Hi all.
Do any of you keep items in your pfd when you go on a solo trip? If so what kinds of things
Thanks
Mike

I have seen a few threads on this. Search for 'ditch kit' maybe. Basically, if you go over and cannot swim you boat and gear to shore, you have a few items to survive and get dried out, so fire starter, emergency blanket, that kind of stuff.

I do not have one, but am thinking about it especially going solo.

I carry a ditch kit since I went to AK.
Gotta quit deleting my pics after the summer paddling season (cause its in Ak) but it fits in an extra large shaving kit bag that has a couple zippered compartments and pouches inside.
In it I carry, first aid kit, fire starter, emergency blanket, blaze orange heavy duty garbage bag, very small wood saw. (Ect) I'm guessing it all weighs around 2+ pounds.
This kit is strapped to the back of my PFD.
My bear spray and SPOT are always strapped to my person for quicker access.

I bought a PFD with pockets specifically for the reason of carrying emergency items like mentioned.

I just bought a pfd with nice pockets for this reason. Wetcanoedog on here has a great YouTube video of what he carries. Just was wondering what you all carry. Thanks to those that answered
Mike

Lighter, fire steel, test tube with vasolined cotton balls, reflective space blanket, cheap blaze orange poncho, small length of paracord, sawyer mini, folding plastic water bottle.......all fit in my front 2 pockets on my pfd. Knife and multitool are on my belt and compass is clipped to my pfd.

Mine has whistle and lock back folding escape knife. Also an Altoid tin with a few small items such as a mini lighter, fire starter, mini flashlight, and hard candy. A ditch kit is only good if you have it on you in the pocket of your pfd.

quote Bannock: "Mine has whistle and lock back folding escape knife. Also an Altoid tin with a few small items such as a mini lighter, fire starter, mini flashlight, and hard candy. A ditch kit is only good if you have it on you in the pocket of your pfd."

Yep. Similar, including Altoid tin. No candy. I have a signal mirror tucked into the Altoid tin.

Dave

Here is Wetcanoedog's Youtube video mentioned above: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YuFhM2z_1zM

Old PFD setup I wore, Kokatat Se02 hibrid. Camera, spare inflation cartridge, compas, whistle, idiot strings, in pockets. ACR PLB, Gerber Multitool, on side straps, firstaid/ditch kit pinned to the back.

All except the camera/CO2 refill, now ride on a Astral YTV.


butthead

I keep a bottle opener and can coozie in mine... but that's not for BW trips.

i'm still very angry that my PFD/ditch kit was taken out of my camp on Lake Pauness .
someone in a solo boat and a double paddle was moving fast to the LIS when I first saw them.going up to the fire place later I saw my PFD was gone and I had seen it there in the morning when I used the fire grate.i had a big shelter up and a tent plus my canoe was pulled up on the shore. a clothes line with a sleeping bag was also up so whoever took my PFD and paddled off in a hurry knew what they were doing.
there was $50+ worth of gear in the pockets,good thing I kept my PLB in my day bag or that would have gone to the loss of several hundred bucks.
i'll be watching for it this summer on the canoe path,whoever has it they should leave it home.

Yes. I figure if I go over it maybe all I'll have in an emergency. I have:

PLB
Whistle
Fixed Blade Knife
Fire Steel
Cotten ball Vasssoline fire starters that are vacuumed sealed
Compass
Emergency foil blanket
Small AAA Pen flashlight
Mini First Aid Kit
Small Gerber multi tool/knife
10 ft of 3mm cord

There maybe a couple other items, but that's most of it.

quote wetcanoedog: "i'm still very angry that my PFD/ditch kit was taken out of my camp on Lake Pauness .
someone in a solo boat and a double paddle was moving fast to the LIS when I first saw them.going up to the fire place later I saw my PFD was gone and I had seen it there in the morning when I used the fire grate.i had a big shelter up and a tent plus my canoe was pulled up on the shore. a clothes line with a sleeping bag was also up so whoever took my PFD and paddled off in a hurry knew what they were doing.
there was $50+ worth of gear in the pockets,good thing I kept my PLB in my day bag or that would have gone to the loss of several hundred bucks.
i'll be watching for it this summer on the canoe path,whoever has it they should leave it home."

Oh man! That's terrible. I'm very sorry this happened. Did you ever figure out why you couldn't get your last video to upload on the computer?
Mike

Can I ask a stupid question? What's a PLB?
Mike

quote Whatsit: "Can I ask a stupid question? What's a PLB?
Mike"

Personal Location Beacon

Mine has TP and not much else.

Mike..still no luck making movies that download.my Panasonic LX7 was working great !
I have a small Cannon video camera that I was using but it does not have the same high quality movies as the LX7..i'll keep trying.

quote wetcanoedog: "Mike..still no luck making movies that download.my Panasonic LX7 was working great !
I have a small Cannon video camera that I was using but it does not have the same high quality movies as the LX7..i'll keep trying."

Let me know if I can do anything to help
Mike

WCD, Dave if you have a OneDrive, Storage only
OneDrive Basic 5 GB. You can upload a large file and post a link for viewing.
my link to Q trip rapids a 19,429 kb Windows Audio/Video file.
much longer video at 908,653 kb MP4 video

I have had much better results than photo/video hosting sites. Far as security the only files I put in cloud storage are intended for sharing.

butthead

PS; Pardon the language of off video folks, picked up better than I thought. bh

Mike,

Like others, I carry a variety of things in my PFD, shirt, or pants pockets:

Bandana, chapstick, sunscreen, bug juice/headnet, camera, lunch/snacks, TP, hand sanitizer, whistle, compass, knife.

Small roll-up water bottle and back-up water purification tablets, bandaids, survival bag, firesteel, wetfire tinder, chemical heat packs, and PLB.

It's still a work in progress. I'll have to add nitroglycerine (will have to keep waterproof, too) this year and I'm considering another option since the stuff in the PFD isn't with me at all times on the portages. If that doesn't sound like a problem, read "Lost in the Wild", by Cary Griffith. At a minimum, the nitro has to be with me at all times, not the other end of the portage.

I had a situation last fall (not life-threatening) that I had never considered. I had to repair the pack I was carrying. Fortunately, it was the one with repair kit in it and not the one at the end of the portage. It was still in the bottom of the pack I was carrying though. ;)

Maybe I can find a lightweight multi-pocket nylon vest (clothing, not life vest), or a belt pack. I've always liked not having the extra item to fool with though.

quote boonie "Maybe I can find a lightweight multi-pocket nylon vest (clothing, not life vest), or a belt pack. I've always liked not having the extra item to fool with though."

You can find some really nice and cheap used vests on eBay
Mike

I bought my Stolquist Trekker from ebay, way cheaper than new, new over a hundred dollars.