Thread: BASIC LIST / SUGGESTED ITEMS FOR LONG TERM SURVIVAL

The Top 50 Survival Blogs!

1

SHTF Plan

2	Survival Blog

3	The Survival Podcast

4	Urban Survival

5	The Survivalist Blog

6	In Case Of Emergency, Read Blog

7	The Survival & Emergency Preparedness Blog

8	Survival And Prosperity

9	The Survival Mom

10	American Preppers Network

11	WillowHavenOutdoor.com

12	Survival Topics

13	Pioneer Survival Blog

14	Preparedness Pantry

15	Off Grid Survival

16	Disaster Preparedness Blog

17	Ice-Qube - Emergency Preparedness Blog

18	Wilderness Survival Skills

19	Surviving In Argentina

20	CARD\'s blog

21	Modern Survival Blog

22	Backwoods Survival Blog

23	Back Door Survival

24	Modern Survival Online

25	Texas Prepper\'s Network

26	Preparedness and Response

27	Shepherd School

28	Stealth Survival

29	Save Our Skills

30	Be A Survivor

31	Bug-Out Survival

32	Total Survivalist Libertarian Rantfest

33	Doug Ritter

34	ATEP Emergency Preparedness Blog

35	Survival Joe

36	Preparedness Pro

37	The Just In Case Book Blog

38	TEOTWAWKI Blog

39

SHTF Blog

40	SHTF America

41	International Preparedness Network

42	Emergency Survival and Preparedness Blog

43	Code Name Bullseye

44	Keep It Simple Survival

45	Survival Times

46	Advanced Survival Guide

47	If It Hits The Fan

48	Survival Common Sense

49	Emergency Preparedness Blog

50	The Retreat

http://www.survivaltop50.com/

=> View these other great Survival Blogs that almost made the Top 50!

http://www.survivaltop50.com/runners-up/

good info Ab

Keeping Food Sanitary

Tuesday, May 24, 2011



During an emergency, it's especially important to keep your cooking area clean and food sanitary. If you aren't careful, harmful germs can spread to food and make you sick or animals can destroy or eat your food. We have some tips for how to best keep food sanitary during an emergency or even during camping trips:

- All food scraps should either be burned or buried in a pit far from your living area to keep bears and other wild animals away from you.

- Keep all of your food covered and off the ground. You may keep your food in a tree, but be sure tree dwelling creatures can't get into it.

- Place lids back on on water bottles and other containers immediately after use.

- Do not wash your dishes in the area where you get your drinking water supply. Instead, wash your dishes away from a stream.

- Use clean dishes or eat out of the original food containers to prevent the spread of germs.

- Wash and peel all fruits and vegetables before eating.

- Prepare only as much as will be eaten at each meal.

With a little knowledge and preparation, you can stay clean and healthy, even during an emergency situation.

Posted by Emergency Essentials® at 1:43 PM

http://preparednesspantry.blogspot.com/ ... itary.html

Save Our Skills

Episode 25: Basic Leatherworking with Jason from lenwoodleather.com

By Nick-LaDieu | May 17, 2011 | Traditional Skills



Audio http://www.saveourskills.com/episode-25 ... leathercom

In todays epsiode we learn how Jason got his start in leather-working and how he has grown the hobby into a business.

Resources for todays podcast:

www.tandyleatherfactory.com
http://springfieldleather.com/store/
http://www.weaverleather.com/
http://www.lenwoodleather.com/

http://www.saveourskills.com/episode-25 ... leathercom

Audio Podcast: Episode-662- Modern Survival Ways to Save Money ~ Part One

from The Survival Podcast by Modern Survival

Today is the first in a miniseries on saving money and 100% of the tips, suggestions and resources come from you, the audience. My hope is that with this series the average listener can reclaim 100-300 dollars a month of their hard earned money and then use it to further their individual independence. Todays show [...]

