Given some of the recent threads regarding PSK contents, modular kits, and various tins and wallets for holding things, I decided I'd share a somewhat novel system I've settled on (with much credit and many thanks to this forum and the Equipped site for inspiration and refinement).

Some quick background: I have a fairly diverse set of needs for survival and emergency kits. Over time, I've decided that a flexible, modular system better fits my needs than either a super-big, extensive kit, or many kits with lots of overlap.

I live in a big-city neighborhood but also am often staying in hotels in other big cities (LA, DC, NY) for my consulting business. I walk a lot - many miles at a time - at home and when traveling, and also hike and occasionally backpack. I'm an instrument-rated pilot and have flown extensively in the swath of the west coast between British Columbia and New Mexico, with lots of flights into the back country and over desolate terrain or mountains - and even a few flights across the entire US (an FAA "Wings" seminar on aviation survival was what introduced me to this site, btw). I also occasionally drive long distances, or up into the mountains, for recreation and travel. Finally, given my constant travel for business and pleasure, I've continually streamlined and cut back on what I carry while endeavoring to retain what's truly important...I just hate lugging a lot of stuff around!

In that vein, and as a quick aside before I get into the real kits, here's my "every day carry":



Seriously - that's it (well, except for a super-thin wallet). The small Victorinox is a model I've not been able to find any more; it has a bottle opener/wire stripper/small phillips screwdriver in addition to the usual "executive" blade, scissors and file. I like to travel light, and this small set of items takes care 99% of my daily needs, if not more. Occasionally, and where legal, I'll supplement it with a small pepper spray with a pulsar LED light on its keyring - generally if walking at night and/or in an iffy area.

OK - now on to the survival/emergency stuff.

First, here's my PSK, which usually goes in my hip pack or day pack or briefcase, though occasionally just in a pocket or on a neck chain. I take it whenever it seems prudent (which is any time I feel there's a possibility of being in anything other than a basic urban situation; this kit is appropriate as an "always on me" item all the way through the most serious risk situations such as mountain flying):



The pouch is a "Quick Change Pocket" from Eagle Creek, which I found at a local travel store. It has an outside pocket, belt loop, zippered main pocket, and a clip (suitable for adding a lanyard or breakaway neck chain in addition to the use you see here). I considered the leather wallet mentioned recently on this forum, but then came across this and decided that, for me, it's a better fit. To give you an idea of its size, here it is with an Altoids-style tin:



And here's what's inside it - a collection of the "modules" I was talking about:



I have a module (in various ziploc bags) for each of:

- Medical (including bandaids, antiseptic wipes, analgesics, steri-strips, and water purification tablets; top left in the picture)

- Tools (including a button compass, razor blades, needles, thread/line, safety pins, a pencil stub and a couple of other odds and ends, with the pouch wrapped in electrical tape; top middle in the picture)

- Fire (including a spark-lite, sealed NATO matches, a striker (wrapped in thick cover stock), and tinder from the spark-lite; top right in the picture)

- Overall storage and water (a ziploc bag plus printed safety/survival information, a photon light, a foot of tubing and 2 Gerber water bags; the other bags go into this one and it forms a nice tight package that slips into the pouch)

That's a Fox mini-whistle clipped to the pouch for instant access. I also keep a blade or multitool for instant access in the outside pocket of the pouch, or clipped to its belt loop; any of the following will fit in that pocket:



I usually carry the Leatherman Wave, as it has the most generic usefulness, though I can swap it for the Victorinox Picnicker or the Kershaw Leek depending on what seems best for a particular trip or hike.

(Yes, there is no fishing kit. I have line, and I have safety pins, and thus could improvise fishing gear - though frankly I believe it far more likely I'd walk out or be rescued long before that would become necessary.)

The modules let me quickly customize the kit; I might, for example, leave out the "Fire" stuff for a walk around town; I might take out the "Tools" and "Fire" and blade to make it legal for carry-on air travel. If I'm piloting, I'll keep everything in, put the pouch in a hip pack with the wave and the Victorinox (the Leek goes in a larger kit described below), and add a Yaesu NavCom and handheld GPS, plus (for night flying) pack a Petzl Tikka and wear a necklace with several LED lights on it (white and night vision colors, plus a backup for redundancy).

The packing system also makes it easy to get and and change contents of the modules, either to improve utility or to replace expired items. I find this suits my needs better than a sealed tin would, and am willing to live with the slight loss in protection/waterproofness of this system (which is still pretty watertight, given the multiple bags). At some point, I may shrink-wrap some of the items; there are also a few odds and ends I intend to squeeze in there, including a thin signaling mirror and a small bit of glue stick.

While this PSK fits comfortably in a pocket, I generally slip it into the inside pocket of an Arc'teryx hip pack. For a hike, I'll usually toss in a small Adventure Medical Kit (supplemented) in a zippered pouch - this goes in the hip pack along with the PSK, and gets used fairly often.

I'll not go into great detail on the larger modules, but here are a couple of pictures of what I use for flying and other serious risk situations...also suitable as a "bug-out bag". The pack I use is an Eagle Creek Bhatah Sab bag with a zippered, removable day pack and a moderate-sized main pack.



