walking. There are areas so hot that regardless of how much water you have, your body won't be able to absorb it as fast as you sweat it out. The result is certain dehydration and probably death.

 

By the way, the LF nerd in me is compelled to respond to Richard Rau's comment about which lens to use to start a fire. Wouldn't a wide angle be best as it has the smallest image circle and thus would have the sun's light/heat most concentrated in one place? It also would be the fastest lens and thus let through the most light, right? And finally, would multi-coated be best to avoid unwanted light difraction between lens elements? Maybe it would just be better to bring a lighter.

John,

You could be right, but I would try a 300mm/f:4.5 first. It has the biggest physical aperture of all my lenses, so should gather the most light.

 

Struan, cellphone coverage is uneven in West Norway. Whenever I go to my favorite fishing spot, my cellphone shuts itself off in disgust. Myabe that's why it's my favorite spot? One minute walk from the road, and nobody can reach me...

Mea Culpa. Good thing it's too wet for climbing in W. Norway :-)

 

As for lighting fires, that's what Aero Ektars are made for. Mind

you, given the number of fires that get started spontaneously

here every summer by "the bottom of a bottle", a Sigma 35 mm

zoom is probably the ultimate tool.