I agree with Brad, Milspec is built well even though it is built by the lowest bidder. It is usually not the latest and greatest. The shop i work for recently did some of the lowest bidder work, the last revision on the drawing was 1970. The specifications provided really don't leave any room for poor quality, and there is a inspector from the government that comes by and checks the parts before delivery to make sure that everything meets specification.

What i would wonder about the survival kits is whether or not they are new. Since there are perishable supplies included, the kits may have reached the expiration date and were disposed of even though they were never issued.