1) Which is better for water purification, bleach, iodine, or "tablets"?  How much of each should you use?

2) What are the essential elements of a first aid kit?  

[b]1)[/b] Tincture Iodine -- generally sold as a disinfectant in a small dropper bottle.

[b]2)[/b] salt tabs, pencil & note pad ([i]for recording vital states[/i]), duct tape, tin foil, solar blanket, aspirin, tylenol, triple antibiotic cream, 10cc syringe w/o needle ([i]for drawing out injected poisons[/i]), triangle bandages, sam splint ([i]or duct tape and foil[/i]), guaze rolls, maxi pads ([i]control major bleeding[/i]), tea bag ([i]for tooth infection[/i]), Swiss-Army knife, plastic mirror ([i]for self exams or signaling[/i]), waterproof matches, whistle, Sky-Blazer flares, wire saw, twine or small diameter rope, trioxine fuel sticks, granola bars ([i]last resort food[/i]), hard candy ([i]for diabetics[/i]), dry condoms ([i]to cover fingers or use as a tourniquet[/i]).

I could go on, but too much stuff is not good either, since stock must be rotated over time, and a bigger kit will be very bulky.  I have listed what we generally carried as wilderness guides to get us through just about any emergeny we would encounter.  These days, adding a CPR mask/barrier would be a good idea, but I've never worried about carrying one personally.

Also, a 2-meter HAM Radio will fit in a small pack very well, and reach out from areas that a cell phone can't. Also, a HAM license is NOT necessary for emergency use, and the other operators [u]will[/u] relay to an emergency response team and/or make emergency contact phone calls for you.

Glockshooter, check out these sites:

For basic water purification and storage info:
[url]http://quake.ualr.edu/schools/guide/section5i.htm[/url]

For more detailed water purification info check out Katadyn.net
[url]http://www.katadyn.net[/url]

If you don't want to invest in some sort of mechanical filtering device, Katadyn's "Micropur" is a much better product for purifying drinking water.

If you scroll down on the Katadyn page, you will also see a first aid kit.  I'm not recommending that kit, but by checking out it's contents, you can get a good idea of items you would want in your own kit.

DaMan

What is a 2-meter HAM radio, and where could I get info on them?

For anything HAM related, check out [url]http://www.arrl.org[/url], it should give you a lot of info on how to get a license, requirements, equipment, etc.

You have to be careful about using iodine if you're allergic to it or shellfish, etc.

[url]http://www.princeton.edu/~oa/manual/water.shtml[/url]

I personally recommend Polar Pure from Polar Equip. Co. Saratoga, CA.  It costs about $10 from REI, but you probably can get it any camping store.

rkbar15, excellent site! I'm going to request the book from the library.

As a kid, I used iodine (tablets) with no ill effects. But, I've heard that iodine and iodine/filtering systems can cause various health problems, if used for extended periods of time.

If you are dealing with water that is infected with Giardia cysts, you need a pretty strong dose of chlorine-based treatments. I got a GOOD (read BAD) dose of Giardia once (the toilet was my best friend)!  Quite a memorable experience! The rapid loss of fluids associated with Giardia could be fatal.

For long term, I would recommend investing in a micro-filter system like the Katadyn Pocket Filter (if the water is safe from viruses like Hepititus A, rotavirus, Norwalk virus).

If there is any question that a virus, is present, treat with an iodine based treatment after filtering.

DaMan

Yes, it's expensive and  

   

thx

1)I have a MSR Miniworks ceramic water filter I've used backpacking for 3 years. This is the same water purifier issued to the USMC. This thing works GREAT! You can put even put the tube in beer or soda and get straight H2o when you use it. No impurities. If you're worried about contaminated (meaning in a chem/bio war scenario) water, I'm not too sure what it would do, but the Marines are told to only drink bottled water, or in an emergency, filtered, boiled, and iodined water. You can see the website here:

[url]http://www.msrcorp.com/[/url]

   It cost me about $65 a few years ago. Easy to clean too!

2) Make sure you have a SAM splint in that 1st aid kit!