On another article (Link ), it was pointed out that FEMA's new director is the same that had urged us to stockpile duct tape and plastic sheeting. Late in the thread, the discussion turned to duct tape's myriad of uses, with LW pointing out that plastic sheeting keeps you dry and dry = warm, among other things.

I can attest to duct tape's potential use for survival firsthand. Some years back, on a 43 mile hike of Michigan's Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore (a trek I HIGHLY recommend, if one has the physical stamina to endure the trail), we had debated the inclusion of my ever present roll of duct tape at the outset of our journey. I remarked that I would sooner jettison a portion of my food supply than the duct tape and the discussion was over. The day was one continual downpour, with the unrelenting rain continuing even after we had found our way into camp. With no means to make fire, we were assured that all of our gear would be wet by the time our tents were erected.

Bingo, bango, boingo! Out came the duct tape, and a makeshift canopy was erected with a tarp we had brought along.

Then I set about erecting my tent, a eureka one man tent I had just purchased from Gander Mountain and had set up precisely ONCE before, in our yard. As I straightened out the tent poles and bent them to slide them through the tent, one bent, the fiberglass having had a defect.

undaunted, I pulled out my Leatherman and set about cutting off the offending piece of fiberglass. When I shoved the section of pole into its socket, however, due to its shortened length it would not remain in place.

So out came the duct tape again, and the pole was repaired within seconds. The repair would last the entire five days of the journey.

While fixing my tent was not essential to my survival, in a different setting, it might have been (on my life's list, for instance, is a goal to hike to the base of Mt. McKinley). The duct tape prevailed, as it is wont to do, and the trip was saved (the alternative would have been doubling up and inflicting my snoring on one of my fellow campers...not an attractive option for either of us. So, on second thought, the duct tape MIGHT have been essential to my survival!)