Introduction<br>For me my EDC kit contents depends on the situation. Including distance, means of travel and type of area.<br> For example if I am travelling to my father’s work place I would carry no more than my PSK as I am travelling through (mostly) an urban area, it’s a small distance and probably sitting in a new 4x4 which should have no reason to break down. <br>Anything further away than a 20 minutes drive I will pack my day sack(a Berghaus® NITRO which I am very proud of) with my PSK(Personal Survival Kit), FAK(First Aid Kit), MREK(Meals Ready To Eat Kit), 1L water bottle and a flat role of duct tape. I carry my Victorinox on my belt. <br><br>PSK (personal survival kit) contents <br>Fire<br>-15 paper matches <br>-12 weatherproof matches<br>-striker<br>-tea light (to be replaced with long, squarely shaved candle)<br>-8 barbeque pink fire starter papers<br>-flint and steel (sharpened) <br>-big magnetic magnifying glass (compared to the Victorinox magnifying glass I was very impressed with its result)<br>-plastic spoon (makes life a lot easier and makes a good fire starter. Made the end serrated so a flame can easy catch on it)<br>Food and water<br>-14 puritabs<br>-Fishing kit including 4 weights, 4 medium hooks, 4 small hooks and fishing wire (not knotted)(fishing kit is standard from BCB) <br>-2 condoms 1 is un-lubricated the other is in Chinese so I don’t know if that one is lubricated <br>-Brew kit – 2 ration tea bags <br>-wire<br>-large sheet of aluminium foil (use as container to boil water)<br><br>First aid<br>There are no items in this kit which is directly designed for life preservation.<br><br>Signalling <br>-Inside of lid acts as signal mirror (can’t find a proper signal mirror here, might take it out of my Victorinox survival pouch)<br>-standard BCB whistle (not too happy with it but have no knowledge of what to replace it with)<br>-the aluminium sheet used to reflect the sun (I realise it’s not a lot to go on but in the book “SOS” the guys got saved by their red dry bag) <br>Navigation <br>-Silva button compass (luminous)<br>-The magnetic needles and safety pins can also act as a compass <br><br>Emergency Devices Group<br>-small lock knife<br>-scalpel <br>-BCB instructions (want to replace it with the “morale” paper I saw here on the forum so IF YOU WROTE THAT PAPER OR KNOW WHERE I CAN FIND IT COULD YOU PM IT TO ME?)<br>-BCB accident evacuation report (should I keep this? Seems pretty crap to me)<br>-pencil<br>-wire saw (key rings taken off, not greased)<br>-1 large, 4 medium and 2 small safety pins (all magnetic)<br>-sewing kit with several threads, 2 buttons, 1 large sized needle, 1 medium sized needle (magnetic, north side coloured red)<br>-cotton wool<br>-5.25m of Para cord wrapped around the tin.<br>-Waterproof tape also wrapped around the tin to ensure dryness <br>-A 2 seater self inflatable life raft&#61514;<br> <br><br>Notes for PSK<br>I want to add a Surface to Air (body)signal paper and ground clearance paper for a (SAR) helicopter.<br>Penlight is missing - still. Reason being I don’t have any sources here (yet) to get one. What’s the cost of a Photon II?<br>Cotton wool isn’t soaked in an easy-to-ignite-chemical because I think the chemical will evaporate quickly. True? <br>I don’t want to wrap duct tape around the tin because it will lose it sticky quality after x number of times opening the tin. Instead I wrapped it around a piece of tinder and carry it separately (details further down the post).<br>There is no space left in the tin to put the roll of duct tape in there.<br><br>FAK (First Aid Kit) contents<br>-3 pairs of gloves <br>-6 antiseptic wipes<br>-4 5x5 cm wound dressing pads<br>-2 10x10 cm wound dressing pad<br>-2 compressed triangular bandages <br>-1 large bandage <br>-1 small bandage<br>-2 crepe bandages<br>-1 dressing tape<br>-1 surgical blade<br>-1 arnica <br>-1 hypercal spray<br>-1 pair of scissors<br>-1 pair of tweezers <br>-1 fabric stretch plaster strip<br>-a variety of plasters <br>-hypothermia space blanket (no space in my PSK left or I would have put it in there) <br>-Outside the kit I carry a large roll of general purpose tape. I use it to tape broken fingers/legs together or an injured arm against the body. (also handy for noisy kids) <br><br>notes for FAK<br>In addition to my FAK I am a qualified first aider (Done a Young Lifesaver Plus first aid course).<br>I can’t see a use for my scalpel blade so I am thinking of taking that out. <br><br>MREK (Meals Ready to Eat Kit) contents<br>-500 ml of mushroom soup<br>-instant oats<br>-Chow Main boil-in-the-bag<br>-A big bar of jummy chocolate <br>-Tea bags<br>-Hexamine fuel<br>-20 weatherproof matches <br>-striker<br>-sugar (not for energy but to mix with chemicals to produce a fire) <br>-plastic bag<br>-Malayan fire wood (together with the barbeque papers it was given to me by the Dutch scout instructor on this forum whose name slipped my mind right now –sorry)<br><br>notes for MREK<br>Everything is packed inside a plastic bag which goes into an old biscuit tin which can be used as part of my distillation kit.<br>When the distillation kit does need to be used I can easily pull out the plastic bag with contents, dig a hole in the ground, put the plastic bag without contents in the hole, in the bag goes un-distilled water to change the water vapour into water as it enters the biscuit tin (the biscuit tin is placed in the plastic bag) from my PSK tin which is placed above a fire. <br>So the only thing I still need is a tube to pass the vapour through. The only thing I can come up with are drinking straws. Has anyone got a better idea?<br>Other <br>Duct tape<br>Several metres of duct tape is wrapped around a flat piece of tinder.<br>Dimensions: 70x35x12 mm. <br>Like my PSK I always carry this too. Not enough space in the tin &#61516;. <br><br>Victorinox <br>I carry my Victorinox Champ on my belt with the standard pouch. Although I do have a SOS pouch I find it too bulky for every day use. Instead I only use that pouch when I am in the field. Apart from the Maglite Solitaire I have added to the pouch I cannot see a reason to carry it as all other gear is also in my PSK. <br> <br>Wallet <br>I carry two. One is a dummy in case. I’ve put some loose change in it and an old library card.<br> In my “real” wallet I carry several phone numbers, a stainless steel survival credit card shape thingy (a bit similar to the Victorinox credit card tool) and of course money to survive in the Urban Jungle. <br>Thinking of putting my Maglite Solitaire in my wallet (with spare battery and red coloured lens)<br><br>Lighter <br>I carry a bog standard butane lighter from Euro Shopper in my front trouser pocket. Not because I smoke but for self defence. Even the strongest hold will be broken by the flame. Just hope it is within reach when I need it! <br><br>Survival manual<br>I carry the John Wiseman’s Gem SAS Survival Guide in my day sack. Although I read it several times I never remember everything. Also useful for other members of the party.<br>Camera <br>I carry a single use Kodak daylight camera. Not for survival purposes but it is part of my EDC kit. If every person would carry a camera I think it would make the job of the police a lot easier. Also used for those moments you wished you had a camera with you. <br>I am looking for a permanent camera but I can’t decide whether to buy a digital one or not. <br>Fixed blade<br>As a survival knife I still use the German “pathfinders” knife (what is the official name again, anyone?). I only carry this knife when I go into the field. <br>The sheath is improved, it now carries my Swedish Fire steel with flint and (taken from the Victorinox SOS pouch) a honing stone. <br><br>Notes for “other”<br>At the moment I am looking to buy a new mobile phone as my last one broke. <br>I do not carry a FM radio because in an emergency it would be no use for me to listen to the local radio station as I do not master the language yet.<br><br>Your suggestions are welcome.<br>Reinhardt<br><br><br>