Original audio source (epi-00662-ways-to-save-part-1.mp3) http://feedproxy.google.com/%7Er/surviv ... part-1.mp3


http://daily-survival.blogspot.com/

Audio Podcast: Episode-662- Modern Survival Ways to Save Money ~ Part Two

from The Survival Podcast by Modern Survival
Sunday, May 29, 2011

Today is the first in a miniseries on saving money and 100% of the tips, suggestions and resources come from you, the audience. My hope is that with this series the average listener can reclaim 100-300 dollars a month of their hard earned money and then use it to further their individual independence. Todays show [...]

Original audio source (epi-00663-ways-to-save-part-2.mp3) http://feedproxy.google.com/%7Er/surviv ... part-2.mp3


http://daily-survival.blogspot.com/

Sibi Totique
"For Himself and Everyone" The Free Online Survival Guide and Blog"

Monday, January 4, 2010

Pocket Survival Kits

Pocket Survival Kits are kits that are designed to increase your chances of survival during a crisis or survival situation. The Pocket Survival Kit is the smallest variants of survival kits and the most important aspect of the kit is that it could be light and small enough to be carried at all times. The Pocket Survival Kit is also a natural component for large survival kits like the Bug Out Bag (BOB) and Get Home Bag (GHB).

How much items your kit should have depends and what items that you should carry depends on your personal setting and climate but a small kit with a few items that you always carry is better than a large kit that you never carry. A metal or plastic tin are the most common containers for a pocket survival kit. Other solutions could be a nylon pocket like the pockets made by Maxpedition or a neck wallet. If you have enough space the smallest wide mouth bottles by Nalgene makes good container that also can be used as a water container in an emergency and are extremely hard to break. You don’t have to carry all items in one container; you could divide the different items between containers so that you carry a few on your person, some in your backpack or jacket etc. The hard small hard case from Pelican is another option that you can check out. There is basically no limit on how much money you can spend on a survival kit. A survival kit is just like a knife, there isn’t any survival kit that’s perfect for all tasks and situations. You can get a preassembled kit for around 20 dollars or build your own using items from your home almost for free. Make or buy a kit that’s good for your personal situation and needs. If possible visit a store and check different kits out before you make up your mind. I will give some advice about what items that can go into a Pocket Survival Kit and recommend some items from different companies; however this is only a fraction of the high quality products that can be found on the market. You can often find some of the items cheap on E-Bay, a yard sale, a garage sale or as military surplus.

Suggested Items For The Pocket Survival Kit
• I suggest that you carry at least two items in your kit that can be used to start a Fire. Matches are one of the easiest items to start a fire with. There are many kind of matches, if you have enough space in your container BCB and Proforce makes special long burning waterproof matches that comes in waterproof containers that’s very good. A lighter is also a very good tool to start a fire with; you can get a simple BIC lighter for a few dollars or a more expensive high quality storm lighter. The most compact type of lighters from BIC, the mini lighters take up very little space in a kit. A Fire Steel is another good item to start a fire with; however I suggest that you learn how to use it before you put it in your kit. One of the best fire steels you can get comes from Light My Fire, they sell replacement fire steels for their SL3 knife, this fire steel consists of on the steel itself, and it has no handle so it takes up very little space in a survival kit. ESEE also makes a very compact fire steel thats perfect for small kits. Ultimate Survival makes an excellent fire steel that’s called BlastMatch that can be operated with one hand. The only downside with this product is that it has a high price and takes up much space in a kit; it won’t fit in small tin. A Magnifying glass is another tool that can be used to start fire with. A piece of tinder like the Wetfire from UST can also be a good addition to start fire in an emergency.

A razor blade or small knife is an excellent item to carry in a pocket survival kit. If you’re going for a small folding knife examples of knives could be the Spyderco Lady Bug, Victorinox Classic SD, Fällkniven U-4 and TK-4 or the Gerber LST / Gerber Ultra LST. A P-38 Can Opener is a compact tool that can also be used for other tasks like a improvised screw driver, cut fishing line, gut fish or as a box cutter.

