Cyko,<br><br>You posted your kit and ASKED for opinions and reviews in a forum that careters to people with interest and experience in this field. You recieved a number of replies and you have explained your reasoning.<br><br>It can be hard to spend time, money, and effort building something and then have others find fault with it. Posters here have built their own kits, tested then in the field, and in several cases survived actual experiences.<br><br>Typically a Pocket Survival Kit includes materials to make it easier to accomplish Fire, Shelter, Water, Signalling, and First Aid. Food is important but follows the other 5 areas.<br><br>Your kit works for you but you did ask for reviews. Sorry if you feel attacked.

MiniMe,<br><br>That is the match case I carry. I have both versions, one in brass and one in aluminum. I think it is great. I have versions made by Silva and K&M the inventor. These are getting harder to find as the plastic versions are everywhere. I recommend them highly.<br><br>My back pocket is a bit thick, say 1.5" including the wool of the vest at the base of the hem. I have this boiled wool "helmet" shaped hat from Austria. Inside that is the TM tube tent. This keeps the plastic packet from moving around. Then I have my fingerless wool gloves laying along the bottom hem. I now have a 36" square silk bandana folded in a triangle the width of the back also. The paracord was simply hanked, no knots or anything to keep it organized and laying along the bottom hem. I have been thinking about looping the paracord back and forth at the top of the back pocket and placing small stitches around it to hold it perfectly flat. The paracord is my biggest problem with the stuff in the back pocket. I currently have taken it out until I can solve this issue. It was always a mess and any knots or cinches to keep it organized give me a big lump. I have tried chain stitching which keeps it organized but it still lumps up. I have a few other minor repairs to make to the vest so I may try the stitching of paracord idea.<br><br>The back of my vest is sort of a lumbar support pad. I find it comfortable and it does not look like I have an A** you could set a beer can on....of course, I do not look back there too often <br><br>I carry the TM tube because it is compact but because of its very flimsy nature want a tarp. I have not purchased a nylon tarp because I thought it would have to change my name to Quasimoto. I have no experience with the new SilTarps. I may have to get one. I consider the TM tube to be good for 1-3 days max, at which time a more substantial shelter would have to be constructed. <br><br>I have been carrying hard metal items in the left front divided pockets and now have to repair the bottom inside of each pocket. I put some soft padding into my pockets to keep the flashlight, matchcase, and knives from hard knocks at the bottom of the pockets and wearing the wool....I just did this too late. I am going to repair and reinforce the insides of these pockets then stuff cotton balls down at the bottom to prevent the very hard edges from wearing out the wool. (More tinder).<br><br>If I get my digital camera for Christmas I may be able to take a few photos of this vest and its contents.....fingers crossed.

You my want to check on one or more of the threads on wound care in the field. Due to the risk of infection, it is not a good idea to close a wound in the field. Controlling the bleeding, irrigating the wound and applying a sterile dressing and bandage should suffice in almost every case. Pete

Cyko;<br><br>I did say: you asked for opinions, you received opinions - most of them from people far more knowledgeable and experienced than I am. What you do with those opinions is up to you.<br><br>Sorry if you felt I was attacking you - I've been criticised before in this forum for coming across too harshly (don't know why that is ;-)<br><br>But I have a good friend who has a simple rule - she tells people flat out, don't ask a question if you don't want the answer. ;-)

Hey, don't worry about man, no worries. Thanks for the feedback everyone.

http://www.frugalsquirrels.com/ubb/ultimatebb.php?ubb=get_topic;f=4;t=000560<br><br>Here is a link to another forum that found your kit on Ebay and decieded to review it.

"you do your thing and I will do mine" If that were entirely true, I wouldn't be posting this, but, this kit is labeled 'survival kit' and is being sold to the public. <br><br>1) Please read up on the use of tourniquets. There is no such thing as a 'temporary tourniquet'. I'm not a lawyer, but what you are suggesting may have some liability consequences. <br><br>2) "they are possible". Sure, manned space flight is possible. May I suggest that survival kit content & procedure be a bit more pragmatic. <br><br>The more dire the need for a particular tool, the more life-threatening it shall be to effect this tool.<br><br>3) You may be versatile and have God on your side, but your customers may not be so lucky or gifted. Please consider that people - human beings - are purchasing your kit, trusting that someone, competent and qualified, has done their homework to bring to them the most amount of SURVIVAL equipment that their hard-earned dollar could buy.<br><br>I love pepper on my mashed potatoes, but I would be hard pressed to believe anyone that told me a packet of pepper saved their life. <br><br>Someone's life might, someday, be relying on the decisions you are making today. Please, genuinely, help them, and, in the long run, you will be helping yourself. <br>