The zip-off day bag is about 10x12x8 - fairly compact, but capable of holding an immense amount of stuff. It's got a full-size FAK, a SAM splint, more blades and a sharpener, more firestarting materials and methods, a larger LED flashlight, a strobe and extra battery, a signaling mirror, another whistle plus a compass/thermometer, carabiners, a small amount of food (energy bars and hard candy), heavy-duty garbage bags and aluminum foil, rope and cord, space blankets, an Exstream water purifier bottle, bug and sun block, a SAS mini-survival-book, a compact gear repair pouch (including glue stick, cable ties, mesh, duct tape, etc.) and several other items. The contents, just as with the PSK, are subdivided into small bags (ziploc or mesh) that create modules I can mix and match as needed.

This bag goes with me whenever I fly outside the immediate area in a small plane, and in the car whenever I drive out into the country or long-distance on the highway. In all cases I'll also bring the hip pack with appropriate add-ins including the PSK and small FAK.

The large, main bag holds additional items - bottles of water, larger shelter (tarp with bright fluorescent color, rope), an esbit stove and other cooking items, more firestarting stuff, additional food bags, work gloves, and other swappable modules (e.g., a winter/cold mountain flying bag with chemical hand-warmers, gloves, hat and other relevant cold-weather items). I often add a sleeping bag, compact tent, clothing or other items appropriate to the situation at hand. This bag goes with me for serious flying over rough or remote terrain, and on long-distance drives through remote areas.

I find it takes just a minute or so to swap and organize modules if that's needed, though most of the time everything stays in each bag, ready to go for a typical trip or as a bug-out-bag.

So, that's it - at least for an overview. Thanks again to the group for all of the ideas and inspiration - hope something in this posting provides the same to some of you, and I'll look forward to feedback and suggestions.

I really like your idea of using modules. For me, the only argument I have in my case is my two primary kits are designed for two very different situations. By having duplicate modules I increase my chances of having one of the two kits with me. However, the big survival kit includes exactly what the small kit does plus a few other modules. This ends up up with having a kit of appropiate size for situations around town or light day hikes and another kit suitable for more intense situations. As to the rest of my gear I have switched to thinking in terms of modules.

I must say your everyday situations are probably less intense as the situations I could see myself in based on the amount of gear you carry. I think in terms I am preparing for a true survival situation and under those conditions what would I truly need to survive.

In my case your small kits although very comfortable to wear would leave me shorthanded in many areas.

I like your modular approach.

I would be interested in the contents of your larger kits.

Everyone will choose kit they feel comfortable with but there are some general guidelines I try to approach this preparedness stuff from.

1) Is it likely to happen? There is a percentage probability beyond which I consider "It won't happen".

2) How bad could it be? I reconsider all the things that I don't think I need to prepare for in light of rule #1 and determine if the consequences of not preparing are severe enough that I might want to prepare anyway even though the likelyhood is low.

I am certain that you probably carry a good deal of wilderness gear for long flights where you pilot over rough terrain. This takes into consideration that you might be in trouble and have to suffer an off-airport landing in unpredictable locations. In your urban EDC you don't seem to be applying the same level of consideration. If you find yourself in an unfamiliar city (likely since you travel a fair amount) far from your residence and on-foot (again stated as likely) and social disruption breaks out that is not targeted at you (unpredictable but generally likely in this decade / world) you might find that you have no cell phone signal (system swamped) and you would be unprepared for conflict with a mob even with a handgun so you would have to double or treble your walking to return to your residence or "goto ground" to allow the trouble to pass. In either of these scenarios a bit more gear might be useful.

Consider the urban scenario possibilities that are objectively as likely as off-airport landings. Determine if your EDC truely will be adequate for these scenarios. If there are some unlikely scenarios which would be disasterous if you faced them is it worth carrying a bit more just-in-case?

For some, the urban jungle represents a more threatening environment than the wilderness. For some the urban jungle is familiar and presents a comfortable environment where they don't feel threatened. I would suggest that familiarity breeds contempt of the true level of threat. Just because Bert has walked in the woods his entire 40 years with nothing than his sheath knife and his wits and perhaps a book of matches if it is cold doesn't mean he won't get dead tomorrow from a case of giardia and wouldn't be better off with a bottle of iodine tablets added to his left front pocket. Just because John has lived in the city for his entire 40 years, and travelled all over the world without being caught in a riot doesn't mean that it won't happen to him tomorrow and John might be better off with a garbage bag stuck in a pocket to keep warm while he hides in a dumpster waiting for the street to quiet down so he can walk home.

I don't really need to prepare for the things that happen to me every day since I live in a society of individuals to whom those things also happen there is a plentiful supply of stuff to help me deal. There is anicin and bandaids in the office FAK and down the street at the 7/11. What I prepare for are those things that others don't expect to happen so that I will be prepared when there isn't enough to go-around. As BeachDoc pointed out, he had his n95 masks in stock before the run which depleted supplies because he was prepared for an outbreak of the plague even though everyone else thought "It can't happen to us.".