1 on with's BCB kit did you based your kit on ? it looks like it is base on the BCB millitary survival kit, just like mine... <br>2 what are "barbeque pink fire starter papers" ? and how/were do they sell it ?<br>3 whats wrong with the BCB whistle, i got BCB's perry whistle and it works great and they are almost industrutable.<br>but if you want a better one, buy a Fox 40 ( € 7.95 ) or storm ( to big for a psk )<br>4 why do you got all those magnetic needle's and safteypins ? isnt that a bad idea closs to your silva compass ?<br>5 you could put some vaseline to he cotton wool, they do not evaporate, they do make it a little but harder to light, though...<br>6 you actualy got a A 2 seater self inflatable life raft&#61514;<br>in/on you psk ?isnt that thing HUGE ?<br>7 a proton 2 cost round € 26,95 in europe<br>8 you can get non residue leaving tape like "TESA klussentape" avaivilbe at most dutch hardware store ( GAMMA, etc. ) ( pretty expensive compaired with other tapes ) dunno about the portugeese ones..<br>9 do you mean MAYA wood with "Malayan fire wood "?<br>10 you could replace the paper matches with other type of matches, like waterproof matches or storm matches<br>11 plastic spoons actually burns ? i though the melted..<br>12 i threw out mine "BCB accident evacuation report " from my PSK...<br>13 add a gaff to the fishing kit if possible, just ask for the biggest hook they got... ( that's what i did.. ) ( you should have seen the face of that guy who sold me that hook.. )<br>14 add some tubing in your kit, i found some 2mm latex tubing in a fishing store... <br>15 how do you defend your self with a lighter ? isnt a self defence spray more effective , and yes i know european rules are very sticked about those sprays but you could get TIW spray, it doesnt blind somebody ( that why its legal ), it just leaves a nice color on the person its sprayed on, withs cant be washed of and will stay for 3-5 days... ( € 9.95 ) it may not actually stop the assailent, but the spray does looks like a spray of red peperspray...( the phyhological thing ) <br>btw i do NOT have one of those sprayes...<br>

