There's a story in " "Deep-Survival" that describes an individual who got into a survival situation but hesitated to use his survival kit because it was for emergencies. If it had just been EDC gear he'd have used it, but he hesitated to use his emergency gear. USE YOUR GEAR.

If you want to keep a DR PSP or an Altoids survival kit, do so, but carry other similar gear and use it daily or as often as the need arises. Keep the items topped off. I consider the lower half of my gas tank emergency gear, I refill it at half tank. It keeps my emergency fuel fresh and I know that it will work when I really need it.