Thanks for the comments, MiniMe and Survivalperson...I agree that I have made a calculated decision that while in my home city and just doing normal "out and about" stuff, I'm likely to be able to make it home within an hour or so in most foreseeable scenarios, even via a circuitous route on foot, and that if my home is destroyed or unsafe I have a number of other places and friends to go to as backup.

I may have overstated the simplicity of my "EDC" - I generally bring that small PSK pouch around with me even when just going for a long walk in the city, and always when I travel.

I'll also note that I'm always aware of the news and continually appraising what's likely to take place out there, and will adjust what I carry accordingly. If serious unrest seemed to be brewing even at home, I'd a) change my patterns and consider not going out and about and b) if I did, would carry a lot more of my modules. For me it's all about calculated risk/benefit.

As for the larger kits, I go for multiple redundancies and do indeed carry wilderness survival items (I listed a few examples at the end of the post - but Minime, since you asked, I may go ahead and do another post with the contents of the Day Pack kit.)

Perhaps I have a wider spread compared to many folks here between my everyday stuff and what I carry when backpacking or piloting - or when the situation seems threatening (less everyday, perhaps more than others when in wilderness scenarios, especially when piloting). Guess that's why I like the modular approach!

Thanks for the thoughts...

Thanks for greater info. It is always enlightening (in many senses) to be aware of the current circumstances and to "pack" accordingly. You may be more appropriately prepared than most since you take the time to evaluate your risks on every occasion. This will indeed allow you to refine your carry items. Through practice of this you also will be more aware mentally for whatever you encounter. Many may simply stuff their pockets with abundant EDC and consider themselves prepared for "whatever" and walk out there without taking the time to catch the morning news. This may lead a person with abundant EDC to walk / drive into the middle of a HAZMAT situation or resultant traffic jam without warning, whereas, you will have taken that extra 5 minutes of specific preparation and know better than to walk / drive on that route.

Knowledge is King. (but what if you accidentally wake up late and don't take those few moments? - the pocket full of abundant EDC is also an easy habit that can help out on those hurried monday mornings.)

it's a good idea. I'm surprised no one else thought of it.

I also use the modular concept. We live fulltime in a small RV. We range from northern Canada to southern Mexico and Baja. Mostly we find remote places away from people. Our camper has solar power, reverse-osmosis, large water capacity and in general has been modified for living “up-country” as they say in Maine.

This mobility, and the remoteness of our “backyard”, means that I am always modifying our “carry”. The modular concept has the distinct advantage in speed of departure. We may be hiking in the woods of Maine (that’s where we lived before we went on the road) one day, and the next hike may be in the Arizona desert. Of course I don’t think about gear until we are about to walk away from the truck.

I have modular kits tucked around the truck so I just pull out the ones I don’t need and insert the ones I do. Sometimes the carry method is an old LL Bean luggage/Internal frame backpack, sometimes a web belt with/without LBE suspenders, or perhaps a vest. The modules are small enough to be easily transferred.

Mostly they are small bags with Velcro loop tabs sewed on where the belt loops were. This allows me to quickly attach them to the web belt, stick in a pocket of a vest or hang on modified straps on the front of the backpack.

I like to have certain things very handy, depending on the location and why we are out and about. In their own bags and usually mounted externally are some of the following. GPS, BK-10 Crewman, Monocular, Digital Camera, Palm Computer, Leatherman (type varies), small (1 pint “pilots”) water container Ham Walkie-talkie, Colt Agent 38 2”bbl (very seldom carry lately), Benchmade folder and other similar things.

The modular concept makes the “instant build” of the gear quick and easy. I have kits for survival, orientation, cold weather, hot weather, desert, tropics, sand, mountain, food, water, large & small First Aid, and other items that seem to work well together. I have been using the modular concept for many years, having started in the Air Force in ’57 and refined much of it later when doing search & rescue in Maine. These are not big bags, The largest is a “large double handful” size. It would seem to be a hassle rearranging it all, but over the years it has become almost an automatic task. Once the gear has been selected, it mostly stays the same until we change environment. The hard part is working out the kits so that you have what you need without taking stuff you don’t need.

Oh, we almost always take a walking stick. Best so far are $2.00 army surplus ski poles with a hydraulic control knob from an old Maine Skidder (woods working vehicle) on the top. I bought four many years ago so I would have a spare when they broke. The original ones are still going strong after years of very hard use.

Thanks, Nomad - sounds like we definitely have similar approaches to this...perhaps because both of us are on the road so much. I like the velcro idea and some of your other tips.

Off topic, but I enjoyed your site. There are some amazing rigs out there (especially those Unimog and Mercedes Truck ones you met up with in Baja). Are there pictures posted anywhere of their interiors?

[color:"blue"] [/color] I believe you have the same knife I carry on my key chain and it is not common in the shops. You can order one from here:

http://www.swissarmyexpress.com/swisarredram.html

That's exactly the one - thanks! It goes with me everywhere and I use it pretty much every day.

The other similarly-sized one I use often is the MiniChamp; it goes in a toiletries kit for travel. Apparently they've updated it to the "MiniChamp II" - looks like they replaced the toothpick with a retractable pen.