Adventure Medical Kits officially announced the Pocket Survival Kit Plus at Outdoor Retailer this week. I have reproduced the press releases below. A few comments:

The pouch is still under development. It's going to very cool, part of why the kit costs what it costs, but we are working to make it truly waterproof and very secure while being very easy to open. It is more robust and abuse resistant than the standard PSP pouch. This would be a lot easier if it didn't have to fit in a pocket. (LOL!)

The component list provided will likely be expanded somewhat, but I am not at liberty to say exactly how. We have a number of useful components under development that we hope to include. Stay tuned!

As always, a portion of the proceeds from the sale of all Doug Ritter Gear goes to support the non-profit Equipped To Survive Foundation.

ADVENTURE® MEDICAL KITS & DOUG RITTER TAKE PERSONAL SURVIVAL TO NEW LEVEL WITH POCKET SURVIVAL PAK® PLUS

Follow up to Pocket Survival Pak® features new custom-designed
CRKT Knife and E-GEAR PICO Lite LED Flashlight

OAKLAND, Calif. (July 21st, 2009) - Adventure® Medical Kits, the leading developer of first aid and survival gear for outdoor enthusiasts, today unveiled the Pocket Survival Pak® PLUS to buyers attending the 2009 Outdoor Retailer Summer Show. The second iteration in the hugely successful Pocket Survival Pak® line, the Pocket Survival Pak® PLUS takes personal survival up a notch. Designed with survival expert Doug Ritter, who also designed the first PSP, the PLUS kit features many of the same high-quality components that were carefully selected for the original, in addition to new custom designed tools that give users the best shot at surviving a variety of situations in the outdoors.

Along with high quality components for signaling (signaling mirror, triple frequency whistle) and navigating (liquid-damped compass with lanyard ring), the new PSP PLUS also contains additional components for food gathering and gear repair (knife), working at night (flashlight) and collecting and purifying water (collapsible water bag, water purification tablets).

"The original Pocket Survival Pak remains the best survival kit at its price point of under $35, which was our goal," says survival authority and Equipped To Survive founder, Doug Ritter.

He continued, "However, with the PLUS version AMK and I sought to answer the question, 'what kind of pocket-sized kit could we build that would greatly enhance the serious outdoor enthusiast's ability to survive, if price weren't as much of a factor?' This kit is the result."

For the new items in the PSP PLUS, AMK and Ritter worked with a who's who of survival and outdoor gear companies, including Columbia River Knife & Tool (RSK Mk5™ fixed blade knife designed by Ritter); Essential Gear (eGear PICO™ Lite LED flashlight also designed by Ritter); Katadyn (Micropur MP1 chlorine dioxide tablets) and Nasco (lab-quality 1 liter collapsible Whirl-Pak® water bag).

"The PSP PLUS is designed for the serious hunter, hiker or backpacker who recognizes the full spectrum of dangers and contingencies that the outdoors poses and wants to be prepared to face them head on," says AMK marketing director Frank Meyer.

Every year, 50,000 search and rescue missions are conducted in the United States, according to the National Association of Search and Rescue. Despite all the best precautions taken, anyone can find themselves in danger, says Ritter, "weather changes and accidents happen, leaving even the most experienced outdoors enthusiast stranded and separated from their gear unless they are carrying it on their person. That's where the PSP PLUS can make a difference - its lightweight, compact design makes it easy to carry in a pocket and its high quality components really could save your life."

The 5.6 oz pocket-sized PSP PLUS comes housed in an RF welded water-resistant case that also includes a stash pocket on the back. Like all of AMK's survival and medical kits, the PSP PLUS includes a "Register Your Kit" card, which when activated provides users with refill updates and notices on upcoming sales promotions. The PSP PLUS (MSRP$80.00) is slated for January 2010 release. For detailed info on the Pocket Survival Pak® PLUS's components, see "PSP PLUS Supply List" doc.

PSP PLUS Supply List


NEW TO THE PSP PLUS:

CRKT RSK Mk5™ Knife - Doug Ritter designed the knife produced by Columbia River & Tool. Made of stainless cutlery steel, the knife is a compact, lightweight, but robust, fixed blade designed specifically to fit into a small survival kit tin or pouch. It offers multiple uses in the outdoors, including gathering food, building shelter and repairing gear.

Essential Gear eGEAR PICO™ Lite LED Flashlight - Doug Ritter designed this super bright micro-sized LED light specifically for reliable emergency use. It is ideal for navigating or working at night or in low-light conditions. It projects a powerful 10 lumen beam up to 30 feet from tough cylindrical 6061 anodized aluminum body- not plastic -weighing just two-tenths of an ounce. The knurled on/off bezel switch ensures it cannot be turned on inadvertently in storage and makes it easier for a user to grip if their hands are cold.

