Posted on 11/18/2014 8:09:58 PM PST by Kartographer
When traveling in cold weather it is wise keep a winter survival kit in your car. The most obvious place to put this valuable kit is in your trunk, so unlike other survival kits, a car survival kit can be larger and more bulkier. The focus of a car survival kit is to help maintain your core body temperature to as close to 98.6 degrees as possible. There are a variety of ways this can be done but here is a list of items that should be in your car during the winter in cold climates. This winter kit will help you if your car is broke down, disabled, if the weather is unsafe to drive in and your best and safest option is to shelter-in-place.
(Excerpt) Read more at americanpreppersnetwork.com ...
A kit should allow you to walk out if you have no other choice.
Wind protection
Heat conservation,
Water proof boots
three days food,
Signal flares
Water
Heat generation
You can get a thermal camping blanket that comes in package about the size of a fat wallet for less than 10 dollars.
People that constantly wear shoes and socks are more susceptible to frostbite because their feet become more sensitive to cold.
Remember that in olden days, people used to go barefoot even in winter. In the Civil War and Revolutionary War, men would often be without shoes and socks in winter conditions. Yet they survived. Well at least those who didn't get shot.
My mom always said, “In the summer, take warm clothes. In the winter, take food.”
Gear for an enjoyable night’s stroll for a few miles:
Long underwear, over-sized sweat shirt, heavy, duck pants, insulated, long, duck parka with coyote hood fringe, goggles, pac boots, thick, tightly knitted wool hat with wool face wrap, wool socks, wool mitten liners, leather mitten shells, insulated shell to wear over pants, snowshoes, water, snack,...
Clothing for the enjoyable stroll should be good for staying on in 110 mph wind, BTW.
I liked ideas I picked up along the way about using your car to survive cold: take out your auto headlights and pointing them skyward, burning motor oil in hub caps (remember those?), breaking off your rear-view mirror to use for signaling, and ripping out headliner and seat materials to insulate for warmth.
2 large jars of peanut butter and a big box store size of honey oat bars and beef jerky are our heat producing snacks. An 8 day candle with bic lighter and matches and a wiggy rectangle arctic sleeping bag that can open all the way to use as a quilt if more than one person is marooned in a snow drift. Also as most get into a warm car in a garage and wear a light jacket vs parka etc,,, we keep a old A3 parachute bag with parkas, mittens and bunny hats for family members in the vehicles we drive in storms ....if we “must drive” in storms.
We try and stay home and stay safe and warm during such bumper car events.
XLNT info. A survival kit would make good Christmas presents for your loved ones.
If it’s that bad I’m not driving in it. I do need to put something together though.
Another good article:
Time to update the kit and get ready for winter. I work 50 miles away from home. I keep enough food / water / clothes in a backpack so that if I have to hike the whole way, I can make it.
Sure fire firestarters: Road flares.
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The sleeping bag is the foundation for winter, and every time you see the advice to carry a blanket, remember that the blanket is to go inside of the cheap sleeping bag that is kept in the trunk.
For all those people who think that a blanket alone, or even worse, a space blanket, is enough, they should remember that a blanket barely works in the house in front of the TV, imagine sitting in the dark with an engine that won't start and the temperature at 20 degrees or worse, even much worse.
To me the idea is to sleep during the night, not to barely survive and be close to death from hypothermia and in terrible misery and unable to think and function, and unprepared for a second night or even the day, because a single blanket barely kept me alive.
I took a week long winter survival school when I was in Civil Air Patrol. the number 1 reason guys got evac’ed and failed the course was hypothermia which staryed with cold, wet feet. So, with that in mind a couple pairs of dry, warm socks would be something to pack. If you don’t need them they could always be used to keep your hands warm.
CC
“Which started”
PS army surplus “mummy” sleeping bag.
CC
1. Grand Trunk packable down blanket. The thing looks ridiculous, it's thin and small and packs down to nothing. I didn't believe how warm it turned out to be.
2. Fleece hoodie. Kept the back of the neck and the head warm.
3. Cheap fleece skullcap. I think I got it for three bucks at Home Depot.
4. Wool socks. You don't want to sleep in your shoes if you can help it - they tend to restrict circulation just enough to make you cold.
5. Wool gloves. Not tight - same thing about circulation.
6. Sterno stove with a tin cup. Because coffee.
7. Instant coffee. Instant chocolate. OhmyGodthatwasgood!
8. Beef jerky. Foil packets of tuna.
9. Water.
10. A little airline-size pillow. Silly luxury but it was nice.
11. Toothbrush, toothpaste, mini-bottle of mouthwash and a hairbrush. I felt great when the cops finally showed up.
12. Cheap LED flashlights. I had at least three.
13. Battery charger for the cellphone. Finally found a working outlet at the rest stop the next day. In the meantime,
14. Lifecharge power bank for the cellphone. I didn't turn the phone off when I found no bars, and it ran itself dry seeking a signal. Dumb.
15. A change of underwear with clean socks.
16. A little Charter Arms .38 snubbie with 30 rounds of ammo. The only thing on this list I didn't use, although just having it was using it.
There was, and should be more, of course, but that's what of what I had that I ended up using. YMMV.
Man I love my old mummy bag with the zipper down the front.
I put a couple of fleece blankets in it to make it warmer and easier for me to leave it party unzipped, while I eat and read at night when I stop the car to sleep behind the wheel, preferably in dark, snowy mountain passes, I love sleeping under those conditions in the winter.
That is truly one of my most pleasurable activities of winter traveling, the old roads are perfectly dark, no other cars, and the mountain passes get so mysterious and enchanting.
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