Topic of Discussion Putting together a basic Winter Prep. Recovery kit

[Greg]

Thought this could be a fun topic of discussion, especially now that the weather is turning and Winter is coming fast. A lot of us travel in the winter in our vehicles, for work, play or traveling to see family & friends. Often times roads in the Rocky Mountains see brutal Winter storms that greatly effect travel, to the point of causing us to stop or possibly get stuck along the way.

Lets say you have a capable 4x4 vehicle with good All Terrain tires... what do you currently have or would you like to have as a Winter Recovery kit? How would you like to be prepared in the event that the roads become very challenging to continue driving?

I'm going to work on putting together a Winter Prep. Recovery Kit based on the ideas discussed here... I'd love to have a kit that could easily be transferred from one vehicle to another.

 

[Kevin B.]

Some of this I keep in the truck year round, but specifically in the winter I carry a wool blanket, a mylar tarp and a couple emergency blankets, water, a Pocket Rocket with fuel and a little backpacking pot, a little first aid kit, emergency calories, handwarmers, tea candles, wet wipes, a packable bow saw and hatchet, a small shovel, firestarters, dry clothes (base layer, socks, hat) and rain shell. The specifically "winter" stuff lives in a small backpack that I tossed in last week with the snow/ice scraper.

I want to add one or two of those SOL emergency bivies. I'm sure I could stay relatively warm in the truck, but if I had to leave it and trek out I could see those being pretty useful. I want to work on the first aid kit too, leave behind some of the bandaids and add some better trauma capability. Maybe an avalanche shovel or snow scoop too.

 

[Kevin B.]

Oh, and flares. I need more road flares.

 

[SnwMnkys]

Ran into a really freak snow storm over Memorial weekend 2 years ago on I70 coming home from camping in 70 degree weather at Goblin Valley. A girl headed the opposite direction slid off the road and into the median which had 3 inches of wet muddy snow. I had a tow rope with me but she was too far away to reach with the rope and we couldnt find a suitable tow point. Some overland equipped guys stopped with a set of folding traction boards and and she was out in a couple minutes.

Seems like most people just get stuck in snow and are not in a dire emergency. Since not everyone is travelling in their rigs with winches and other recovery gear. Id say carrying some traction pads would be most beneficial in any vehicle.

 

[jeeper]

My wife’s car gets a lot more equipment than my trucks do. A number of years back (10?) there was a heavy snow storm with Highwinds that blocked the roadways out to Eagle Mountain. People were stranded and ran out of gas trying to keep their cars warm. Ever since that day all of our vehicles stay at half a tank or more year-round. We have determined that less than half a tank is below our safety protocol.
The wife’s car carries your basic jumper cables, strap, air compressor, plug kit, and first aid kit. additionally, we have three or four blankets, and 1 older coat to keep warm in emergency.
We also have a Ziploc bag for each kid with an entire change of clothing that we update yearly. This is to help in any case of wetness, spell, or other issue that has often happened with children.

 

[Hickey]

After a few winters at our property, I'm always amazed at how difficult it is to get a fire going when it's cold, even with bone dry wood. We use road flares and starter fluid and it still takes a while.

With that in mind, a couple things I would carry for sure are:

Several road flares, because they burn long enough to get a fire going in the worst conditions.

Shovel.

Axe.

Hand saw of some sort.

 

[Tonkaman]

I built a small first aid/ trauma kit that sits in a small red canvas bag. It easily swaps vehicle to vehicle and can survive being in the floor or in the bed of the truck. It’s clearly the most important thing to have when the going gets tough.

 

[Noahfecks]

It's CO so I keep it in the car year round

Clothes - Waterproof jacket, sweatshirt, hat, gloves, wool socks, wool army surplus blanket
Food - just some light easy snacks like granola bars, a couple bottles of water (not completely full so they dont freeze and burst
Tow strap, shackles, tool roll, small tarp
My brain

 

[Mouse]

Growing up in Minnesota I was always told to have a metal coffee can, a small candle and matches so you can melt snow to drink.

 

[OldGeezer]

4 wheel drive, good tires, a shovel and a tow strap. And the tow strap is no help if your alone. That's all that I carry now. I used to carry more but after not needing anything else over the years they were retired.

 

[Rot Box]

Something I like to carry is a small butane torch to melt ice off of lug nuts and such. Makes starting fires much easier too..

Where I drive a diesel I carry a can of fuel, power service 911 and a spare fuel filter.

 

[ID Bronco]

x2 on the small butane/propane torch. I've used it many times to start fires in terrible weather.

 

[Greg]

So based on the discussion so far it sounds like a Winter Prep. Recovery Kit should consist of 3 different categories. I'm going to focus on the bare minimum, with ideas for other items that can be added to a Winter Prep Kit, based on personal needs.

