How Good Planning And The Katadyn Pocket Filter Could Save Your Life
Venturing into unfamiliar wilderness can be daunting for the inexperienced.
Having good equipment with you can make all the difference between having one of the best experiences of your life and having one of the worst.
Plan carefully before you go on any outdoor trip where you will not have access to supplies of food, fresh water and warm shelter.
Being prepared is not difficult it just takes a bit of foresight and some good planning to make sure you never run into trouble in the outdoors.
Make sure you take enough food with you to last for the time you plan to go away, and make sure to pack a little bit of extra food in case you run into unexpected circumstances.
Anything can happen in the wild outdoors so it pays to always have enough food.
Combined with a cold environment having no food available can be a potentially very dangerous situation.
Try and pack foods that are high in carbohydrates and protein.
Foods such as pasta and a fruit nut mix are perfect.
These days space meals are available for the outdoor adventurer.
These forms of food offer dehydrated vacuum packaged foods which can be prepared by simply adding hot water.
Make sure you take enough appropriate clothing to deal with where you are going.
Know your destination, do some research on the internet before leaving to find out what the weather conditions will be like at the time of year you will be going.
If the conditions will be cold and wet make sure to take plenty of good warm clothes, most camping shops these days offer a wide range of clothes made with polar fleece which is very warm and dries very quickly.
Also a good waterproof jacket is essential to enjoying your trip if you are going to be outdoors in the rain.
Gore-Tex offers the best protection and comfort for wet weather gear.
It is very strong but also very breathable so your body can easily maintain the optimum temperature.
If it is going to be hot where you are going make sure to protect yourself from the sun, take cotton long sleeve shirts and trousers to help keep the sun and mosquitoes away.
The third and perhaps most important part of surviving in the wilderness is having access to fresh clean water.
Unfortunately this is not always possible as water can be hard to find and is heavy to carry in large quantities.
There are several solutions.
One is to boil water that you find along your journey to sterilize it so that it is safe for drinking.
This method has several drawbacks, one being that in extreme conditions, for example heavy rains, boiling water could be quite hard to obtain.
Secondly it is time consuming, if you are on a day walk you do not want to have to get your cooker out and boil some water every time you want to fill your water bottle up.
The next option is water purification tablets.
The main problem with these is they are limited to how many you have in the jar, and how many jars you take.
If you are going into the wild for anything longer than a day or two these are not really a sensible option.
The best option by far for guaranteeing safe drinking water in the wild is to take a personal water filter / pump with you.
The advantages of using a water filter for your water needs are many.
The main advantage is the durability and re-usability of a portable water filter.
Some water filters (see below) can be used for up to 10000 liters before their element needs replacing.
They can be used to filter dirty muddy water.
In short they provide the safest and smartest way of assuring yourself a clean water supply.
Venturing into the wild can be really great fun but as the old scout motto says "be prepared".
Most people given mild weather can survive several days in the wilderness without food and shelter, but without clean water most people are in serious trouble.
The effects of lack of water and severe dehydration can be devastating.
Don't risk being caught without drinkable water get yourself a portable water filter.
Having good equipment with you can make all the difference between having one of the best experiences of your life and having one of the worst.
Plan carefully before you go on any outdoor trip where you will not have access to supplies of food, fresh water and warm shelter.
Being prepared is not difficult it just takes a bit of foresight and some good planning to make sure you never run into trouble in the outdoors.
Make sure you take enough food with you to last for the time you plan to go away, and make sure to pack a little bit of extra food in case you run into unexpected circumstances.
Anything can happen in the wild outdoors so it pays to always have enough food.
Combined with a cold environment having no food available can be a potentially very dangerous situation.
Try and pack foods that are high in carbohydrates and protein.
Foods such as pasta and a fruit nut mix are perfect.
These days space meals are available for the outdoor adventurer.
These forms of food offer dehydrated vacuum packaged foods which can be prepared by simply adding hot water.
Make sure you take enough appropriate clothing to deal with where you are going.
Know your destination, do some research on the internet before leaving to find out what the weather conditions will be like at the time of year you will be going.
If the conditions will be cold and wet make sure to take plenty of good warm clothes, most camping shops these days offer a wide range of clothes made with polar fleece which is very warm and dries very quickly.
Also a good waterproof jacket is essential to enjoying your trip if you are going to be outdoors in the rain.
Gore-Tex offers the best protection and comfort for wet weather gear.
It is very strong but also very breathable so your body can easily maintain the optimum temperature.
If it is going to be hot where you are going make sure to protect yourself from the sun, take cotton long sleeve shirts and trousers to help keep the sun and mosquitoes away.
The third and perhaps most important part of surviving in the wilderness is having access to fresh clean water.
Unfortunately this is not always possible as water can be hard to find and is heavy to carry in large quantities.
There are several solutions.
One is to boil water that you find along your journey to sterilize it so that it is safe for drinking.
This method has several drawbacks, one being that in extreme conditions, for example heavy rains, boiling water could be quite hard to obtain.
Secondly it is time consuming, if you are on a day walk you do not want to have to get your cooker out and boil some water every time you want to fill your water bottle up.
The next option is water purification tablets.
The main problem with these is they are limited to how many you have in the jar, and how many jars you take.
If you are going into the wild for anything longer than a day or two these are not really a sensible option.
The best option by far for guaranteeing safe drinking water in the wild is to take a personal water filter / pump with you.
The advantages of using a water filter for your water needs are many.
The main advantage is the durability and re-usability of a portable water filter.
Some water filters (see below) can be used for up to 10000 liters before their element needs replacing.
They can be used to filter dirty muddy water.
In short they provide the safest and smartest way of assuring yourself a clean water supply.
Venturing into the wild can be really great fun but as the old scout motto says "be prepared".
Most people given mild weather can survive several days in the wilderness without food and shelter, but without clean water most people are in serious trouble.
The effects of lack of water and severe dehydration can be devastating.
Don't risk being caught without drinkable water get yourself a portable water filter.
