Are you prepared? Its life or death! Would you live?

The number one survival tool for anyone packs easily and weighs nothing - It's a good attitude.

You really don’t need to carry an entire ambulance in your camelback. I carry more tools to fix my bike than I do to fix people. I was a certified EMT in California & New Mexico and trained in Wilderness SAR, confined space & high angel rescue in the mid-nineties. You can do a lot with a little when it comes to a majority of bike related accidents. When it comes to severe internal or head trauma though, unless you can get someone to an OR you’re not going to be able to do much.

A femur fx can be pretty severe if the patient goes into shock, and in most cases without a traction splint or morphine you’re not going to be able to do much to relieve the pain. Unless the patient passes out, they’re going to be difficult to transport over land.

I carry some pain meds, a triangle sling, a Sam splint, a wire splint, tape, and the typical bandages, swabs, etc… With a Sam or wire splint and a couple of jersey arms or your tow strap you can make a splint for about any bone. Duct tape is universal too.

Space blankets are great if you’ve got someone going into shock.

A couple of lighters are a must as well – I carry one in my tool belt and another in my camelback. There’s no excuse for freezing your ass off if you have fuel for a fire (i.e. your buddies’ bike – chances are he won’t be riding it out…)

Another thought when it comes to the “psychology of survival” – attitude has more to do with survival than physical conditioning or environmental factors. There are plenty of case studies, specifically for parties lost at sea, where those who are seemingly physically fit die and someone else, who by all logic should have perished, survived. Same thing goes with children. Children who are too young to be scared, and who essentially just find somewhere to cozy up and take a nap do much better than older children who have a tendency to freak out.

Survivors don’t wonder around in a panic in the middle of the night, they light a fire and shoot the shit with their buddies around the campfire…
 
The number one survival tool for anyone packs easily and weighs nothing - It's a good attitude.

You really don’t need to carry an entire ambulance in your camelback. I carry more tools to fix my bike than I do to fix people. I was a certified EMT in California & New Mexico and trained in Wilderness SAR, confined space & high angel rescue in the mid-nineties. You can do a lot with a little when it comes to a majority of bike related accidents. When it comes to severe internal or head trauma though, unless you can get someone to an OR you’re not going to be able to do much.

A femur fx can be pretty severe if the patient goes into shock, and in most cases without a traction splint or morphine you’re not going to be able to do much to relieve the pain. Unless the patient passes out, they’re going to be difficult to transport over land.

I carry some pain meds, a triangle sling, a Sam splint, a wire splint, tape, and the typical bandages, swabs, etc… With a Sam or wire splint and a couple of jersey arms or your tow strap you can make a splint for about any bone. Duct tape is universal too.

Space blankets are great if you’ve got someone going into shock.

A couple of lighters are a must as well – I carry one in my tool belt and another in my camelback. There’s no excuse for freezing your ass off if you have fuel for a fire (i.e. your buddies’ bike – chances are he won’t be riding it out…)

Another thought when it comes to the “psychology of survival” – attitude has more to do with survival than physical conditioning or environmental factors. There are plenty of case studies, specifically for parties lost at sea, where those who are seemingly physically fit die and someone else, who by all logic should have perished, survived. Same thing goes with children. Children who are too young to be scared, and who essentially just find somewhere to cozy up and take a nap do much better than older children who have a tendency to freak out.

Survivors don’t wonder around in a panic in the middle of the night, they light a fire and shoot the shit with their buddies around the campfire…
What he said!!!:thumb:
 
Sounds like Jesus...um, Neversurfaced has some good info!:thumb:

I have to ask: I ride alone a lot in some pretty remote areas. The kind of places where if you get FUBAR'd, the coyotes will divey you up and scatter your bones before someone finds you. This is the woods. Plus lots of open reclaimed mining areas, that can be like a wet desert. Now, beyond saying "Don't ride alone!" what would your expert advice be to pack along? Right now, I'm just hauling water, a knife, lighter, and some bike tools. Sometimes a pistol because I have a CWP! (No jokes about "just shoot yourself!":P) I'll carry some plastic bags if I happen to "off" some dinner on the trails. I'll carry my target grade Browning Buckmark .22, arguably one of the best small game pistols ever made.)
 
Fire source, a half dozen or so energy bars, some idolization tabs if you like, a map of the area and a compass / signaling mirror, emergency bag (better than a space blanket because you can crawl inside), extra medication if you take any, a basic first aid kit and a index card with all your vital info (emergency contacts, allergies, blood types, pre-existing medical conditions). A cell phone (if you have coverage) or SPOT if you don't can save you a few cold nights...