1. - Food & Water
2. - Clothes & Warming Items
3. - Recovery & Safety

Food & Water; Sounds like Granola Bars, Trail Mix, Beef Jerky and other food items that have a long shelf life are good choices. A small backpack stove, with a can or 2 of fuel and a small pot/cup to melt snow, a handful of full water bottles that are freeze proof or not filled all the way, so they have room to expand if they get frozen. I'm going to add that a few dehydrated backpacking meals would be wise, for something hot to eat to help warm up your body. Perhaps some packets of apple cider or tea, for the same reason.

Clothes & Warming Items; A Winter coat, beanie & gloves should probably be the minimum for Winter clothing. Insulated boots and Wool socks would be great to have to keep your feet warm. Layers are important, so you can dress for conditions as they change. A wool blanket would be very valuable if you have to hunker down and wait out a storm or recovery. Additional clothing as needed based on the passengers in your vehicle. I'm also going to say several of those Hand Warmer packets, to help generate heat if you can't get a fire going and don't have heat from the vehicle.

Recovery and Safety; Being able to self recover, help another motorist that is stuck or assist in a minor accident is the focus here. It would be easy to go all out here and carry all kinds of items for recovery, but again... we're focused on the bare minimum. Recovery strap (kinetic rope would be my choice), a couple of soft shackles, a shovel (I'd prefer an aluminum scoop shovel, meant for snow) and possibly a set of recovery boards if you have the space. A bag of kitty litter for weight and traction on icy ground would be wise, too. Several Road Flares for alerting other drivers of danger, starting a fire if needed or melting ice from locks, etc. A butane torch possibly as well. Small First Aid kit for trauma & treating minor injuries. Saw/Axe for gathering wood to make a fire. Basic tool kit, jumper cables, tire plug kit, etc.


How does that look? Is there anything else that is a must have?

 

[Unimog]

Just a comment here on the food/snacks. Trail mix is a great energy item and is my favorite, but it goes rancid pretty fast. You need to either rotate it at least annually or toss it and refresh it.

 

[Kevin B.]

Backpacking meals and MREs are good emergency food. So's hot drinks - tea is warm, but not a ton of calories? Tang and hot chocolate are my choice, along with an MRE or two and a handful of instant oatmeal packets.

The handwarmer packets are cool, but pack them in a couple layers of ziplocs or something or they go "stale" and don't work as good after a year or two in storage. I suspect the factory packages aren't 100% airtight.

My favorite emergency item is the ham radio. I keep the Repeaterbook app on my phone that stores info on the repeaters and shows me the closest ones so even when I'm outside my stomping grounds I've got a good chance of being able to reach out and touch someone in an emergency. It lets me feel comfortable being a little less prepared than I used to roll, which is good because packing way too much crap is something I'm very guilty of.

 

[mbryson]

Backpacking meals and MREs are good emergency food. So's hot drinks - tea is warm, but not a ton of calories? Tang and hot chocolate are my choice, along with an MRE or two and a handful of instant oatmeal packets.

The handwarmer packets are cool, but pack them in a couple layers of ziplocs or something or they go "stale" and don't work as good after a year or two in storage. I suspect the factory packages aren't 100% airtight.

My favorite emergency item is the ham radio. I keep the Repeaterbook app on my phone that stores info on the repeaters and shows me the closest ones so even when I'm outside my stomping grounds I've got a good chance of being able to reach out and touch someone in an emergency. It lets me feel comfortable being a little less prepared than I used to roll, which is good because packing way too much crap is something I'm very guilty of.

I’ll have to download that. I was in an area a few months ago that I needed to know the Logan repeater frequency and didn’t have internet service at all. Thanks for the heads up

 

[Greg]

Here's a start on my Winter Recovery Prep kit... this is going in the back of my 'work truck' that I drive back and forth to Wyoming once a week, often thru the mountains above Flaming George.

• Wool blanket
• Recovery strap
• 2 soft shackles
• Hitch Recovery point
• 4 TRED Recovery boards
• Spade shovel

A lot of the items I've had laying around. The strap has seen better days, I'd like to replace it with a Kinetic rope because I think it would work better in snow. Its a start, but far from done. I put it all in a Husky storage container that should be water tight.

 

[gijohn40]

seeing I have been out of the military for 15 yrs now I'm not sure if there is still a meal heater in the military MRE packages. they were great for all kinds of things. You just open it up and pour a small amount of water in it. it will boil the MRE meal in about 20 seconds! You will need to keep them very water tight so they don't burn!
My work has these 4x6 heavy rubber mats. I through one of those in my jeep for if I have to get under the jeep. its about 3/16 inch thick.
There are new sleeping bags that fold very tight that will keep you warm to -20 below just in case you have to stay in your vehicle with no gas in the tank.