• Small LED lamps are also common items to carry in a survival kit, but they are also good items to carry on your keychain. The cheap models often work rather well, if you’re looking for a high quality model I suggest that you check out the models from Fenix and 4Sevens that uses AAA batteries. The small Petzl E+Lite are an excellent headlamp that small enough to fit in most survival kits if you only bring the lamp and not the plastic cover. Small Candles is often used in survival kits as a light and a tool to start fires. If you’re looking for a light source I recommend that you go with and LED lamp instead.

• Wire saws are a compact saw that uses a wire with small teeth that can be used to cut through wood or bone. They can be a good addition but remember that even the high quality models are not that strong and can easily be broken.

• Snare Wire is also a common item that can be used to make snares to catch small animals but can also be used for other tasks like improvised shoes laces or fishing line. Brass wire is most commonly used.

• Pen and Paper are also good items that can help you remember important events in case of an emergency. A simple small pen like the ones you can get for free at IKEA will be enough for most situations, if you’re looking for a more high quality model you can check out the pens from Fischer Space Pen like the compact model Bullet and the Stowaway Space Pen. Rite In The Rain makes some really good Notebooks, the papers from these Notebooks is excellent for a survival kit.

• Condoms can be used as improvised water containers, you can make it last better if your fill it with water and put inside a sock. Heavy duty food grade plastic bag is also a good alternative. The bags called aLOKSAK is extremely strong zip lock bags that I strongly recommend, especially for a survival kit.

• Whistles are excellent tools for signaling for help during an emergency. There are many model, the low cost models that comes with most preassembled kit are quite good. However there is even better whistles that can be bough such as the JetScream from Ultimate Survival Technologies and the Survival Whistle and Mountain Whistle from Lifesystem. Klättermusen uses small whistles that they attach to the zippers on their jackets that can be bought in some stores that sell outdoor equipment. These whistles take up very little space in a survival kit, however I recommend that you get one of these and attach it to the zipper on your jacket so that it’s always with you.

• Signal Mirrors are an excellent way to signal for help during an emergency. There are many models that can be bought, The Starflash from Ultimate Survival Technologies, the Mayday Signal Mirror from BCB and the Emergency Signal Mirror from ESEE are some examples.

• Sewing Kits can be used to repair cloths, tents, packs and other things if they brake. Bring some sewing needles, make sure to bring one or more or the larger variant with sharp edges that used to sew in heavy duty material such as leather. Bring strong thread, I recommend the extra strong thread from Gütterman. Dental floss is a very strong thread that can be used as an alternative to normal thread. A Suture set is an alternative or a good complement to normal sewing kit.

• Salt is an item that’s cheap and good to have in a survival kit. I suggest that you either take some salt and put it in a small zip lock bag or take one the small salt bags that you can find at takeout restaurants.

• A Button Compass is a good tool for navigation in a survival situation. The only downside is that most small compasses have a tendency to brake after a while, even the high quality models. There are models that can be attached to your watch band and carried with you at all times like The Suunto Clipper and the Silva Carabiner 40.

• A Fishing Kit consisting of some fishing line, hooks and weights is also a common item in a survival kit. I suggest that that you buy high quality monofilament fishing line and strap it around a small piece of plastic. If you’re going to bring a fishing kit learn how to make a fishing knot. A miniature wobbler / swimbait with a weigh can be used to catch fish in rivers. Fly’s thats used for fly fishing is also a good item for survival kits.

• Safety Pins can be used for many things, everything from keeping a broken jacket together, securing band aids or as fishing hook.

• Water Purification Tablets are a important items that allow you to disinfect water in order to prevent infections. Pain killers are good item to carry if you get wounded or get a fewer. Anti diarrhea tablets can help to prevent the loss of fluid and energy if you get sick. It’s best if you can store them in a waterproof tube or small zip lock bag.

• Small plasters is good for small cuts, Sutures can be used to close larger wounds. I suggest that you bring a couple in your survival kit. A disinfection wipe can be stored in the kit and used to sterilize a wound.

