Ironraven,
I'm quite happy to see the stupid get Darwined. The quicker, the better. Preferably before they have children.

And yes, your quite right, I could criticise the RSK. Or rather critique. However Doug has already done that. Making no pretense as to what is good or there because "It ain't a survival kit with out a fishing kit etc" and what needs to be added.

As it happens I originally moved my RSK because the original zip-lock case was getting rather foxed. As I had quite a lot of space left over, taking the opportunity to enhance it seemed like the sensible thing to do.

If I was procuring for, let say a Scout Group, and my budget was $25 per head then I would probably, out of all the kits on the market, go for the Solo.

Arguably the Solo is an "experts kit" rather than an occasional users kit. Because the Mirror, Heatsheet, compass and drybag are bits that an "expert" would want but are either difficult or expensive to obtain individually. Providing a price pointed kit that retails them at a better price than the total cost of individual purchasing is a good marketing move.

p.s. It just occured to me that you can boil water with this kit. Using the hotrock technique. You and I know this one. However for any readers that don't:

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=7843851220515707771

I agree, MS is not fly by night. As a computer engineer, I will say that in my professional and personal opinion, they are a hack job. :P Bad example.

I think you just badly worded your note of caution. I have the same pause you do, when I know I'm dealing with a company that has questionable practices, products or track record. But when you've got a company you've got faith in, trust them, stop worrying. You'll have your hair longer.

Actually, I would argue that the PSP is more an "expert kit".

The SOL is the bare minimum- Joe Average, equipped with those components and the instructions included (assume for the sake of argument that they are the same as the ones in the PSP without the data on the Sparklite- I haven't seen them yet) will be able to start a fire (maybe a second one, but with three matches I'm not sure), get shelter up, and stay warm over night. And unless Joe has suffered an injury that prevents him from moving, he can usually self rescue the next morning when he can see things. If Joe is incapacitated by injury, there could be a big debate over a small mirror vs the big orange panel that is the heat sheet- I'd love to see it tested for visability- but he will have audible and visual signals. The same holds true of people who are well and truly stuck due to terrain- they can get signals out (one that doesn't require you being conscious, to), trust in your safety person to report you as overdue, and sit tight.

On the other hand, the extra gear in the PSP is less intuitive, and I've always placed shelter much higher up the list than water. Joe Average is "better equipped" in the quantitative sense, but if he can't get shelter up he is not as well equipped in the qualitative sense. Making a shelter that is worth anything without the help of sheeting takes some skill, or luck. So next week, we find Joe next to a PSP, with a foil cup, and no fire becuase he couldn't figure out the Sparklite and thus froze to death before morning when the searchers got close enough to hear the whistle and the sun was up to use the mirror. I think a more minimal, more intuitive kit is better for someone who isn't trained.

A similiar way of looking at it is this parallel- who is safer on the road, a teenager with a brand new drivers license and a 10 year old Ford, or a teenager with a brand new license and a Ferrari? The Ferrari will get you out of more trouble if you know how to use it; the Ford can't get you into as much trouble if you don't know how to use it. It isn't a matter of how capable the gear is, but a question of how capable the user is. We've all seen someone who isn't as skilled, handed better equipment, think the gear makes up for that lack of skill. I think that is were the SOL is aimed. I haven't seen PSPs at any physical stores yet; I wonder when I'll see the SOL?

Iron Raven is correct i think - even the truly stupid should understand matches and wrapping a heatsheet around themselves, and thus avoid the classic danger of hypothermia.

I don't think it is optimum, but I can think of several friends die if left with a PSP on a cold wet hillside overnight, but who might survive with the SOL.

Does anyone know they they put a fishing-kit into the S.O.L.? Just for marketing purposes?

I would remove the fishing kit and add some mp-1 tabs and a quart-ziplock.

Probably for marketing purposes. I remember when I was younger I always liked the idea of fishing with a survival kit. I never really got to experiment it and now that i'm a bit older, I understand that in a survival situation i'd rather use my time to collect firewood and make a comfy bed with branches and twigs than trying to catch fish.

It all depends. Depends on the situation, on the people. Some people seem to love the idea that they might have something to catch food in a survival situation; I assume the "entertaining" factor is what makes them happy.

I don't believe in fishing kits at all, sure they would provide some entertainment but if you ever get lost or injured for real, you won't care about fishing at all. You'll be on the lookout for people or aircraft. Which is why I believe that, in a real survival situation, a whistle and signal mirror are paramount.

I would rather use the space used by a crappy fishing kit for more Tinder-qwik pieces.

Bee, Ironraven.
Agree with you both.

I wonder if AMK are fishing for responses before actually releasing the product?

I'm not too well versed on survival making surival kits, but I noticed that the SOL doesn't seem to include any survival instrucitons while the PSP does. Maybe the SOL is intuitive enough that it isn't needed, but I don't think it would have hurt to have included instrucitons.

Jim, as I said elsewhere, I think a lot of people have the "if it doesn't have a fishing kit it can't be a survival kit- see, the manual says so" response, while holding up some military survival manual. It's marketing.

There may also be some of Doug's theory that a fishing kit will keep them out of trouble when they get bored. But also, if they get a fish hook out they are probably more likely to bring their camp closer if it turns into a multi-night affair. That will probably make spotting the Heatsheet from the air easier becuase you are less likely to have as overhead concealment along a river or pond. So there may also be some psychology involved.

The original PR made it sound like there would be instructions in this. If there aren't, I'd say it is an uncharacteristic oversight on AMK's part.