"...having a doctor sew some diamonds under your skin..."

Bad guys can read too (at least some of them). I am not keen on the idea of having some local decide to remove my under the skin hideout with a rusty machete...

Regardless of the size of your "survival Kit" it is not to ensure your survival nothing can do that. A "Survival Kit's" purpose is to supplement your edc and survival skills and knowledge. A small kit will give a knowledgeable person an edge that he or she would other wise not have. My only concern is one that I have previously voiced which is that I have noticed a pattern with people they have a tendency to rely to heavily rely on equipment rather than skills.

Raydarkhorse, spot on!

how many folks buy a kit and never practice with it. There is a false sense of security. they feel if they have a kit they're GTG. simply having a paperclip, alluminum foil, and chewing gum doesn't make one Macgyver.

Alan

It doesn't? Even if I buy one of these?

1) If you're an Aron Ralston type of person, you're probably a Darwin Awards poster child, anyway, so why drag out the inevitable?

2) For snakebite, you mainly need to get to a hospital. And where you get bitten makes a difference, too. In a vein? Bye-bye!

3) If you have a means of making fire and don't do so, waiting until you're hypothermic, see #1 above.

4) Dehydration can happen in more places than the desert. Lack of a container can be a really big issue if you find water, and then have no way to transport it. All the water is frozen? Again you would need a fire and a container.

5) Most animal predators don't like fire. Start several fires and sit in the middle, or make a couple with your back to a really big rock.

So, for the situations listed, a Altoids tin with a lighter, an oven roasting bag, and a leg of pantyhose would help you survive.

And they give you a mindset that you CAN do something to help yourself, rather than just wandering around like an idiot, crying in the wilderness.

Sue, Devil's Advocate and SideKick, 3rd Grade

So how do they fit MacGyver into that little box?

Sue

Hacksaw, that is a brilliant reply. I damn near fell over!

Your post very accurately points out the risk of being too smug about any small PSK.

That being said, I think in most of the scenerios we can imagine, a few useful items in one's pocket can take survival from a mere possibility to an actual probability.

Frank2135

An interesting video is available here at

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LCkFhafk26A

It deals with an attack by a tiger, an amputated leg and the calm medical response of a British Army Doctor in South Africa.

Interesting essay. I'm in favor of 'checking our thinking' often.

An Altiods kit has several assumptions, among them that:
1) You'll have it
2) Some stuff is better than no stuff and
3. You have some knowledge/ training

I agree that its not enough for every situation, but it is an excellent collection of useful gear that fits in a tin.

an alternate suggestion -- lets call it an altiods tin kit*

(* best when supplemented by appropriate gear.)

teacher