A few weeks ago, I emailed AMK for clarification of the survival instructions issue in the SOL. They asked me for a mail address, so I figured they were going to mail me a copy of the instructions sheet.

They mailed me a SOL. I checked, they meant to do that. I've got to say this is some of the best customer service I've ever seen.

So, I'm going to give a write up, I owe them that much. I know we had one earlier in the week, but what the heck.

Observations and thoughts:

The kit is packed in a mini dry bag. It works very, very well at keeping water out, and appears to be welded somehow along the seam between the blaze orange back and the clear front. The materials are not light in weight, and are thick enough to be reasonably abuse resistant. The size is as specified on the web page. I'm not as fond of the style of buckle they use as I am with a side release buckles, but it is much thinner and this really a personal preference. My one real grumble with the bag is that the clear material (vinyl?) seemed to cling to certain items, making it a little harder to get out of the kit, but this is a packing issue, not an issue with the bag itself. I'm going to give the bag an "excellent".

The first thing I noticed was the whistle. It is different from the Micro Fox 40 shown in the prototype and used (historically) in the AMK/Ritter PSP. It resembles the ACR Survival whistle, with a squared off body, making it more space efficient. I wasn't able to do distance testing, but it seemed to be louder than the ACR my brother carries and decidedly louder to the ITW safety whistles I've used for a while now. It could be heard further than my voice could, but I have a little voice to begin with. A trade off of performance vs bulk, I'll grade it as "good to very good". (This wiggly grade is due to a lack of ability to do serious distance testing.)

The matches are some form of windproof match. It comes with seven in small, hard plastic vial with a slip on lid. The lid is a good fit, it would be reasonably water tight, particularly when packed in the bag. A second lid protects a tiny dot of a striker glued to the bottom of the vial. Because the base of the vial wasn't designed with the cap in mind, the side of the cap had cracked, but I consider this a minor issue as it fully able to protect the striker from wear while the bag will keep it dry. While the wisdom of matches might be debatable, there is issue of "huh, how does this work" for an unskilled person. What I didn't like about them was that there was no warning as to how fast they would burn, but if you sacrifice the first one finding that out there is still enough here to allow the average person to light two or three fires if they read the directions on how to make a fire that are included. I wish there were more, but again it is a trade off for bulk. I'll rate them as "very good".

Tinder is made up of 4 Tinderquik tabs. These are further protected from the elements by a small zipper bag of light weight. I would have liked to have seen a small slip of paper saying "tinder" in the ziplock bag- their purpose would mentioned on the display hanger it was clipped to, but this would generally be discarded shortly after purchasing and forgotten. Fortunately, the Tinderquik looks like it should burn, so it should be obvious to an untrained user. They get an "excellent".

The duct tape is a slightly smaller roll than AMK includes in their Gear Aid line, and is the same as used in the AMK/Ritter PSP. Nothing to explain here. Rate it as "excellent".

The compass is a medium-sized button compass. It appears to be liquid filled, and it is fast to adjust. It is a little finicky about being canted, but that is normal for the breed. I don't expect it to do anything but be close enough, but testing showed it points directly to the North Star. I rate it as "good", just becuase I don't think most button compasses can get a higher grade than that

The mirror can be summed up in one word: little. This is the baby sibling of the Rescue Flash. It comes in a thin vinyl envelope, and has a protective cling sheet on both the front and the back. I would have liked to see more about how to use it on the mirror than "download directions at..." becuase using a signal mirror isn't completely intuitive. It lacked a true "fire ball", but the aiming point did flare nicely when lined up. Despite it's small size, it is very bright and is one of the better quality mirrors of any kind I've seen in a while in terms of clarity. Despite being small, it is NOT fragile- it's actually about a quarter inch thick but still feather light due to it's polycarb construction. (Many of the smaller mirrors I've handled felt too light, and I was afraid I'd break them.) That heft relative to it's size will make it a little easier to use, I'd think. Due to it's smallness and the lack of directions on how to use it, I've got to give it a "good"; directions would get it a "very good".

