Daily Carry for the Brooks Brothers Brigade
Part II
And a few more ideas for the rest of us.
Or at least a review of some old tricks.
Rich “Raspy” Shawver

While part one was a broad overview on how to accommodate necessary equipment with generalizations on what types of things you might want to carry on your person in an office environment. Sure there were a few select suggested item but the idea was rather than an “I got list” that works for me. It was set up to show areas that need to be covered. That is because what works for me in my situation might not work as well for you and your unique situation. That way everyone should feel freer to customize their own kit to fit their own needs. While this will be much more gear specific each reader will still need to fine tune things to meet not only their skill levels but their own special needs. I will still try to stay more to inclusive terms and attempt to explain why such items should be considered as additions to a kit.

Why do we need a kit anyway? Time and Quality. Sure I can improvise something to cut with. A split rock, window glass or chipped flint will produce a cutting edge. A discarded can ripped apart even a metal bar can be rubbed on a rock, the road, a side walk or the side of a building will eventually end up as a fair substitute for a knife. Personally I prefer to put out a well-honed properly shaped blade to serve my cutting chores. Everyone knows, or should know, how to rub a couple of Boy Scouts together to start a forest fire. Or you can bang a couple of rocks together to generate sparks. Far be it from me to imply that these skills are not worthy of being learned. In fact I consider any one that doesn’t try to learn to improvise or practice primitive skills that thinks that they are prepared are seriously lacking in the mental department. These skills are the ultimate backup. Even if you are injured to the point where you can’t do them yourself, you can talk someone else through the procedure. Because there is always the possibility that you and your gear can become separated. The know how stuffed between your ears is always there. If it is not available you have a more serious problem that gear won’t solve. Whereas one of the objectives of this article is to reduce those chances to an acceptable minimum. Yet things can break or deteriorate over time. You did remember to periodically check your gear to prevent this didn’t you? While an improvised blade will work after a fashion it can not begin to compare with a quality knife. Primitive fire starting works but takes a whole lot of time when compared to flicking your Bic. In the right circumstances that time might be critical. The general idea is to tilt the odds as much in your favor as humanly possible. While it is not possible to carry enough stuff to cover every eventuality by being able to supply the basics for most situation makes it easier to improvise and cope with the unusual situations that might crop up.

Along the same lines is the actual quality of gear to be included. What is included doesn’t have to be the latest and greatest techno-dazzle with the highest price tag. But you don’t want to buy the cheapest piece junk either. Something that fails the first time you use it is actually worse than not having it at all because you are counting on it. Something that you are counting on that lets you down when truly needed is no bargain. Good middle of the road quality items can easily serve you for years to come. Second hand items can be had at reasonable prices. They can be acquired at pawnshops or yard sales at greatly reduced prices. It has been through initial trials and survived but you don’t know if it has been over stressed in the past. That is not to say you can not bargain shop. There is no problem with getting something of quality at a better price. The idea is to get the best that you can afford. But just because you can’t get something you want, I said want not need, you don’t want to be in the position of not having what is necessary. Get something of good quality to fill the need for now. You can always upgrade to the best if there is a later. Make sure you do have something reliable for now. Upgrading the components of a kit can be a very good excuse to justify getting the latest toy you desire.

As with all kits of any type they may need to be sanitized because of security rules. When flying or entering government buildings the majority of sharp objects may need to be removed. There may or may not be separate rules set up by your employer. Of course to keep that job those rules will by necessity need to be followed. At least if you do not intend to search for a new job. By building them in modular fashion this can be quickly accomplished. Forbidden items segregated into separate packages so they can be added or removed as the situation dictates.

Regardless of how extensive a kit might be the contents are utterly useless if you don’t know how to use them. So the first order of business is learning how to use everything you are carrying. If you have no idea how to use it is dead weight. No matter how high tech and useful an item could be the cost of buying it is a waste of money. The second thing that is the need to know is how to improvise. Just because a certain product is intended to perform function X doesn’t mean it can’t also do Y or Z. A couple of quart bags originally intended for water storage could pinch hit as vapor barrier socks. Improvisation will likewise allow the use of things found in the surrounding to supplement or replace things that would not fit, are lost or destroyed from a kit. All this takes is an open mind and a little training to accomplish. The business term in fashion today is thinking outside the box. Brother do I hate that term. Who had the right or the ability to put your thinking in a box in the first place? I think a better way to put it is to be able to think in an unconventional manner. Don’t limit yourself to rules imposed by someone else.

While here as in the first part the focus was and is what to have with you at all times it does not intend to discount an office stash. A pack to go mobile or to even a stay at the office kit with water and food is a wise decision. A regular 72-hr kit is the benchmark of choice. Although from recent events 96 or even 120 hours might be even better option. Either a commercial model or one you have put together. As most commercial kits tend to lack items an individual might deem vital. One size does not really fit all. Even if the decision is to buy one rather than build one from scratch. Look at it with the eye to add and remove items to better fit your specific needs. You might also want to repackage a commercial kit into an upgraded carry mode. This could be a better or more compact backpack. It could be a fishing vest or a modular load bearing system similar to those used in the military. But if the situation involves the building that I’m in, such as a fire or a chance of imminent collapse after an earthquake or whatever, unless that stuff is within seconds of getting it into my hands. It will stay where it is as I get out of Dodge. Stuff can be replaced you or I can’t. So the idea is what to have with you something to cover the minimum basics if circumstances force you to run rather than rely on a more complete setup. Remember you could be in a meeting on another floor, at lunch down the block or making a deal across town in someone else’s building not to mention on a trip out of town.

While from time to time I mention a specific brand named product. This is not to say this is the one and only choice. This can be for two different reasons. To start it may be a well-recognized product. It might then be used merely as an example. Because the named item is so well know when it is referred to most people will know what is being talked about. This includes size, weight and general category. The other times might be something that is not as well known but something that works well for me. This may give you a viable alternative or ideas to go in an even different direction to cover your own needs. When I say a Bic lighter everyone doesn’t have to rush out and raise Bic’s stock prices because of volumes of sales. Personally I prefer the Cricket brand but generally use the store special disposable lighters. The ones that come in the 5 and 7 blister pack for 3 bucks. But when I say Bic you know exactly what I am talking about. Also remember most people call bandages Band-Aids. Sure it is a name brand but people use the term as a generic. So do not take anything I say as a product endorsement. The ultimate choice is yours to cover your needs not mine.

The second disclaimer is more of an apology to any female executives. Ladies I am sorry if it seems that I’m giving you less consideration than you deserve. Being what I am, I can only view things from the male prospective. That and most survival gear oriented people tend to be men. That is not to say more women should not be involved in taking care of themselves. Or that some of you are not prepared and concerned with improving your situation. The reverse is true I think more women need to be involved and would really like a woman’s perspective especially comments about ways to adapt to different styles of dressing. Also I have seen that your different prospective can produce some unique and inventive ideas. While most of you rarely wear belts with various gadgets strung upon it. It is still more socially acceptable for you to carry a shoulder bag/purse than for a man. A 550 Paracord strap for a bag or a decorative rather than a supportive belt would still supply the cordage just as well as the one a man would wear. I have noted that some belts considered the height of fashion made with macramé. If they are made with the Slatt’s Rescue belt knot, who can say it is not an acceptable knot. While Paracord comes primarily in black and olive drab it does come in several other colors even white. This could then be dyed into any color for fashion coordination. Fortunately basic black is said to go with anything. Believe me I have seen some ladies that carry shoulder bags that are better equipped than the BOB in my car. Some that wouldn’t surprise me if they pulled out a fully rigged M1A1. I also hope this does not sound like condensation. That is not my intent just an explanation of my way of looking at things. My only hope is you will not judge too harshly.

Also here is an apology to all of the readers. I tend to get a bit preachy and easily fall into lecture mode. Sometimes it may seem that I am talking down to the reader although not by intention. At times I often go into boring detail. That is because I don’t know the levels of those reading from the seasoned old pro that knows it already to the newbies that needs a bit more information and all those in between. I want to try to explain things so that all understand the subject. Hopefully I don’t offend anyone or bore anyone to too great of an extent. I don’t claim to be an expert but I am highly opinionated. But hopefully the reader will find this reasonably thought out and helpful to their preparations.

Finally the order in which subjects are covered is not indicative of their importance. The order is as the inspiration strikes me.

In part one I recommended work gloves should be considered. What I should have said in keeping with the tone for the executive was driving gloves. While not quite as rugged as true work gloves they would serve the same function and be more in the proper style therefore draw less attention. If there are special concerns about handling sharp objects or hot ones there are specialty gloves on the market. One is Kevlar gloves that are highly resistant to cutting. Often sold to butchers for dealing with cutting meat rather than fingers. I have even seen a few that are metal made like old style chainmail. Also there are mechanics gloves. These are the gloves NASCAR pit crews wear. These allow them to handle very hot vehicle parts without getting burned. I also mentioned a method of a behind the belt pouch to carry a few longer items. An ersatz money belt if you will. That is not to discount the real thing. There numerous manufactures make the real thing. From ones that replace a belt with one that has a hidden compartment, although these are a bit limited in capacity, to the elastic band kind that fit under your clothing. The second types are large enough to have specific pockets for passports and other important papers besides just money. It may take a while to get use to wearing one. But then again they say you can get use to hanging if you hang long enough. The entire design of these belts is to carry things unobtrusively.

As I recommended a Slatt’s rescue belt I have often seen people comment that sure this is great but if you use the rope for other things what do you then use to hold up your pants. Well if you make a belt that has 50, 100 even 150 feet worth of cord you should be able to cut off a few feet. Take that and use the old hillbilly trick of tying it though the loops and make a rope belt. Anyone ever see Hee Haw? Sure it isn’t fashionable but at this point should this really be a concern where you need to use the cordage. Because there is no real limit to the size or form the Slatt’s knot can take it is not just limited to a belt or strap form of any length or width. You can let your imagination run wild in shape and location where it is carried. One possibility is to make in the shape that looks like a potholder. This could be a square or rectangular shaped and sized to fit a pocket like a liner or as padding. Additionally while this weave is ideal for 550 cord it doesn’t have to be limited to that alone. Any type and size of cordage can use this method to make a compact and controlled package of line. Hatbands work especially well using lighter cordage especially mason’s twine. How about a lap robe or blanket from climbing rope?

Frequently I see people bring up the subject of the difference between urban versus wilderness survival kits. Many urbanites often say, well I don’t need this or that because I live in the city. Or with the caveat that they can get to their home in a given, usually less than a day, short amount of time. Therefore they do not need much or anything at all as they have all their needs covered elsewhere. Anyone remember the old saying about a bird in the hand? What if there is something between the two locations entailing a vast detour? I saw one guy that said he worked only 2 miles from home and all he would need was at home. Then on one day while going home he was stopped at a railroad crossing about half way between the two. As he watched several chemical tank cars roll by. He realized that a derailment and the resultant spill could prevent his easy access to his home and supplies. Then he decided his plans needed some serious reevaluation. Maybe your home was ground zero and you can’t get there at all or if you do arrive have anything when you get there. If the parking structure where your car was parked is no a pile of rubble. Guess what? The BOB in your car is unavailable. These are a few examples to show what I am talking about. I am sure that if the matter is really thought upon you can come up with dozens of more such examples. The rule is if something is not in hand it may never be. With a few exceptions most things that are in a wilderness kit are just as applicable in both places. So let us look at some of these I don’t need items. I will do my best to show where they may come in handy from maybe a different prospective.

Then there is also the case if you commute from the suburbs to downtown. Some of these commutes actually travel through what could be considered wilderness especially to someone city bred. If you travel via your own car you should have a car kit or BOB in place. If such travel is from public transportation you could include a BOB or MiniBob during travel time to supplement your constant carry gear. But this extra gear could be deemed a pain in the butt, left at home just for today or totally forgotten. For whatever reasons what you need to carry constantly are the minimum basics. Maybe a bit more to make things a little easier. That is why most systems are designed in layers. Too much gear will be left behind as an inconvenience from time to time. The longer it is not needed the more frequent it will be considered not worth carrying everyday until it is no longer carried at all.

