Micro repair/survival kit..?

A place to chat about gear and the philosphy of ultralight. Ultralight bushwalking or backpacking focuses on carrying the lightest and simplest kit. There is still a good focus on safety and skill.
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Ultralight Bushwalking/backpacking is about more than just gear lists. Ultralight walkers carefully consider gear based on the environment they are entering, the weather forecast, their own skill, other people in the group. Gear and systems are tested and tweaked.
If you are new to this area then welcome - Please remember that although the same ultralight philosophy can be used in all environments that the specific gear and skill required will vary greatly. It is very dangerous to assume that you can just copy someone else's gear list, but you are encouraged to ask questions, learn and start reducing the pack weight and enjoying the freedom that comes.

Common words
Base pack backpacking the mass of the backpack and the gear inside - not including consumables such as food, water and fuel
light backpacking base weight less than 9.1kg
ultralight backpacking base weight less than 4.5kg
super-ultralight backpacking base weight less than 2.3kg
extreme-ultralight backpacking base weight less than 1.4kg

Micro repair/survival kit..?

Postby Neo » Sat 12 May, 2018 4:51 pm

Hiya
What is the minimum you take, just in case of infield repairs or emergency? Bushwalk context.

Here is part of mine, unweighed:

*mini Bic
*mini super glue x2
*2x kilt pins 50mm
*needle & poly thread
*the whistle (gotta go somewhere)
*small sharpening stone, no point having a knife if it goes blunt.

Other bits, a golden space blanket, snake bandages and bandaids. Add in a few cable ties and 3m of 2-3mm venetian blind cord.
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Re: Micro repair/survival kit..?

Postby Moondog55 » Sat 12 May, 2018 5:04 pm

Doesn't work for me, if I was ever to UL then my whole pack is my survival kit because I would have no redundancy but I keep my SAK, compass, whistle and my sparker+magnesium bar around my neck anyway so I guess at a minimum I can light a fire
Ve are too soon old und too late schmart
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Re: Micro repair/survival kit..?

Postby wildwanderer » Sat 12 May, 2018 5:22 pm

Repair
- Roll of Elastoplast tape

Bare minium survival for me is following (I take on every walk). Actually my FA kit has a few more things (like bandaids,toilet paper) but strictly speaking not needed for survival
- Whistle (built into sternum strap of pack)
- firestarters. (cotton wool with petro jelly)
- mini bic lighter
- water purification tabs
- snake bite bandage
- 4 x nurofen tabs
- rain jacket
- Down jacket in waterproof compresion sack (as soon as the temps start to drop)
- mini swis army (knife,scissors, ballpoint pen, twezzers)
- single page of water proof paper
- plastic garbage bag
- water container. either a bladder or 1L PET bottles
- navigation aids. (either map/compass or phone with mapping software)
- hat.
- PLB
- Pack to put it in.
(and of course walking clothes/shoes that im wearing)
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Re: Micro repair/survival kit..?

Postby taipan821 » Sat 12 May, 2018 9:11 pm

Neo wrote:Hiya
What is the minimum you take, just in case of infield repairs or emergency? Bushwalk context.

Here is part of mine, unweighed:

*mini Bic
*mini super glue x2
*2x kilt pins 50mm
*needle & poly thread
*the whistle (gotta go somewhere)
*small sharpening stone, no point having a knife if it goes blunt.

Other bits, a golden space blanket, snake bandages and bandaids. Add in a few cable ties and 3m of 2-3mm venetian blind cord.


I carry a firesteel instead of a bic, dental floss and a needle, duct tape or elastoplast tape (stuff sticks to anything) 130 gram first aid kit including snakebite bandage (x 2), plb, signal mirror that came with plb, whistle on pack/on plb case. I carry disposable scalpels for knives when UL, so if I go out I take a fresh blade with me. my guylines (hootchie cord) is my cordage. The best advice I can give is the art of bodge. instead of carrying two things, make one thing do double duty
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Re: Micro repair/survival kit..?

Postby Gadgetgeek » Sat 12 May, 2018 11:58 pm

I have layers upon layers of redundancy, but that's part (bad) experience, part mental illness, part never being solo/ being defacto "guy who should have a solution"
A big factor is what emergency are you planning for? Loosing your pack? Getting lost and being late? Injury that prevents you continuing to move (include snakebite in this) If you are in the right mindset when you leave home, then you should have your gear already to go for most situations short of loosing your pack, and in that case, what are you reasonably still going to have on your body? This isn't meant as a criticism, just that I've seen more than a few people with all their backup gear packed with the main stuff, and it serving no purpose other than to add pack weight.