The fishing kit. Ah, the fishing kit. As I've mentioned before, I have an acquittance who works for AMK's parent company and according to him the fishing items were included as a marketting thing, which jives with my theory on it. Let's face it, every survival manual in the world has a fishing module, so just like a SAK can't be a SAK without tweezers to most people, without fishhooks it just isn't a survival kit. It give the average user confidence, and the above average user will probably pull it out. It is packed in the same type and size of vial as the matches, and consists of a single needle of very good make, four small, good fish hooks, two sinkers and a swivel. At first I was scratching my head, then I unrolled the tiny baggy the tackle is packed in inside the tube and there was some fishing line. A light weight monofilament, not sure the total length or the test; there were no directions on knots that work well in monofilament. There are also four good, strong safety pins- I'd like to know their supplier becuase they beat the junky ones I can buy around here by a long ways. The line gets an "good", the hooks and swivel "very good", the rest of an "excellent". Over all, the fishing module earns a "very good" even if it is there for morale as much as practical purposes.

The Heatsheet is the larger model. I'd have rather have seen the bivy, but the blanket does pack smaller, is more versatile (due to its size), and lets two people share the warmth. It was "puffy" in how it was packaged, and combined with the grip of the vinyl front of the bag, made it a little harder to get the smaller items out unless you pulled the Heatsheet out as well. I don't know if it would be possible to pack these in tigher, flatter manner- it they could, it would be great, but if not, it's small beans. A serious signal panel, it also has good survival instructions on it. It gets a "very good", which as good as any blanket or bivy this light will get from me.

So, some of you might be wondering about the directions. Other than those on the Heatsheet, there aren't any. To me, this is a glaring omission. The SOL is designed for the casual day hiker, fisherman or hunter- not always the most skilled outdoors people. I think a 3x5" card with basic knots for the monofiliment, some notes on fire building, and directions for using the signal mirror would greatly expand on the kit's usability for that level of user. A little judicious culling of the instruction sheet in the AMK/Ritter PSP to remove things like the information on the Sparklite would give you a very usable card of this size, while adding nothing to the bulk and weight of the kit. I'd also suggest a space to include the user's name, address, et al. Yes, there are directions on the Heatsheet, but unless you unfold the entire blanket you might not find what you are looking for, and it is a pain in the butt to do so in the first place. A card with at least the basics would make it much easier to access critical information quickly.

Given that this kit is intended for a less skilled user than the PSP, I think the SOL hits all the bases pretty well. While in a perfect universe someone might have found a way to make the package bigger on the inside than on the outside so we could put a knife, flashlight, snare wire, etc in here, if supplemented by a pocket knife and water bottle in the user's normal gear it would be a great package for most people. The most important things in most scenarios are shelter and signals, and those are here. It is a little big for a pants pocket, but in the wallet pocket of most jackets or the gear pocket of many PFDs it would be a fine fit. And it is small and light enough that there is no longer an excuse for the ultralight hikers and kayakers to whine about cubes and grams; for the same reason, I think there is no longer a reason for military personnel to NOT carry at least basic survival tools in their uniform.

There is enough room that I could wiggle two chlorine dioxide tablets in here, and a condom- not the best water supply, but it works. If I took out the fishing kit, I could probably get a tightly rolled Gerber bag in here instead, along with two or three ClO2 tabs. I rate Adventure Medical Kits' Survive Outdoors Longer as "very good". The inclusion of an instruction sheet would boost it to an "excellent".

I would love to be able to buy just the mirror and just the bag. They are excellent, and as near as I know, unique items that would be great for people building their own kits from scratch. I hope they utilize this style of pouch for other products in the future, as it is a great next size up from the pouch used in the PSP and their "medic" line, while the clear front lets even the most baffled and hypothermic brain tell what is inside. I also wonder if AMK has explored the options of a militarized Heatsheet in coyote brown or foliage/olive green, along with a similarly colored case. While the PSP might be a better option for special operations, expeditionary and aviation units, a militarized SOL would be fine for MPs, infantry, artillery and armoured personnel who are fairly close to other units.


In my own defense, I must say I did work for AMK's parent company, TenderCorp. For about three weeks between fall and spring semesters one year, I put bottles of bug spray in little boxes, or the little boxes into bigger boxes, or taped the big boxes up and put them on pallets. And it was several years ago. I have no current affiliation with Adventure Medical Kits or Tender Corp.

Very nice review and what a company to send you one.


Lee

Any close up pictures?

"I don't know if it would be possible to pack these in tigher, flatter manner- it they could, it would be great, but if not, it's small beans."