Water purification: There are all kinds of sources for water in a city. My comment is that’s what you think. In many disasters electrical power is usually one of the first thing to be lost. No power means no pumps to supply water. The city water pipes could be damaged or the system contaminated. Turn on a tap and you get a gurgle and a hiss instead of clean water. What about fire fighting stand pipes? Sounds like a plan doesn’t it. That is unless it is treated to prevent rust, growth or freezing. Toilet tanks? Most new commercial buildings no longer use tanked toilets. Breaking into an apartment? The current residents might not look too kindly on that. And then only if the tank doesn’t have one of those million flush systems. And even if it is no longer visible a previous use of such products can still leave lingering contamination. Water from the bowl? Only with some serious purification. And for me only if I’m really, really desperate. I see the guy in the back waving, jumping up and down and saying I know, I know. I’ll just stop at the local Bodega on the corner. First with no power it might be closed. Even with it open how many others will have the same idea? Will there be anything left? And what little might be available at what price will it be? The only safe source I can see around an office are those 5-gallon water cooler jugs. Then only if available, are not empty or been spilled. So just to be safe some method to purify it would be advisable. So I think some method should be available just to be on the safe side. You can boil, there are various sized filtering systems and chemical methods available to do the job. One that I have seen is a plastic squeeze bottle about a litter or quart in size and the cap assembly is the filter. Fill the bottle with suspect water and either squeeze it into another container or drink straight from the bottle. This would be about the right size to fit in a briefcase. When not in use it could hold other items of a kit to keep them together and somewhat concealing what they are.

Along with a way to clean it you need to carry your water. Some suggest that there are all kinds of plastic containers in every trash can on every street ready for the picking. Many of which are already beverage containers. The problem I see with this is you have no idea what person used it last and what they may have left behind. Even if it isn’t some horrible disease what about the flu or a simple cold virus. In a disaster even something normally minor could easily complicate things. Thus reducing your abilities to cope with the situation you are involved in. Haven’t you got enough troubles as it is? I would rather carry my own container to be on the safe side. A couple of food grade ziploc type bags to hold water takes up very little space and weight is insignificant. Using quart-sized bags will give you a measured amount for using purification tablets. That generally specifies a quart per tab. These could easily be carried in the pockets of a suit jacket. Another choice is those plastic oven bags. As they can withstand higher temperatures and are somewhat thicker they are safer for hot rock boiling. But they have no closure built in. Although they could be shut using a twisty tie. A permanent marker can be used to mark any bag to act as a measuring device of volume.

Fishing kit: Well maybe not in the city. But fishing line is cordage and can be used to tie things up. Hooks can be straightened and with a couple of minor modifications could be used as a field expedient sewing needle. Sinkers may not really have to many other uses except as weight. While some city parks may have fishponds you may not want to catch and eat the fish in them. Using the right techniques pigeons and other small birds can be caught. Think what roast squab costs in a fancy restaurant. But you could also do some dry land fishing. By that I mean you drop something into an area you can’t reach. Such an item might be hooked and retrieved with hook and line. Then the weight of the sinkers might be helpful in stabilizing and controlling the line. A weighted line is much easier to swing into position.

Another method of dry land fishing that is in my gear is a rig for is fishing for metal objects such as knives. What I carry is one of those metal extendable pointer type rods with a magnet on the end. The particular one I have is rated to lift 10 pounds. It collapses to about 7 inches but extends to about 30 inches. I have modified it by using epoxy to add a small screw eye to the end. That way, if the object even farther out of reach I can attach a line to it for even more distance. If the concept were to be used in a PSK, where the rod would be too long to fit. The magnet itself can be removed and a method such as the eye attached for an even smaller package. Additionally such a magnet can be used to magnetize small bits of metal such as a sewing needle to improvise a compass. In case you didn’t with those in your sewing kit to begin with.

Snare wire: While you may not see the need to set snares to catch critters for lunch. The wire is still wire and can be used for mechanical and electrical repairs. Especially in situations that are too hot for other types of cordage like a vehicle fix.

Signal mirror: OK, in this case maybe you won’t be trying to signal a plane for rescue. Then again if you are stuck on a rooftop during a flood it might very well signal in that rescue chopper or boat. But it is still a mirror. You have a cut on your face or other difficult to see spot. You pull out your FAK. First you need to clean it then bandage it. All very difficult to accomplish if you can’t see what you are doing. A simple mirror might just aid in the operation. Another that might be particularly apropos to the city is you are skulking down side streets doing your best to avoid trouble. You hear something around the next corner. With a mirror you could peek around said corner with minimal exposure. The decide whether to backtrack or proceed. If working in a group you could use it to flash signals but I suppose a flashlight could do that also. But then again it is extra runtime on your batteries and if the sun is shining its free. Others might not notice a simple glint or two of light from a mirror signaling your companions. Your friends are looking for it. And even if seen they might assume it is a natural phenomenon rather than someone signaling. Therefore ignored.

A compass would fall under the heading of not a very high priority item in the city. But city streets don’t necessarily run to straight lines and grid patterns. While there are landmarks if high building just like trees in the woods surrounds you the inability is to see those landmarks could be critical. Throw in the power being out you can’t see very well or far after dark. You must also remember that things will look different when walking through an area rather than driving or using public transportation. And what if you have to deviate from your normal route? Detours should be expected and planned for. It could be very easy to get turned around. A simple compass might get you back on track. You don’t really need an orienteering compass because you will have to follow the streets but knowing north, south, east and west can tell you to turn right, left or go straight at the next intersection. It will keep you headed at least in the general direction towards your goal.

A whistle. Very simple. The earth moves. Your building breaks. You are pinned in the wreckage. The next day you hear searchers nearby Unfortunately the only sound you can make is a hoarse croak. As you have already screamed your voice out calling for help. They move on. But a tweet from a whistle. “Nuff Said

Fire: The comment that who would ever need to make fire in the city really burns me up. “Pun intended.” Think of all the things a fire can do for you. Boil water to make it safe to drink. Cook food to make it taste better and kill parasites. Keep you warm. Hold back the night. A friendly fire can be a real comfort when things are going badly. Sure there are times that a fire can announce your presents to the wrong people. That is a judgement call. But without a way to start one easily you are already a couple of extra steps behind the curve. And there are many other reasons to be able to start a fire. Think how many times you have seen in cop shows and movies a group of homeless gathered around a burning barrel to warm themselves on a cold winter’s night. This happens all the time in the heart of most cities. Remember you might be able to shelter in a building in an emergency. If the power is out, that building could get very cold and you with it.

Just because a kit is primarily for use in an urban area doesn’t mean the basic necessities of life have changed or can be ignored. You will need to think long and hard what to leave out of your survival kit as you would in what you need to include. Maybe a particular item won’t be used the same way as it would in the wilderness but it could come in handy in an unconventional manner. So it helps to look at what the experts have recommended then modify it to fit your individual requirements.

And there is also at least one person that says what about cell phones, cash, phone cards, credit cards, important numbers and public transportation schedules. While an urban warrior might want to have backups to some of these items in their kit these are normal items that they would carry to deal with regular day to day existence wherever they are. Would a second cell phone get any better reception than the first. The backups would be something like some extra cash, credit card or a phone card kept separately for emergencies. While these extras might be considered as part of an urban survival kit and could be very useful in common every day personal emergencies. They are fine if general services are up and operating and thing are business as usual or as near normal during the crisis at hand. In major widespread emergencies most fail to realize or comprehend that things will not be normal. Many expected services will be out or limited and spotty at best. This would render many of these modern conveniences moot. If you keep an emergency stash of cash it is better to keep it as assorted smaller bills rather than a couple of large ones. The biggest reason is price gougers along with the extra high prices may refuse to make change. Saying, take it or leave it at whatever the size of the bill. This could greatly deplete your supply rather quickly.

Let’s look at a few things that might be especially unique or at least would be more useful to a person in an urban environment rather than some one in the wilderness. In the urban environment there will be more things of a mechanical nature to deal with.

Pry Bar: While there is nothing that you could carry that could move a slab of concrete weighing tons. What you have might be able to pop open a jammed doorway or break a window giving you a way out. Such devices come in various sizes and uses. The smallest practical one that I am aware of is called the Pocketwrench II. This is a 4-inch long slab of metal about an inch wide. Small enough to slip onto a key ring and thus into a pocket. It has a tapering hole with notches along one side. This is to act as a wrench for various sized nuts. It works but not real well. The other end is thinned to work as a standard screwdriver. It also has a hex shaped hole designed to fit the slip in bits of magnetic screwdrivers. It also has English and Metric measuring scales engraved along the edges. Unlike most knives and similar devices the instructions claim that it can be used as a pry bar. The next size in scale and level of kit would be the 9-inch to 1-foot models. These would be practical and fit into a briefcase type kit. The final level would be 2 to 3 foot long models added to an office drawer or locker type stash. As a means of saving weight but at a higher cost there are ones made of titanium. Anything bigger than a 3-foot ply bar would probable be impractical in most cases from both a storage aspect and the additional weight not be very portable. This would cause them to be abandoned anyway. Then there is the ultimate. As sort of multitool of forced entry and rescue work. This is the Biel Tool. Not a bad package at 15 inches long and 3.3 pounds. The Pocketwrench II might pass security while others especially the Biel Tool would not.

Goggles: Especially in an earthquake or building collapse type scenarios, frequently there will be clouds of dust, smoke and other particles in the air. Did anyone see the pictures and tapes of the clouds of dust and debris filling the streets when the towers collapsed? Some form of eye protection could be extremely beneficial in operating in these situations. Even the smallest piece of grit in an eye can be very painful. Even if it doesn’t cause total loss of sight even some partial blurring can reduce your effectiveness when dealing with the situation that might confront you. Even wrap-around sunglasses might be of some use as protective lenses and are better than nothing. Although dark lenses can be of some help in bright light they would be a hindrance in low light environments. There is also the possibility of interchangeable lenses and for those that wear glasses for vision problems there are clip on and slip in devices to adapt to different light conditions. Depending on how bad your vision is you might want to make provisions to include a spare pair. Being virtually blind will not improve your chances.

Dust Mask: In disaster movies and even more so in real life footage of earthquakes and other disasters they show thick clouds of dust and smoke obscuring vision and making it very difficult to breathe as mentioned about goggles. The first step along this route would be the dust and painting masks sold at most home improvement stores or surgical masks. Kind of like a shaped coffee filter that fits over the mouth and nose with an elastic band to hold it in place. In fact in an emergency something similar could be fashioned from a couple of coffee filters from the office coffee station. One or two of these masks could easily folded and stuck in a wallet. But my wallet is already too full as it is. But in part one I recommended a second wallet that is dedicated to survival gear. Now this next part is going to get people screaming at first look. Please read it all before hollering. These dust masks can be a slight measure of help in a fire also. No it won’t supply oxygen or filter out toxic gases. But what it will do is filter out particles in the smoke. It will not be much but it will make breathing just a little easier. Even that small advantage could make the difference between getting out or not. Besides it is better than nothing. If your biggest concern is fire and smoke there are several products made for evacuating from fires. Usually a hood with a filter that compacts into a flashlight sized package. One such is the EVAC8 unit. These would conveniently tuck into a briefcase. To improve chances during a fire remember heat and therefore the smoke rises so the air near the floor will be marginally better.

We need to take a step back and define a few terms. So we are all on the same page. There are a number of abbreviations and acronyms that seem to be misunderstood and used in the wrong context. While naturally the size of kits will vary from individual to individual there are accepted groupings or classifications of what generalized terms mean.