• 550 Paracord can be used to make straps to important items in your kit like fire steel, knife, compass or whistle. In an emergency it’s good if you can make a take a bit of paracord, attach the most important items and carry them east accessible around the neck. You can wrap paracord around your container but this will make it harder to reach items in case of an emergency. The Paracord normally have between seven and nine yarns inside the protective other shell that can be used for sewing, fishing line etc. Paracord is often used to make bracelets so that it can be carried along at all times.

• Duct Tape can be wrapped around an old credit card or a piece of cardboard and be used for emergency repair, to secure band aids and many other uses.

Preassembled Kits

There are many preassembled kits on the market that can be bought. BCB has a Pocket Survival Kit called the “Combat Survival Kit” that’s based on John Wisemans kit from the “SAS Survival Handbook”. This kit is rather cheap and the kit is a good start. However some of the items have a low quality. There is small knife in the kit that I suggest that you get rid of and replace with razor blade or a small high quality folding knife. BCB also have other models like the Ultimate Survival Kit. This kit is basically the same kit as the one mentioned above, only it comes in a larger container with a lid that can be better secured and some additional items. This kit is much more expensive than the standard kit, I suggest that you buy only the larger tin that can be bought separately and a standard kit and complement the rest of the items yourself if you’re considering this solution. Proforce also makes a similar kit to the Combat Survival Kit made by BCB.

Victorinox has a special survival kit that holds some survival items and a Swiss Champ. This kit is made out of leather and can be carried at your belt. The kit contains some items like a small flashlight from Maglite, Sharpener, Compass, Matches, Fishing kit, Pen and paper to name a few. The kit has a high quality but also a high price and weight.

The Pro Survival Kit Company makes a number of high quality Survival Kits and Survival Tools. The company uses a large number of items from different companies. They also sell a belt that can be used to store items concealed.

TOP Knives makes a survival kit that comes in the shape of a neck wallet. The wallet contains a number of items like sharpener, P-38 can opener, screwdriver, whistle, signal mirror and razor blade. You can check out their kit on the company homepage.

Rat Cutlery / ESEE Knives makes a number of small survival kits, one of the kits comes in a small nylon bag that can be attached to your belt. Another kit from ESEE is the compact Wallet E&E Kit. They also make some other interesting items for kits like the Titanium Escape and Evasion Mini Blade, Survival Card and AH-1 Arrowhead.

Adventure Medical Kits make high quality survival kits and survival equipment. They have some kits that combine survival kits and first aid kits. Two of their kits are the Pocket Survival PAK Plus and the
S.O.L. Survival Pak.

Ultimate Survival Technologies (UST) makes some really outstanding survival equipment. The major problem with their equipment is that it’s expensive and often rather heavy. The sell the Deluxe Survival Kit that comes in heavy duty plastic container but it only contains fire steel, whistle, tinder and a saw. This Kit has very few items but the items all have an outstanding quality. They also sell a more comprehensive kit called the Soldiers Tactical Advantage Kit.

Gerber has also started to produce Survival Kits together with the survival expert Bear Grylls. They produce two kits: the “Ultimate Kit” and the "Basic Kit”.

Everyday Items For Preparedness
A good Folding Knife, Swiss Army Knife or Multi Tool makes an excellent complement to a Pocket Survival Kit. A waterproof watch is also a good complement that’s good for Every Day Carry. There are excellent credit card sized tools that you can carry in your wallet at all times, the tools in these cards are small but the offer the possibility to always have some essential tools with you. Tool Logic makes a number of different cards, some with compass, fire steel and a small knife, Victorinox makes a model called Swiss Card. A Cell phone is a good tool that allows you to contact other in case of an emergency; there are some models that also have other useful features like GPS, Compass, Flashlight and FM/AM radio.

Carrying a kit at all times gives you some options if you would encounter a survival or crisis situation but can also serve as tool kit to help you deal with everyday problems. The items are however of little use if you can’t use them. Training, Skills and Experience, Physical Fitness and Health is more important than the gear you carry.

