Could You Survive? What to Put Survival Equipment In ©

 

 

Metal band aid boxers from the 1980’s, photograph by the Author.

 

In the 1970’s and 80’s metal Band-Aid® boxes were often used to hold survival kit supplies, but what did the Master Sergeant Ronald Kluck¹, an Air Force survival expert, think was the best container to hold survival items?

Could You Survive?  What would you pick?

 

 

An excerpt from the “Could You Survive” survival quiz, published in the Spokane Daily Chronicle, on February 21, 1978, by Master Sergeant Ronald Kluck, found HERE.

 

Various pocket-sized containers, both plastic and metal, that you could use to contain your survival gear, photograph by the Author.

 

So, where did you put your survival gear, did you choose A) a plastic bag, B) in different pockets, C) one or two metal containers or D) plastic boxes?  Do you think that you got the right answer?  Let’s find out what the Air Force survival experts thought.

  

Could You Survive?  What the survival expert picked.

 

An excerpt from the “Could You Survive” survival quiz, published in the Spokane Daily Chronicle, on February 21, 1978, by Master Sergeant Ronald Kluck, found HERE.

 

Plastic soap containers, which were Master Sgt. Ronald Kluck’s first choice to contain his survival gear.  Photograph by the Author.

 

Personally, I use two Altoid tins to contain my survival gear, one for wire, needles, and fishing gear and one for fire starting and first aid supplies.  I like these tins, because they fit easily in my pockets and because, since I like the way Altoids taste, I have a box full of empty tins.  Master Sgt. Kluck’s argument that the tins could become dented to the point that you can’t open them makes some sense, although I have never personally experienced this problem.  And I agree whole heartedly that plastic bags wear-out and will eventually have pin holes or rips which could allow your survival gear to become water damaged. 

 

In the long run, no matter what you put your survival gear in, a plastic bag, a metal or plastic tin, or even loose in your pockets; if you never leave home without, you are far, far ahead of the average person who wanders in the wilderness!

 

Don’t forget to come back next week and read “There and Back Again...Little Tupper Lake to Lake Lila©”, where we will talk about canoe trekking in the Adirondack Wilderness.

 

I hope that you continue to enjoy The Woodsman’s Journal Online and look for me on YouTube at Bandanaman Productions for other related videos, HERE.  Don’t forget to follow me on both The Woodsman’s Journal Online, HERE, and subscribe to BandanaMan Productions on YouTube.  If you have questions, as always, feel free to leave a comment on either site.  I announce new articles on Facebook at Eric Reynolds, on Instagram at bandanamanaproductions, and on VK at Eric Reynolds, so watch for me.

 

That is all for now, and as always, until next time, Happy Trails!

 

 

Notes

 

¹ As far as I can tell, Richard Kluck was born August 27, 1938, in Milwaukee Wisconsin.  He entered the U.S. Air Force on October 9, 1957, retiring as a master sergeant on April 30, 1978.  He died on December 10, 2007, at the age of 69.

 

 

From https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/27512844/ronald-alexander-kluck and https://images.findagrave.com/photos/2013/357/27512844_138795058642.jpg, both accessed December 26, 2020.

 

 

Sources

 

Kluck, Ronald; “Could You Survive?”, Spokane Daily Chronicle, February 21, 1978, https://books.google.com/books?id=7_pLAAAAIBAJ&pg=PA11&dq=%22spokane+daily+chronicle%22+%22could+you+survive%22&article_id=6772,1159515&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwiu38XJ9oHxAhXGZc0KHZd-DswQ6AEwBHoECAgQAg#v=onepage&q=%22spokane%20daily%20chronicle%22%20%22could%20you%20survive%22&f=false, accessed June 5, 2021