EDC or Every Day Carry: This is not a size category. It is what you load up about your body when you get dressed and with a few minor exceptions of special occasions such as fancy parties or the like you carry each and every day. For the office type this would include what is carried in the pockets and the elements included in a briefcase system. As the briefcase is normally in hand or within easy reach at all times except when visiting the washroom. Guess what? Mister Murphy says that is when the trouble will happen. So take it to the loo with you. But would not include the office stash because you might not have time or the ability to get to it.

PSK or Pocket Survival Kit: This is probably the most misused term of all. Some think it means a Personal Survival Kit. Using the term Personal is just too vague a term. All kits tend to be rather personal. It could be anything from a bare minimum kit to fully equipped transportation. This is a kit that covers most of your basic needs except things like shelter. Why not shelter? Because of the size. By its very name it is designed to fit comfortably in a POCKET. The standard worthwhile shelter item is a trashcan liner or emergency space blanket there individual size alone is about as large as a good PSK. I have seen that people start out with a big sheath knife like a Kabar or Becker as a PSK. While I have seen a number of PSK’s of excellent design made to be attached to such a knife sheath making a system one could hardly say that a knife like that would fit comfortably in a pocket. The other is that they start with a Pelican hard case. While these are excellent products even the smallest one they make is far too large. While it might just be able to be shoehorned into the cargo pocket of a set of BDU’s. One could hardly call it something that fits comfortably or unobtrusively into a regular pocket. So it really can’t be called a PSK. These are more along the lines of maxi kits. It seems that standard for these kits across the web are the Altoids mint tin. These tins can hold the minimum number of items to cover the range of needed areas to be covered in at least at the most basic level. The tin can easily and unremarked be carried in a pocket. The tins are specifically designed to conveniently slip into a pocket so that people will carry the mints with them every where the go using more of their product.

Now as to the different sizes. While these are generalizations not hard and fast rules. They are frequently used so that everyone knows what others are talking about. Even the names are not that critical but do give a general sense their place in the world. They give the concept of how the different levels breakdown. There is somewhat of an overlap as exact size is not that critical. A small mini might be an over large micro or visa-a-versa.

Micro: These generally range in size up to about that of an old-fashioned pocket watch or maybe at the upper end a snuff can. While there can be and are some exceptions, most micro kits are single function item or group of items. A micro fire starting kit might contain not only something to start a fire but with the addition of some form of tinder. One of the common containers used to make up such task dedicated kits are film canisters. A multiple micro kit would be like those several in one function match cases. That holds matches but the container incorporates a whistle, a compass and a mirror as part of its structure. Micro kits can be as simple as a knife in the pocket. Especially a gentleman’s pen knife, a SAK or multitool. These can be the full sized versions or if incorporated as part of a kit can be replaced with the smaller versions such as the smallest SAKs, the Leatherman Micra or the SOG equivalent. The concept of micro kits is that several can be scattered around your person. Many such items can be something that attaches to a key chain or neck chain. That small LED type light on your key chain is a micro kit. When several micro kits are combined they can constitute a full function kit. The idea is that each being smaller in size they can fit in more places.

Mini: These are normally multi or full function kits of a minimal nature. Call it from the Altoid tin up to about a 200 page or so paperback book designed to be tucked into a back pocket. That is why they are often called pocket books. This is the class that the PSKs fit into. Although these can fit into a pocket they can also be carried in belt pouches or as in the above example attached to or included into a larger system. There are hundreds of such kits posted on web sites and on many different discussion boards. Many even include pictures. From the new guy saying here is mine, how can I make it better? To the one-up-manship of mine’s better than your is. It is truly amazing the thought that goes into the good ones and how extensive and how completely some of these kits cover the minimum basic needs. About the only thing missing is sheltering items. As they are too large.

Maxi: These range in size from a thicker paper back to a hardbound book say a Harry Potter novel. I figure they are so famous that everyone has at least seen one in a store to know the size. For the old timers in the crowd that remember, about that of a cigar box. This is where the larger and the more convenience minded items are included such as sheltering components also food items of a useful nature. True some commercial PSK and mini kits claim to have food this is a tea bag and sugar packet, a piece or two of hard candy or a couple of bullion cubes. Not really food, but just enough to claim that they do. Sure you don’t have to have food in a kit but some hard candy or a power bar or two can be a real psychological lift in trying times. This is the class that we are trying to equip our urban warrior when the portion included in the briefcase is part of the overall system.

There are larger and much more extensive kits such as BOB’s or 72-hour kits but this fall more into the category of office or vehicle stashes which is a different subject as they may not be accessible. If you can afford it. It might not be a bad idea to have 2 one in each place. The concept of cashing can also be use for this. A BOB or even several can be kept in rented storage lockers in bus, subway or train stations. These kits would be where more extensive equipment, food and water stocks would be held. Several of these placed in different compass directions from a place of work would greatly increase the odds of having at least one accessible regardless of the disaster. Much of the gear in these would be more comfort items beyond absolutely necessary survival gear such as sleeping bags and mats or changes of clothing and shoes. Most of these would look much like standard camping gear.

The purpose of this is to build and carry everyday a sort of maxi kit or maybe a maxi kit plus. Rather than one all-inclusive kit the idea is a modular system. This way while some things can be lost. Much of the rest of the system is still retained. Remember there is the possibility of security concerns depriving you of certain items?

Once all the gear is selected and collected it is time to figure out how and where to carry it. The typical 3-piece business suit starts off with a number of pockets to begin with. But that is not all on the matter. Additional pockets can be added and concealed at home with a little fabric, a needle, some thread and some practice sewing. Or if in a high enough salary bracket a little extra cash to the tailor. Various unobtrusive pockets of desired size and location can be included. These can fit almost anywhere and be of any practical size desired. An example would be a long thin pocket along the hem of a jacket or skirt. A trash can liner or emergency space blanket folded into a long thin roll placed here would go virtually undetected short of a strip search. You could make one that hooks or snaps to these hemlines. That way when you change to a different outfit you can easily transfer this gear.

While modern electronics, especially the mandatory cell phone, are constantly getting smaller. And most are now designed to clip to a belt. There are still pouches designed to hold phones, PDAs and other modern marvels of the urban jungle. Many of these have additional space for accessories and such. The idea is that the such stuff is your personal survival gear others would have no knowledge of what you have unless you let the cat out of the bag. And who would even question a second cell phone pouch? One phone is for normal use while it would be assumed that the second is a hot line to the boss or maybe a private line to the family. Then as mentioned is the briefcase. The symbol of the cooperate worker. This can be the old style hard case or the newer soft-sided laptop cases. Many of the older ones have more than enough extra space to include items too large to fit into pockets. And the soft-sided one are often even larger. In addition to space for a laptop they have pockets for spare batteries and other accessories. Plus room for hard copy, pads and files. There would be nothing wrong or remotely suspicious if one of these just happen to be dedicated to something else. Meaning some survival equipment. Who would know or even suspect unless you told or showed them. Having such a case at hand would arouse more suspicion by not being there than having it everywhere you go. Now there are even belt pouches or waist packs that are coming into fashion.

The next problem is where and how to tuck these various item around your body in an unobtrusive manner. There is also the need to organize the equipment in such a way as to be able to locate each can be easily located when needed. It will be a real pain to have to dump everything whenever you need to find something. First if you just randomly stuff things in various pockets they will naturally mix and gravitate to the bottom of the pocket in a jumble. Other than making things hard to find it leads to saggy and bulging pockets. If you are suffering from corporate spread it becomes even more noticeable. You have enough bulges to deal with already. Outside of ruining your fashion image it announces the presents of the gear that may raise possible awkward questions from co-workers. One way would be to limit the number to one or two items in each pocket.

Also consistence of placement is an additional key to proper storage. Even with a different outfit placing the same item in the same location or as close as possible allowing for the new having a slightly different layout. If you carry a lighter in the right front pocket you should carry it there in every outfit you wear. That way in an emergency you know exactly where it is. When you needed it under stress reaching for it is automatic instead of searching for it in a panic. You should also prioritize the equipment you carry. This priority, within the limits of size dictating placement, should direct the location it is carried. The more important an item is the closer to you it should be placed. That if something is lost it is more likely to be the least important item. If circumstances force you to abandon things the more critical items are the last to go. Suppose you fall into deep water and it is a case of shed some of your load or sink. Logically in such a case the jacket would be the first to go.

There is a solution to this and several other potential problems especially moisture. The answer is plastic bags. The bags I speak of are similar to Glad and Ziploc Baggies as they have a sealing closure. While the commercial bags mentioned only come in pint, quart, half and full gallon size. There are available other bags with a myriad range of sizes. These come in as small as 1 X 1 inch appropriate for holding single postage stamps to ridiculously sized ones. Some of the available sizes are in just about any desired dimensional combinations in inch and fractional inches. Also the ability to seal the bag will help waterproof the contents. Just remember that they are thin plastics. They can easily be punctured from rough handling; protruding edges packed inside or eventually from friction of normal every day wear and tear. Inspect them on a regular basis to be on the safe side.

One caveat is these bags are not food grade like the commercial ones found in the supermarket. Therefore should not be used to store food that is not packaged in some other manner or for water storage. You don’t know what it might be contaminated with. While probably not fatal, it might not be very good for you. You could store a few power bars or bouillon cubes in their wrappers to keep them together and protect them from water damage.

This range of different sizes would allow you to size the bags to closely fit your pockets tightly. By filling the bags and squeezing out the air these would minimize the bulges by forming a flat package. By sizing them to closely match the pocket’s dimensions, at least in width, will keep the packet upright in the pocket. If tightly compressed by removing the air they will generally hold the contents in their relative position within the pack.

Most sizes desired can be found on the Internet. Unfortunately most manufactures only sell in quantities of 1000’s and 10,000 sized lots. That would supply you and all your friends for many, many years to come with plenty left over. Another source is flea markets and the like. Usually there is a stuff merchant that buys these baggies and breaking them into smaller lots. 50’s and 100’s for the smallest bags and lesser quantities for larger sizes usually for only a couple of bucks per bundle. Of course you could buy these large quantities available. Then use what you need with a few spares. Bundle them into small lots and sell them. I understand that E-Bay works for this kind of thing. You might recoup your entire investment or even make a profit.

Here are a couple of possible options for the use of some of the smaller bags to spur the thought processes into more ideas. Frequently a couple of cotton balls or lint are put in a kit tin to act as tinder and to quiet rattles. Suppose you want to add a few petroleum jelly coated cotton balls to your Altoid tin PSK as fire starters. By themselves that would cause a heck of a mess. A film canister would take up to much space if it would even fit. But a few in a bag about the size of postage stamp. The bag takes up little extra space and protects the rest of the kit from being coated with grease. They also come in handy in fishing kits. More on that later. Another packaging method for maybe a single cotton ball or other small items in a kit is plastic drinking straws. The item or group of small items is placed in a short piece of straw. The ends are then folded over and either glued or heat sealed shut. In most cases one end is sealed prior to filling. These can be almost any lengths needed to accommodate the item or the space available in the kit container.

Well we now have various pockets, pouches and briefcases to hold emergency gear. We also have bags and tins to keep things organized and in compact packages. Also to keep the equipment that is being carried unobtrusive to those around you. Briefly mentioned is placing items on a key ring. If your ring is already full of keys there is nothing wrong with having a second ring that is dedicated to tools of the trade just like a second survival gear dedicated wallet. Two things that ride on my key ring are a 4-inch crescent wrench and a Craftsman 4-way pocket screwdriver. It is a disc about the size of a 50-cent piece with 4 different blades around the edge. Many also talk of stringing few items; Ranger Rick sells such a system, on a necklace such as a neck knife. Personally I do not care to have something hanging around my neck. This stems from my training as a navy electrician. Before working on high voltage circuit we were taught to remove our dog tags to prevent them from slipping out and giving us a shock. Also the potential of it getting hung up for a choking hazard doesn’t set well with me. But such an option is again a personal choice. Do, as you like. Just be sure any such necklace has break points to avoid the chance of hanging. I guess it is time to see what to include in our kit and where each thing or actually category of object should be located. Some has already been discussed in the section about the perceived differences between urban and rural kits. So let’s start with the basics.

