Ah, I see it now. We prepare for different scenarios. I work in a 1 story building with an exit within 20 yards of my cube. I don't attempt to carry the bulky "dig out of the rubble" gear that you seem to need. Further I have a center punch in my vest pocket and a window within 5 feet which is perfectly adequate egress. The surrounding area outside is a LARGE car-park and accross the street is a conservation area of a few hundred acres. I am not exactly downtown at work or at home. I suppose that if I were to prepare for evac from a hi-rise in a downtown area I might have some packing problems too.

Have you considered smaller items? Swimm goggles instead of dust goggles? foldable paper dust-masks with some duct-tape or perhaps an evac-u-8 hood. Are you sure you will be able to do anything useful with a mini-prybar? Seems like a very heavy - bulky item that will only move small items at-best. Is there anything that you could pry with that pry-bar that you couldn't actually simply lift if you had to? Are there enough desk legs and other expedient pry-bars available so you don't need to carry it? Sinclair x10 radio gets you FM in your ear without any space taken up.

Leather gloves - I got those. Not work gloves just driving gloves. They fit in my jacket pocket and take up little room but they would protect my hands from sharps for a quick evac.

How big is your FAK? What are your qualifications? I have a FAK in an altoids tin that I carry everywhere with bandaids, scissors, bacitracin, safety-pins, tweezers, magnifying glass, cpr mask, latex gloves, ibuprofin, razor blade, Xacto blade, P.A. tabs. I also have an EMT-Basic duffle bag (which I leave in my vehicle) which has airways, large bandaids, stethescope and BP Cuff, NRB Mask and bag, Splints, Tape, Elastic wrap, Gauze, Slings, Klingwrap etc... If you are carrying something more like my EMT-Basic duffle then I fully understand the carry problem. Again if your scenario puts you far from your vehicle and you have the training to use the larger FAK then you have a scenario need that I don't encounter.

BTW, I work in casual attire and as I sit here I have:

1 4X6 nylon waterproof tarp,
1 Space Blanket
1 Plastic emergency poncho
1 Large stowable carry bag
1 Eye Shades
1 Earplugs
1 Brush
1 Lint Brush - (Hey I'm just listing it as I find it - You gotta look smart even if times are tough)
2 Handwarmers
1 bottle 50 no-doz
1 polyester balaclava
1 Cell phone with spare battery
1 micro-cassette recorder
1 roll stamps
1 pack 10 mini-cigars - tasty and they make great tinder
1 mini-bic
1 wind-proof butane with piezo ignition
1 Small mint-tin various medications (ibuprofin, acetomenefin, Immodium, diphenhydramine, tumms
1 inspirational mini-book
1 chess set
1 large Bandanna
1 pen
1 mechanical pencil
1 whistle
1 springloaded center-punch
1 match safe with compass with storm-proof matches
1 extensible magnetic pickup tool
1 AA mag-lite
1 leatherman wave
1 asp saphire light
1 mini-multitool with built-in LED
1 Swiss-tech utili-key
1 Swiss-tech microtech+
1 sewing kit in an Altoids Breath-strips pack
1 regular-bic
1 Altoids FAK
1 Altoids PSK
1 Wallet with cash and cards and id

If I get my jacket on the way out of the cube (not gauranteed) I will also have

1 multifunction lighter with compass and Led
1 pair leather driving gloves
1 roll dimes
1 1oz bottle hand sanitizer
1 another mini-bic
1 another flashlight
1 mini-roll TP

If I get to my car I will have

1 Large EMT-Basic duffle

1 Fanny pack with
1 100' paracord
1 8x12 Binoc's
1 another space blanket
1 another plastic poncho
1 Large Contractor Trash bag
1 another small (Hikers) FAK
1 Another AA mag-lite

1 Large Vehicle kit with
2 gallons water
4 Space blankets
4 vinyl ponchos
8 tie-down straps
2 Road flares
1 hazard triangle
1 100 ft roll Duct-tape
1 Film canister matches
Extra fluids for everything ATF, Oil, P.Steering, Windshield Washer, Coolant
fix-a-flat, radiater sealant, transmission sealant, crank-case sealant, ether starter fluid
1 Tow strap
1 hand-powered come-along
1 E-tool
1 package mechanics rags
1 roll paper towels
1 roll TP
1 Mobile Ham station
1 Ham HT


That's todays layers as best I can figure. Might have missed some of the vehicle kit since I didn't go out and inventory.

slayer,

Of all the items I have in my various kits the needle and thread have come in handy many more times than just about anything else, other than a knife or multitool perhaps. It is not always about major emergencies...sometimes sewing a button on your pants seems like a real emergency <img src="images/graemlins/smirk.gif" alt="" />

A kit or more properly multi-kits is always around me. I follow the MiniMe approach of on-body, coat, desk, shoulder bag, and car kits each getting bigger or having better items.

My desk kit has the rubble kit---3' pry bar, hardhat, and lots of extra water so I do not carry these around.

I always think of these as concentric rings of better equipment but all relying on the same set of basic skills.

