Stranded in the car story...

Here's a link to our "stranded in a car below -20" story. Seriously, I urge everyone to take a little time and compile a safety kit. You never know when you might need it... http://www.wheels.ca/feature/stranded-would-you-be-able-to-survive-if/

I have daughters in Detroit and Chicago. I know there will be additions to their trunks very soon. Thanks!

Scott

Thank the lord I don't live up there.

That is some excellent information. I commend your willingness to endure that kind of cold. I have camped outside in 15-20 degree weather and it was no fun. I can only imagine how miserable 20 degrees colder would be like. I will have to check our cars to see how much of my old survival gear is still there and how much has migrated back into the garage over the years.

DoctorBlade wrote: Thank the lord I don't live up there.

It's God's Country and we love it.

It was an eye-opener for me, let me tell you. I want everyone I care about to have a decent kit in their trunk - including those horrible bivvy bags. They work well.

How'd the phalanges hold up? Honestly.

With all my access to emergency equipment, this may help me put together my cold-weather-trunk-bag.

In reply to LopRacer:

Checking it from time to time is important. My wife had a box of emergency stuff in the house that we have probably never checked. I had to move it a few days ago And the box was filled with mold.

My fingers were a serious concern, since I have Reynaud's - a circulatory problem. We had a package of hand-warmers, just in case, but as long as I kept them inside the bivvy bag, in my huge, padded gloves, they were okay.

Good article, thanks, Lesley.

The article (and your recent post) were real eye-openers. I now fill up more frequently in winter just in case, and will be putting together winter packs for all the cars. We travel frequently with our three children, so I'll make sure we have the proper gear for them, as well.

Here in California I'm not too worried about it, but if I was, I'd think about one of these:

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B006JXY0CQ/

codrus wrote: Here in California I'm not too worried about it, but if I was, I'd think about one of these: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B006JXY0CQ/

Lots of places in California where you have to worry about being snowbound in a car..

dj06482 wrote: The article (and your recent post) were real eye-openers. I now fill up more frequently in winter just in case, and will be putting together winter packs for all the cars. We travel frequently with our three children, so I'll make sure we have the proper gear for them, as well.

It makes me happy to read that. Several of my friends have put kits in their car after this experiment too. We were tweeting and shooting video too, so we had folks asking us if we were still alive at 3 a.m. Posting pics of the thermometer and the frost on the windows drove the point home.

Here's some un-edited video for anyone who's interested. It's rather long, and includes some silly, but there are some good points in it.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VrUmdOpx3Ys

I knew a guy that lived in Nevada that kept a Desert kit in his car. Heat will kill you also. Great article!

I don't even want to think about that. ~Shudder~

drsmooth wrote:

codrus wrote: Here in California I'm not too worried about it, but if I was, I'd think about one of these: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B006JXY0CQ/

Lots of places in California where you have to worry about being snowbound in a car..

Sure, but they're not places I go.

Been there. Was heading to my grandparents place one winter and got stuck on the mountain pass in an area with no cell service. There was a semi truck wrecked that had everything blocked. I was up there all night before they got things cleared. I always have an emergency kit in all my vehicles.

I was thinking about this story today when I went out for lunch. There's a curious thing about this time of year, that even when it's very cold out the sun is still high enough in the sky that it provides quite a bit of solar warming. It's -7F outside, but my car was out in the parking lot sitting in the sun and inside it was probably 50 or 60 degrees.

Of course this does no good once the sun goes down, but it's one more reason to stay in the car if you're stuck somewhere.

Idiocracy in action. I’ve got an RX-8 and I diligently eliminate any unnecessary weight… you couldn’t possibly sneak five pounds into my trunk without me immediately knowing about it. My wife has an Explorer and if we got stranded in it, the conversation would be something like…is there anything to eat – we’ve got Fruit Cake – great, let’s eat it – which one, Christmas of 2006, 2009, 2010, or 2012 – I remember 2009 being a good year, let’s start with that.

Anyway, thank you very much Lesley for the useful article…given how many people will read it, you’re guaranteed to reduce unnecessary discomfort and you may have even saved a life; well played.