Battery Operated Items

GPS? Check. Flashlight? Check. Walkie Talkie? Check. Digital Camera? Check. Spare Batteries for everything? Che... wait, how many different types of batteries do we need? AA's? CR123's? AAA's?

Spare batteries are always overlooked when people go hiking, camping, or building a survival kit. IF you do remember to pack the extra batteries, do you really want to carry two or three different types? Today's society has gotten caught up in the "coolness" of high end flashlights, GPS's, and digital camera's, but the problem lies in the batteries. What if you keep it simple and buy these items, so they require the same battery? Most GPS's run off of AA batteries, and there are numerous flashlights on the market that take AA's as well. Your camera selection should also lean towards one that requires AA instead of the CR123 battery. If you already have a digital camera that takes a specialized battery, and finances allow, buy another one just for your "kit".

The biggest reason for my advice here is, if your batteries die in your GPS, you can take the ones out of your camera to run your GPS. It could be the difference between staying lost, or getting back to your car. If you carry spares, you only have to carry one type, thus saving space and weight. Of course, this isn't the only way to do things, but to me, it's the easiest and most practical. I own flashlights that require special batteries, but I keep those in my tactical kit, because that is what they are intended for. As far as my survival and hiking kits, I will continue to keep everything simple and use only one type of battery.

My kit includes:

1 Garmin Etrex GPS

1 MagLite AA flashlight

1 Canon digital camera

1 Motorola Talk-About 2 way radio

1 Maxpedition Volta battery case

All these items require 2 AA batteries and the Maxpedition Volta case can carry 8 spare batteries.

Remember, one of the keys to survival is simplicity, and this is just one small way to keep your survival kit simple and easy. People tend to overthink these types of things, so keep it simple and live to see tomorrow.