05-07-2012, 03:28 AM
I used to teach basic wilderness survival in the early 1970s, as civilian. I was trained by a U.S. Air Force Survival Instructor who had 23 years of teaching survival to pilots, Special Forces, etc.
When I came up with this trick, he was impressed. My own pocket-sized survival kit contains:
Those trick birthday candles that relight themselves after they're blown out. Carry a few. They work as well as a regular candle for starting damp shavings, but if it gets blown out it will save you matches.
Birthday candles are small, so they'll easily fit in even the smallest survival kid. Put one in your waterproof match container too.
And by the way, put the match container in your pants pocket, not your shirt pocket or jacket. Jackets get left behind. Items can drop out of shirt pockets. But it takes a lot to lose your pants, or the items buried deep in its pocket.
A small Swiss Army Knife, 8 feet of parachute shroud, a waterproof match container, two prank birthday candles and a butane lighter don't take up much room in your pockets, but may just let you see your next birthday.
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When I came up with this trick, he was impressed. My own pocket-sized survival kit contains:
Those trick birthday candles that relight themselves after they're blown out. Carry a few. They work as well as a regular candle for starting damp shavings, but if it gets blown out it will save you matches.
Birthday candles are small, so they'll easily fit in even the smallest survival kid. Put one in your waterproof match container too.
And by the way, put the match container in your pants pocket, not your shirt pocket or jacket. Jackets get left behind. Items can drop out of shirt pockets. But it takes a lot to lose your pants, or the items buried deep in its pocket.
A small Swiss Army Knife, 8 feet of parachute shroud, a waterproof match container, two prank birthday candles and a butane lighter don't take up much room in your pockets, but may just let you see your next birthday.
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