Katadyn Micropur MP1 Chlorine Dioxide Tablets (6) - Recognized as the industry standard in water purification.

Nasco Whirl-Pak® Water Bag -- A lab-quality, sterile, collapsible 1 liter water bag with roll-top closure that features custom-printed instructions and fill line.

Doug Ritter Enhanced Survival Instructions - Building on the waterproof kit-specific Illustrated Survival Instructions he wrote for the original PSP, Ritter expanded on multiple uses for the additional components in the PSP PLUS with additional detailed, easy to understand, practical information.


ADDITIONAL COMPONENTS:

Spark-Lite™ Firestarter - current U.S. military issue, waterproof, useable one-handed, over 1000 sparkings in tests

4 Spark-Lite™ Tinder-Quik™ - current U.S. military issue, waterproof, wax impregnated cotton tinder in zip-top plastic bag, each burns 2-3 minutes

Fox-40® Rescue Howler™ Survival Whistle - designed exclusively for this kit, triple frequency, exceeds U.S. Coast Guard and SOLAS specifications, bright yellow with dual mode lanyard hole

Rescue Flash™ Signal Mirror, 2 x 3 inches (5 x 7.6 cm) Lexan™ polycarbonate with mil-spec style retro-reflective aiming aid for one-handed use, instructions on back, protective cover to prevent scratches while stored in the kit, lanyard hole.

20mm Survival Compass - liquid damped with groove to accept an improvised lanyard ring

Duct Tape - 26 inches x 2 inches (66 x 5 cm), rolled around plastic mandrel, repairs, first aid, the ultimate repair and improvisation component, uses limited only by your imagination

Stainless Steel Utility Wire - 6 ft. of .020 inch (1.83 m x 0.5 mm) mil-spec grade, stronger than brass, won't get brittle in frigid cold, multiple uses

Braided Nylon Cord - 10 ft. (3 m) 150+ lb. (68+ kg) test, won't unravel, shelter building, repairs and much more

#69 Black Nylon Thread - 50 ft. (15.2 m), 10.5 lb. (4.8 kg) test, repairs, fishing line, light duty lashing and much more

Fishing Kit - 4 x medium Fish Hooks, 2 x Split Shot and 1 x Snap Swivel, in a clear plastic vial with cap.

Heavy Duty Sewing Needle - will penetrate heavy materials, easy to grip, large eye for easy threading

4 Safety Pins - repairs, secure items to prevent loss and much more

Heavy Duty Aluminum Foil - 3 sq. ft. (0.9 sq. m), make container to boil water, reflect fire heat and much more

#2 Pencil and Waterproof Notepaper - 2 pieces 2.125 x 3.667 inches (5.4 x 9.3 cm), leave notes, memory aid, keep log

Fresnel Lens Magnifier - 2 x 3 inches (5 x 7.6 cm), in protective sleeve, read small type in survival instructions if glasses lost, start fire using sun

Awesome!

Looking forward to it.

Another eagerly anticipated product.

Have a couple peops on my Christmas list who would appreciate the value.

:-)

Unfortunately, they will have to wait until Christmas 2010. AMK is saying January 2010 delivery. I can only hope we meet that date, wouldn't hold my breath for sooner. <~>

I had to put a bib on to keep from drooling on my scrubs.

Excellent. I'm already excited about chistmas. Thanks for all the hard work Doug.

Sounds perfect. That's almost exactly what I add to my PSP. I'll take two, please.

Slick; very slick! I think we will have Christmas late this year.

A few questions Doug:

What is the colour of the PICO light included in the kit or will it be a random selection of colour OR a user choose selection?

The HD aluminum foil - can you confirm if does or does not have micro holes in it? There was an earlier thread about consumer grade HD foil having pin holes and not being able to hold water.

Any more details on the MK5 - what is the angle on the edge for example? I use a Sharpmaker which has 20* and 15* angles. You probably mentioned it somewhere but I don't recall - what is the steel type? ATS-34?

The Fresnel magnifier: is it the standard 2x magnification of the quality found in bookstores or the better 3-4x magnification that would work better for fire starting?

None the less, the package sounds like a winner. I would strongly recommend that anyone who purchases such a kit also purchase (or assemble) a quality First Aid kit such as one from AMKs selection. (I use a modified ultralight .7) A survival kit and medical kit - one in each pocket of your cargo pants or gear! A great compliment to other gear a person should have on them when they are out in the wilderness OR as a standalone for day hikes and urban situations.

Any announcement of DR products is a great thing.