Sharp objects: One of the first needs is something to shape the world around you. One of the most important needs is to be able to manufacture the tools you may need. This includes the ability to sever material to free you from entrapment and to trim cordage to usable lengths. For PSKs the old standby has been the single edge razor blade. True not much but better than nothing. There are a few other possibilities. There are utility knife blades without the handle and those that you snap off small sections to keep a sharp edge. There are Exacto blades and something most don’t think about surgical scalpel blades although they are coming more into vogue. Maybe you could cadger a couple from your friendly physician. You can also have the choice of a saw blade in the form of a jigsaw or jab [the best known is the Sawzall] saw blades. Of course these blade only options you should improvise some type of handle to make them more effective.

This is probably the area where you have to be the most careful about quality. There are far too many cheap knockoffs on the market. Those 1.98 mini knives are a complete waste of time.

The next step up in the sharp world is penknives. These can be the simple gentlemen one or two bladed styles. This can be improved even more using the smaller SAKs [Swiss Army Knife] with little difference in size but having a few more functions. There are also the mini multitools like the Leatherman Micra and the SOG tool. These can be slipped in a regular pocket loose, a watch pocket or hooked on a key ring. They are even small enough to slip into an Altoids tin kit.

Going even larger you have the regular sized pocketknives, folding lockers and most of the multitools. This is where knives reach the level of serious working blades. With any of these knives it is best to go with one that has at least 2 blades. That way if you try to pry with the main blade and end up breaking it you have a second one as a built in backup available. While some regular pocketknives start adding multiple features. The SAKs are the standard of by which multi function capacity is measured. While many of the tools on SAKs and multitools are nice to have and maybe more useful in day to day use. Although in the urban arena a multitool might be even more useful. The various tools might enable greater manipulation of mechanical structures in the city. Which could be helpful in any emergency. Probably one of the most useful features other than the knife blade in an emergency situation it a saw. As it has the capacity to shape wood at a faster rate. Also a file can be very useful. As it can be used to sharpen other knives. There are some real monsters in this category in particular ones like the Swiss Champ. I would tend to shy away from these. While they have tons of functions they are so thick they become awkward in all but the very largest of hands. They are almost like two regular knives stuck together. This will cause difficulties. The loss of precision when making fine or delicate cuts. When making heavy cuts this lack of control can lead to slips damaging the work and possibly causing injuries. Personally I’d rather carry two smaller knives that split the number of tools between them. They would not weigh much more and quite possible less. Furthermore they would be easier to use and much easier to store than one huge assembly. I have even seen some SAK wanna bes that have a fork and spoon included.

Knives that fit into an even larger category are the sheath knives, machetes, Bowies, the kukris and small belt axes. While these lager knives and chopping tools might be nice to be includes in larger kits such as an office stash or BOB. They are not really practical as part of every day office carry. But, if you insist that one is an absolute must. It would be best to include them in the briefcase portion of the kit or as part of the office or other place stash. Anywhere on your person would be way, way too obvious. And carrying something that obvious will get you talked about by the other office PHRASECENSOREDPOSTERSHOULDKNOWBETTER.. Such talk could eventually involve the PTB’s. Unless you are the head honcho and set the rules this could lead to bad consequences. It could lead to banning of specific items, baring you from carrying or stashing any gear or even the loss of employment.

When selecting a knife you are faced with a staggering number of options. For a knife with ancillary tools you need to select the combination that best fits your perceived needs. But since the primary purpose of a knife is to cut things. The first concern in choice should be based on the blade or blades it has. When choosing a blade there are a number of different shapes to chose from. Each person has his or her own favorite design. Normally the choice for a primary kit selection should be based on a design that is more multi-functional rather than something exotic. Once the general shape is selected the next interest is the edge. Here there are two basic ways to go either straight bladed or serrated. Then there are some that are half-and-half. I would say that that if it has 2 or more blades they should be one of each style. That way you have the best of both worlds. Aside from what is included is the choice of material it is made of. While some are better than others are in general any made by a reputable manufacturer should be of decent quality. This is acceptable for now. You can always up grade to the super deluxe later.

Sort of in the knife category are locking pliers. Vice Grips if you will. One friend carries a 5-inch pair daily. Another such option is the Leatherman Crunch. These are collapsible locking pliers that fold down into a package the size of most standard multitools. Plus they have a couple of extra implements included. While they are not as robust or work quite as well as a dedicated pair they are more compact.

Being a belt and suspenders type of person I would recommend at a minimum a small SAK or mini multitool and a larger sized locking blade SAK or Multitool, maybe both. And I have no problem with adding some sort of cutting edge in a PSK. If you are like me that means that you will be carrying a couple of more sharps just on general principle. You might also want to consider some form of sharpening method.

Fire: As previously stated is a critical skill. If asked, most experts will state that if fire is not the number one priority it will at worst falls in as number two. While in all cases fire might not be needed. But when it is it can mean the difference between life and death. The primitive methods of fire by friction are the ultimate backup. These skills need to be practiced along with the how of building fire structures. So that when you need it, that it works right the first time. Remember to practice sometimes in adverse conditions such as when it is pouring down rain. Because Mr. Murphy always says, “ Thing will not be in your favor when the chips are down.” The idea of the kit is to make things go as easily and as quickly as possible.

Flint and steel comes in two forms. The old fashioned method while nice tends to be a little too bulky for inclusion in kits. While flint is the best other rocks can be substituted. There are the high tech modern fire rods called flint rods. These come in 3 basic forms. The Swedish fire steels consist of the sparking rod with a molded plastic handle. While nice that handle takes up too much space for my liking. Then there are the magnesium fire starters found in every discount joint. They have a flint rod along one edge and a huge block of magnesium. The magnesium is meant as a hot burn tinder to be shaved off. Again nice but these things are relatively huge. There are a few called fire spikes that are a compromise that I think is the best of both worlds. They have a flint rod with a small amount of magnesium wrapped around it. They are about 3 inches long and about the diameter of a pencil. Instead of a handle they use a bead chain or key ring, ring threaded through a hole at one end. While not as convenient. With a little practice, tensioning can be used to hold the rod fairly ridged. It is oft stated that the magnesium shavings are hard to keep together. One solution is to take a small piece of waxed paper folded into a wallet or kit. The waxed paper when unfolded can form a pocket to hold the shavings together. It also burns well giving an improvement as a tinder/fire starter. There is an additional flint and steel method. In essence it is the sparking assembly of the Zippo type lighters without the lighter wrapped around it. I had kind of forgotten the Gerber Strike Force. It combines a sparking rod and a scraper in a single package. The ability to use it one handed is a very nice feature especially if injured. But as an every day carry item it is just too bulky and big to be seriously considered.

There are the solar methods. Sure it requires the sun to be shining and it may not be. There have been over the years several toys to do this. In fact I use to have a solar cigarette lighter. But the main item that I think should be considered is the flat plastic Fresnel lens. While it can come in many sizes he best for a kit are the ones about the size of a credit card. These can be easily slipped into a wallet. As a fire starter only it might not be worth even its minimal size and weight. But being a magnifying lens it can be used to read fine print or to get a closer look at almost anything small. This multiple capacity does make it worthy addition to your supplies. .

Matches and every official kit list from the experts include matches especially strike anywhere types. Although these are getting harder to find. The king of matches are the lifeboat matches. There are also regular stick and finally paper matches with striking strip. Although I wouldn’t consider paper one except in the very smallest of kits. The first problem is that they are all very moisture sensitive. They can be somewhat waterproofed by sealing in plastic bags or dipped in paraffin. I have heard that you can also do this by coating them with Thompson’s Water Seal or the like. I don’t have any idea about the long-term effects. I do know that matches deteriorate over time with paraffin or just plain. The biggest hit I think though for matches is the number of lights per volume. 3 maybe 4 matches give you the same volume as a flint rod. This works out to 4 or 8 lights if you split matches versus 50 or so with the rod. And when compared to hundreds if not thousands of fires from a butane lighter the 20 or so matches that would fill the same space doesn’t even come close. So I tend to consider matches as a non-starter when it comes to kits.

The venerable Zippo and other like products are nice for daily use for a smoker. They are a rather poor choice as part of a kit. This is not to say they are a bad product in their designated field of use just not a good fit in this case. If used regularly as in smoking they need to be refueled every few days. Even if not used at all the fuel rarely lasts more than a couple of weeks if that. Suddenly finding that it won’t work because the fuel has evaporated is not something you want in an emergency. There might be some way to seal one up to retain fuel but nothing I know that is very practical. Such a lighter and a can of fuel might work for something larger as a BOB or storage stockpile but that is not what we are building at this time. The only other real problem is the expense of loosing one. Other than running out of fuel at an inopportune time loosing one is the only problem I have ever had.

The best choice for a fire-starting source in a kit is the butane flint striker based lighter. It is the most compact unit available. The smallest are the mini Bic lighters. Unfortunately for those that don’t like the Bic brand they are the only one’s that make these minis. These are about ½ the size of standard units in this line. It is capable of several hundred fires. The full sized models are capable of even more. For regular use I personally prefer the Cricket electronic lighter. But in an emergency kit, any of flint ignited is the best choice. This is because that even if the butane fuel is exhausted the metal flame shield can be removed and the flint and wheel can still generate sparks ala flint and steel. One of the things that some people say against these lighters is that they can leak away their fuel in storage. This problem is more a matter of incorrect storage rather than a design flaw. Many try to pack them so tightly into mini kits that the fuel release lever is depressed. I have just recently found several in storage that have been there for at least 5 years. These were of several brands from top of the line disposables to a couple of the cheapest store brands. The ones that come in the 5 and 7 packs for a couple of bucks. All still worked as if new. Butane lighters do have a problem. That is their reaction to cold temperatures. Probably the time when they are most needed. When it gets cold enough the butane is slow or doesn’t evaporate. Since it is the gas generated that actually burns. No gas means no fire. One reason to have backups. But if kept in inner pockets, Body warmth will normally keep them functional. Unlike most fire sources they are not greatly affected by water other than that when wet the flint will frequently not spark. From experience I have found that a couple of shakes and blowing strongly into it followed by a few spins of the wheel has always rectified this difficulty. The ones that have see through bodies are especially nice as you can view how much fuel remains at a glance. To those with the concern, Yes there is a slight explosion hazard with butane lighters. If they get hot enough the resultant pressure could rupture the case. And if there were fire present the gas cloud would ignite. Generally if the lighter is lit long enough to build up anywhere near this heat level it would be too hot to hold onto. The odds are so slight that it is not a real point of contention.

My recommendations for the fire components are as follows. If you use a lighter on a daily basis such as a smoker carry what ever is your favorite method. For your kit carry an unused disposable lighter as a backup and emergency source or solo if you don’t need one day to day. Also one of the middle sized fire spikes. The ones without the handle and a minimal amount of magnesium along with its striker. As a last resort method slip into a wallet the credit card sized magnifying lenses. Finally the knowledge and practice of primitive methods as a last resort.

Along with a way to start a fire you might want to include one or more methods to extend the start. Some have mentioned that they carry a chunk of fat wood on their key ring to be shaved as tinder. While on the surface it seems a fair idea. I think it is a bit limited for the bulk involved. But if it is a good luck charm to you far be it from me to deny it to you.

What has sort of become the standard, as a carry along tinder is petroleum jelly coated cotton balls. 3 or maybe up to a half dozen can be stuffed in a zipped plastic bag about the size of a postage stamp and tucked into a PSK. As an aside the grease can be used as a lubricant in other situations. I say coated rather than soaked as most do. You can put too much on the cotton as many newbies frequently do on their first try. I heard one guy say he tossed about a hundred cotton balls in a bag with about a half a pound of petroleum jelly. The end result was about a hundred blobs of grease. Depending upon how you intend to light them the amount can be very critical. If the intent is to use sparks you need at least a small amount of the cotton that is virtually dry to catch the sparks properly. Therefore coat them sparingly.

