Hono - thanks for the note re sarcasm - I thought you might be serious about the space blanket. For me, they've trapped moisture inside, and that makes whatever insulation you have wet, especially down, and that makes everything much worse. But some people seem to have success with them as bags. Maybe in drier climates?
I completely agree about testing the gear. I'm OK if my plan 'A' has some untested components, I mean that's part of how you test it. But I do not like having my plan 'B' depending on untested gear, or not having a plan 'B'.
Also can relate to the "gear collecting" mindset. Not that it's bad, I love to collect tools, but for an emergency kit they're means to and end. When putting kits together, I try to prioritize what I need to get done, then sort out what I need to have or do to get that. For winter travel, I prioritize clothing, shelter and communications first and in that order. These are things that if I have them, I'm in good shape, I'll survive. If I don't, I'm in trouble, and might not. For clothing, it's coat/hat and warm boots, then gloves. For shelter, I need protection from wind, water and water vapor, and insulation.
The next level down are water, aids in getting un-stuck, and maybe food next. If I have my first priority, I'm going to be OK with or without these things, but could be in rough shape if it takes a while to be found, or if I make some mistakes. As far as getting unstuck goes, there's only so much you can do on your own, depending on where you land. Agree that a shovel is a good thing, and a metal one, not plastic. But I'd put a tow strap before a full sized shovel, based on experience. For my truck/tires, I don't carry chains. I'm running 265/75R16's with pretty aggressive tread. I've never been stuck in the snow for lack of traction w/ 4wd and decent tires. The problem is, if the snow is deep, is that you can dig down and bury the truck down to the frame in snow. Short distance to go, shovel is your friend. Long distance to go it just sucks, especially when it's cold and snowing and you're tired...hence the backup plan of communications and keeping warm.
Off-topic, but along those lines....I'd much rather be in a 2wd car, either rear or front wheel drive, with real snow tires than any 4x4 made with summer or all season tires in the snow. I am in no way kidding or exaggerating, and it's based on many seasons of driving in the stuff, and me being dumb enough to have tried each combination of these at least twice.
I really like the idea of the hand warmers. I'm going to update my kit to include them...it is tough when you're warm, but your fingers are too cold to do what you want them to. I might even add my little esbit stove, some tabs, and some coca mix and water. That might even make being stuck in the snow fun.
One item I used to carry when I'd ride along in a friend's light plane was a folded up piece of safety orange ripstop nylon. Maybe 6' x 12', that I bought from joanne fabrics. It folded up in a jacket pocket and didn't take up much more room than a hankie. I carried it after realizing just how hard it is to see stuff from a plane. Today I'd be carrying more if I were in a light plane, a pocket strobe light for sure...and now that I think about it, carrying one of those wouldn't be a bad idea for winter, either.
Lots of good ideas on here. I may add road-flares again. A few fit great in a plastic stick welding carrier. Flares are a great fire starter and short term signal, but a down side I haven't seem mentioned much is that they do or can go bad with time.
Tom
I completely agree about testing the gear. I'm OK if my plan 'A' has some untested components, I mean that's part of how you test it. But I do not like having my plan 'B' depending on untested gear, or not having a plan 'B'.
Also can relate to the "gear collecting" mindset. Not that it's bad, I love to collect tools, but for an emergency kit they're means to and end. When putting kits together, I try to prioritize what I need to get done, then sort out what I need to have or do to get that. For winter travel, I prioritize clothing, shelter and communications first and in that order. These are things that if I have them, I'm in good shape, I'll survive. If I don't, I'm in trouble, and might not. For clothing, it's coat/hat and warm boots, then gloves. For shelter, I need protection from wind, water and water vapor, and insulation.
The next level down are water, aids in getting un-stuck, and maybe food next. If I have my first priority, I'm going to be OK with or without these things, but could be in rough shape if it takes a while to be found, or if I make some mistakes. As far as getting unstuck goes, there's only so much you can do on your own, depending on where you land. Agree that a shovel is a good thing, and a metal one, not plastic. But I'd put a tow strap before a full sized shovel, based on experience. For my truck/tires, I don't carry chains. I'm running 265/75R16's with pretty aggressive tread. I've never been stuck in the snow for lack of traction w/ 4wd and decent tires. The problem is, if the snow is deep, is that you can dig down and bury the truck down to the frame in snow. Short distance to go, shovel is your friend. Long distance to go it just sucks, especially when it's cold and snowing and you're tired...hence the backup plan of communications and keeping warm.
Off-topic, but along those lines....I'd much rather be in a 2wd car, either rear or front wheel drive, with real snow tires than any 4x4 made with summer or all season tires in the snow. I am in no way kidding or exaggerating, and it's based on many seasons of driving in the stuff, and me being dumb enough to have tried each combination of these at least twice.
I really like the idea of the hand warmers. I'm going to update my kit to include them...it is tough when you're warm, but your fingers are too cold to do what you want them to. I might even add my little esbit stove, some tabs, and some coca mix and water. That might even make being stuck in the snow fun.
One item I used to carry when I'd ride along in a friend's light plane was a folded up piece of safety orange ripstop nylon. Maybe 6' x 12', that I bought from joanne fabrics. It folded up in a jacket pocket and didn't take up much more room than a hankie. I carried it after realizing just how hard it is to see stuff from a plane. Today I'd be carrying more if I were in a light plane, a pocket strobe light for sure...and now that I think about it, carrying one of those wouldn't be a bad idea for winter, either.
Lots of good ideas on here. I may add road-flares again. A few fit great in a plastic stick welding carrier. Flares are a great fire starter and short term signal, but a down side I haven't seem mentioned much is that they do or can go bad with time.
Tom
