I hope to be starting a new job this week, working in an office.

I have to fly under the radar, so to speak, in terms of preparedness, because I sure don't want to attract undesirable attention. Therefore, I am once again re-doing my key fob emergency kit.

I found the "SAK Fob Kit" by V Shrake, at http://www.oldjimbo.com/survival/v-shrake/sfk.html . Any opinions on this kit, or on key fob kits in general, would be welcome.

i personally think a big key fob kit is annoying to carry, they flop around and don't fit in pockets very well. A small kit on your key chain would be fine, if it isn't to bulky. A kit based on a container usually is more space effiecient than hanging lots of gear together.

I can understand your desire to be discreet, especially in this age of overly-paranoid, under-trained "security" guards, but ... looking at that key fob kit, it seems to me that hauling something like that around would attract MORE attention, from all the clanking and jingling if nothing else. I would join PC2K in opting for a mini-PSK. That's one reason my Altoids tin doesn't have any paracord wrapped around it, just a discreet layer of electrical tape around the edge to seal it.

I think that a kit like this is not really low profile. If you want to conceal it a container for sweets or tobacco products might be better. If you go for a tobacco tin or a cigarillo tin you may not even be expected to offer something from its contents. I carry my office kit in a small tobacco tin with a lighter strapped to it. Of course I don´t smoke in the office ´cause I don´t want to badger my coworkers. So far nobody tried to solicit tobacco from me when they saw the tin.

I two altoids tin kits balanced in each front pocket. One is a FAK which sees weekly, if not daily, use and the other is a PSK similar to Dougs ( I have previously listed contents with pic's just search). I also carry a few other items, some on my key chain. I haven't reached the physics limit of having my belt fail to hold up my pants yet. <img src="images/graemlins/wink.gif" alt="" /> I have a swiss micro-tech+, swiss utili-key, small tubular whistle, small match safe, and ASP saphire light on my key chain, Cell phone on one hip on the belt and Leatherman wave on the opposite hip. I also carry a small multi-tool and a largish butane lighter on a split ring in my pocket and, to balance my rather large wallet, I carry a decent spool of tylon twine in my other back pocket. I find that I can carry this set of gear in jeans and in my suit without it being remarkably obvious. I don't wear tight fitting clothes and My dress slacks are pleated in front. I have considered those Docker e-pants with the extra concealed pockets but they are too expensive for casual pants and too casual for dress. I carry my PDA in my shirt pocket or vest pocket depending upon whether I have my vest on. If I am wearing my vest I have a bunch of other stuff as well.

I guess what I am trying to say is that if you are not wearing really snug fitting clothing then you can carry a bunch of stuff. OTOH, if you are wearing really tight jeans or slacks then a bulky keychain will stand out as much or more than a PSK which looks like a candy box.

FMI, what does FOB mean in this case ??
(I guess it's not Father Of the Bride, nor Full Of Beer ...)

TIA
<img src="images/graemlins/cool.gif" alt="" />

Alain

Surprisingly, for this forum anyway, it's not an acronym. A key fob is simply any adornment that attaches to your keys. It goes back to the days of the pocket watch. A watch fob was the chain attached to the watch that was worn across the front of your vest and secured in the opposite pocket. It also applied to anything else attached to the pocket watch or chain.

Ed

Thanks a lot !
Every day, on this forum, I learn something new...



Alain

I personally find there's a limit to what I am willing to carry on a key chain. Right now I have a Fox 40 whistle, a neck lanyard (that came with the Fox 40, chain-stitched to shorten it), a SAK Classic, a Photon Micro-light, and a key blank with 4 lighter flints Krazy-glued to it and sealed with heat-shrink tubing (I found out the hard way that the heat-shrink tubing really is necessary). Oh, yeah, and keys. <img src="images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />

Even that is cumbersome to the point that I find I sometimes "forget" to put the keychain back in my pocket after using it - I'm likely to just toss it on the kitchen table. In fact, even as I type I realise my keys are not in my pocket. <img src="images/graemlins/blush.gif" alt="" />

I just replaced the Fox 40 - just now - with a no-name green metallic whistle that I bought on a whim in a local camping store. Its advantage is that it has a - *gasp* - SECRET COMPARTMENT! Shades of Captain Midnight! You can't put much in it - it's about 1/3" in diameter and maybe an inch deep, but it is watertight and will hold a couple of dry cotton balls. (I haven't tried putting a dab of vaseline in there with them.)

I'm not as paranoid (or perhaps just not as realistic <img src="images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" /> ) as other posters on this site - I don't own a gun, don't intend to buy one, and when I leave the house in the morning, I don't consciously worry that I might not get home for several months. (The worst that's ever happened to me was having to spend the night in a hotel due to a whiteout/blizzard that made it virtually impossible even to see the exit ramps on the highway.)

One thing to remember about a "key fob survival kit" is that it's a fat lot of good if it's still in the ignition and you're standing 50 feet away watching your car burn to a shell - or sink in 15 feet of ice water, which is a real possibility in winter up here. (I once hit a patch of black ice, doing 50 mph in Nova Scotia, at night, with oncoming traffic on one side and a sheer cliff on the other. People pay money for rides like that. <img src="images/graemlins/shocked.gif" alt="" /> )

I spent the night in the first hotel I came to that night, too. <img src="images/graemlins/crazy.gif" alt="" />

My answer here is it sort of depends. I think V's fob contains stuff he is likely to use often vs the sealed tin kit approach.

