I don't know what made me think of it but I do like the small cooking "pot" idea. O_S's mug idea could work too. Those metal Sierra cups are dumb for camping but in an emergency situation? The ability to heat water makes the "I need a fire to prevent hypothermia" idea reasonable - to me anyway. I still think an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure but yeah, shit happens.

Could be twenty years ago but I once bought a friend a small aluminum box - just 'cause I saw it and thought of him. I don't remember if it had a gasket but it had flip type closures on both ends. It was nice. Cheap too. With the big bottom and a lid, I expect it could heat water rather efficiently in an emergency type situation. It would make a quick small fire worthwhile. I still just can't envision a fire big enough to warm me unless I washed up at a protected campsite with oodles of welcome wood.

Hey, let's be careful out there.

Here is my thinking as I assembled a 'ditch kit'. I made no rule regarding size, except that it had to be something I could clip to my PFD when we are paddling in dicey conditions. I use a carbiner to clip a small dry bag. My other assumptions are that one or more of our party find ourselves in the drink, and we will make it to the nearest reasonable shore to land. We may or may not have our canoes and our 'stuff'.

In the main dry bag, I have 3 sticks of trioxane, strike anywhere matches, a small lighter, 2oz hand sanitizer, a 12oz stainless steel cup w/ handle, a whistle w/ compass & thermometer built in, along w/ a few chicken bouillon cubes, a few packets of cup a soup, some jerky, some cashews, a couple of granola bars, some alum foil, a space blanket. In a small pill bottle I have a small assortment of 1/8 & 1/4oz jigs, a few twister tails, soaked in Gulp Alive juice, a Rapala floater, a small weedless spoon, and a Cicada jig. I also have a live bait rig w/ a small bobber and some 10lb mono. I can make a rod from a green tree. The bobber is so I can attend to other duties while waiting for a strike. The live bait rig is so if I can capture a small frog, crayfish, etc, I can use them for bait. While I know the laws regarding live bait, if it is a survival situation, I will do what is necessary. Even if I leave a jig slightly suspended off the bottom, the bobber will detect a strike.

My assumption is that hypothermia is a likely issue if we are cold & wet. My other assumption is that there is no need to be hungry if we are stranded for a longer period of time (overnight). So, once a fire is going, and the initial needs are met, I will go fishing. Experiance has confirmed for me that it is likely that I can catch panfish or small bass & waldos from shore. So, with this simple kit, I can catch dinner & breakfast if need be.

So, the main needs are food & water, and drying out. Our wet clothes will either dry on us or can be removed to dry on a tree or bush. The dry bag will double as a water container. The fish will be wrapped with a squirt of oil (2oz bottle), & a little spice, into the foil & set baking in the coals. I failed to mention that I also packed a small fillet knife to prepare the fish.

In a second, smaller dry bag, I have a 10'x10' sil nylon tarp w/ a few ropes & stakes. This eliminates the need to build a crude shelter, and the whole thing is very compact & light. It could be a simple windsreen to assist in the drying process, reducing windchill, or cover us if it rains. If we are overnighting, the smaller dry bag becomes the food pack, while the larger one holds 'camp water' to stay hydrated. I also have a small bottle of insect repellant, and a small bottle of sunscreen, because I burn easily. I also have an extra bandanna, which has multiple uses.

I figure if one or more is stranded, there is no need to suffer needlessly. This meets my percieved needs, and your milage may vary.

Stamping out the truth, so to speak.

Quote:

Yes.  That is quite possibly true.

I've also seen film of people boiling water in a plastic bottle and one of the "drills" I did as a Boy Scout (many moons ago) was to boil water in a paper bag.

So, it is pretty obvious that in those situations, much of the heat is being absorbed by the liquid rather than exclusively by the container.

dd

dd,

I'm glad to help.
If you take the time to go to home page and look under all gear headings, you'll see just about any item that you can think of for survival kits.
I see a few things that will be added to my gear.
I like this item. You could make holder out of a forked green branch and boil some water in the part of capsule that doesn't have the gasket.
Add the boiled water to a zip lock bag with soup mix/small fish pieces and you could have a nice little body warming meal.

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