Minimum is the on-body and while my scenario does not use a PSK tin it does use a PSK vest and pockets and belt to have what I consider the absolute minimum. BTW needle and thread is one of the items that meets my absolute minimum test.

my personal belief is that the psk is there to kick start your survival mind set and provide you with a few fairly basic items that you will need as a minimum to deal with the problems in a short term situation.

Well, I don't strictly "need" the bulky stuff. I carry it because it helps me feel more prepared and the areas in which I live and work, while not urban, are very heavily developed suburbia.

The mini-prybar is simply a cool bit of gear I probably could do without. Swim goggles won't work because I wear glasses. That's a weakspot. I'm extremely nearsighted and need bifocals now (I'm 42). If I lose my glasses, you will not only be driving me home, you'll be walking me to my door, too.

I carry the bulky stuff because they are useful for more than just digging out of rubble. There are car accidents all the time in this area. One day I will be Johnny-on-the-spot and I need to be ready.

Also, the nearby mall is the King of Prussia Mall. I am there frequently and it is, in my opinion, a prime target, if you get my drift. Just trying to be prepared here.

I don't expect anything to happen to me while I'm at work. It's commuting and "mall-ratting" that I'm planning for.

Gotta hand it to you. You are WAY more prepared than I am. I think I must upgrade.

My Vest weighs in above 5 pounds but since it is a vest (and a very well constructed filsons vest at that (thanks Randy!) ) it wears light. I don't even notice the weight of the vest and gear. occasionally I will notice the bulk and warmth of the vest tho.

The Filson's stuff is expensive. It looks great, but no can affordo.

>>If you have to perform rescue breathing to a victim who has a broken neck and your by yourself the book I was reading said to safety pin the victims tough to their lip to keep it from blocking the air way

Oh, god, scout, don't even think that, it makes me cringe. Far better to take a proper CPR course and learn how to do a jaw thrust without head tilt, or carry a cheap pocket mask (I have one from Saint John Ambulance that's 2" x 2" x 1" and clips on my keyring.)

If you absolutely have to leave the casualty to go for help, that's a different matter; but in that case, you shouldn't leave them on their back anyway, you should roll them over (even with a head injury) in case they vomit and choke.

I cannot conceive of a situation where you would need to safety-pin a casualty's tongue to their lip, ever. What happens if the casualty regains consciousness? Do you really want to try maintaining C-spine on a casualty who's convulsing with pain because of something you did?

Don't even think about it. Get a proper First Aid book, or better yet, take a Red Cross or equivalent course.

For the most part Filson stuff is only initially expensive. My experience is that it both out performs and more importantly out last other stuff so the cost per mile is lower than other things.

Really though the vest concept is just a great way of providing both coverage of your tools on the belt, storage of items that are hard to carry otherwise (tarp or plastic shelter, wool hat, wool gloves), and provides a great barrier to temperature changes. If I had to exit my building with only my on-body I would have shelter to be warm enough (not warm as I would like in the winter but enough) and dry, this is way more than my work mates.

I bought my current vest over 4 years ago at $100....still going strong and well worth the $25 per year.

A decent woolrich or like vest will serve just as well and may last as long but my Filson Vest to me is the most valuable kit item I have ever found.

I second aardwolf's cautions here. I cannot imagine the safety pin proceedure as being anything but torture.

To be honest, when I first came to this forum I, too, questioned the need for "Urban Survival Kits". Personally, I don't feel undressed if I go to work without an Altoids tin in my pocket. On the other hand, I was on a train from Toronto to Ottawa when the big power blackout occurred; and my widowed mother (80 years old yesterday) was without power for several days when Hurricane Juan went through Nova Scotia. I actually did have to dig the Photon Microlight out of my Altoids tin (which I had in my rucksack) when I got to Ottawa in the dark - and that was because I had stupidly left my car keys, with my "everyday" Photon, at my sister's house in Toronto.

I do carry a credit card sized Fresnel lens in my wallet; I also laminated a cotton ball to the back of my Wilderness First Aid Instructor's wallet card, and I carry a blank key with 5 Ronson lighter flints crazy-glued to it (secured with a 1" piece of clear shrink tubing) and a SAK Classic on my keyring, so I pretty much always have flint, striker and tinder on my person.

As an aside, I got interested in survival several years ago when I heard a news article about a farmer in northern Alberta who died after he accidentally locked himself out of the house. He was found frozen to death in his own barn, sitting next to a wood stove filled with fuel; he didn't have any matches.

I haven't had anyone poke fun at me for carring survival supplies, but then, it's not part of my personality to draw attention to my PSK, no matter how proud I might be of it. The "flint" key on my keychain looks just like a regular key unless you examine it closely, and most people don't go through my wallet to see what I've got in it <img src="images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" /> (Even if they did, they probably wouldn't know what it was.)

On the other side of the coin, a co-worker (and fellow lightplane pilot) just returned from a trip to California, where he picked up a new single-seat airplane (a YaK aerobatic plane that he plans to fly in airshows), and a month ago he ferried a homebuilt from Alberta to Nova Scotia. Knowing of my interest in wilderness survival, both times he asked if I would put together a small survival kit for him.