I go the mixed route. I carry two key devices. One has my house and car keys only along with the car door opener thing, the other has a Leatherman micra, BSA hot spark, aluminum capsule with vaseline/cotton tinder, and a stainless pill capsule. Other "essentials" are spread around my normal clothing pockets, belt etc. This way no one container has the works, and this way I can keep the contents semi thin.

I always wear a wool vest with multi-pockets, this takes most of the stuff, my pant, shirt and coat pockets along with a shoulder bag take the rest. I have recently renovated and slimmed my EDC down, but still wear the vest.

Each layer is more capable than the other. I also think it is important to maintain a decent desk kit at work....no taking it through security everyday, mail it to yourself if needed. Mine has water, 3 foot prybar, hardhat, gloves, dustmask and safety glasses. I also keep a waterproof coat and hat year round at my desk. I also keep a hidden set of car and house keys at my worksite.

Neck ID string contains ID, Fox40 and LED light.

I think spread around has many advantages over the single pouch approach, but in reality I tend to be redundant in many areas because of this approach.

I just found this website, and am still assembling my very first PSK <img src="images/graemlins/laugh.gif" alt="" />, but I have been carrying some helpful gear on my keychain for years. I recently heard a locksmith say that the weight of a keyring with even a "normal" amount of keys on it is too heavy for tumblers and lock mechanisms when swinging around in an automobile. If I hold on to the jagged part of my ignition key and let the other stuff hang down, I feel his point. This unneccessarily speeds the degredation of the lock, leading to eventual failure. This could place you in a survival situation (which may or may not be a bad thing, some enjoy the trials of life).

I now keep my keys, along with the Micra, Photon II, and K-1 "Sparky" on a carabiner, so I can unclip the bulk of it and just have the ignition key in the lock. Having the tools in your pocket, you will save the lock and also lessen the potential of a scenario as Aardwolfe has described. Also, being able to unclip and separate the tools, or just take along one keyring is very convenient.
Good Luck,
Run
<img src="images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />

A trick I learned from a friend, who complained that his key ring was always wearing out his pockets (and causing coins & things to trickle out) -- if you have a key fob (or in my case, An ARC Infinity AAA light) attached to a short (3-4") lanyard, you can hang it so it rides just outside the pocket, and the keyring is suspended inside the pocket.
Benefits: -no pocket wear at the bottom
-easier to fish your keys out, no reaching all the
way into a crowded pocket
-the LED light is instantly available
-it's easier to find coins, etc. at the bottom of the
pocket without having to remove the keychain
to find a quarter, etc
Disadvantage: people are telling you that something is hanging out of your pocket! (At least until they get used to it). No problem under a sportcoat or jacket, since it's hidden.

I've tried this technique against normal pocket carry, and for some strange reason a bulky keychain doesn't tend to pull your pants down as much -- maybe because the weight is supported by the short stretch of outer cloth between the pocket and belt.

i do the opposite, mine key hand out and mine "kit" ( p-38, led light, ferrosium rod and Coast micro toolbox ) are riding in mine pockets. The "kit" part also prevents mine key from being lost if i didn't attcached mine carabinders properly to mine belt loop if the "kit" is in mine pockets. the other reason why i got mine tools in mine pockets is because the distands from the belt loop to the pocket is to great, so only mine "kit" which is attached to the key part with a link ( so i can take it of fast ) can reach the pocket.

5 maybe 6 days a week I work in a location far from home, far from help, and where legality of carry is my primaryissue. I have found my current load to work in all dress pants, jeans and shorts. Though I opt for the FBI 511 combat pants which I am currently transissionaing all of my clothing to.

In one pocket is my wallet which contains Tool-Logic, IDs, Credit Cards, Money, Insurance cards, my custom made survival cards too lengthy to describe, spare keys, and four quarters.

Another pocket keeps the standard red and white hankerchiefs. The Leatherman Mini-Tool fits in all pockets including the Watch pocket.

A Dr Scholl's FAK fits just about anywhere.

And my keychain hangs half in and half out of a pocket. It contains a Fox 40, mag fire starter cut down and double wrapped in ranger bands, small wrist compass, photon two, and a nylon case containing CPR mask, CPR instructions, and two aspirin.

When I get more money I will add a cell phone as the HAM radio's atenna gets too many looks.

I would suggest a Planner or similar case for carrying around other survival gear too bulky for EDC. I carry a small backpack containing my primary 4.75 day pack versus 3 day. By my calculation the water in the pack will last 4.75 days with little exertion. As it looks rather civilized I get very few looks.

As to wearing a key fob I have found small tins to more suitable. My small FAK contains all Meds I would need for three days, two Turkey sized oven bags, 25 repackaged PA, and about two feet of Duct Tape.

Would you mind filling me in on what a "Dr Scholl's FAK" is and what you have in yours?

Dr Scholl (look in your pharmacy footcare section) offers a wonderful, thin blue plastic container with their blister pads (similar to moleskins). The container is slightly curved to fit in your pocket and conform to the leg shape.
I use it for my EDC; there's room for a mini sewing kit, basic first aid/pills, twine, duct tape, Xacto blade, mini-Bic, tinder, button compass, and a few other items. Ranger bands around the outside keep it securely closed and reasonably water tight. Less bulk than an Altoids tin, invisible in causal dress trouser pocket.

Thanks man. I'll see if I can find one.