Reference
Glossary
Plain-English definitions for the gear vocabulary used throughout the handbook — 101 terms.
0-9
406 MHz
The international distress frequency used by PLBs, EPIRBs, and ELTs to reach the COSPAS-SARSAT satellite system.
A
A-frame
The basic two-slope tarp pitch: a ridgeline between anchors with fabric staked down both sides. Best all-around rain configuration.
Airplane mode
A phone state that disables its radios; GPS still works, making it the battery-saving navigation configuration.
B
Back bearing
The reverse of a compass bearing; taken toward a road or camp before leaving it so return is a number, not a memory.
Bank line
Tarred twisted nylon cord from the fishing world; packs more usable feet per ounce than paracord and grips knots better.
Baseplate compass
A compass mounted on a clear ruler-edged plate with a rotating bezel, designed for map work and field bearings.
Batoning
Splitting wood by striking a fixed blade's spine with a club. A full-tang task; never a folder's.
Bearing
A direction expressed in degrees, taken with or held by a compass.
Bivvy (emergency)
A bag-shaped shelter of metallized film; seals out convection in every direction without your hands' help.
Burr
The fine wire of steel raised along an edge during sharpening; feeling it confirms you've reached the apex.
Button compass
A small fixed-dial compass; tells direction and defeats circular wandering, nothing more, nothing less.
C
Carabiner
A spring-gate metal loop; non-rated versions clip and retain gear, rated versions belong to climbing, not to paracord.
Carbon monoxide (CO)
The odorless gas produced by combustion; the leading killer in stranded-vehicle and indoor-stove incidents.
Cathole
A 6–8 in (15–20 cm) sanitation hole dug 200 ft (60 m) from water; the trowel's main job.
Char cloth
Cotton fabric baked to black carbon in a ventilated tin; catches faint sparks as a spreading ember.
Chest seal
An occlusive dressing (vented preferred) for penetrating chest wounds.
Chlorine dioxide
The modern purification-tablet chemistry: kills protozoa, bacteria, and viruses, with Cryptosporidium requiring up to 4 hours.
Clip point
A blade shape whose spine is "clipped" concave toward a finer, lower tip; more piercing precision, less tip strength.
Cold chain
The continuous refrigeration some medications (insulin, biologics) require; a named plan in any kit serving their users.
Conduction
Heat loss by direct contact, chiefly into cold ground; countered by insulation beneath you.
Contact card
A written card of identity, contacts, medications, and allergies; speaks for its carrier when they can't.
Contour line
A map line of constant elevation; spacing shows slope, shapes name terrain.
Contractor bag
A 3-mil, 42-gallon-class heavy trash bag; this book's favorite improvisation blank for shelter, rain, and water jobs.
Convection
Heat loss to moving air (wind); countered by any windproof layer.
COSPAS-SARSAT
The international satellite search-and-rescue system that relays 406 MHz distress beacons to rescue authorities.
Cyanoacrylate
Instant "super" glue; bonds gear hard and brittle, and skin instantly (medical formulations exist for the latter).
D
Declination
The angle between magnetic and true north at a given place; set once on an adjustable compass, it stops being arithmetic.
DEET
The classic insect repellent; effective, but dissolves plastics and synthetics.
Ditch bag
A floating, grab-handled waterproof bag holding a vessel's abandon-ship essentials.
Drop point
The all-around blade shape: spine curving gently to a strong tip near centerline. This book's default.
Dry bag
A roll-top waterproof bag; the water world's container standard.
E
EDC (everyday carry)
The small tools worn or pocketed daily: the innermost gear layer.
Electrolytes
The salts sweat spends; replaced by powder packets wherever heat or hard work lives.
ELT
Emergency locator transmitter: an aircraft's crash-activated 406 MHz beacon.
EPIRB
Emergency position-indicating radio beacon: the vessel-class 406 MHz distress beacon.
Evaporation
Heat loss through moisture leaving skin and clothing; the engine wet cotton runs all day.
F
Ferro rod (ferrocerium)
A man-made alloy rod that sheds burning sparks (~5,400°F / 3,000°C) when scraped; the always-works fire tool.
Fresnel lens
A flat plastic magnifier card; starts fires in sun and finds splinters year-round.
Full tang
Blade steel continuing full-width through the handle: the fixed-blade strength standard.
G
Get-home bag
The go-bag's mirror: staged at work or in the car, built around walking home when transit fails.
Gill net
A mesh net that catches fish by the gills while unattended; brutally effective and legally restricted nearly everywhere.
GMRS/FRS
License-light handheld radio services; the group-coordination layer when cell fails.
Go-bag
The 72-hour evacuation pack: documents, meds, water, food, shelter, staged at the exit.
GPS
Satellite positioning; receive-only, works without cell service, blocked by canyons and heavy canopy.
H
Hand-lining
Fishing with line managed by hand from a winding card: no rod, real results.
Handrail
A linear terrain feature (stream, ridge, road) followed as a navigation guide.
Hemostatic gauze
Gauze impregnated with clotting accelerant (commonly kaolin) for packing severe wounds.
Hollow-fiber filter
The modern squeeze-filter technology: ~0.1 micron fibers stopping protozoa and bacteria, passing viruses; killed invisibly by freezing.
Hypothermia
Core body temperature below 95°F (35°C); judgment fails early, shivering stops late, and most cases occur between 30–50°F (‑1–10°C).
