I ordered a Ritter RSK Mk5 knife and all the bits and pieces to assemble the survival tin based on the Doug’s instructions that accompany the knife. I’ve been carrying the tin in the cargo pocket of my 5.11 pants for the past few days and hardly notice it.

In lieu of Band-Aids I’m experimenting with 3M’s Nexcare Waterproof Skin Cover.

Altoids Tin
RSK Mk5 Knife
DR Special Edition Photon Freedom Micro-Light
Signal Mirror*
Whistle*
Spark-Lite Firestarter*
X4 Tinder-Quik*
Compass*
X2 Micro-Pur Tablets
X2 Pieces Rip-Stop Tape
X2 Pieces of Nexcare Waterproof Skin Cover
Heavy Duty Sewing Needle pre-Threaded*
Safety Pin*
Large Paper Clip (MacGyver Multi-Tool)

* From Adventure Medical Kit's PSP





Surprisingly, everything fits and the lid snaps shut!

Cheers,
W-W

Sweet!. The more I hold my Mk5 the more impressed I am with it. I especially like the little "teeth" that provide thumb friction. They are dead nuts in the right spot and feel grippy without being irritating. I've never seen those kind of teeth on another knife - it that something unique to the Mk5???

I've been meaning to play with the Mk5's lanyard to make sure it fits my hand right - looped around my pinkie finger - but haven't had time yet.

You might want to put some kind of thin cord on the Micro-light and whistle to make them less likely to be dropded (I like the little keychain clip it comes with). I've also thought about drilling a hole in the Spark-Lite and putting a small cord through it. I would also try to include some kind of cordage in the kit - if nothing else enough to act as a necklace to carry key items - whistle, light, ... and/or to bind up branches for a shelter.

BTW, I've been looking at the orange "Tether Cord" at countycomm.com. It looks like it would make nice space-saving lanyards for lights, compasses, ... where paracord would just be too big/thick. I'll need to wait until I am buying something else so I can justify the shipping cost.

I've wondered about the logic of dropping the PSP's ziplok pouch in favor of the tin. I saw the pouch as a way to scoop up water - better than a tin. Am I missing an advantage of the tin??

Also, some of the gear in Doug's PSP has been left out of your Mk5 tin (not sure if you started with a PSP or not). Doug's web site indicates it will fit with the PICO light. Will those bits not fit along with the Micro-light and Micropur tablets?

Also, without some kind of 1 quart/liter water container (Ziplok bag, turkey bag, ...), how would someone use the Micropur tablets? That's something I wondered about since I slipped the tablets in my own PSP pouch.

Izzy (and maybe Doug),

I really REALLY wish someone could do a good quantitative test of the common signal mirrors, including some testing of the effect of mirror size on visibility. I'd include:

3x5 glass - the military kind
2x3 glass - I bought mine from countycomm.com
StarFlash 3x5
StarFlash 2x3
AMK Rescue Flash 2x3

The mirror and whistle were developed for and tested extensively by Doug Ritter for the AMK PSP, see http://www.equipped.org/psp/amk_psp_faq.htm I'm not sure if the mini version of the Rescue Flash™ Signal Mirror has received the same level of testing.

I like it.

I'd probably swap the paperclip for a second safetypin, but that's about it, and then make sure it was well taped on the outside.

There was a question about tins vs pouches. The answer I have is that it is a sliding scale between crush resistance and moisture resistance, until you shoot off on a tangent and go to things like Otterboxes and mini Pelicans.

Fish hooks. 20' SpyderWire.

They have a lot of uses. Fishing for lunch, snagging dropped items, mini grappeling hook.

Mine is similar, but I also put a few matches from REI, and a striker, in mine. Heat, at least in my neck of the woods, would be more important than just about anything else. An EASY, foolproof way to make fire is imperative.

This site has both. I've shopped with them multiple times and always gotten good, fast service.

Ditto +1!

Here is a look at a few mirrors.

Hello,

I've been carrying this kit about a month in the cargo pocket of my 5.11 pants and hardly notice it is there. Surprisingly there is very little room inside the armored vehicles we get around in, and have no doubt that a kit in a soft container would have been crushed by now. Along with its small size the Altoids tin offer a need component of protection to the kits contents. I have used electrical tape to seal the tin and keep it in a Ziploc bag for added protection. Given the blackout conditions I often find myself in I've ordered a COVERT Freedom Micro – RED LED to replace the Ritter Freedom Micro – WHITE LED.

Cheers,
W-W