Fancy Schmancy Peanut Butter Jars?

Sammy over at Gearpods.com recently got in touch with me about sending a sample of their product my way for testing. Probably I could have considered his post on the blog as spam, but I was intrigued. "That's a fantastic idea" was my quick response. At least, that's how I responded after figuring out what a "Gear Pod" is.

You see, I received Les Stroud's book Survive! a while ago as a gift. Since then, I've been meaning to put together a survival kit (or perhaps multiple kits) in a waterproof container. The kit would come in handy if I (or the folks I were paddling with) were separated from my gear or had some sort of emergency that left us stranded. My container of choice so far: a plastic 2kg peanut butter container (sans peanut butter, even though that in itself would be a useful survival item). The kit would contain a variety of means of starting fires in adverse conditions, some means of providing shelter (a sheet of plastic or an emergency blanket, either of which would have multiple uses), signalling devices, and a variety of other useful items (fish hooks, wire, string, fish line, safety pins, bags, tape, button compass, etc.). I tried and the peanut butter container can be squashed into the bow or stern of my Swift Yukon canoe.

So, back to Sammy and Gear Pods. These Gear Pods are essentially, waterproof containers to do the same sort of thing I had in mind for the peanut butter jar, only they are intended to be more versatile and tougher. They also cost a bit more (it's hard to compare prices to free recycled plastic jars). They sell the Gear Pod jars either empty in a variety of sizes, or as part of pre-packaged kits. Some of the kits are specifically survival-oriented, while others are first-aid, shelter, or food oriented.

Sammy has my address and has promised to send me samples to test out over the coming months. I don't actually know anything more specific about what is being sent but I look forward to putting the Gear Pods to the test over the summer. I will have the opportunity to take them north to the shield and boreal forest of Saskatchewan, and out to the saltwater of the West Coast, and next winter, into the extreme cold of a Saskatchewan winter. So, stay tuned for updates and eventually a Gear Pod review!