James Mandeville's Survival Website:
Free Article on Making a Personal Survival Kit

Main Equipment Recommended by James Mandeville:

Looking for equipment for your survival kit? The following items have been field tested. Please note that Survival-expert.com and James Mandeville have no commercial interest in either the equipment manufacturers or the retailers suggested below. Theses are personal recommendations and links are included for information only:
 

Means of attracting attention:

Considerations:

• For a general purpose Survival Kit you should include a signalling mirror and a whistle as the minimum. A whistle is the best all-round means of attracting attention (think about why!).
  
   
• Use a survival blanket that has a silver reflective surface. It can be picked up in a searchlight beam, be detected by radar and sparkles in sunlight.
  
   
• Carry some rolled-up fluorescent red or orange tape. It can be used as a ground marker to signal instructions to air rescue and it can be hung from trees and be spotted a long way off. Useful to let rescuers know where you are if you are sheltering in a cave or behind a rock .
  
   
• An LED torch can be seen at night from a surprising distance both by land and air.
  
   
• Here is a tip from an Army buddy of mine. Instead of carrying a relatively bulky signalling mirror, use instead a business card CD disk which takes up hardly any space in a Survival Kit. Use the hole in the middle as a sighting hole. Stick a label on one side with your personal details written on it and burn your personal details onto the disk. My friend is on active service and he has all his personal details burned on the disk and has included messages to his loved ones in case he is killed. If someone finds your body even years later the messages may mean a lot to family and friends. A disk also makes excellent arrow flights, incidentally, if you split an arrow and fix the disk to the back.
  
   
• Remember an effective signal in all terrestrial situations is to light a fire and make it smoke. (Dark smoke against a light sky and light smoke against a grey sky.)
  
   
• Mini flares should be carried as part of the marine Survival Kit and may be carried singly and the launcher modified for terrestrial use if you absolutely know what you are doing.
  
   

James recommends:

StarFlash Mirror.
(The flash can be seen for 100 miles.)


The StarFlash® signal mirror enables you to aim the flash as far as the eye can see with pinpoint accuracy. It floats, is lighter than glass and is virtually indestructible.  Also useful for shaving, to apply cammo cream, inserting contact lenses, as a silent communications tool, or for looking around corners or into tight spaces. Use it for emergency signalling to send a pinpoint flash to a rescue plane, helicopter, vehicle, or distant search party. Do not dazzle the pilot once you have been spotted, aim the mirror at the tail of the aircraft.

Specification and supplier:

Mirror Material: 100% Lexan polycarbonate  Mirrored Surface: Vacuum deposition metallization  Targeting Star: Retroreflective encapsulated bead fabric.  Size: 2" x 3" (5.1 x 7.6 cm), Weight: 0.7 oz or, 3" x 5" (7.6 x 12.7 cm)  Weight: 2.0 oz (57g)

Manufacturer: Ultimate Survival Technologies, 14428 167TH Avenue SE, Monroe, WA 98272-2915, USA

www.ultimatesurvival.com

 

JetScream Whistle:
(The JetScream™ Whistle creates a piercing shriek audible over most other natural and manmade noises. Due to its pea-less design, it even works when wet.)

Specification and supplier:

Length: 2.3 inches (5.8 cm) Weight: 0.3 oz (8.5g) Colour: Black

Manufacturer: Ultimate Survival Technologies, 14428 167TH Avenue SE, Monroe, WA 98272-2915, USA
 
 www.ultimatesurvival.com

 

The Pains Wessex® Miniflare 3:
(The launcher can be cut down and attached to a branch with a makeshift firing cord for use in a Personal Survival Kit but do not attempt to do this, or to carry flares out of their container, unless you really know what you are doing.)

The Pains Wessex® Miniflare 3 is a personal aerial flare pack containing eight red flare cartridges and a "penjector" firing mechanism enclosed in a tough, water resistant, plastic pouch. The penjector is fitted with a stainless steel spring and striker pin and features a unique bayonet fitting with a simple twist-on action for loading the flare cartridge. The Pains Wessex® Miniflare 3 is designed primarily for yachts, dinghies, personal water craft and windsurfers but has many applications as a general purpose distress signal for canoeing, hill walking, climbing, skiing and other outdoor pursuits.

Specification and supplier:

Flare deployment height: Over 60m when fired vertically  Flare burning time: 6 seconds Flare light output: 3000 Candela Dimensions: 150.2mm x 66.3mm x 18mm Weight: 269g Explosive content: 38g (5g per cartridge)

Manufacturer: Pains Wessex, Chemring Marine Ltd ., Silver Point , Airport Service Road, Hilsea, Portsmouth, PO3 5PB, United Kingdom
 
 www.pwss.com