Alligator, you nailed it. I did SAR for a few years and boy did that change the way I looked at WHAT I needed to survive. The primary thing a person needs to survive is shelter, not food, not water, not a snare, not a fish line and hook, not even fire (although that is #2). Shelter can take the form of a bivy sack, a poncho, a tarp...whatever. But what ever it is it must be readily deploy-able in bad conditions. Usually, by the time you realize you're in trouble, you are half way to hypothermia and still sitting in the wet cold wind maybe with a broken leg. I carry a homemade Silnylon tarp (4 oz) that I can make into a windproof waterproof shelter in about 30 seconds. I carry homemade matches (you ever try to use a flint or lighter with immobile fingers?) and a homemade fire starter (candle w/saw dust-10 minute burn time) that will give me heat in about another 30 seconds. I also have powerbars that are never used as a routine meal. I also carry a SPOT. The key is to survive for 48 hours, until rescue finds you.