I think bike failure is more likely than anything. A busted chain can ruin your whole day and a chain braker & master links are light.

I usually only ride solo in OHV parks (where someone will find me eventually), but if I'm going 'off the map' I often carry a 40 S&W DAO semi-auto.


EDIT: Oh yeah, I also carry about 25' of 1" tubular webbing (the kind rock climbers use) for towing bikes or a hundred other uses. You can use it to secure a splint, help build a lean-to, tie up a meth head, hang game, or (if you add a couple of well-placed carabiners) you can use a mechanical advantage for extracting a bike...
 
Fire source, a half dozen or so energy bars, some idolization tabs if you like, a map of the area and a compass / signaling mirror, emergency bag (better than a space blanket because you can crawl inside), extra medication if you take any, a basic first aid kit and a index card with all your vital info (emergency contacts, allergies, blood types, pre-existing medical conditions). A cell phone (if you have coverage) or SPOT if you don't can save you a few cold nights...

I think bike failure is more likely than anything. A busted chain can ruin your whole day and a chain braker & master links are light.

I usually only ride solo in OHV parks (where someone will find me eventually), but if I'm going 'off the map' I often carry a 40 S&W DAO semi-auto.


EDIT: Oh yeah, I also carry about 25' of 1" tubular webbing (the kind rock climbers use) for towing bikes or a hundred other uses. You can use it to secure a splint, help build a lean-to, tie up a meth head, hang game, or (if you add a couple of well-placed carabiners) you can use a mechanical advantage for extracting a bike...

If you watch the cell phone commercials, the "red" coverage, it doesn't happen anywhere in southern Ohio! That's kind of cool in it's own way. My cabin and most things around it are off grid! Personally, that's a good thing!

Thanks for the advice! I will adopt your rope strategy and carry some rope. Early June, by chance, some ATV'ers rescued me when I went into a deep gully with a swamp at the bottom. I made it down, across, but buried the rear wheel trying to get up the upside! Took off my helmet and tried to get the rear wheel suction-locked in mud! It was raining. Hard. It was getting late. I was soaked, my boots weighed 1000 lbs, I was F'd! I was in the middle of nowhere. Up comes a couple of guys on 4whlrs. Way lucky! I Flag them down. They park above the swamp and with 100' of rope, winch my ass out of certain doom! I followed the trail with them to the next town, New Athens, and bought them some beers at the General Store! :banana: True F'n story! :ride: I would have been in the hurt box walking 15+ miles in 1000lb boots thru a devils snatch back to my cabin! :ride:

I couldn't imagine spending a night out there!
 
In our packs we carry water, food, a pretty good first aid kit, matches, (Fire stone), knife, tools, space blanket (the Cheap ones), TP, Rope or strap (High Stress), Occationally a gun,
 
In our packs we carry water, food, a pretty good first aid kit, matches, (Fire stone), knife, tools, space blanket (the Cheap ones), TP, Rope or strap (High Stress), Occasionally a gun,

In the event dinner walks out in front of you......:smirk:...:smirk:...:smirk:
 
Definitely +1 on the space blanket. My last one kind of fell apart and I need to get a new one.

Riding out injured is the number 1 reason that I want an electric start bike.

Carrying enough stuff is always an issue in a dirt bike. I always carry a backpack and I carry way more than just about anyone that I have ever been on a trail with. I'm lucky if the people I ride with bring enough water to not cut the ride short. I try to always have a first aid kit of some kind. Nothing too major but some stuff for bleeding and a way to wrap it up.

OK, so I tried this tactic on my wife yesterday.....I even said when we're financially capable...it'd be a good idea if I "had this option". :foul: Didn't go overas well as expected.....:rant:
 
OK, so I tried this tactic on my wife yesterday.....I even said when we're financially capable...it'd be a good idea if I "had this option". :foul: Didn't go overas well as expected.....:rant:

I had one experiance where I would have loved to have it. I was crossing a creek on my 01 WR250 and started sinking. Hit the throttle and the rear end sunk! Well I fought to get out and killed the bike. Ever tried to kick over a hard starting 4 stroke with the last 1/2 the kick in the water and your riding boots have a slick mud on them. It was not pretty. I was the only one there able to kick it. After 5 minutes I finally got a good enough kick to fire it. Did I mention my new bike has an electric start. :smirk:
 
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