Also see
Every Day Carry (EDC)
Get Home Bag (GHB)
Light Weight Bug Out Bag

http://sibitotique.blogspot.com/2010...ival-kits.html

Wednesday, May 18, 2011

Get Home Bags – Examples of Setups

This article contains three examples of what equipment you can get for a Get Home Bag (GHB). The suggestions are based on the initial article about Get Home Bags (GHB). The article is not an exact Guide for what you should pack but intended to provide some inspiration and suggestions for what type of items you can get.

Exactly what you should pack in your Get Home Bag (GHB) depends on your own particular situation, terrain, setting, skills, health, physical fitness and many other factors. For more advice on what factors that you might have take into consideration check out the articles Get Home Bag and Building The Right Bug Out Bag For You.

Setup 1: Ultra Light Get Home Bag
Bag 0,4kg
[ ] Snugpak Response Pak 440g

Shelter 0,062kg
[ ] Lifesystems Thermal Blanket 62g

Survival Knife 0,241kg
[ ] Leatherman Wave Multi Tool 241g

Fire 0,014kg
[ ] BIC Lighter 14g

Light 0.046kg
[ ] 4 Sevens Preon 2 Penlamp (22,5g+11,5g+11,5g) 45,5g

Pocket Survival Kit 0,12kg
[ ] ESEE Izula Gear Wallet E&E 120g

First Aid Kit 0,112kg
[ ] Life Systems Micro 112g

Other Equipment 0,1kg
[ ] Roll of Electrical Tape 100g

Total Weight: 1,121kg = 2,5 pounds

Summary - Setup 1
This setup is very compact and light weight and does not contain any water or food. This can be an interesting type of setup for people how work very close to their home and primary want their GHB to work as recourse for their everyday life and during disasters or medical emergencies. This could also be used as an add-on for a larger Every Day Carry bag.

Setup 2 – Classic Get Home Bag
Bag 1,045kg
[ ] Maxpedition Jumbo Versipack 810g
[ ] Maxpedition Janus Extension Pocket 235g

Clothing and Shelter 0,588kg
[ ] Houdini Motion Wind Hat 36g
[ ] Hatch SGK100 Street Guard Gloves 504g
[ ] Coghlans Emergency Poncho 48g

Survival Knife 0,18kg
[ ] Victorinox RescueTool Swiss Army Knife 180g

Fire 0,014kg
[ ] BIC Lighter14g

Light 0,191kg
[ ] Fenix TK-15 Flashlight (155g+18g+18g) 191g

Pocket Survival Kit 0,28kg
[ ] TOPS Knives Survival Neck Wallet 280g

Water 1,2kg
[ ] Nalgene 1 Liter Widemouth (150g+1000g) 1150g
[ ] Water Purification Tablets: Life Systems Chlorine Dioxide Tablets 50g

Food 0,12kg
[ ] 4 Powerbars (30g x 4) 120g

Navigation 0,1kg
[ ] Citymap / Topographic Map 100g

Other Equipment 0,15kg
[ ] Charger for your Cellphone 50g
[ ] Rite-In-The-Rain 3” x5” Pocket Notebook 56g
[ ] Fisher Space Pen Bullet
[ ] Cash

Total Weight: 3,882 = 8,5 pounds

Summary - Setup 2
This is a classical example of a Get Home Bag, the setup is built around a shoulder bag with an additional pocket so that you can easily store some basic items like a Cell Phone, Wallet or Compass easily accessible. The setup contains some additional clothing, an emergency poncho, a water bottle, some powerbars, a BIC lighter to start a fire, a notebook, pen, city map, compass and a cell phone charger.

The Rescue Tool from Victorinox is especially built for first responders and has some special features like florescent handles, seatbelt cuter, saw for shatterproof glass, screwdriver and bottle opener in addition to a knife blade with a locking mechanism.