Some people say that because of their frugal nature they use dryer lint rather than purchase cotton balls. This is a fine idea depending upon the cloths that contribute

OK, the platinum award...

how come it doesnt end? the last line isnt even a sentence.

If you take the time to read it, it's a pretty nice read. It says a lot of things that we already know/discussed but there you go..

It’s probably because he hit the maximum character limit that any one post can contain. I don’t know what that limit is, nor do I remotely have enough to say to find out.

Oops I guess it was the max cut off or something. Heres the reast I hope.

Some people say that because of their frugal nature they use dryer lint rather than purchase cotton balls. This is a fine idea depending upon the cloths that contributes the lint. If they are cotton only you get good quality lint. However commonly many cloths are a cotton and polyester blend. Polyester is a plastic. This plastic does not catch sparks very well. Once it is burning it does burn hotter and longer than the cotton. A too high of percentage of polyester may make them unreliable for flint and steel starting. Even worse is if a large amount of the fibers come from wool. As we all know one of the properties of wool clothing that makes it such a great outdoor fabric is that it does not burn well or catch sparks. High wool content could make such tinder useless. The traditional tinder for primitive flint and steel is char cloth. This is in essence partially burned cotton cloth. Think of it as cloth’s equivalent of charcoal. It catches and easily ignites with the limited sparks generated by true flint and steel. Fortunately the modern high tech flint rods generate a much larger and longer lasting burst of sparks. This gives a better chance of igniting a wider assortment of tinders.

Here are other options for these cotton balls and possibly a way to improve performances. A slightly less messy possibility is rather than the petroleum jelly the cotton can be dipped lightly in paraffin. To use these the ball is cracked open and the inner fibers fluffed. The improvement is the addition of magnesium. If you opt for the larger department store magnesium bar they can be trimmed to more easily fit into a kit. A friend takes them and cuts them in half lengthwise. He the cuts a groove in the edge of the part that does not have the striker bar and glues several lighter flints into it. This gives him a 2 for one deal. When sawing such a bar there will be some shavings generated that can be saved or the second half can be either shaved with a knife or run across a file to create fine grains of metal. These shavings can then be mixed into the cotton balls before coating with petroleum jelly or paraffin. These shavings would make them easier to ignite and make them burn much, much hotter.

An another choice is to cut chunks of Duraflame logs. These are essentially sawdust and paraffin of course with a few other things thrown in. There are even something’s that look like giant matches with their own self-igniter. The best choice might be road flares. As they will start a blaze in a blizzard. You might be able to slip one or two of the smaller 5-minute kind into the briefcase.

An additional option to increase the burn time of the initial lighting is the use of candles. Depending on the size of a kit these can be almost any desired size. The most common that are often recommended are plumber and tea candles. For the smallest kits birthday candles are considered a prime option. There is the current myth of using those trick birthday candles that re-light when blown out. On the surface this seems to be the neatest thing since sliced bread. There is one drawback. If you carefully read the instructions on the package it says that the candle must burn for 30 seconds to insure that the re-light feature works. If you have built the fire base correctly in the first place the fire has spread into a rather nice burn in those 30 seconds. Being of a curious nature I decided to test this for myself. While the testing methods were rather crude and unscientific the results were rather consistent. I lit them and let them burn in roughly 5 seconds blocks then tried to blow them out. Then saw if they re-ignited. The results were in the first 10 to 15 seconds they went out and did not re-fire just like a normal birthday candle. After that things got iffy. Up into the 20 to 25 second ranges the chances ran about 50-50. Sometimes they worked sometimes they went out. The longer they burned the better the chances. After 30 seconds in most cases they worked as advertised. If candles are your choice you can decide if the slightly more expensive trick candles are worth it. But then again if they inspire a bit more confidence in your fire lighting ability the extra expense might very well be worth it.

There are also various commercial tinder products on the markets. Some dry or semidry cubes that will catch a spark to pastes and ribbons that need direct flame. There is on compact product called the Pitch Witch. From all appearances these could be easily duplicated at home as they look like several layers of paper towels dipped in paraffin.

Regardless of the ignition source or choice of carried tinder here are a couple of useful items to help start a fire. The first is a common ordinary pencil sharpener. The small plastic kind. Yes I know the knife artists say they can make wood shavings with their knife. But take a stick small enough to fit into the hole and you can grind out piles of thin shavings in a very short time. They are fine enough that they will even a fire steel will light them. Not as easily other things but it will work. The pencil sharpener will produce more consistently thin shavings at a much faster rate than any knife. Additionally it should pass security measures that a knife would not. Who knows, given the normal supplies around an office or found in most briefcases the source of such shavings could easily be an actual pencil.

Anyone that has ever lit a fire in the wild knows the procedure. Build the fire structure. Strike a light and insert it into the tinder. Then stick your butt into the air and your face into the dirt. To my way of thinking a rather undignified position. Finally blow like crazy to supply oxygen to increase the fire to a self-sustaining level. About half way there most people have to stop and rest because they get a bit woozy. This is because they are hyperventilating. And if the fire flares or is blow back toward you, you end up with singed eyebrows or worse. A second fire starting aid is 5 or so feet of surgical rubber tubing can eliminate many of these problems. The length will allow you to sit upright. Because of the narrow opening, a single breath will last much longer almost preventing the chance of hyperventilation. The air stream that results can be directed exactly where it is most needed. This makes each breath more effective in encouraging the fire. But like all things to be considered for a kit this item has other functions it can perform. It can be used as a sipping straw for seeps and solar stills. As this is the same stuff used as the power bands of modern slingshots. You can see some of the possibilities. But it can also be use to construct a spear gun or an ersatz bow for other range weapons. It can be used to power spring traps. Along with any other needs that could use a springy hollow tube.

Let us suppose that you want the advantage of fire without the inconveniences of a natural wood fire. There are all kinds of commercial stoves and fuels in the backpacking world. Some of which are even small enough to be included in the style of kit we are building. Although most of these would not fit in a pocket they could find a place in the briefcase portion of the system.

One of the simplest and most compact models that meet the requirements of our kit is the Esbit. It is a to metal frame that folds into a package about the size of a deck of cards. It could actually fit into a pocket of a jacket or vest. Several fuel tabs can be stored inside in its travel mode. Unfortunately it would only supply a very limited number and duration of fires available for use. Although the Esbit tabs or parts of tabs can be substituted as part of the tinder for a regular fire. While this would probably be acceptable in most situations contemplated. It might be advisable to have something available for more extended period of time.

Another possible choice would be Sterno, Canned Heat or Ecofuel. These are gelled liquid fuels such as alcohol. While they do not burn with as nearly an intense heat as the Esbit fuel tabs they have a much longer burn time. And while the fuel tabs can be extinguished it is not nearly as easy as putting out these cans of fuel. This would allow their use over a much more extended period of time. Therefore probably a better choice as a heating source. Although they will not cook as quickly they are more than adequate.

Even candles can supply an amazing amount of warmth if used to heat a limited area. Other than such candles as ladyfinger emergency candles and plumber candles which have often been used in the past for this purpose. There is a product called Nu-Wick candles. That are exceptionally well suited for our needs. These are essentially the candle in the can. One advantage of this is that even if exposed to high temperature while in storage is that in the event it happens to melt it will still be contained within the can. That way none of the contents are lost or causes damage to other items that are around it. One feature is extremely advantageous is that they come with several wicks that float upon the melted wax. This allows the number used at any one time to be adjusted to fit the current situation. A single wick for general lighting to several to generate additional heat for warming an area or for cooking food.

Here are two ways the necessary area that needs to be heated can be limited so that such items can be an adequate source of energy. The first would be to use in the interior of a stranded vehicle. The second method would be a huddle construction involving a poncho, large garbage bags, tarps or an emergency space blanket. First dig a hole near the base of a tree to place the candle or other heat source. This is to lower the physical height of the flame to protect the poncho or other cover used from direct exposure to that flame. The tree is to act as a back support/rest. You need to place some form of insulation on the ground between the hole and the tree. This is because setting on the cold, cold ground will pull tremendous amounts of heat from your body. You should if possible try to get even more between your back and the tree. The insulation will also make the seat a bit more comfortable. Light and place the fire source in the hole. Set down between the hole and tree. The poncho or other substitute forms a cone around you and over the fire that retains the heat from the fire. This makes for an extremely comfortable environment in even the most extreme conditions. Surprisingly you can even nap in this position. While you won’t get the kind of rest from a tent, sleeping bag and sleeping mat or better yet a real bed. It is a rest that is available using limited means. Yes Vlad, this is one of your many contributions and you deserve all due credit. While in the city you might not have a tree or a place to dig a hole. This concept can be easily modified for use in urban surroundings. You can simple set on a sidewalk and lean against a building wall. Fortunately the hole is not absolutely necessary as the flames on Sterno, Nu-Wick or tuna candle are not that tall. Even better try to find a niche or corner that will block the wind even more than the poncho alone. One source of effective insulation that is rather unique to urban environment is newspaper. Many street people regularly use and survive cold weather using newspapers as a sleeping pad and blanket.

If you are into the DIY crowd thinking that first it is cheaper and that by making it yourself you can craft a more personalized item that fulfills your specific needs better than some mass produced item that will do in a pinch. Two such homemade substitutes for the Nu-Wick are the buddy burner that has been around for a long time and the tuna candle another Vlad idea. Both use a tuna can as the container. First because these cans are heavy duty and can standup to the exposure to fire quite well. Secondly because of the relative height to width ratio. This makes them very stable and greatly reduces the chances of being tipped over during use. Thus limiting the fire danger. There are plastic lids sold to cap cat food cans that also fit tuna cans. These can be used when cooled to make sealed units for storage and transportation. The buddy burner is a can filled with a roll of newspaper or cardboard and saturated with paraffin. The entire surface acts as a gigantic wick. For the tuna candle the can is filled with paraffin with several wicks placed into it. Usually 3, 4 or 5 wicks spaced about the can. This makes it more adjustable because you can chose the number of wicks that are actually lit. If you have a source of used candles or stubs these can be use to reduce the expense of construction. While both are adequate to generate heat for cooking or warmth. Also as a light source. The buddy burner the better choice for heat and the tuna candle is better as a light. Both can be refueled by the simple expedient of adding chunks or slices of paraffin or wax while it is in use. It melts and combines with what is already there. These are compact and light enough to be considered for use in all but the smallest of kits. I’d seriously consider sticking one in the briefcase. Additionally if you are interested in more DIY stoves there is an excellent collection of such items found at the Wings Stove Archive @ http://wings.interfree.it/

In almost any disaster along with everything else the power grid goes down also. Although because of everything that runs on electricity a power outage is generally considered a major disaster in its own right especially in a major city. No power to the pumps that supply water and remove waste. Elevators stop where they are. Just hope that’s not where you are when things go down. Sure there are ways out but it is a lot of work, takes a great deal of time and can be very dangerous. Stores close because the cash registers cease to function. That means chances are you won’t be able to get any last second supplies. Worst of all no lights. If that is the only thing going on like what happened in New York. And it happens in the middle of a nice summer day. It could be a lark. But can you really count on that? I think not. While most commercial building have some form of emergency lighting this is only for the short-term situations not a couple of days. The total absence of artificial light in a big city has to be experienced to be believed. It can be very disorienting, depressing and down right scary. Especially when the animals come out to play.

