The other day, while on my commute, I noticed a plume of thick dark gray smoke in the distance. Are you thinking what I’m thinking?!
LOST!!! Did anyone besides me LOVE that show?!
I promise, it looked JUST LIKE THAT! And it made me think of the show, and also the craziness that is the Malaysian airliner; the one that’s disappeared without a trace! And on the creative side of my brain, I totally believe they have crashed on some gorgeous island unknown to humankind, and they’re just all trying to stay alive and get back home!
Not long after, I received an email from the lovely Alexandra from Man Crates. Have you heard of Man Crates? They are a new company that ships awesome gifts for men in custom wooden crates! (It’s the equivalent of a woman’s favorite kind of gift basket, really!) Man Crates’ mission is literally to end the difficulties that have long been associated with buying gifts for MEN!
Alexandra had one question for me: what’s in your personal survival kit?
Eh?
The question was then clarified: if you were stranded on a desert island, what 5 things would you want to have with you?
Hmmm…that’s a good one! It took me right back to LOST…and here’s what I’ve decided:
- Soft Lips – because I HATE when my lips get chapped
- A journal – because I would want to chronicle the experience
- A solid supply of Diet Coke – I know it’s bad for me, but you gotta die from something…and I love it!
- A Vera Bradley bag – because someone is gonna have to carry everyone else’s stuff around, and I ADORE my Vera!
- My iPhone – which my husband said there was no point in taking because there would be no signal out there, but I think I could rig something. And if not, I could still read the Bible and look at pictures and TAKE pictures, too!
Since he was being so vocal about what I was bringing, I asked what HE would bring!
UGH, he’s SO PRACTICAL!!!
- A rope – in case he needed to tie something up or climb a tree (his words, folks, not mine)
- Water – because his dad works for Zephyrhill’s water and he’s gotta represent
- Oakleys – because the sun would be bright
- Banana Boat Sunscreen – because the sun would be bad and he doesn’t want skin cancer
- A combo lighter/USB drive – because he would need to build fires to send smoke signals so we could be rescued, and to have SOME form of technology along for the ride
I’m still a little concerned about that rope…and that proves that men see things differently than women! But didn’t we already know that?! And that’s why we women have such a hard time buying men the perfect gifts, no matter whether they’re an survivor, a gamer, a snacker, or something else.
So I checked out the Man Crates website and picked a crate for my hubby…that included that dang rope. **SIGH**
It’s their “Outdoor Survival Crate”.
So now it’s your turn! Check out Man Crates for the hard-to-buy-for man in your life!
And I wanna know…what’s in YOUR personal survival kit?! Do tell!
Due to the amount of comments from all of my wonderful readers, it is not always possible for me to respond to each one. However, I absolutely do read them all, and if you’d like to address something specific, or have a question for me, please don’t hesitate to email me at Kristen@theroadtodomestication.com. I will respond to your email as soon as possible! Thank you for visiting the blog!
I like diet coke, but I am addicted to vanilla coke zero. OMG, it’s so good!!
Definitely water with lots of tea bags to make sun tea. I think one of those mini ultraviolet water purifiers that I keep seeing on the internet (hey you need clean water to live)–A very thick book-that would take me time to read and that I would not mind re reading a couple of times. Sunglasses sound like a very good idea. OH YEAH–either a lighter or lots of matches just in case.
My husbands would have regular Pepsi, that man needs his soda! Mine would be water, coffee LOL, sunglasses and maybe my phone.
I received an invite to write a review for the man crates. I think it’s a really awesome idea, but I had several deadlines to meet at the time (plus a tummy virus) to do it the justice that you gave it. You wrote an awesome post that caused me to pause and think about what I would really want on that deserted island and lip balm has to be the number one item on my list. I can’t live with dry lips! 🙂
I also think the man crates would be an awesome Christmas gift for the men in our lives! Great post!! You rocked it!
Let’s see, I believe mine and my husband’s survival kits would be a bit different but we would probably both have water and a flashlight. I agree about the lip balm and Love Soft Lips! A very sharp knife and a big old pot so we can kill something then cook it!
What a great list of survival items for yourself. I know that I would probably not make it very far without my chapstick either, Softlips is a great brand, I use that one too.
I can’t live without chocolate at least once a week.
Well being that I was always a tomboy and am very active with hiking and running – I love the Man Cave boxes. Sadly I barely know what to do with the girly items unless I am going to a rare dinner with my husband then I do an online crash course!
Ooh, I love the idea of Man Crates and may have to order one for my husband. My personal kit would look very much like yours!
