I mention this for 2 reasons. #1, I see a lot of new faces that might be interested in this topic, 10 months ago I didn't know what a dump kit was. #2, I was assembling some kits for my group this year, and my wife asked what they were for. Well, with my usual tact and finesse I said "OK, the boat turns over, it's gone, the gear's all gone, I'm dead, this should keep you alive until someone finds you." A different delivery might have helped, but I think she's over it now

Great topic maxx, I just finished Lost in the Wild this afternoon. It made me think how important survival tools are. They both did not have a map,compass, or ways of making a fire.

I keep a firesteel,knife and compass on me at all times when canoeing. Also when I'm on the water I carry in my PFD a container of UCO storm matches and a map. If I dump and have to swim I should have everything that I would need to get dry with a fire, make a shelter, and map and compass to walk out.

after reading the thread title i was ready to type "toilet paper and hand sanitizer".

What I've done so far, I got some little stuff sacks. I have a bunch of those athletic supply water bottles, like the water boy takes out on the field during a timeout, so I figured I'd put them to use, there may be a better option. Packed in the bottle or the sack is a space blanket, one of those survival bracelets that's like 25 feet of paracord, a match container full of matches, a firesteel, enough water purifier for 4 qts (the bottle is one quart), 3 packs of trioxane fuel bars, and 100% deet. I'm gonna add a compass and Swiss Army knife, and a couple of Clif or Honey Stinger bars. I'll be watching for tips from others

My knives are strapped to my hip and waste with a ferroseum rod attached for fire making, shelter, traps, firewood what ever is needed.

There's always a good hank of cordage attached to the system for bow strings,snares, quick shelter, fishing line.. Hooks and line in container in my pocket..

And knowledge in my head..............this is the number one factor to keep your butt alive...

The black stuff that grows on the rocks everywhere in quetico is edible......Rocktripe.....it's a lichen. Simply boil once or twice to remove the dark colored water that'll come from it.(contains the acid that causes a bitter taste) once that's done you can cook into a porage or oatmeal or bread...

Reindeer moss is another lichen that abounds in the area and is cooked in the same fashion..

Crayfish are abundant and easily caught.

Learning basic snare traps is a great idea for beaver, seagull, squirrel, gross..

Learning how to boil water and food in bark containers with hot rocks. To cook and to make water safe to drink.

knowing how to make a debris hut insulated shelter to keep you dry and warm.

Learning how to insulate your clothes with cattail or milk weed fluff. Or leaves to add insulating factor to a long sleep tshirt and pants for cold nights.

And possibly knowing how to repair your canoe with the materials that abound around you. After that trusty roll of duct tape has been lost to the depths of your fav lake.

Losing your modern day toys and tools is not the death of you. Unless you let it be. Education and practice are both key. Learn your area and your ability. Realize that yes it's just gotten a bit harder. But not neccesarily a bad thing..

After paddling the whole two park system with nothing but a small bag of flour and a gas station bag of jerky for 18 days. No tent, no sleeping bag. And having the best time of my life doing so. Everything you need for life is around you. Only thing stopping you from enjoying nature too it's fullest without modern tools is lack of taking the time to learn.

I always tie my gear to the canoe. Got a slip cord going along the length of the canoe under the gunwales. keep a caribiner with a short cord on all packs and just clip them onto the slip cord. all packs are lined with large contractor bags that have ends folded over several times and then bunge cord them shut nice and tight. This way the packs float or are at least neutrally buoyant so that the float chambers on the canoe can keep everything afloat.

On my person I always carry a multitool, bic lighter with lighter end wrapped in duct tape, some paracord, a compass and my petzl e+lite. Taping the lighter end of the bic makes it so that you can use it immediately after taking a dunk (you need to wrap a small piece of paper around the flint wheel first to keep the adhesive from gumming it up). This is easier than a ferro rod and after taking a dunk in potentially ice cold water you will want to start a fire quickly and easily. It's also a lot cheaper than buying an expensive waterproof lighter.

in pfd pocket...

pj cotton balls
light my fire steel
folding leatherman knife
micro flashlight/extra batts
2 space blankets
waxed wire tie cord (very strong)
compass/whistle
lighter
opsak bag (emergency water container)
water treatment tabs
advil
duct tape

plb is always on my belt.

