What I'm Lacking... And Need to Sort Out for Extreme Winter Weather Emergencies....

So after my first test of my "Get Home Bag"I've realized I have a few items which I am in need of to make life a bit more bearable in snow at low temperatures on a long walk home due to a disabled vehicle...

First, I am in need of better shoes and socks. I've got a few things in mind and perhaps in the coming week the sock issue will be settled.

The boots will have to wait a bit for now. But I have considered a pair of fairly compact snow shoes to help with the walking in snow. Not sure if that will materialized, but we shall see.

Right now I can carry 1.66 litres of water. Not nearly enough for an extended time out in the weather with a long walk home. My solution should be a 3 litre camelback, but I may have to resort to something a bit less expensive in the form of 1 litre water bottles. For now I plan to load the car with enough store bought water in 16oz water bottles to cover my needs. Even if frozen, I should be able to cut them open with a multi-tool and thaw them out 16oz at a time over a small cooker. I thought about simply putting a gallon jug of water in the trunk, but frozen, that is simply too much water to try to thaw out in any reasonable way.

I can't deny that keeping your neck warm in the cold windy weather is very important. Wearing a turtle neck solves that problem, but I don't wear them to work, so I need another solution to keeping my neck warm. I plan to do this with a headover. Basically a tube of material which is pulled over the head. It can function like the neck of a turtleneck shirt, but is also long enough to cover your ears and even your head if needed. Simple and compact, I plan to add this to my kit shortly.

I also need to add a small cooker to my kit. Having dealt with liquid fuel based stoves in the past I am looking for something a bit smaller. Right now my plans are to find a small solid fuel cooker and an aluminum mess tin which will allow me to thaw out 16oz of water at a time, boil water for tea or soup and heat a meal. More to follow on these items as I find them.

So, hopefully with these few additions, I should be more than prepared for the worst winter can throw at me if stuck at work, or disabled by bad weather on the way home.

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