Hi PC2K,

You're a fellowman, the pink barbeque/tinder strips is what I send along with an Large Military Firesteel and some Maya-Wood to reinhardt <img src="images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />

The pink tinder strips are sold in Belgium (south of it) and France mostly in regions were people still use goisoil for heating their houses because the gaspiping doesn't reach their homes.
The pink strips are lighted and thrown on the gasoil that drips into the stove to light it.

A friend of me discovered that when you put clear nail polish (nail strenghtener) on one end of the pink strip and let it dry that it ignites almost immediately when hit by Firesteel sparks, thanks Fred for the tip.

The Maya-wood is sold in Europe in small bundles to light your fireplace or barbeque ecologically safe/sound. It is just some kind of pinewood stump wood that has soaked completely (naturally) with pine resign.
The offical text from the Light-My-Fire site says: "
MayaSticks® is the long lasting, economical and environmentally friendly kindling wood. The high resin content, up to 80%, makes them easily ignited even when wet
or damp. 1-2 pieces will do. The extreme heat from the resin, will easily light your fire, barbeque or campfire. MayaSticks® is a spill product from the stumps of cultivated pinewoods and is therefore not a threat to natures resources."

Our Scouting group sometimes buys a batch of the Large Military Firesteels and we also get a bag of Maya-wood and make keychains from the pieces to add to the Firesteel. It is easilly learned how to use Maya-Wood scrapings to light a fire.
The snmell of the burning resin reminds me of Church (Catholic)

Best Scouting wishes from Holland,

Bagheera

thanks for the info.
i did know what maya-wood is though. nice smelling fat wood. <img src="images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" /> got a 300 gram pack under mine bed and a swedish fire steel in my desk draw...
the maya keychain thing is nice idea. i think i will try it, if i just could find that drill...

1. Mine is also the military kit
2. The thing I found with the whistle was it is not loud enough.
4. The magnetic pins are kept as far away from the compass as possible.
6. That was my "joke”<img src="images/graemlins/shocked.gif" alt="" /> because everything I wrote there started to look so serious
13. I cannot see the point of a large hook as a large hook will only catch large fish. Please explain.
15. That is some good argument but I carry the lighter in case some one grasps me from the back and puts his arms around me. Worth considering though.

Thanks for taking the time to evaluate my kit.

Reinhardt

normal fishermen's uses one of those nets to get the fish out of the water after the hooked them, right ? the gaff has the same use, but instead of scooping it up with a net, you pierce the fish with the gaff ( the large hook ) to get it out of the water. so you wont lose your fish at the last moment and your fishing line doesnt has to hold the full weight of the fish..

thank you PC2K

does any one else have any comments?

reinhardt

Reinhardt: I would have stored the needles as close to the compass as possible. The compass needle should swivel and align with the magnetic field. I don't see any risk that the compass needle would become demagnetized.

Obviously when you use the compass, you would want to move it away from any magnetic or electromagnetic field; but when you're storing it, I think storing it next to another magnet would only make it stronger.

Am I missing something?

Good point, didnt think about that one <img src="images/graemlins/mad.gif" alt="" />
In theory this should work