Just some items kept in the yellow pouch attached to the back of my PFD and on it.

butthead

quote butthead: "
Just some items kept in the yellow pouch attached to the back of my PFD and on it.


butthead "

the right idea. a ditch kit should be worn, not carrie/straped in the canoe.

here is what is in mine.

fire steel
treated cotton balls
survival blanket
emergency poncho
bandages
small flashlight
small knife
pain killer
length of para cord
energy bar

fits in a small waterproof Sea to Summit stuff sack. Designed to fit in the pocket of my PFD

It's interesting to read all the useful items regarding survival after a dump. But remember, they are useful ONLY IF YOU MAKE IT TO SHORE. In my experience, if you are unable to make it to shore I recommend a float plane, bush pilot, and a couple park rangers to save your butt.


In Sunday's Duluth News-Tribune

Sam Cook

Rescue of canoeists serves as reminder

Duluth's Andy McDonald and three partners were paddling down Saganaga Lake on May 23, 2001, bound for some lake trout fishing, when one of them noticed something unusual in the water.
As they drew closer, they could see what it was. A body. A man, bobbing faceup in a life jacket.
He was alive.
The actions of McDonald's party along with another canoe party, a Quetico Provincial Park ranger and a Quetico pilot probably saved the man's life and that of his two partners.
The three men had been in the water for 30 to 45 minutes after capsizing their two canoes, they told McDonald's party. All were suffering from hypothermia.
With great effort, two of the victims were assisted into a Quetico Park float plane that happened to be leaving the park's Cache Bay ranger station. They were flown to the ranger station, about a mile away. McDonald and others had flagged the plane down by waving paddles.
Meanwhile, McDonald and others attended the third victim, who McDonald and Quetico Park Ranger Janice Matichuk identified as %&^$#*& of &*_$%#&^%$, Wis.
McDonald and his fellow canoeists were unable to get @#%$&*+ into one of their canoes, so they held him partly out of the water and towed him about a half-mile to shore amidst 1-foot waves.
"It was an extremely physical effort,'' said McDonald, 41, who has been visiting the canoe country since he was a teen. "It probably took 20 minutes, but it seemed like forever.''
On shore, @#%$&*+ was wrapped in sleeping bags and sandwiched between two rescuers.
"When we first got to him in the water, he could speak, but he was going downhill fast,'' McDonald said. "By the time we got to shore, he was not shivering. He was really blue. He was incoherent.''
Eventually he was transported to the Cache Bay ranger station in a boat by Park Ranger Matichuk.
The water in May was very cold, she said.
"I walked in up to my knees, and it hurt so bad I about threw up,'' she said.
At the cabin, Matichuk warmed one man by putting him in bed, warming cast iron skillets in her oven and placing the skillets between blankets next to the man. He recovered within about an hour.
She and another park employee assisted the second man into the shower, where he warmed slowly under the hot water and was later transferred to a warm bed.
@#%$&*+ was warmed by a woodstove at the cabin once he changed into dry clothing.
The three men apparently had capsized after their canoes, which had been lashed together with poles, began taking on water. Wind was from the east at about 15 mph that day, said both Matichuk and McDonald.
Saganaga Lake is 12 miles long, and the incident occurred at the western end of the lake where waves had built up.
After remaining at the ranger station for about three hours, the men were flown to a canoe outfitting business on Seagull Lake on the Gunflint Trail, where they had begun their trip.
McDonald said he and his companions have not heard from the men they pulled from Saganaga Lake. A phone call to the party's leader was not returned.
Other members of McDonald's party were Hermantown's Kurt Johnson, Oliver's Dan Breneman and Berri Swasand of Wallace, Idaho.
The incident reaffirmed a couple of important points about water safety.
"One is how important it is to wear life jackets all the time you're out there,'' McDonald said.
All four members of his party had been wearing their life jackets when they came upon the three canoeists in the water. All three of the victims had been wearing life jackets, too.
The other important lesson, Matichuk said, is to use good judgment about when to travel and when not to, based on your capabilities and that of your watercraft. "My slogan is, 'If in doubt, take it out,''' Matichuk said. "You have to have the courage to say, 'This is a bad decision.'''
Cook is a News Tribune outdoors writer. Reach him at (218) 723-5332, (800) 456-8282 or scook@duluthnews.com

I have a knife on my vest and a leatherman on my belt, Fire steel an mini light around my neck and PJCBs in a match safe in my pocket. I carry bug dope, chapstick, snare wire and TP in my vest pocket.

Remember the main danger is hypothermia. Proper clothing and fire building skills are the most important things you can have. All the survival stuff is useless if you do not carry it.