The Fenix TK-15 is relatively compact flashlight using either two CR-123 Batteries or a rechargeable 18650 battery. These types of flashlights has a very high maximum light output with the possibility of regulating the output to a lower level in order to extend the runtime. The main advantage of this type of lights is the relatively compact size, great light output and the possibility to use rechargeable batteries and use normal CR123 batteries making them ideal for a Get Home Bag and Every Day Carry. There are many other similar flashlights on the market like the 4Sevens Maelstrom X7, Sunwayman M20C and Surefire G2X Pro.

Setup 3: Comprehensive Get Home Bag
Backpack 1,34kg
[ ] Exped Mountain Pro 40 Backpack 1340g

Shelter and Clothing 0,3kg
[ ] EXPED Bivi-Poncho UL 380g

Survival Knife 0.854kg
[ ] Fixed Blade Knife: Ontario RTAK-II 854g

Fire 0.083kg
[ ] Lighter: Solo Storm 53g
[ ] Tinder: 6 Cotton balls soaked in Vaseline inside a small plastic bag (5g per ball) 30g

Light 0,124kg
[ ] Petzl Tactikka XP Headlamp (60,5g+11,5g+11,5g+11,5g) 95g
[ ] 4Sevens Preon 1 Flashlight (17g+11,5g) 29g

Pocket Survival Kit 0,14kg
[ ] Adventure Medical Kits: Pocket Survival PAK Plus 140g

Water 2,346kg
[ ] Water Purification Filter: Aquamira Frontier Pro 56g
[ ] 2 Water Bottles: Nalgene Wide Mouth 1 Liter (145g+145g+1000g+1000g) 2290g

Food 1,3kg
[ ] 1 Real Field Meal; 24 Hour Rations from DryTech (Contains 3 Freeze Dried Meals, chocolate, biscuits, energy drinks, snacks and water purification tablets; 5000 kcal) 1300g

Stove and Cooking 0,302kg
[ ] Vargo Hexagon Titanium Stove 120g
[ ] Vargo Ti-lite Mug 750ml 140g
[ ] Vargo Long Handle Titanium Spoon 14g
[ ] Proforce Folding Cup 28g

Navigation 0.109kg
[ ] Suunto Clipper Wristband Compass 9g
[ ] Citymap / Topographic map 100g

Total Weight: 6,898kg = 15,5 pounds

Summary - Setup 3
The entire setup with Backpack, Knife, Bivi-Poncho, Pocket Survival Kit, Equipment to Start a Fire, Headlamp, Flashlight and the Compass has a weight of only 2,715kg. This setup provides two Fixed Blade Knives, Multiple resources to start a fire, Two sources of light using AAA batteries, A Multifunction shelter that can be used as a Poncho and a Light Weight Cooking System.

The cooking system enables a person to use small pieces of wood or debris to cook water on the titanium mug and the long spoon is perfect to eat from the bags for the freeze dried rations. The 24 hour rations from DryTech contain 5000kcal, more than enough for demanding activities. The rations contains 3 freeze dried meal per day and additional chocolate bars, crackers, instant coffee, water purification tablets, energy drinks and so on. The main disadvantage: All items are packed in paper and plastic making the rations quite bulky and the rations are quite expensive. The advantage: You get basically everything you need in one package and you can eat some of the content without having to heat it or add water when you’re on the move.

The Headlamp from Petzl uses 3 AAA batteries and comes with a number of lenses so that you can get red, blue or green light if you would like so. The compact flashlight from 4Sevens is light weight and an excellent backup light for any setup or for Every Day Carry.

This is another example of a Get Home Bag that can be a good alternative for people how live in a setting where it is easy to find fire wood to use as an alternative to a normal stove that use gas, kerosene or fuel tablets. A Kelly Kettle can be a good alternative to the Vargo Titanium Stove. A Storm Lighter in combination with some cotton balls soaked in Vaseline works well as a Fire Starter in almost any setting and the some extra matches is also included in the Pocket Survival Kit from AMK. This type of setups can be a good alternative for people how work quite a long distance from their homes.