What we need is some way to supply your own personal island of brightness. Candles have already been discussed. They work fine in enclosed spaces where they won’t blow out. Great if proper care is taken and they don’t get knocked over starting a blaze. In most cases the need is to be mobile. So a prudent prepper makes arrangements to shed some light on the subject at hand. Now a 6-D cell maglite is fantastic and will light things up for blocks. It is also a great defensive weapon. But let’s face it. It is just a wee bit much to lug around all the time everyday. Unless you are a security guard and it is part of the uniform. Even if you figure a way to tote it without looking strange. So for a kit we must think smaller much, much smaller. For everyday carry most people think of the AA and triple A Maglites or Surefires. These are very good lights, but generally burn through a set of batteries in a couple of hours. To have light for a reasonable amount of time you need to carry so many spares that we are again in the realm of it is too much to bother carrying. So we don’t. If these lights are carried it is nominally with a single set of spares. There is a bright side to this situation. 99 times out of a hundred we don’t actually need the amount of light even these small cousins provide. The answer to long duration lighting is very simple. This is the use of LEDs as the source of light.

LED flashlights come in all shapes, sizes and in a rainbow of colors both in package and light output. The greatest advantage of these is that they are very miserly in their power usage. Therefore they last much longer. Currently they have even started to make replacement assemblies to retrofit the maglite line with LED bulbs. These trends will probably spread to other makes and models if it becomes profitable. While single LEDs do not rival standard light bulbs let alone some of the high intensity lamps. With the use of several LEDs they are even overcoming most of this objection. Some of the newest that use several LEDs have adjustable levels by switching to different numbers energized. Even these high output systems last considerably longer than equivalent light bulbs. Some combine regular bulbs and LEDs. Many of these come in the form of headlamps with remote battery packs. One of the smallest and most popular of these is the Photon Microlite. The Photon is about the size of 3 quarters stacked together. Like many of this general size they use watch batteries for power. They generally last several hours. And a supply of these batteries that would last days on end would weigh ounces instead of pounds of conventional batteries. And take up less space than a single C cell. A step up in size but still in the realm of easy pocket carry is the CMG Infinity. These metal cased lights use a single AA battery and are little bigger that the battery alone. The stated duration of these is 40 hours on a single cell. Another advantage of these particular lights is that if you also use a regular flashlight like the maglite is that when the batteries in the maglite is drained significantly they can go in into the Infinity. Here they will still give full output of the LED for several more hours. Additionally this reduces logistic problems by using a single sized battery. Also since many modern electronics use the AA. There will be additional sources for replacement cells. Both fully charged and some partially drained but still viable.

My recommendations are again for redundancy. First a double A full strength flashlight such as a maglite or the like. For times when maximum light is needed. This could be carried either in a belt pouch or the briefcase. A CMG for on a key chain, pocket or briefcase this gives you long duration area light. Finally for the pocket a Photon or similar for quick use. Some lights have a constant on switch some do not. It is best to get ones that have the on switch, as holding one on at all times can be a real strain. These lights are one of the few prep items that you can share the knowledge of with your coworkers. While they might think you are a bit eccentric for carrying one. It is not as if you are really weird or dangerous. You can be the office hero by lighting up dark corners looking for things or under desks plugging equipment back in. I also recommend an interesting accessory that works for all three. It is a headband designed for the maglite. It is a strip of cloth that is adjustable for head size with elastic loops to hold a light. This makes for hands free operation, which is very convenient.

Purifying suspect water and collecting water. Believe me if you are not 100% sure of the water you had better have some method available to make it safe to drink. No method of purification will solve all the potential means of contamination. You need to choose the method that will fit the probable sources. With standing water you can dip it up with a container. In narrow openings the water can be sucked up with your rubber hose or a straw. Most mechanical filters are designed to pump water from where it is. Many have extended hoses that give a bit more reach. Large clear bags can be fitted over bushes and tree limbs. This is called transpiration the act of plants giving of moisture the bag collects and condenses it. Where there is no surface water solar stills can evaporate moisture form the soil if any is available or from chopped up plant material. With a cloth or sponge dew can be collected in the early morning. Many recommend a sponge. These are the ones that come very dry and compressed into a very flat package. You could trim one up and place it in your PSK tin. A further choice would be those super synthetic chamois cloths. They use to be a big rage at trade shows. They are often advertised for cleaning up spills. Especially the ability to put moisture out of carpeting. They are suppose to absorb 10 times their volume in water. They can easily be trimmed to any size needed to fit the kit. If it is raining it can be collected. Unless it is a downpour a simple pot or cup will not garner very much. But a large sheet of plastic or tarp can collect a surprising amount even in a light misting rain.

Boiling will kill parasites and germs in the water. You need a heat source, usually fire, and some form of container. Now the container does not necessarily need to be fire proof. Primitive people would take the stomach or hide from a large animal. This would be suspended from a frame or used to line a hole in the ground. Rocks would then be heated in a fire. The rock would then be placed in the resultant pouch with liquid. This can heat the liquid, stew or porridge to a boil. This same thing can be preformed using modern day plastic bags. Although the hot rocks would need to be suspended free of the sides and bottom. That way the extreme heat of the rocks will not to melt a hole through the plastic. You will have to improvise some form of tongs to handle the rocks to keep from toasting your fingers.

Chemical purification as with boiling will only kill germs not remove toxic or dissolved chemicals from the water such as the salt in sea water. Bleach works well for home use but is somewhat bulky for kit use although bleach could be carried in a one ounce plastic bottle. The most common method for kits is the use of Porta Aqua tablets. They come 50 to a bottle and purify 1 quart per tablet. This size would easily fit in a briefcase system. For smaller kits a smaller number might need to be repackaged in smaller a container. The iodine system uses a rather large bottle. Water is added to a bottle of iodine crystals to form a saturated solution. The one called Polar Pure will process about 2000 gallons. But because of the size it would only work in large systems probably in kits larger than this type of design.

Solar such as the solar still. Although it does requires a dug hole, a rather large sheet of plastic and a catch container. The design can be found in most wilderness survival books. Solar stills are not just to get water in the desert. They can be used to purify contaminated water. As long as there is sunshine. And if it is raining the setup will act as a catch basin to collect the falling water. Maybe it is a bit much for this type of kit. It will remove everything except volatile chemicals.

Filters by their very name mechanically remove germs. The holes in the selected filter medium are so small that they strain out most microorganisms that can cause you problems. Many of these filters either incorporate or have add-on activated charcoal filters. These are to remove many potential chemical contaminants. Generally the limiting factor on quantity they can clean is the carbon portion.

While some filters are expedition and home sized. What we are interested in are the compact models designed for camping. Most are about the size and weight of a 2-D cell flashlights up to about that of a one-quart bottle making them just about right to fit in a briefcase.

There are some filters that are specifically fabricated to remove salt from seawater. If your escape plans include a boat and a resultant ocean voyage you may want to investigate these specialty filters. A more appropriate location for these would be on the boat rather than this kit.

Apparently they are again producing straw filters. These are about the size of an old fashion fountain pen. I have no current information on these second-generation models. I do know that the ones of a few years ago were removed from the market because of some serious defects. Whether these new ones will stand up to use only time and testers will tell.

There is a small unit that runs on batteries and uses salt and water to produce a purifying compound. That is undoubtedly chlorine based. This item seems a bit gimmicky to me. Also it uses batteries that run down.

Regardless of the chosen method of purification to be used I recommend pre-filtering the water. By that I mean pouring or drawing the water through a coffee filter or piece of cloth. While any part of your attire can donate a portion for this operation. A decorative breast pocket handkerchief or bandana is excellent in this role. By doing this it removes large debris and suspended solids such as bits of leaves, dirt and mud. By removing these substances beforehand it will make your actual method more effective and efficient. As these products would clog filters, coat and contaminate the boiling container or consume a portion of a chemical purifier.

Again I would recommend more than one method being available in the kit. While boiling is the lowest tech method it requires more time than the other methods. It is more labor intensive and fixes you to a single location while being preformed, as does a solar still. Fire you can make. But carrying a pot that would hold significant amount of water is impractical. While chemical purification also takes time the chemicals can be added to the water container then the entire works can be carried away. The water can be drunk at a later time after the chemicals have preformed their magic. With filter as soon as you stop pumping the water is ready to drink or to go. The advantage of this is you can drink your fill carrying the water internally plus carry away a supply for later in your chosen container. As previously mentioned there are ways to improvise a useful container. Other than what has already been discussed you can form a pot from aluminum foil. But simply forming a crude bowl is not the best way to go. If you research origami [The art of folding paper] there are several ways to fold the foil to make a pan or box. This results in a much sturdier overall container. Generally it will also produce a container with more volume for the same amount of initial material over crumpling it into a bowl. In most cases for a constant carry kit you will not need the hundreds or thousands of gallons of purification supplied by the iodine systems or most of the filters can provide. The small bottle of Porta-Aqua should suffice for your temporary needs. Although by all means if you desire a higher capacity go for it. While most filters are far larger than the Polar Pure iodine bottle they are generally less likely to break than this glass bottle. Earlier I recommended one of those filter bottles. While as large as many filters they have less capacity, as much of the space is an empty bottle. The major advantage here is that before use this empty space can be packed with other emergency supplies. This plastic bottle will excite less comment even if seen by your coworkers than a dedicated filter. To them it appears to be only a water bottle. You might again seem eccentric but not very dangerous.

So I guess my recommendations are the ability to boil, chemical purifier such as Porta-Aqua and a minimal filter with some way to pre-filter thrown in. Just remember these are minimum levels you can always opt for a more complete and extensive system as space allows.

Shelter: Your first line of defense against the harsh elements or shelter, if you will, is the cloths you wear. If it is bad weather hopefully you came dressed for it. Or better yet for the worst it could get. Obviously while inside through out the day such heavy-duty outerwear will be stowed away somewhere. If disaster strikes hopefully it will be close to hand if you have to beat a rapid retreat. But if you believe in Murphy’s Law it won’t be. So if it isn’t you will need to make provisions to supply a substitution or even enhancements as part of your kit if you do get them and things get worse than expected.

Of course we would all like a regular tent. Better yet a trailer, RV or building to shelter in. But these things might not fit very well in our daily carry kit. So we need to focus on will fit in our kit and perform the desired functions of sheltering us.

I’ve mentioned ponchos. If nothing else they help keep you dryer and block the wind. As anyone can see even tucked into a briefcase we are not talking a full-featured one, way too much bulk and weight. Those emergency ones that fold up to the size of a pack of cigarettes will suffice if you remember their limitations. They are lightweight and damage easily. So care must be taken. They are somewhat small and fragile but will function in all the necessary roles and even work for the tuna candle heating trick.

The next item up for consideration is the space blanket. They come in two forms. The regular blanket which is heavy-duty and a bit much for our kit although not for other kits and stashes. The emergency style is a very thin sheet of Mylar. It also will not stand rough handling, as it will tear easily. It folds to about the size of a pair of decks of playing cards. They also come in a bag form to act like an emergency sleeping bag. This size and its heat reflective capacity make it very attractive to tuck one into a corner or pocket of the briefcase. It can also substitute for a poncho or work in conjunction with one. If used to construct a lean-to it will reflect the heat of a fire built in front of it down into the sleeping area. A second blanket set up behind the fire will truly focus quit a bit of heat in the sleeping area.

One complaint against these blankets aside from its fragile nature is that of static cling. Which makes it nearly impossible to unfold it without tearing it when rushed and panicked in an emergency. Here’s a little trick to deal with this problem with a little preparation beforehand. Under controlled conditions at home but outside. You are going to make a mess. On a calm weather day with you in that condition also. Make sure you are relaxed and have plenty of time. Carefully and calmly unfold and spread out the blanket on a flat area. Then scatter a little baby powder over the blanket. A half a teaspoon or even less is more than enough. The baby powder acts as a lubricant. That way when the chips are down the blanket opens out with ease. I told you to do it outside, as it would make a mess. Some people say that refolding these blankets back into a package as small as the original is virtually impossible. Well, from having done this with my own. I find that if you take your time, are very careful and patient it may not be quit as small but you can come very, very close. With plenty of time and some effort I got two of them back in zip seal bags they came in. Now if you get frustrated and start jamming it together you’ll end up with a mess about 3 times too big.

