Survival kit: Buy or Build?

[denverpilot]

Can replace the Ace bandage with good quality duct tape in a lightweight kit and it'll be useful for more things, if you're packing light as I assume we all are in aircraft.

 

[Rigged4Flight]

I'll make this easy for you.
1.Adequate clothing to survive a night outdoors in current ambient conditions.

For the worst conditions (on the ground) that you expect to fly over. Our flights range from desert to mountain ranges. It would suck to have clothing tailored for hot weather and end up going down in the mountains.

The Lifestraw is a great idea but the advantages of a fire are many, starting with the psychological effect, the ability to make hot water for cleaning as well as food.
I keep 5-6 packets of soup and hot chocolate in my emergency bag. Salt for the dehydration, sugar for the energy. There's also a couple of those freeze dried meals, which need hot water.

A campfire is without a doubt one of the easiest things to spot via an IR sensor, whether it's day or night. Full motion video sensor (or Mark I eyeballs) can easily see the smoke of a fire, and the heat signature will be incredibly hard to miss from 15-20 miles or more, depending on the IR sensor and the terrain.

Great quote from a speaker at the Salinas AOPA Fly In session on Mountain Flying:

"Survival gear is what you have on your person...everything else in the back is just camping gear!"

Best advice in this thread.

We fly with a metric crapload of survival gear. Everything from sleeping bags and cold weather gear to weapons and ammo to fully stocked trauma kits to MREs. But the only gear we actually expect to make it out of the aircraft with us is what we have on our bodies. I carry warming packs, weapon/ammo, gerber multitool, tourniquet, gloves/cap, jacket, flashlight, headlamp, gps and a fully charged cellphone - all either worn or attached to the belt I'm wearing or in a cargo pocket on my flight suit/jacket. Small medic kit, more ammo, water pouch, space blanket, radio & spare batteries, and some other stuff are in a small go bag that lives on the floor next to my seat where I can grab-and-go if I have time and if it hasn't ended up somewhere out of my immediate reach. Once we're all off the plane and accounted for we'll communicate our situation with someone, take care of immediate medical needs and go back in for the kitchen sink stuff if it's safe to do so. But again, the only thing I actually expect to make it out with me is what is attached to my body when I tighten my seatbelt and brace for impact.

Just grab your kit and head out somewhere and see if it works. What works for Alaska isn't going to work in some other places and vice-versa.

Also the best advice in the thread, IMO. Yes, I know I picked two.