I carry one of these in my PFD along with a fixed blade knife attached to the vest. Adventure medical survival pack I also keep one of those small foil survival blankets and a gerber multi tool in the PFD vest. On my person I have a swiss army knife, match safe and compass.

tony

I keep a one liter sea to summit ultra dry sack (orange in color) in cargo pocket of my pants. Several fire starting ways Bic, fire steel and ceiling tile fire starter and a wet fire starter, and a protein bar.

I have a Leatherman on my belt and compass around my neck.

Keep another couple of fire starters, bandages, and a space blanket in my life jacket.

I also have a Mountainsmith lumbar pack that has more supplies, and first aid gear, but like many have said my main concern is getting a fire going if I swamp and I don’t wear this while in route, but do when I’m portaging.

I have pretty much what everyone else has.
A couple idea's.
I have my wistle on a lanyard tucked in my shirt and also one on my pdf. Blowing a wistle is much easier then yelling for help.
Second, something I saw in the professional kits is folded up tin foil for cooking or reflecting with. weighs nothing.
foil could also work to boil water in.
also a signal mirror or piece of foil would/could accomplish this.
Thanks for sharing everyone.
SunCatcher

Dump kits and ditch kits are both essential. But I don't wear my dump kit. (the tp and sanitizer are in the barrel).

Just a quibble point on a cold day.

I hear ya, YC, it's been that kinda day all over....;-)

EDIT--PS..Welcome to the keyboard all day never gets outside snobbery.....;-)

Oh I forgot to ad that I also have a fox 40 micro whistle on the lanyard on my compass also....

quote KevinL: "Oh I forgot to ad that I also have a fox 40 micro whistle on the lanyard on my compass also...."

Thats a good spot for a whistle, thanks for the idea.

One other thing I added to my ditch kit is 30 feet of 8 lb fireline.
It is super strong and can be used for fishing or for lashing a knife to a stick, or for a guide line for building a shelter. Tougher than nails and is light as heck. It wraps up to nothing in size or weight.
SunCatcher

Some great ideas here. I had never thought about a formal ditch kit (dumping is natural) but will give it more consideration on future trips.
One thing I have not read is dumping in what conditions. In moving water or wind the canoe may be moving away from you faster than you can swim with other still floating things bobbing along, including your life jacket if it isn't on you. A summer swim is far different than early spring or late fall so might require some adjustments.

i never paddle pfdless...ever. its the cheapest insurance there is.

quote kanoes: "after reading the thread title i was ready to type "toilet paper and hand sanitizer"."

Snort... Dump Kit... I have decided that I am always going to call it that from now on!!!

Hand sanitizer and TP could be used as a fire starter so equally at home in either a dump or ditch kit! I am learning all sorts of new items to beef mine up.

Mine contains:

Bic lighter (vacuum sealed)
Petroleum jelly cotton balls in film container
Weather proof matches
Compass
Whistle
Space blanket x 2
Knife

Pfd on everybody in the boat at all times

Butt--is that green thing,ARC,a rescue beacon?..if so your home free.
with just something to make a big fire and some sort of high energy munchy you should be home in a few hours.i see the price of a PLB is going down and when they get around $100 i'll get one.i'm a real Safety Sam and stay away from bad water and go slow and easy on the carrys.

"Butt--is that green thing,ARC,a rescue beacon?"

Yes it is!

butthead

quote maxxbhp: "I hear ya, YC, it's been that kinda day all over....;-)

EDIT--PS..Welcome to the keyboard all day never gets outside snobbery.....;-)"

We actually went on an six mile snowshoe today. It was quite nice at zero F and bright sunny! Now that we have a litte snow there is no excuse to stay in.

I agree that on flatwater you may be able to get away with a kit in the boat..but ditch kits when you are solo need to be worn . Its easy for a boat to get away especially if you are in the water and it is still right side up. The wind will catch it.