A couple things I've found slightly useful and light:
Hot melt glue
sail tape
Heavy thread and decent needle. A lot can be repaired with any two of those as the materials.

Other survival "oh *#%! we are stuck here and can't move until help arrives:
Firesteel or lighter and a "ranger band" chunk of bike inner-tube. Any firestarter without practice is pointless, so make sure you have both tool and skill, one to butress the other.

Water.. Controversial here, I carry a filter. If I get away from my filter, I'm going to rely on dehydration from not drinking water to kill me faster than my rescue can get to me. (yes I'm planning on someone coming to drag my sorry @ss back to civilization) So I don't so much care about water treatment apart from boiling. If I'm down to just my pockets, I'm going to be drinking the water.

I'd go farther on the art of the bodge, never let one thing cover two jobs, but have a way to make each bit of kit back up another in some way, that way if you loose or use one thing, you have not closed a door on another option.
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Re: Micro repair/survival kit..?

Postby Mark F » Sun 13 May, 2018 3:16 pm

Virtually no redundancy for me, just a second mini Bic lighter and an extra tent peg plus Puritabs to back up my Steripen - about 20-25 grams. I don't bother with a space blanket/mini tarp as I can always roll myself up in a ripped tent if that's what is required although on many day walks I carry a Gatewood Cape which serves as rainwear and emergency shelter. Many other items are multi use being part 1st aid/repair. As everything important goes inside my pack and I have a strict packing system broken up by function means that nothing goes into the pack until all items that are part of that function (eg cooking - pot, stove, cozy, windshield, lighter, bowl, spoon, knife etc) are accounted for and then put in to their stuff sack.

I carry first aid, repair and emergency items as a single unit as many of them are applicable to all three purposes. They live in my day pack - S2S sil nylon on multi day trips.

On multi day walks I carry a small repair kit of:
    - spare O rings and jet pricker for my stove (3 grams),
    - spare expansion joint for my walking poles (5 grams),
    - patch kit for my mat,
    - sewing kit with an awl and a couple of bobby pins,
    - 1 metre length of cuben repair tape,
    - 5 metres very thin cord,
    - 1 metre of duck tape.
Survival items:
    - SPOT - kept separately in outside pocket of my pack on a lanyard for ease of access,
    - spare mini Bic lighter and fire starters,
    - Puritab water purifying tabs,
    - Sheet of waterproof paper,
    - Swiss card (also part of my 1st aid and repair kits),
    - Whistle.
"Perfection is attained not when there is nothing more to add, but when there is nothing more to remove".
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Re: Micro repair/survival kit..?

Postby Neo » Sun 13 May, 2018 5:08 pm

Moondog55 wrote:...my whole pack is my survival kit because I would have no redundancy...


Thumbs up
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Re: Micro repair/survival kit..?

Postby Neo » Sun 13 May, 2018 5:25 pm

Interesting read.

I guess the 'emergency' part would be getting stuck, as in having to stay out longer.

Recently repacked, trying to simplify my gear which prompted the question. All I really dropped was some of the perso FAK if with a group and some of my condiments. Did rearrange things, so I might feel less fuddy-duddy :) Am pretty much minimalist.

Also have some Micropur drops in a tiny Nalgene, have been meaning to make some Vaseline cotton balls.
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Re: Micro repair/survival kit..?

Postby Strider » Mon 14 May, 2018 10:32 am

Surprised no one has mentioned cable ties. I always carry half a dozen in case of a shoulder strap breakage.


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Re: Micro repair/survival kit..?

Postby Orion » Mon 14 May, 2018 11:11 am

Neo wrote:Hiya
What is the minimum you take, just in case of infield repairs or emergency? Bushwalk context.


The minimum? For me that would be a partial roll of sports tape.
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Re: Micro repair/survival kit..?

Postby crollsurf » Mon 14 May, 2018 12:39 pm

Not including my first-aid kit that is basic as well
Repair
- Tough Tape (Shelleys)
- Swiss Card
- Thermarest Repair Kit
Survival
- PLB
- Compass (don't bother with paper maps anymore, use phone but carry compass just in case)
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