The Woodsman's Journal Online: A Survival Kit, Your Ace in the Hole ©

The ace of spades, an ace in the hole, just like a survival kit, photograph by the Author.

In the August 1972 edition of Flying Machine, Richard C. Young III wrote an article titled “Ace in the Hole”, where he talked about survival kits and what you should do as a pilot if you crash in the wilderness. Now, I know that more people wander through the wilderness than fly over it and getting lost in the woods is not quite the same as crashing a plane in the woods, but it can be close. For example, you could be walking along a ravine and stumble and fall down the slope into the valley below, you are hurt and cannot get out, now you must survive!

“Ace in the Hole” is a good article and in it Mr. Young points out the importance of having a survival kit, suggests items to be included in your survival kit, and recommends where to keep your survival kit.

So, let’s talk about the importance having an ace in the hole.

A Survival Kit, Your Ace in the Hole

The Author’s survival kit, picture by the Author.

An ace in the hole, originally meant an ace that had been dealt and was held face down, it has come to mean an advantage or resource that is kept in reserve until needed.

You should always, always, ALWAYS, bring a survival kit with you, because you never know when an emergency will happen.

What’s in your survival kit...?

“Okay”, you say, “but, what should I have in my survival kit?”

In “Ace in the Hole”, the author recommended bringing 30-40 waterproofed, wax-dipped matches in a plastic medicine bottle, with a piece of emery cloth glued to the inside of the lid; some homemade bottle-cap candles or tea-candles; a signal mirror; a compass; a roll of 40-pound monofilament fishing line for fishing, snaring, repair, etc.; an assortment of size 1, 5 and 8 fishing hooks, iodine for water purification; salt tablets²; non-lubricated condoms; insect repellent; multivitamins; a sheath knife with a sharpening stone; and two to three dry-cleaner shrouds (plastic bags).

The Rule of Threes, graphic by the Author.

Most survival experts today recommend following the “Rule of Threes” when building your survival kit, so that your survival kit solves your most immediate survival needs of shelter and fire first, followed by water and lastly by food.

This is what I carry.

Shelter supplies, 1) paracord, 18 feet (5.5 meters); 2) a knit hat, clothes are portable shelter; 3) two heavy duty contractor grade trash bags, all of which weigh 12 ounces (340 grams). Photograph by the Author.

The Author’s survival kit, which is kept in an aluminum soap dish, held closed with two heavy duty rubber bands, and kept in two plastic Ziploc® quart freezer bags, inside a cloth ditty bag. Also pictured is my spare utility knife and spare compass, all of which weigh 8 ounces (227 grams). Photograph by the Author.

The contents of the Author’s survival kit, 1) Fire starting supplies, (from bottom left to right), a mini plastic Ziploc® bag containing two CakeMate Relight trick birthday candles and four UCO Stormproof matches and a striker; a metal match; a BIC Mini lighter, one packet of Landsmann Fire Starter; one piece of a Coghlan's Waterproof Fire Stick; and some cotton. 2) Multiple use aluminum foil, two, 1 foot (30 cm) square pieces. 3) First aid, one antibiotic ointment packet and three Band-Aid Butterfly Closures. 4) Water storage and Disinfection, one Reynolds® Slow Cooker Liner, 13 x 21 inches (330 mm x 533 mm), holding up to 6.5 quarts (6 liters). 5) Food gathering and repair, one mini fishing kit, which contains 5 hooks and 5 split shot sinkers, two large safety pins, a needle and two feet (60 cm) of thread, and that has just over 26 feet (8 meters) of monofilament fishing line wound around the outside of it. 6) Signaling and direction-finding, (from bottom left to right), a Fresnel lens, a compass, a signal mirror, and a signal card. 7) Food gathering and repair, 17 feet (5 meters) of 12-pound test fishing line. 8) Signaling, one Maglite Solitaire LED Flashlight. Photograph by the Author.

The Author’s comfort supplies, clockwise from the top, a micro first aid kit, two spare Ziploc® quart bags, a pump spray bottle of insect repellant, a headlamp, a small roll of toilet paper, a BIC lighter with three feet (1 meter) of duct tape wrapped around it, and a 50 SPF broad spectrum sunscreen stick, all kept in two plastic Ziploc® quart freezer bags, all of which weigh 8 ounces (227 grams). Photograph by the Author.

Many of the items in my survival and comfort kit have multiple uses, such as the antibiotic ointment, the sunscreen stick, the toilet paper, and the duct tape, all of which can be used to help me to get my fire started if necessary.

