Okay, this is an outdoor kit.

It would be helpful to know what other things are part of your every-day-carry or EDC when in the environment for which this kit is aimed.

It would also be helpful to know something of most extreme environment you think you might encounter. For example, if a likely scenario is a hike many days or weeks from food re-supply in an area of many streams and rivers, then the fishing gear makes more sense.

Thanks.

Well of course it is. I’ve yet to hear tell of anyone using a survival kit indoors.

I'm just teasing dweste, honestly. I know what you meant so I wasn’t trying to be a jerk. When the opportunity to poke a little fun arises though..........


To answer your question

Every time I step into the woods(or anywhere I may need this pouch) I have my Leatherman surge, my Fenix L2D and my Zippo on my belt as well as a small EZ-lap diamond sharpener and two spare AA batteries for the light. I have a photon and a mini fox 40 on my keys which are usually on my person as well. My cell phone, GPS and map stay in my pockets as well as my Suunto compass. This pouch goes into a pants pocket so that if I take off my sweater/shirt/jacket for any reason it is still on me. I sometimes drape the shirt over a tree while setting up camp etc and this kind of defeats the purpose of the kit.(I am less likely to be taking off my pants in the woods) In my bag I have all my major gear including a FA kit, fire kit, a small fixed blade, folding saw etc , etc.



I hunt and hike alone, always have. A few years back while hunting up in northern Alberta I stumbled across a big nest of wasps that was in the ground. I had no idea until I saw the massive cloud of them rise up. I did what any self respecting macho guy would do.

I ran and screamed like a little boy who had just seen the boogeyman. Sometime later I realized that I had ditched my pack somewhere to aid in my rapid evasion of said wasps and to prevent getting stung to death. After an hour of two of hiding in the brush I decided to slowly walk back to my pack to retrieve it. The little yellow bas$%#@* were still there all over my pack. Not feeling very brave I waited till dark until they finally left and went back to the nest.


Last year a good friend of mine was snowmobiling when he turned over and became trapped under his rig. His pack with all his supplies was strapped to the rack but was thrown clear as he flipped over. Hopelessly trapped under his rig with a broken pelvis he looked at his gear only yards away but could not get to it. Fortunately help came a few hours later as he was on a well used trail.

These are the types of scenarios that I want to be more prepared for. The pouch is just to be able to make a fire, get some shelter, purify some water and wait it out until help arrives if I have become separated from my other gear. It was never intended for long term use. I have long term supplies in my pack but all the survival gear in the world is no good if I cannot get to it to be able to use it.

Jeez, maybe a few yards of cord and one of these in your friend's pocket would have helped:

http://countycomm.com/microhook.htm

Not that most people are all that chipper with a broken pelvis, tossing and reeling stuff in, but at least he could have had a pillow!

Now we are getting down to it.

Indoor survival kit use: Many of use spend most of our time in buildings. Things happen inside buildings: fire, collapse, hostage situation, power failure, etc. Things happen outside buildings that force us to stay inside or return to buildings when we would rather go home: storm, fire, flood, earthquake, civil unrest, police emergency, power blackout, etc. Perhaps we should make room in the game plan for an urban survival kit geared to those kinds of scenarios.

Your EDC addresses many of the things that seemed lacking in the pocket kit – good job!

So I would review your pocket kit against survival categories, mine being: First Aid, Shelter, Fire, Water, Food, Navigation, Light, Signaling, Self-protection, Hygiene, and Morale. Initial comments:

First aid: I would consider what might disable you so that without effective first aid you could not get back to your pack, and address them. Blood loss? Sprain? Broken bone? I would add some medication to moderate discomfort and head off infection.

Food: Is there room for a sports concentrate gel pack or two? Or at least some hard candy?

Fishing kit: Maybe several pre-assembled ice fishing size spoons or spinners with swivels instead of the hooks and shot.

Water: Zip-lock better than nothing but consider upgrade. Seems like a lot of purification tablets.

Light: Maybe a couple birthday candles?

Hygiene / Morale: More than one sewing needle (darn things are easy to lose).

Miscellaneous: Consider a mini-multi-tool. Change for pay phone.

Welcome newguy! I would suggest adding a bandanna. It has a multitude of uses, water pre-filter, dust/smoke mask, pot holder for hot items, head covering for keeping sweat/hair out of face, bandaging, etc.... If its too big for your kit I'd suggest to throw one in a pocket.
If you are looking to upgrade the ziplock baggie, Glock-a-Roo in his thread "interesting water container-Aqua Pouch" has found a fine looking piece of kit that does away with the "cap won't allow me to fold it flat, it takes up too much room for a small kit" problem.
Now for the abbreviations.....
DD=dear daughter
DS=dear son
DW=dear wife
DH=dear husband
EDC=every day carry
BOB=bail/bug out bag
SAK=swiss army knife
FAK=first aid kit

-Bill Liptak
P.S. There are others, lemme know if you need one translated. I'll try my best though there are a few I'm clueless on

Maybe one of those towels that is dessicated down to a weighs-nothing small disc that springs to life when wet might fit in your kit to perform some bandana-like functions.

For me all this stuff is in a locker at work, with some items stored in a drawer in my desk. I don't really think of it as a kit but rather a stash.
I want to put some more FA stuff in the mini-pouch but FA stuff is rather bulky. If I fit more in I fear it may burst or no longer fit comfortably in a pocket. I still am scratching my head to see what I can remove without selling myself short. You may be right with the tabs,as 6 may be enough. I may replace the space blanket with a disposable poncho as someone suggested.



Nice! thanks Bill. The normal ones I know but some had me wondering. Except for when I am at my desk at work I don't spend much time on a computer. I guess I need to work on my geek skills a bit more to stay in the loop.

I will look into the aqua pouch. I have an enviro-sack which has the bloody cap so I like the idea of a flat folding, quality pouch. A zip-lock will do in a pinch and can be easily fixed with the duct tape but they spring leaks like crazy.