Dump Kits,or Overboard/Ditch kits as i call them are a sort of a side hobby to canoeing.i got started making them in Scouts--late 50,s early 60's--and we called them Lost Kits and not Survival Kits because no Scout would have to survive,just stay put when you got lost because adults would find you ASAP.
so anyway for the canoe trips i just got started putting a few things
in the PFD pockets.candle stubs,Bic lighter,foil bags,--so on.
that took on a life of it's own until i had the pockets full and flashers and whistles hanging on the outside of the vest.
i had one near miss with hypothermia up in the Q,even with full gear. i got into a camp cold and wet because i thought i would find a camp "just around the bend on the next point".when i did camp it was the tent,sleeping bag and stove that got me warmed up.an attempt to start a fire later on fizzled out in the drizzle and all the wood around was that moss covered, long dead on the ground black spruce.
Ok..now the point i was getting to..
even with a top of the line foil sleeping bag and a foil blanket to make a water proof cover for a debris shelter plus something to cook in a enough compressed food for a week i still had the Fire Problem.i have made several one match fires on trips to test out some fire tabs and other starters but i could see what really need was a stove.



a few years ago i pulled into a camp just as a very heavy rain started.the foreground is just the start,that white area beyond the island is the storm that was brewing all day.


the site was not the best.i got the tent up and the gear under cover.
one more trip to the lake for water and i stripped down and got in and made a cup of tea,yes the tent was on that much of a angle.
the tea with a big shot of sugar and dry poly fluff clothes made everything much better.
the stove and it's ability to get not just hot water but the inside of the tent warm,i had it burning in the vestibule,was a "life saver"..


now the search was on for a stove small enough to fit into the pocket of the PFD,and i found this.sold by several company's on Ebay for around $10 it's not much but for the one time use it might get in an
emergency it would work just fine,i have run it several times and it fires up with a built in piezo lighter and boils water in my ditch kit pot in just a few minutes.the new Gaz carts they have now also fit into this PFD pocket.so now i don't have to fool around with sparkers,lighters,matches and fire tabs to try and get a fire and warmth fast.

I have that exact stove, bought it just to see if they were any good for that price figured I couldn't go wrong. Got off Amazon for like $14 shipping included. It's actually a pretty great little stove. I still plan to buy a couple more for loaners/emergency kits. I still use my crux for a primary stove since it has more power but these are great stoves for the price.

Double posted for some reason...

keth..except for the fold out pot supports which are sort of flimsy,its not a bad little burner.if you have a Gaz stove along this would make a ok second burner on a extra cart for simmering while the main burner is cooking a bannock or fish.

Good thread Maxx, and great responses everyone. Remember that Mother Nature can kill you whenever She wants to. Hope that don't happen to anyone here.

Andy....thanks for those words of comfort! :)
SunCatcher

quote Naguethey: "

After paddling the whole two park system with nothing but a small bag of flour and a gas station bag of jerky for 18 days. No tent, no sleeping bag. And having the best time of my life doing so. "

Now that is a trip report I would like to read!!!

Well I opened mine up last night to see what I actually still had in there...

Large bowie
medium bowie
Pocket knife
Dozen fish hooks on safety pin
exacto blades 4
Sewing needles
Ferrosium rod
Small magnifying glass
Diamond stone to sharpen knifes
Water proof matches
50' of 550 cord tied to system
fire starter, cotton balls soaked in vaseline
Finger nail clipper ;]
Thread and fishing line.
P38....just incase I come across a can of spagettioes lol

All goes on my right thigh in large sheath and small thigh pouch. It all slides to the front of my leg when paddling. And back to the side for portaging.

Exacto blades and needles are for making clothing equipment repairs. Fine tool making like notching arrow shafts and such/splitting feathers for fletchings. They're small and take no room so why not.

The link is the four part film of when I paddled from nym to ely. Using the very minimum I could think of with being comfortable at the time... Slept under a lightweight tarp that tide over my canoe.. Bed of pine needles and a cheap woven blanket..

Wore mocassins the whole trip.

Took rum, spices, coffee, smokes, one bag of flour and one bag of jerky.. All this we used up..... My friend snuck two days worth of freeze dried food. (in fear that I couldn't keep him fead) We ate two large meals a day. And we never once touched any of the dried food. But got a big ass pizza when we hit Ely ;]

http://youtu.be/0oL_-ofFwDU

We had 18 days to do the trip. But we finished in 14 and drank the last 4 days in town ;]

I keep my dump kit in a small plastic first aid kit 4"square and 1"thick. I keep it sealed shut with duct tape and just leave it in my PFD pocket "just in case".

Also I keep one of those cheep bug proof head nets in my pocket. Have used it to catch minnows, crawdads and leaches when it isn't keeping the Minnesota state bird off my face

I see I'm severely dump kit deficient. All I carry is a compass and matches. Being able to make a fire under any conditions is the key to survival.

quote Naguethey: " Well I opened mine up last night to see what I actually still had in there...

