Kea Outdoors | Ultimate Outdoor Survival Kit
Former Fly Guide, Matt Butler, has taken safety to the next level and is the man behind a company that's making huge tracks into the outdoor safety game. His company Kea Outdoors is growing and is ready to move to the next step. Have a read on his thoughts on outdoor safety and get on board at the ground level.
Heading out onto the river is a blessing for most of us. Near or far, every moment spent out there in the wilderness is worth it. However, it’s just as important to consider how you will come home safely at the end of the day and how you can prepare yourself to do so.
Whether it's a multi-day backcountry trip or just a short few hours on your local, every trip is different. What you may consider as being ‘prepared’ will depend on the trip, but it should always be front of mind.
On those big trips, it’s easier to focus on what you need for those several days in the wild, checking the weather and ensuring you’re ready for the conditions. But it’s the day trips that are most underestimated and often the ones that go wrong.
Poor decision making is often the cause of outdoor tragedies, with drowning, falls & exposure making up the majority of incidents. However, the catalyst to these poor decisions is often the lack of preparation, whether that be not considering the conditions, or not packing the right gear to give you the ability and confidence to make the right choices when things don’t go to plan.
You can essentially break your gear down into the 5 pillars of outdoor survival in the order of importance: Medical, Shelter, Water, Fire & Tools. The reason I list in this sequence is; If you're in a trauma situation, Medical is your first priority. If you're exposed to harsh weather you need Shelter to survive. Should you need to wait out rescue you will need Water to drink, Fire to stay warm and Tools to perform basic tasks. Food is the final consideration because if your immediate survival needs are covered, you can survive a long time without it, often long enough to be rescued. So focus on the pillars before you overthink or over carry ‘just in case’ food.
As a former fly fishing guide, I found packing this gear a nightmare and at the time I was packing everything in a single plastic container. It was bulky, messy and if you wanted anything in particular it took a fair bit of rummaging around. So to make my packing easier, I created my own safety/survival kit called the KEA KIT, an outdoor survival system that helps to pack and prepare to embrace every adventure.
It first launched 2 years ago and was a hit with outdoor lovers. Since then it has been refined and redesigned and the Next-Generation KEA KIT has recently launched on Kickstarter. The new kits now come in two sizes which helps you to prepare for both on the go and in the vehicle or at home. KEA organise your gear into the pillars of survival mentioned above so you can be sure you can adventure with confidence and are ready to respond at a moment's notice.
The Next-Generation KEA KIT campaign is live on Kickstarter where you can be pre-ordered at a discount here: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/keaoutdoors/kea-kit-better-prepare-for-outdoor-adventures?ref=3fs802