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Vehicle Winter Survival Kits - Part One: Personal Gear
by David Graves
Priority #2: Food and Water
A driver in poor winter conditions may be stranded for several hours, or possibly even several days, before help arrives. Leaving the vehicle is often a poor option, and the need for water and food will soon set in (do not forget the role of food in providing metabolic heat). Dehydration is a much more rapid threat than starvation, but storing liquid water in freezing conditions can be a major obstacle. The following options may work:
Empty Soda or Juice Bottles. Save a few of these to fill with water for storage- but only fill them about 2/3 to ¾ full to allow for expansion if they do freeze. It may be a problem to thaw these if they are frozen, but the water should be safe at any rate. These bottles are fairly tough, and they re-seal well (ed. note. Gatorade and orange juice bottles are particularly tough.) It is better, if possible, to store these inside of the passenger compartment of your vehicle than in the trunk, where they will surely freeze.
Sport or Hiker’s Water Bottles. These are tough and have a good, positive seal when the lids are screwed on tight. Although re-using soda or juice bottles is a cheap option, they do not have the durability of heavy-duty plastic or metal container. These come in a variety of sizes and colors. The preferred models have a wide mouthed opening, which makes filling them and adding drink powders easier.
Military Canteens. The advantage this item has over other types of container is the addition of the Canteen Cup. This is a large metal cup with folding handles, available in steel or aluminum. This is a handy way to melt small amounts of snow or to warm liquids. It fits the base of the canteen, which allows for easy storage. These are commonly available and inexpensive at military surplus stores.
Metal Snow Melting Vessel. During a northern winter, there is generally snow available, and this may be used as a water supply. Snow can be most easily melted in a metal container. Besides being used with an open fire, a container of snow can be melted with engine heat. An ideal container is relatively deep and has a bail that allows it to be hung. Military surplus mess kits are a good, inexpensive source fore this sort of container.
Food that is not subject to freezing, that requires no cooking, and can be stored without spoilage can be found with a little effort, and here are some good examples:
Meals Ready to Eat. These are the standard US military field ration. These can be purchased at many surplus or outdoors stores. There are many places online, such as www.campingsurvival.com that carry these. They come in a tremendous variety and can even be matched to special diets. They include items other than food, such as matches and tissue paper. Each meal contains between 2500 and 3500 calories, enough to keep an active 18 year-old soldier going for one day. These can be eaten cold and have a very long storage time. They are not as cheap as some other options, and can be a bit bulky. They even taste pretty good!
Toaster Pastries. These are tasty and convenient. They do not need to be cooked, come in individual storage packets, and have a variety of vitamins added. They are compact, relatively cheap, and come in a large variety of flavors. The biggest problem with them is that they are full of sugar, and the energy spike from them is rather sharp.
Spam or Other Canned Meats. Inexpensive and easily available (even in country "filling stations"), these store well and are high in calories. They are easily opened without a tool, and do not need cooking. Buy the low sodium version to avoid increased need for water.
Peanut Butter or Cheese Crackers. These are readily available at gas stations, are cheap, and store relatively well. Even when finely crushed they are edible. However, they are pretty minimal nutritionally and are quite salty.
Powdered Beverages. Packets of these are VERY compact and store nearly forever if kept dry. They can help water produced from melted snow taste better, and some even contain vitamins.
Granola or Cereal Bars. These can pack quite a few calories into a very compact package. Most people find them pretty tasty. They store well, and they are edible as long as they are dry- even if they are frozen!
One thing to keep in mind is that all of these calorie-dense foods are very DRY- only eat if you have water available or you will dehydrate even more.
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