Large bowie
medium bowie
Pocket knife
Dozen fish hooks on safety pin
exacto blades 4
Sewing needles
Ferrosium rod
Small magnifying glass
Diamond stone to sharpen knifes
Water proof matches
50' of 550 cord tied to system
fire starter, cotton balls soaked in vaseline
Finger nail clipper ;]
Thread and fishing line.
P38....just incase I come across a can of spagettioes lol

All goes on my right thigh in large sheath and small thigh pouch. It all slides to the front of my leg when paddling. And back to the side for portaging.

Exacto blades and needles are for making clothing equipment repairs. Fine tool making like notching arrow shafts and such/splitting feathers for fletchings. They're small and take no room so why not.

The link is the four part film of when I paddled from nym to ely. Using the very minimum I could think of with being comfortable at the time... Slept under a lightweight tarp that tide over my canoe.. Bed of pine needles and a cheap woven blanket..

Wore mocassins the whole trip.

Took rum, spices, coffee, smokes, one bag of flour and one bag of jerky.. All this we used up..... My friend snuck two days worth of freeze dried food. (in fear that I couldn't keep him fead) We ate two large meals a day. And we never once touched any of the dried food. But got a big ass pizza when we hit Ely ;]

http://youtu.be/0oL_-ofFwDU

We had 18 days to do the trip. But we finished in 14 and drank the last 4 days in town ;]"

where have you tripped that might have required fashioning arrows?

I make a bow and arrow on any trip longer than a week. Mostly just for something to keep me busy around the fire. Never a need.

Cool video of the trip. Wish the sound was better, what an accomplishment.

Thanks I studied religiously for several hours a day for a couple years. Photographed the plants several years in a row up north. To cross refferance what grew in illinois to practice cooking and eating them here.

3 nights a week for the most of the year. Everything I cooked for supper here was wild plants that I picked on my way home from work. Then kept a journal of how my body reacted and how my energy levels were. After working 8-10 hours a day construction. I didn't get nearly what I wanted captured on film. For the fact that it's a lot of work to go from top to bottom. Build camp and find food everyday. Doesn't leave alot of time to drag around a camera. And have set up time for the tripod and such.. That was done with one camera. This year I have 6 so far and hope to have more.

Not trying to hijack the thread. But with a bit of knowledge and good planning. A ditch kit, or dump kit. Will save your life possibly. And with the right attitude you can still have a good time. Just with less crap to pack around.

I've come across three groups of people over the years that have lost all their food to yogi. By either leaving it on the ground like a fool. Or improperly hanging it. So yogi was still able to get it. All three groups paddled out to either buy more supplies or go home. Just because you've lost your spagettioes to a bear. Or the bottom of a lake. Doesn't mean you have to have a ruined trip. Plan/practice/learn..


A few fish hooks and line. A few sticks and a temporary shelter and fire. And hey trips still on and going good. Just roughing it a bit. And making a better story to share once you get back home. For iphone or smart phone users. Your phone may not get signal up north. But there are survival manual apps you can download a whole book into your phone to keep for refferance. Just a thought.

Oh and I wish the sound was better too. Wanted wireless mics really bad. But was way outta my budjet. After buying the camera building the canoes, and paying for the flight in. I was one broke s.o.b. lol.

quote Naguethey: "I make a bow and arrow on any trip longer than a week. Mostly just for something to keep me busy around the fire. Never a need."

the question was where. if you have time for that you lost miles for the day.

Bow only takes minutes too make. And arrows usually take about two hours one evening around a fire. We normally make camp about 3-4 in the afternoon.

Here's a previous discussion - Ditch Kits .

I will say that reading through other peoples kits. Makes even me rethink some of my own choices or lack of.

I have a large main kit in my ruck. But if for some reason my ruck was lost/ seperated whatever.

I'll add a bit of quick energy food..

A lightweight cheap poncho

headlamp.

Pain pills, and suture kit.

And keep my stainless water bottle on my person. Something I can boil water in and cook in if needed.

Some great idea from many people.

By the way that is one thing I always take along as well. Just normally in my ruck..

sutures
vicodin
penecillin

My dr. knows I'll be days away from help and sets me up with all 3 before a trip.

naguethey..you need to get over to "equipped to survive" a good site with some good people who could use more real world and less---i'm trying to find a word here,it's not TEOTWAWKI because they hold those people and posts at bay but maybe "how much can i get in a candy tin",if you get my drift--

Thanks wetcanoedog. I'll check it out.

i always make sure that i have a pack of matches, in two plastic baggies, in my pocket.