Next on the agenda are large industrial strength drum liners. No not your home garbage bags or even lawn and leaf bags. These things are at least twice as thick and tough enough to stand up to a lot of use. They are even heavier than some labeled as contractor grade. These are sized to fit in 55-gallon drums. One caution is that like garbage bags are that they are often treated to reduce odors or prevent insect infestation. That means they should not be used to store food or water. These are multi-use items in the extreme. Typically they come in black and green although road crews often have them in orange and similar sized bags can come in clear. The first common use is as a poncho. Cut a hole in the bottom for the head and if desired armholes in the sides and pull over your head. Sure the head is exposed but the rest of the body is covered. They can even work in conjunction with a poncho. This would function to form layers in a cold situation. With the exception of a very small percentage they will fit over most people. If you are one of these you will need to make other provisions. Two placed end to end will make a tube tent. Strung on a line as support. They can be stuck together with duct tape but overlapping a bit can also work. You then have a choice. Slice open the bottom of both to form a flow through tube tent. Or you can open only one end and poke a hole for the support rope in the bottom of the other. This will reduce ventilation somewhat but will keep the breeze from blowing through. Just remember to sleep with your head at the open end. Two without the support rope will form a sleeping bag. Although if you can sleep curled up rather than stretched out one will work. A bag slit down one side and across the bottom will form a tarp for lean-to construction. Abet on the smaller side but it will work. These and as a bag to hold things are just a few things they can be used for. The number of uses is only limited to the imagination.

There are a few other items that are similar in nature. The ubiquitous blue tarps. While they useful are much too large for smaller kits. Clear plastic sheets or bags are especially useful as they can be used not only for the typical functions but also as transpiration bags or for solar still construction. It is a fine line between usefulness and excessive bulk. You need to balance the gauge of the plastic. The thicker it is it is the more robust for construction purposes but thinner will pack in a smaller more acceptable bundle but will be less able to stand up to abuse.

Let us also consider other clothing items we could or should include depending upon the area of operation and the season. Of course winter in the north is going to require maximum cloths load out. But the danger of hypothermia is actually greatest in fall and spring. Why? In winter you expect it could happen and take the necessary precautions and watch for signs it is starting to happen. In the spring and fall with there more rapidly changing weather conditions it can sneak up on you without much warning.

A bandana is a prime example of versatility. Look at the Boy Scouts neckerchief. It is essentially a bandana. They have raised its use to a high art as a bandaging tool for example. It can strain water. It can even be used as an emergency face mask or head cover.

Speaking of a head cover it is essential. Even if people call you a fathead your melon doesn’t have very much natural insulation. Experts claim you can loose over 50% of your body heat through your head. This is for two reasons. First the brain requires a tremendous amount of blood to function. This can literally pump your core heat away in a heartbeat. Second even with minimal clothing the rest of your body has some insulation around it to hold in the heat you generate. While, your head is normally totally exposed to everything. So Some form of protection is needed. The most accepted hat is usually the military wool watch cap. Wool being one of the best insulators and the cap design is very compact. Another choice is the balaclava. Which is a fancy name for a ski mask. While a bit larger than the watch cap it does cover more exposed areas such as the face and neck. Which supplies more protection. Which is always a great bonus. Even a crushable Boonie hat or similar product is better than nothing.

A spare pair of socks can be of great benefit. Wet socks can be very detrimental to your health. Think trench foot and frostbite. Whether the moisture is from internal or external sources. With a spare pair you can swap out for a dry pair giving those that were worn a chance to dry out. You can also wear more than one pair for more insulation. Additionally a pair of socks can pinch hit as mittens for warmth or to handle hot objects like a cooking pot. An ersatz hot pad, if you will. They can even be worn over glove providing added protection.

At an absolute minimum I recommend a bandana, socks and a pair of trash bags. Remember the bandana can serve as a head cover. If room is available, slide in an emergency space blanket and a hat. Maybe up grade the hat to a balaclava. An emergency poncho is nice but the bags can replace it. A clear sheet or bag for water procurement would be nice but might drive you over your capacity.

The idea of carrying along either a stock of food or means of procuring it is somewhat debatable. Your body uses water to digest food so if you have no water do not eat, as lack of water will get to you quicker than lack of food will. The experts say you can go a 3 weeks to a month without food. This is true with a couple of big exceptions. These ifs are you are not using up energy. Like sleeping 16 hours a day and then reposing in comfort the other 8. No one has really studied how quickly physical performance will degrade. By that I mean heavy labor such as hiking your backside home, to help or clearing rubble. What about during cold weather? The colder it is the more calories you burn to keep up core temperature. Another factor is psychological in nature. While you may be easily able to skip a couple of meals after a day or so it will start praying on your mind. Although most of us would probably benefit from grazing a bit less. Why do you think the normal bait for traps is food? During an emergency you don’t need the distraction of a growling stomach. Go a week with nothing and thoughts of food will override almost any other concerns. It could cause you to make some rather stupid decisions. True, you won’t be able to carry enough to actually meet your needs but even a little can be a great boost to morale.

Carry along food. Generally hard candy is a good choice. The sugar rush can give you a quick lift at critical time. Also slowly letting it dissolve in your mouth makes it seem to last longer and seeming to fill up more space inside. Bouillon cubes are another package of choice. Think of them as a convenient form of seasoning. They supply very little nutritional value. What they do is make a flavored broth out of water. If you forage for eatable greenery and other wild food sources their flavors may put you off. Adding the flavoring from a bouillon cube may make it somewhat more palatable. Making these odd foods more acceptable. Their extremely salty nature can help replace salt loss from excessive sweating from strenuous labor needed to cope with a disaster. Another thought is adding a supply of fiber capsules. While they won’t supply calories they will expand to fill an empty belly somewhat. Again tricking the mind. A dozen or so wouldn’t take up much room in your case or pocket.

Some would recommend lifeboat rations. I’ll admit, they seem like an excellent product. In spite of the fact that I haven’t tried them myself. They might be ideal in a larger kit. As they are somewhat expensive and not readily available.

Probably one of the better choices would be power bars. One brand or another is found in every Stop N’ Rob and grocery stores everywhere. There are also quite a few recipes available to make your own versions. This would allow you to make flavor combinations not available commercially but more to your liking. Besides you know that every so often you are going to sneak one out of the kit for a snack. This is OK because this will serve to rotate out older stock and keeps the supply relatively fresh. There are two rules that must be followed for this to work. First any snack or for that matter any item borrowed from the kit needs to be replaced as quickly as possible. Better yet get the replacement before using it. Don’t get into the attitude of manana. Because soon tomorrow will be the next week, then next month or next year finally ending as never. Second don’t make a habit going to your kit on a whim. Sure when you really need something it is fine. A kit is for emergencies not convenience.

Dried fruit is another good choice. But it greatly depends upon how it is packaged. Another thing many people like is jerky. The biggest problem with commercial product is they have way to much salt and other preservatives. While buying things off the shelf is very convenient, even a busy executive can go the DIY route. They might even find it a relaxing hobby.

Aside from making stuff for kits drying food is a good and economical method of preserving foods. By doing it yourself rather than having something preprocessed in a factory gives you more control. Rather than accepting average quality that is required for mass production you can use only the best. You also select any combinations of items, balance of spices and any other additives used.

For jerky you can greatly reduce the amount of salt. You can follow various recipes or combine parts of several to get the taste combination you like best. You can make it mild, spicy or flaming hot. This is fine for around the hose snacking. For a kit you might want to lean towards the mild and blander end of the spectrum. As you don’t really want to increase the stress on your system especially in an already stressful situation. You can make different varieties for a change of pace. And it is not only beef but fish and fowl also. About the only meat product you shouldn’t is pork.

Small fruits can be dried whole. Others can be cut into manageable proportions. Still others can be reduced to pulp to make fruit leathers. Anyone ever have a fruit roll up? Well they are the commercial version of a fruit leather. Ever get the urge to try some flavor or combination of flavors that are not available? By making them yourself you can try any flavors your heart desires.

Throw in the vegetables you can dry and you can have the components to make almost any thing from snacks to complete meals. By buying during peak season, in bulk and when on sale can markedly reduce grocery bills. It can also lead to healthier eating. Because drying concentrates flavors snacks will be even more enjoyable.

You can go primitive and air dry as our ancestors did. It can even be done in an oven set on low. Nevertheless once you get started you will find you want to run more and bigger batches. To accomplish this, get a dedicated food dehydrator. It will make things go smoother and be more energy efficient. For short-term storage the food can be kept in jars. Not real compatible with the concept of kits that got you started in the first place. What you need is one of those vacuum-packing machines. They will open up a completely other world of storage. Not only for food, but many other things including your kit components.

As you will not be able to really carry enough food to cover any extended period of time you might want to carry along some methods to capture food on the hoof. Yes even in the largest of cities, wildlife abounds. Yes we would like steel traps but a single one alone is too much to carry in such a kit as this. Even in larger more complete kits they add up in bulk and weight very rapidly. Primitive traps made from native found material are a possibility. This can either be in the form of remembered knowledge or carried notes. About the only trap item that will fit is snare wire. Traditionally this has been 20 to 24 gauge brass wire. Light enough and small enough to carry in sufficient quantity and strong enough to do the job. Brass has been chosen because it is resistant to corrosion and malleable enough to be easily worked with the hands alone. Current some are advocating stainless steel wire. While it resists rust the problem I see is it is not quite as flexible. This would not be a hindrance for the noose portion but forming the tight twists of the small loop that forms the slider portion might be difficult without something like a multitool.

The advantages of snares and traps are they work 24/7 without supervision. You only need to check them for catches occasionally. The major error that some people make is setting out too few snares. Depending upon the animal population in the area there is a ratio of catches to number of set traps. The more that are set out the better the chances of success. Again trapping is a learned skill.

As mentioned in talking about bouillon cubes there is the possibility of foraging wild eatable greenery even in a city. Not only in park areas, but also in vacant lots. Anywhere plant life can grow. This would require study and knowledge of what plant life is safe to consume or at the very least a guide to such plants. It is better to have some one with experience show and teach you what they are. It is truly amazing the things we walk past every day that can be eaten. If you are adventurous you can even increase your chances of finding such items. You could intentionally plant indigenous wild plants along potential travel routes anywhere there is open soil. This could be wild areas in parks, vacant lots or grass medium strips along roadways. By planting such sites yourself you will know exactly where to find it. The choice of what to plant should be wild growth that comes up year after year by itself. That way you don’t have to repeat the process. They should also be plants that do not appear to be a food source to the average person more like weeds. That way it should be there for you is you need it. Of course being in the city your foraging could be for commercially packaged food. Not exactly looting but could be misconstrued as such.

If there are bodies of water there are probably fish. Because there are other possible uses of the components a fishing kit is not completely out of line. Typically small fishing kits are built around small containers. Generally film canisters or pill bottles. Throw in a hand full of hooks, some split shot sinkers and maybe a bobber if space is available. Whatever fishing line is selected is wound around the outside of the container, spooled on a sewing machine bobbin or wrapped on a stick. The stick used is normally a pencil so that it serves double duty. One advantage of these types of kits is that they can easily contain treble hooks. Treble hooks make it easier if you engage in snagging rather than straight fishing.

