Virginia Gun Owners Forum - VGOF

To start, she was born in Canada and raised in Minnesota, so I doubt cold is something she fears. However she is getting on in years and does not keep an emergency kit in her car.
I need to make a bag for her that includes survival basics for winter, keeping in mind she doesnt have the strength or energy to do any mechanical work on her car, nor does she have the knowledge to properly use jumper cables or swap fuses.

So far its a
- Small backpack
- several mylar blankets (I have a big wool blanket but its too bulky, especially if she has to abandon the vehicle and set out on foot)
- womens wool socks
- Several body heat pads and hand warmers
- one medium and one small water bottle
- 2 Photon lights attached to outside and one maglite in the 3-AA style with LED.
- 3 clif bars
- thin flimsy emergency poncho


What I know I still need to add:
- a beanie or watch cap
- gloves, but I dont know whats best for a snow emergency. I dont like those fuzzy mittens because they get soaked easily, but I also know she won't be doing any real manual labor in an emergency. Just surviving.
- chem lights, maybe a flare
- sturdier poncho or maybe rain jacket
- emergency radio with spare batteries. Ideally AA so she has backup for the flashlight too.
- probably more food and water. Not MRE's cuz she never learned how to use them and wouldnt want to struggle with it. Am thinking those high density hard-tack bars and emergency water in tinfoil pouches would be OK.
- emergency bivvy, the backpack can be a pillow
- decent first aid kit with focus on trauma gear. She isnt a first aid expert by any means, but large quantities of blood dont scare her. She could help herself or others if needed.
- fire starting equipment. She wouldnt want to figure out a flint or magnesium rod, so I am thinking water proof matches, a good lighter and maybe a tiny stove with fuel pellets.
- loud whistle

Actually the more I think about it, the more I realize she probably wouldnt be able to last a whole day isolated in the cold anyway. Maybe I should just stick to things that would keep her warm and dry in the short run (heavy clothes, warmers and poncho) and let her find help (lights, fire, whistle, radio).

Thoughts? Am I missing something obvious? Remember if she sets out on foot she has to carry the backpack, and she is in no shape to haul a full camping trip worth of stuff, at least not more than a few hundred feet.

small GPS hiking/backpacking GPS that uses AA batteries and will give you a lat/lon vs. the on-road GPS's.

If you can tell the rescue party EXACTLY where you are, you are a lot easier to find.

Mittens are MUCH warmer than gloves. But you need gloves if you are doing anything that requires dexterity.

chemlights are nice, but have a short shelf life... like < 2 years, so they need to be replaced every year.

MRE's - learned how to use??!?!?! tear open, eat. Heck if a 17 year old E1 can manage it... how hard could it be?

IMO for a replace/repack every year kit, get 10-20 protein bars from the local grocery and put them in a zip-lock.

Here is a list of stuff I would like to have in my car(haven't done it yet)

Some of this may not apply to your mom:

(Was gonna just copy and paste but it's easier to read in the original Google Docs forum.)
https://docs.google.com/document/d/10gs ... t?hl=en_US

You know, Short Man, just because your mother doesn't understand jumper cables or fuses doesn't mean that a passer-by won't. It would be a good idea to keep them in her car, anyway. The same logic applies to a basic set of tools. Some flares wouldn't hurt, either.

GOD DAMMIT I AM THE BEST SON IN THE WORLD!

Forgot I had already given her a winter kit last year. Big camping backpack full of good junk. Just had to add in a couple things. Its all complete now, all she needs is some road flares and she'll be good.

I have one other suggestion & question. A couple of say 36"x 48" fleece blankets. These can be wrapped around here head &/ or used as a scarf. They are light weight but doubled up are very warm. She can put one. Astound her shoulders & the other around her legs.

Does she have good strong hands for opening the packages, of not, a good pair of scissors. I would put scissors in with the food anyway. No need to waste energy & get cold to pull out all the first aide gear to get those.
What about turning on the flashlight? Is that easy to turn on if her fingers are cold? Any arthritis?ill her teeth allow her to eat the hard food?

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