My survival and comfort supplies were all selected to help me first take care of any injuries and then to get a shelter built and a fire made. After that comes building signals, finding a source of water, disinfecting it and then last of all, finding food. The reason for this is the “72-hour rule”. Most “misplaced” people, in the United States, are found within 72 hours of being reported missing. In fact, experts note that 85% of “misplaced” persons are found alive within 12 hours and 97% are found alive within the first 24 hours of being reported missing. The key statement is “of being reported missing”; that is why it is so very important to have a trip plan and to always tell someone, a responsible someone at your home base, when you are leaving, the route you are taking, where you are going and when you will be back. And never, never, never, ever change your plans without telling this someone. This is just like pilots who plan their route and file a flight plan, which includes the place of departure and the time leaving, the route to be followed, the destination and the arrival time, and the number of people on their flight. The more that others know about your planned path and your departure and arrival times, the less time that you will spend waiting for rescue in the case of an emergency.

In your pack, or in your pocket...

Mr. Young’s recommendation to keep your survival kit in the map compartment of the plane, is like keeping your survival kit in your backpack or the trunk or glove compartment of your car. The Fourth Edition of the Alaska Air Medical Escort Training Manual recommends, that you carry a personal survival kit that fits in your pockets, because people usually find themselves in survival situations with only what is in their pockets¹. If your survival supplies are not in your pockets, it is possible that you won’t be able to reach them in the case of a wilderness emergency.

The Author’s survival PFD, with an orange Peak 1 fanny pack attached to the back, and survival vest, photograph by the Author.

Personally, I keep my survival and comfort supplies in the pockets of my either my survival vest or my survival PFD, depending on whether I am on the water, paddling and portaging, or hiking along a trail. You can easily get separated from your pack, or the gear in your canoe; but you aren’t likely to get separated from your clothes!

Where I put the gear I carry in my survival vest or survival PFD: 1) Shelter supplies, in the back pocket; 2) my compass and pea-less plastic whistle, both of which weigh 2 ounces (57 grams), in the front upper pocket; 3) my survival kit and spare knife and compass, in the lower left front pocket; 4) my comfort supplies, in the lower right front pocket; 5) a BanadanaMan Emergency Bracelet, that contains 174 inches (442 cm) of string, which I wear on my wrist; and 6) my neck knife, which weighs 4 ounces (113 grams) and, obviously, goes around my neck. Photograph by the Author.

My survival vest is just a fishing vest that I found at Sears, and my survival PFD is a fishing model with a Peak 1 fanny pack attached to the back. Both can be comfortably worn beneath a pack, whether I am portaging or hiking.

For more on survival vests, survival kits and surviving plane crashes in the wilderness, check out these great sites.

“The Survival Vest”, The Backcountry Pilot, HERE

“Essentials^TM Aviator Survival Vest^TM, HERE

“Adventure® Medical Kits, Pocket Survival Pak^TM & Pocket Survival Pak^TM Plus, HERE

Could You Survive – First-Aid Supplies for a Survival Kit©, HERE

“Survive: Beyond the Forced Landing”, HERE

For your convenience the article “Ace in the Hole”, by Richard C. Young III has been included below, it can also be found HERE, in the August 1972 edition of Flying Machine.

Don’t forget to come back next week and read “Should I Stay, or Should I Go, and the 72-Hour Rule©”, where we will talk about the 72-hour rule and when you should stop waiting for rescue.

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 Alaska Air Medical Escort Training Manual, Fourth Edition, page 225

² According to FM 21-18, Foot Marches, June 1990, page 2-5, “...salt in food compensates for the daily salt requirements. Additional intake of salt should be under the direction and supervision of a physician or physician’s assistant.”

Sources

Air Safety Institute, AOPA; “Survive: Beyond the Forced Landing”, [Frederick, Maryland], http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=57&ved=0ahUKEwjjpoab-eTYAhWMp5QKHYYIA0o4MhAWCEswBg&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.aopa.org%2F-%2Fmedia%2Ffiles%2Faopa%2Fhome%2Fpilot%2520resources%2Fasi%2Fsafety%2520advisors%2Fsa31.pdf&usg=AOvVaw0MXBFxEgfsS5ow6y80vbbv, accessed September 1, 2021

Carrier, Brian; Alaska Air Medical Escort Training Manual, Fourth Edition, Revised, [Dept. of Health and Social Services, Division of Public Health, Section of Injury Prevention and EMS, Juneau, Alaska, 2006], page 225,