I
IFAK
Individual first aid kit: military shorthand for a trauma-only module staged where trauma may happen.
J
Jump pack
A lithium battery pack that starts a car without a second vehicle and doubles as a large power bank.
K
Kindling
Pencil-to-thumb wood that catches from tinder and lights the fuel wood.
L
Lanyard (breakaway)
A neck cord with a link that releases under load; the only kind worn at the throat.
Loperamide
The anti-diarrheal of the med core; diarrhea is a dehydration engine in the field.
Lumen
The unit of total light output; runtime at useful lumens matters more than the peak number.
M
Manifest card
The kit's contents list, dates, and assumptions, riding inside the kit; memory is not a manifest.
MRE
Meal, ready-to-eat: the military retort-pouch ration; 3–5 years cool, far less in a hot trunk.
Multitool
Plier-based folding tool; the pliers, cutters, drivers, and scissors earn the pocket.
Mylar blanket
The metallized-film emergency blanket: windproof, rainproof, reflects radiant heat; fragile and single-use in practice.
N
N95
A particulate respirator class; smoke, dust, and crowded-shelter insurance that folds flat.
NOAA Weather Radio
The U.S. broadcast network for weather and hazard information; the receiver is the kit's information layer.
P
Paracord (550)
Nylon cord: braided sheath over seven two-ply inner yarns, 550 lb (250 kg) nominal. Utility cordage, never life-safety.
Permethrin
A clothing-applied insecticide that kills ticks and mosquitoes on contact; never applied to skin.
PFD
Personal flotation device; works only worn, and carries the water world's survival core.
Photokeratitis
Snow blindness: corneal sunburn from reflected UV; painful, temporary, and preventable with UV-rated lenses.
Picaridin
The modern skin repellent: DEET-equal at 20% without the plastic-melting.
PLB
Personal locator beacon: a registered, subscription-free 406 MHz distress transmitter with a multi-year battery.
Pressure bandage
An Israeli-style dressing with integrated elastic and tension bar: dressing and mechanical pressure in one wrapper.
R
Rations (bars)
Certified lifeboat-style calorie bricks: 2,400–3,600 calories, 5-year life, indifferent to storage abuse.
Retort pouch
A foil pouch of fully cooked, shelf-stable food: the technology inside MREs and grocery pouch meals.
Ridgeline
The taut cord spine of a tarp shelter; also a terrain feature (see handrail).
Rule of threes
The survival priority mnemonic: ~3 minutes air, 3 hours exposure, 3 days water, 3 weeks food. Approximate by design.
S
Satellite messenger
A two-way satellite communicator with SOS, check-ins, and tracking; subscription and charging required.
Sheepsfoot
A blade shape with a straight edge and blunt nose: all cutting, no piercing; the rescue profile.
Sheet bend
The knot that joins unequal lines and ties into grommetless tarp corners over a pebble.
Shelter-in-place
Riding out an emergency at home; the statistically dominant scenario and the home kit's design case.
Silnylon
Silicone-impregnated ripstop nylon: the light, packable tarp and poncho fabric.
Single-wall
A metal bottle or cup with no insulating layer: the only kind that can sit in a fire.
Snare
A wire loop trap for small game; a real skill, a legal minefield, and the wire's tenth job.
Spear point
A symmetric blade shape with the tip on centerline; common on small kit knives.
Stop the Bleed
The public bleeding-control campaign and its one-hour course: pressure, packing, tourniquets.
Stormproof match
An extended-coating match that keeps burning in wind, rain, and after a dunk.
Stropping
Polishing a sharpened edge on leather, a belt, or a pack strap to remove the last burr.
T
Taut-line hitch
The adjustable-tension knot; every tarp guy-line's friend.
Ten Essentials
The classic day-pack systems list (navigation, light, sun, first aid, knife, fire, shelter, food, water, clothes), stewarded by The Mountaineers.
Tinder
Material fine and dry enough to catch a spark: carried (cotton-and-jelly, tabs) or found (birch bark, fatwood).
Topographic map
A map that draws terrain shape with contour lines; the paper layer of navigation.
Tourniquet (windlass)
A strap-and-rod device that stops limb bleeding by circumferential pressure: high and tight, until it stops, time written.
Trauma shears
Blunt-tipped scissors that cut clothing off casualties without adding wounds.
Triangulation
Fixing your position by crossing bearings from two or three identified landmarks.
Trip plan
The two-sentence route-and-return message left with a reliable person; the signal sent before trouble.
Trucker's hitch
The mechanical-advantage tensioning knot: drum-tight ridgelines, cinched loads.
Tube tent
A pre-formed triangular shelter: cord through a plastic tube, tied between anchors.
Twig stove
A chimney-draft wood stove burning pencil-size fuel; endless free fuel where wood exists.
U
UV purifier
A lamp pen that sterilizes clear water with ultraviolet light: fast, battery-dependent, clarity-dependent.
V
Vapor barrier
A waterproof layer that traps insensible moisture: the bag-over-dry-sock trick in wet boots.
VHF (marine)
The boat world's radio; channel 16 is the international hailing and distress channel.
W
Wilderness First Aid (WFA)
The weekend course that reframes first aid around help being hours away.
Windlass
The rod of a tourniquet, twisted to tighten the strap until bleeding stops.
Wound packing
Feeding gauze deep into a junctional wound against the bleeding vessel, then sustained pressure.
Z
Zip tie
The one-way nylon lashing: instant, glove-friendly, permanent until cut flush.