What's Inside the DON'T DIE BOX???

Air quality detector is not what you need for confined spaces. Air quality detector measure the air pollutants and give you a 'healthy' vs 'unhealthy' air quality index type number of various pollutants, particulates, and pollen.


For confined spaces you need a 4 gas monitor (or more), these will measure the concentrations of CO, O2, EX/LEL (methane and other explosive gases), and H2S. Those are the major ones that you need to know about to deem whether an area is not 'healthy or unhealthy' but 'breathable or deadly'.

The one you pulled out is for sure an air quality monitor and completely useless for 'being safe' in confined spaces. You can tell this because there isn't 4 separate input regions, which is required to get air to 4 different independent sensors for each gas type you are monitoring for. You can also get different gas detection systems if you know of other gases that are in the area.

Source: MSHA, OSHA confined space, lots of time in mines, SPRAT confined space, ect ect.

Honestly, knowing the kind of person Grey is, I'm a bit shocked he didn't already have a kit like this for his adventures.

The hammock is in the category of "don't die from hypothermia" Sleeping on the ground will sap your body heat faster than you'll realize.

Why wasn’t there CGP Grey brand coffee in the box? Surely a survival essential

the hammock is 100% don't die depending on where you are. Being elevated stops you from both leeching heat into the ground and from being bitten by lots of ground things that have lethal bites.

I hope Lucy is compensated well for this video. I found her presence highly important

Stagnant air is a serious risk! It's the silent invisible killer. Here in New Zealand, lots of farmers used to die after going down into their own septic tanks to sort out an issue (the risk is better known now). Back in 2013, my ex's boss died inside the hull of a ship. His worker went down a ladder and collapsed and the boss didn't know what happened, so he went down after him. Both of them died

I think the idea of the two tomes of knowledge in the "Don't Die Box" is to read them BEFORE you got exploring. I think your team and especially wife would agree with that one. At least I hope they agree...

After having so many dead people ruin his life, it would be tragic for Grey to join them prematurely. Great to know he's got a team who are going help prevent that!

Was anyone else expecting the don’t die box to be some kind of quantum superposition thought experiment?

Hey, grey! So, I have advice for you regarding this kit. Venom extractors are NOT effective for treating envenomation. They can actually make the problem much worse by working the chemicals further into your system. The best way to be prepared is to have the ability to capture what bit or stung you (In the case of an arthropod attack), and by having a general antivenin for the kinds of venomous snakes you are likely to encounter.

Be safe out there, and keep please keep sharing your adventures. cheers!

As someone who's taught a wilderness medicine course and prepared some lectures on venomous animals, we always include a slide to laugh at the venom extractor.
It is not recommended by any academic toxicologist or practicing emergency medicine physician.
If it any way delays you from getting to a facility that can give you antivenom, it is truly worse than worthless.

I think the hammock is a "don't die of exposure while sleeping" device. Sleeping on the cold ground can seep body heat from you surprisingly fast without another sleeping surface, especially over the course of a night's sleep. A hammock is probably much more space efficient than a blowup mattress. Though it's drawback is you do need places in the wild convenient to hang it upon.

FYI, searching for "venom extractor" gives two search results: sites selling them and sites telling you: "DO NOT USE THEM, THEY'RE MORE HARMFUL THAN BENEFICIAL!". So, I would maybe do some more research into snake bites before carrying one.

I love how he even pixelates his packing information no with squares but with hexagons!

Small addition to the emergency beacon: You might want to look into the services that provide the rescues. It will still work without it but if you're not a member with the providers you might get a nasty surprise after you successfully didn't die. IIRC there's two big ones with different plans (also obviously you don't need to have it all the time. Pretty sure both offer a per trip option too)

Strongly recommend throwing all this into some kind of tackle box with organizational structure, you don't want to be digging around for the burn kit for 10 minutes because it's buried in a box

Hearing Grey say “don’t die of hypothermia. Which is surprisingly easy to do!” is terrifying

Seeing this tells me that when your team reviewed your exploration videos they must have felt like they were watching a horror movie... Your lucky to have such a smart and kind team!

Don't forget to inspect the box at least once a year (6 months preferably). A lot of things expire or will stop working. So if you haven't checked it recently then you don't actually have it.