I personally have trod a slightly different trail to make my own. I took my inspiration from several sources. The Brunton pocket survival kit and the Tool Logic gave me the idea to design it to fit in a credit card slot in a wallet. From traveling sewing kits the concept of winding thread or in this case fishing line around a notched card. Junk mail supplied the source of the base material. Several times a week I receive various credit card offers as you probably do also. Many of which contain a facsimile of the card. Some are now coming in cardboard but some still are made of plastic. To start I melt several matching pairs of shallow rounded notches along the short side of the card. When the fishing line is wound on the card it goes around the longest part. I melt the rounded notches as it makes them smoother than simply cutting them. No jagged edges to hang up the line. I use a soldering iron because that is what I have. A small heated rod would do the same thing. Then smooth the edges. In mine I made 3 sets of notches in the top half of the card. The lower section is for hooks. I think it was Ron Hood that showed laying several hooks along a strip of tape then covering it with a second strip. This would then be rolled or folded for storage. I used this idea to attach hooks to the card. In many small and not so small kits the some people suggest a very large hook be included to serve as a gaff. I like it. So I got some hooks slightly smaller than the card. The old saw about you can’t catch small fish with a large hook but you can catch a large fish with a small hook. This is somewhat true but sizing the hook to the average sized fish available makes more sense to me. To that end I include 3 sizes of hooks 8’s, 10’s and 12’s. To be more space efficient I nest the hooks with the 2 smaller hooks inside the curve of the largest. The layout is I cover the card with the gaff hook. Then the fishing hooks are laid along the lower edge of the card. If placed end to end you can fit about 4. I ended up with 5. But with a bit of fidgeting you could probable fit 6 sets of 3. I then cover them with a strip of clear packing tape to hold them in place. Some day I would like to try heating the plastic and vacuum forming the card to the hooks thus placing them in groves making a flatter and thinner package. The tape would still be necessary but would be an even better hold. To remove the hooks you select the one you want the cut or pop the hook through the tape. You could use wide masking tape also. Of course you need to trim the tape to the edges of the card. Instead of split shot sinkers I ran across a different product. The package looks like a book of matches. It has a cardboard cover just like paper matches. Inside are 2 sheets of lead. Slits are cut into the sheets forming them into strips attached along one edge about the same size of a match. To use a strip is torn off and twisted around the line. For the kit I took one of the sheets and glued it to the card. Makes a flatter package than split shots. I lay 3 prepared small plastic zip baggies for bobbers on top. The wound line holds them in place. These are about 1 X 1 or 1 ½ X 1 ½ inches. If you take a hot needle, you can melt a small hole in the lip above the seal. By melting the hole rather than simply poking the hole makes it a bit stronger less chance of a tear out. The bag can be filled with air and sealed. Then the fishing line is run through the prepared hole. It makes an instant and very compact bobber for your kit. Finally the fishing line is wrapped around the card in the notches. I like Spider line as 50-pound line is the same size of most other 10 pound line. There is less chance of breaking the stronger line. Therefore you have a smaller chance of loosing the catch and the hook. Yet you get the same amount of line in the same space as the lighter lines. Giving you more bang for the buck. It makes nice convenient sized package, which slips right into my wallet. I do the same thing to make a sewing kit with the needles added the same way instead of the hooks. Also the same for small cordage, particularly dental floss, and snare wire but the notches go down the entire side of the card. .

The first thoughts on how to use the fishing kit in pole fishing. This is where you tie the line to the end of a flexible pole and drop the hook end into the water. There are several other options with the equipment available. Similar to pole fishing but an untended method is green branch fishing. If there is a tree with branches hanging over the water a line is tied to a springy branch. When a fish strikes the flex in the branch plays the fish. One is the Haitian Zebco. Here the line is wrapped around a soda can or bottle. It is hand cast and the can is used as a retrieval and storage device. Yet another method is the use as a trot line. A heavier line is strung into or across the water. Then several baited lines are suspended from this main line. The hope is that one or more fish are hooked for retrieval. Yet another method is jug fishing. Individual lines are hung from floats and spread about on the water. This is called jug fishing because traditionally plastic jugs are used as floats. But anything that floats can be used. One way of doing this is to use sticks. There is a trick to make this more effective. Rocks are tied to one end of the stick. This causes the stick to float upright rather than flat on the water causing them to be more visible. Also if the line is tied to the middle or other end if a fish is on the line it causes the stick to bob and dip. Thus signaling when a catch is made. One of the best ways to gather fish is the use of a gill net but this would require including a net in your gear. Fortunately a gill net of reasonable size can pack down into a very small package. Personally not being that much of a fisherman I prefer using a quarter stick as it work well and quickly. But that kind of equipage isn’t really viable for a daily carry kit.

Of course if you intend to fish you will need bait in some form or other. For actual food type bait they can be just that. Bits of food from your kit. If you have made a previous catch of either fish or meat the scraps from cleaning your catch can be used as future bait. Every survival book around will usually have a section on how and where to find bugs, grubs and worms. One trick I learned is sweeping up bait. The shallows of any water source often contain an abundance of minnows and other small aquatic life. If you take something to act like a broom and sweep rapidly and forcefully through these shallows toward the shore many will be tossed up on the bank. Sometimes you can even sweep up enough of this small stuff to make a meal. Minnows fried whole can be eaten like french fries. A couple of handfuls will easily equal a full fish. A couple of saved minnows can become bait. You probably won’t have a broom handy to try this trick so you will need to improvise. A well-leafed tree branch can work. Make it small enough to handle but large enough to cover a reasonable area. Another way is to build a broom. Take a forked stick or a couple sticks tied together to form a fork. A couple of pieces of PVC pipe will work also. Attach across the fork a piece of cloth. Your bandana, a T-shirt or any other cloth available will do. Voila instant broom.

OK so you can’t acquire any bait to begin. You will just have to go with an artificial lure. You could always add a couple of commercial lures to your kit. They could be spinners, rubber worms, poppers, plugs, bugs or flies. One thing many have in common is they are shiny. They reflect light and attract the fish’s attention. Or you build one off the cuff. A piece of your space blanket or aluminum foil from your kit or even a gum wrapper will work. If you are ever out fishing for fun, try experimenting by fashioning your own improvised lures.

So you have something to eat. Time to cook it. Especially in fish and game there might be parasites present. The heat of cooking will kill them. Also many foods taste better cooked versus raw. You could play mountain man and jam them on a stick while charring them over an open flame. While it will work it is not the best way to do it. You will notice liquid dripping into the fire. True this is mostly fat. While a high fat diet over the long term is not good for you. In a survival situation you do not want to waste a single calorie. The optimum way to cook in this kind of situation is to make a soup or stew. That way nothing is lost.

If you go with the Nalgene water bottle route with without the filter cap you can find at many camping supply outlets metal cups that snugly fit over the bottom of the 1 quart bottles. That way the empty space of the cup is filled with the bottle instead of simply taking up room. Some of these cups come with ridged handles. Others have handles that fold around the cup for even more space saving. Of course if you don’t go this way there are a host of other sized and shaped cups available. While cups are not large enough to really cook the way a mess kit would they are about as large as you could conveniently and comfortably fit in such a kit. The most famous of these cups are the Sierra Cups. Another popular choice is the G. I. Canteen cup.

Earlier I spoke making a pan from aluminum foil. While the foil makes a small package and such a pan work they do have a major drawback. That is one of durability. Generally such a pan will only last for a single use or with care maybe a couple more before developing holes and leaking.

I have developed a pan that doesn’t take up much more space than the folded foil package yet will last longer. I have made some that have survived several cycles of folding and unfolding and at least a dozen cooking operations before failure. More, if the cooking is only boiling water. In its folded size of 3 X 6 inches it fits nicely in the bill compartment of a survival wallet. When set up to use the pan is 6 X 6 inches square by 3 inches deep. This pan can hold just shy of 2 quarts. Not bad working size for such a small carrying size. The size is not fixed in stone. You can use the same design with your own choice of dimensions. I just find these measurements to work out well. Yes the stress of sitting on it can shorten the pan’s life expectancy but it is a convenient way to carry it.

To start the process I take a disposable cookie sheet or oven liner pan. They are made from aluminum about 3 times as thick as aluminum foil and somewhat more ridged. The extra thickness is what gives it better life expectancy. I cut a 12 ½ X 12 ½ inch square of the material. Then trim ¼ inch by 3 ¼ inch strip from each corner and a 3 inch piece going the other way. What this leaves the center 6 inches of the assembly with a ¼ inch flap on all 4 sides. The flap is folded over twice. This gives a more ridged rim of the assembled pan. When shaping the pan it should be folded so that this rim is on the outside of the pan. That way whatever is cooked in the pan doesn’t get trapped under this rim. Makes for better hygiene.

To make the travel package 3 inches of the one side is folded into the center. Then the same is done with the other side. Making a 6 X 12 package. Then the 2 remaining sides are folded in the same manner. Making a 6 X 6 package. The final step is to fold it in half. Making it 3 X 6 wallet sized. If you are going to carry it somewhere else that has more room the final step can be skipped.

Now comes setting up the pan. Obviously you have to unfold the flat pack. The 3 inch square art the corner of the pan that is not a part of the final pan shape is folded diagonally from the corner of the pan bottom to the outer tip forming a triangle. Also pulling up the middle pieces forming the sides of the pan. The triangle is then folded flat along the side. With care the triangle can be tucked under the rim of the pan. This will help hold it more solidly in place. Resulting in a more ridged pan. Normally two of the triangles are folded along the same side and the other two along the opposite end.

Care must be taken when handling this pan. Remember that it is not a solid pan or it could not be folded up. It is also relatively flexible. If not handled judiciously it could easily dump the contents. Also despite tucking the corners the weight of a full pan can cause it to unfold again causing a spill. Losing whatever you are cooking, maybe dousing your fire and making an overall mess. Moreover the pan can burn through especially is left on the fire if empty or nearly so.

When it comes to first aid and hygiene there is very little that can fit in this size kit. For a truly adequate FAC it would be almost the same size as the rest of the kit combined. You can carry little more than a few bandages, maybe a pack or two of antibiotic ointment and some wipes. The wipes can be alcohol prep pads, those handy wipes used in most fast food places or a combination. Other items that can be included to clean things for first aid and hygiene purposes are a bar of soap, one of those hotel-sized bars. Other than getting them from a hotel, which is difficult, you can make your own or one about the same size. Take a regular bar of soap and slice off a slab about the right size. Then wrap it in Saran Wrap. Another choice is those hand sanitizer products. They come in travel sized packages. There are also other over the counter products such as medicines, aspirin and the like, available in individual use packets. For much more you will have to wing it.

If you have to take medication on a regular basis you should carry several days worth with you. As most deteriorate over time they must be used on a regular basis and replaced with fresh stock. In a larger stash you might even want to consider a month’s worth.

Some free advice for what it is worth. One thing I do recommend in a disaster is to do your best to go it on your own or with a group you know. Avoid if at all possible public shelters. Their first order of business is to control you as they see fit not what is in your best interest. To you, you are an individual with your own needs and wants. To them you are a number one of the herd. Everyone to be treated the same way. And that is usually with a healthy dose of contempt. The first thing that will happen is you will be searched and anything not on the approved list. And brother that list is very, very short. They will even take personal medication from you. That way you have to kowtow to them to get what was yours to begin with. And then not on your schedule but when it is convenient for them. As for anything sharp, you can forget that. Think of airport security on steroids. And if a security screener takes a fancy to something you have. Well of course it won’t be on the list so kiss it goodbye. Even if you decide to leave after your initial arrival you won’t get your things back. All in the name of daddy knows best. We wouldn’t want you to hurt yourself. You can’t exist without our guidance.

Of course these kits are for disasters that occur suddenly. If there is warning that something is coming you can use the time to gear up more completely. With even more warning you have the option of getting completely out of the danger zone. Part of evacuation is timing. You don’t want to jump at the least little happening. Do it to often you might face early forced retirement. But you want to try to be ahead of the pack. The majority of folks will wait until official notice or the last minute. Evidence shows that you are likely to be stuck in massive traffic jams. Often when the disaster strikes. Because of these traffic jams you run a good chance of running out of fuel. Since many others will face the same situation most supplies along the route will be quickly exhausted. So it is best to be aware of events around you and know when to jump. Being one of the first ones out will save you considerable grief and worry.

Well for what it is worth combining these types of items, while not ideal, can give you a fighting chance in most any type or size of disaster. But then again only if you have them with you when things go wrong. Get the needed training to use your equipment and practice it regularly to keep your skills sharp. Take the time to figure out different ways that what you have can perform unintended tasks. Learn how to make use of things you may be able to find around you. So gear up with the knowledge that you have made things more secure in your own corner of the world.