Has anyone ever tried to vacuum pack a heat sheet or bivy? Just wondering if/how much space this may save in a kit.

Also, could someone explain how to grab a quote out of a post and put the box around it like I've seen in the forum. I messed with the quote, quick quote, etc., but still need a quick lesson.

Tom

"Hey, they have the internet for computers now!" - Homer Simpson

Excellent write up. AMK got a good return for their freebie to you. I hope they read this post. You should consider, if you haven't already done so, emailing them your review of the SOL.

Hi- this is my first post on this forum. I work at AMK in product development, and I want to thank you for your write up of the SOL. These are definitely usable comments, especially regarding the instructions (knots for the fishing line - good call there).

Some things you might be interested in...
1- the whistle decibel-tests as louder than the FOX40. Now, that's just straight decibels, and we haven't frequency tested it, so I can't come right out and say that it is a better or more effective whistle, especially in a survival scenario. But, at least it's LOUD!
2- packing the bag. This is where I've had the most input on this kit. Yes, everything is incredibly tight, and yes, the material on the front is frustratingly sticky. The trade-off here is that the front material is stretchier than on the original prototypes, which will allow you to fit in some extra gear (survival knife, water tablets, etc.) You have to cram it in, but this bag is exceptionally durable. The idea with the SOL is that you "deploy" it when necessary (or at least, that's my idea of it), not that you use it piece-by-piece. In other words, dump it all out and use it when you have to, and worry about repacking it when you're home again! Having said that, I don't want people to think of as a one-and-done deal like a survival sardine can, and with any new toy, you're gonna want to play with it when you get it home. So, this is a roundabout introduction to give you my super-top-secret packing tip for the SOL. Cut a 3x9 piece of silnylon, and wrap it around the heatsheet blanket when you put it in the kit. then, slide in the other components under the fabric (in between the heatsheet and the fabric), and yank the fabric out when you're done (or tuck the silnylon in the bag, close it up, and then everything will easily come out in the field). Obviously, this means you won't be able to see the contents, so there is a trade-off there. But, this cut production time on the SOL way down, so you may want to experiment with it.
3- the compass- it is indeed liquid filled. This is the same Ritter-spec compass we use in the PSP. We QA these pretty heavily, but if you notice that yours doesn't find north in a reasonable amount of time, let us know!

Okay, that's probably long enough for my first post. Hi everyone, and thanks for having me!

Be safe,
Jordan

AMKJordan,

Wow, talk about a great addition to the group! Welcome to the fire. Hopefully we won't drive you away with our never-ending quest for the perfect EDC kit.

-Blast

p.s. By the way, any chance you be interested in advertising on a blog devoted to outdoor adventures that has had over 20,000 viewers in just three years?

Jordan,

Thank you for joining, listening (to comments/critiques) and providing feedback. It makes the forum membership feel (although, I can only speak for myself) that our efforts in evaluating products are worthwhile, especially when the manufacturer is willing to actually listen and consider what current and potential customers would like to see in a product.

Thanks-
Pete

Your "super-top-secret tip" regarding the silnylon can be applied to a number of packing applications. Thanks for the tip and your willingness to contribute.

Welcome Jordan!

The compass finds north fine, my fingers don't find level so well if I haven't had my caffeine fix. :P As someone who is intimately familar with hypothermia, I can see it being an issue, but if I put the kit down on the ground it should be ok.

Will we being seeing this whistle replace the Fox 40 Micro in some of the other kits? It is a more packable shape.

As for the repack, I just curled and wiggled it all in. The pouch is a little frustrating in it's clingyness, but nothing major. If I was to give one to someone, I'd set up an instruction card like I mentioned, between the Heatsheet and the small items. And I tested what I could add this afternoon- a gerber bag, a small ferro rod (always have at least one knife on me), and two ClO2 tabs. It has a home in my bag of tricks; probably permanent. (And the long timers here will confirm that is akin to being canonized. :P )

Edit: Is there a particular material property that dictates the looseness of the Heatsheet, or is it just a matter of your available packing facility? Or did I just get one that was a little plump? I've gotten mylar sheets that were just about solid in how they were packed, but that is a much thinner material. I'm just glad you put in the larger Heatsheet, even when the smaller one would have made packing it at your end easier. It is a minor point, just curiosity.