Conclusion
In this article I have presented three suggestions for Get Home Bags and some items that you can use when building your own setup. The setups represent an ultra light approach, a medium approach and a more comprehensive approach to the subject built around three different types of platforms. I hope that the readers have been able to find some useful information and inspiration.

Similar Articles:

Get Home Bag (GHB)
Building The Right Bug Out Bag For You
Light Weight Bug Out Bag
Light Weight Bug Out Bags – Examples of Setups
Every Day Carry (EDC)

http://sibitotique.blogspot.com/2011...of-setups.html

INSTANT SURVIVAL TIP: Which Berkey is Best?



Comments (13)

At some point in your preparedness journey you’ll begin to research ways to purify water. Besides bleach, boiling, and other methods, a Berkey Water Filter is a top choice. Many people use their Berkey every day for better tasting water or perhaps because they don’t want fluoridated water. The array of Berkeys was confusing to me, and I was never sure which one would suit my family best. Jeff, the Berkey Guy, provided this information.

• Travel berkey – 1.5 gallons – holds 2 Black Berkey elements. Great for up to 2 people.

• Berkey light – 2.75 gallons – holds 4 Black Berkey elements. Great for up to 4 people.

• Big Berkey – 2.25 gallons – can hold up to 4 Black Berkey elements. Great for up to 4 people.

• Royal Berkey - 3.25 gallons – can hold up to 4 Black Berkey elements. Great for up to 5 people.

• Imperial Berkey - 4.5 gallons – Can hold up to 6 Black Berkey elements. Great for up to 7 people.

• Crown Berkey - 6 gallons – Can hold up to 8 Black Berkey elements. Great for 8 or more people.

After shopping around, you may decide a different water system is best for you, but learning about a Berkey is a good place to start your research.

http://thesurvivalmom.com/2011/02/22...erkey-is-best/

How to Make Homemade Fire Starters

Tess Pennington
Ready Nutrition
May 2011

Having the means to make a fire in a moments notice is essential in a survival situation. An external heat source can help deflect hypothermia, or even cook a hot meal when you really need it. Carrying firestarters with you while you are away from home can be a great way to add a little survival insurance to whatever situation you happen to find yourself in.

To save a few dollars, I make my own fire starters out of household items that I would normally throw away. To be thorough in my preparedness endeavors, I have put them in each of my family’s 72 hour kit, in our vehicle emergency supplies, and in our camping gear. To make the fire starters, all you really need are 4 items:
- cardboard toilet paper roll or paper towel roll
- dryer lint or cotton balls
- worn down candle stubs or crayons
- natural twine
Instructions

1. Melt the crayons or candle wax down until liquefied. This makes the fire starter windproof.
2. Stuff the dryer lint into the cardboard roll and tie with a piece of natural twine. The twine will be used as a place to light the finished fire starter.
3. Dip the stuffed cardboard roll into the wax and roll it around until it is completely covered in wax.
4. Set dipped cardboard onto a paper towel or piece of paper to dry.
5. Once the fire starters are dry, I typically cut the cardboard rolls in half and vacuum seal them along with a few matches.

Change It Up If You Like

This recipe can be changed around to suit your needs. If you do not have cardboard rolls, use cardboard egg cartons or cut up an old cardboard box into strips to roll the dryer lint up in.
Another method is to not use the cardboard at all. Just roll the lint up into a ball formation and dip the dryer lint into the wax and allow it to dry.
If you do not have candle wax, try using melted crayons, old canning wax or use paraffin wax.
Another method of making good fire starters is by dipping cotton balls into petroleum jelly. This method is a good one, but I like to find ways to re-purpose the trash that I already have on hand.
How to Make a Good Fire with a Fire Starter

Once the firestarters are lit, they will burn effortlessly so that you can add moss, small twigs, leaves and dry kindling to help the fire grow larger. Depending on how well the fire starters are stuffed, they will typically burn for 5 minutes on their own. This should give you plenty of time to get a fire started.

http://readynutrition.com/resources/...ters_18052011/