I am a serious diet dr. pepper person. I used to be able to find it everywhere when I lived in OK. Up here in MI its a little harder to find outside some markets. Lost was one of my favorite shows!
I think my kit would look a lot like your hubby’s. I need my sunglasses, fresh water, a lighter, maybe a good book and a fuzzy blanket too.
My survival kit would have a camera and mascara…. I think my hubs would do something just like yours did. 🙂
I LOVED Lost – and I love how that your must-have lists are so different. 🙂 I would really love an internet connection on a deserted island. How can we make that happen??
I hate chapped lips, too. I love keeping lip gloss, my bible (well on my phone now), water, and hmmmmmm, good question!!! LoL.
What’s with the coke???LOL
Great review.
Definitely my Bible, Publix Black Cherry Cola, books( can’t read just one!),
something purple, does Pudding Pop count as a thing in this scenario?? lol
My husband would probably agree with all of your outdoor items for survival. Beef jerkey is a plus!
I giggled when I saw the difference between what you would want and what your husband would want. I have to ask how you would recharge your iPhone though. haha
I’m embarrassed to say that my survival kit would have to include hairspray. I need it to control this wild mane.
My husband for some company.
My phone
A lighter
A knife
Fishing pole
and wine. I know it’s six, but I can’t forget the wine. LOL
I have to have my coffee! My husband needs his yoga.
Since this was a Man Crates post, I thought I would ask Luke. So, here are his answers…
1. The Professor from Gilligan’s Island – whatever I needed, he’d build.
2. A still – for distilling stuff… water, alcohol, whatever.
3. A big knife, maybe a machete – to chop things up, build shelter, filet a fish, or in case there are wild boars on the island.
4. A big tarp – for shelter
5. A lighter to start fire with.
…and there you have it. I’m with you, Kristen, chap-stick, a tote bag, and a journal for sure, the other stuff, I’m not quite sure. Excellent post! We were laughing hard and having so much fun. 🙂
~Lorelai
Life With Lorelai
Too be honest..I just need my computer and internet loL!
Blistex lip balm, my Bible, a journal, hand cream and peach Nehi soda 🙂
My survival kit would have my Bible, water and a light sheet!
Guess I’d have to have my laptop and a sun charger in my survival kit. 😉 My DIL loves SoftLips. I put some in her Christmas stocking each year. 🙂
I almost bought a Man Crate for my husband. I know he would just love it as a gift.
Hmmmm, I see the practicality in your husband’s list so I think I’d take some of that like the water and lighter. But I’d definitely want to be able to write down my thoughts and experiences too so a journal and camera would be good too.
Yes, but how would you charge your iphone? ;0P
I miss LOST!
You know what, I agree with you on the phone. I mean, you never know, maybe some part of it would come in handy. Like, you could build some device out of twigs, seaweed and coconuts, then discover that something in the phone makes them send a signal. I mean, much stranger thinks happened in Lost! I’m still bitter about the ending of that show though.
I would need to bring Diet Coke also but I have to have mine with the Lime in it, LOL. I like this whole Man Crate thing and I think they would make great gifts for the man that is hard to buy for. Putting it on my list for something to get my husband this year.
I have a great list of items that I totally cannot live without too. My list is very similar to yours :-). I honestly cut diet coke from that list a couple of years ago, because it is really bad for you. I couldn’t go a day without it and now it has been 2 years since I have had any sodas at all.
Great list !!! I would add swiss knife to the list.I just took a visit to Man crates, sounds like a interesting website.
Wow! what a difference between men and women.
I know this would not be practical, I would take my laptop/internet and that way I have lots to read : bible, ebooks , have somewhere to write notes and be entertained as well.
For practical situations for food I would need my shakes and some water.
Then I would take a lighter, sleeping bag, pen and notebook.
I’d have to bring an endless supply of lip balm too. I’m constantly applying that stuff. I think I’d err more on the side of practical too. lol
I’d bring my iPhone, as well… but the battery life is not great – and the journal is a definite MUST (and pen!). I would love to leave a legacy behind.
my hearing aids (so I could hear any wild animals), a flashlight so I could see where I walking, an exacto knife, water, and probably my phone. Ha ha! Great post!
Oh what a great post idea! Men are a different species!
I would take water, books, sunglasses (okay I’m super sensitive), tissues……..
ha I’m with the husband as far as supplies I would take, but I am with you in the whole positive fantasy of being on a beautiful deserted island. lol
Great review ! Diet coke was really cute. My survival kit would’ve included a beer 😉