I am a new member and want to share my own survival kits<br>others being standard , I add something<br>1. lighter ( some lighters in HK as small as one cigarette<br>2. mini axe with no handle . I made myself and weights only 1/2 lbs . very good for heavy cutting.<br>3. a stainless steel wire for making bow . very powerful in hunting.<br>4. several nails for making arrows head<br>5. 2 small size sharp fruit knife (I took off the rubber handle ) to make spear and hunting fish.<br>6. I bought a fish net ( around 20 inches in diameter ) from aquarium ( us$2) for fishing (nearly no weights and occupies no space ) .<br>7. I am designing a powerful small arhery for hunting with primitive knife. Please advise yours' experience and opinion.<br>8. I also add a very strong rubber band for making Y-shape <br>archery. only 6 us$.<br>9. recently i found a 3 inch boot knife in HK ,very tough stainless steel and light weight. only 4us$ each. <br>10. I think only the knife and saw are most important in multitools.<br>11. I used iron-steel knife instead of carbon steel since under very cold weather , the carbon steel is very easy to be broken , ( I have not tried the very expensive one's upto 200us$ since I am not brave enough to break my 200US knife.)<P ID="edit"><FONT SIZE=-1><EM>Edited by david copper on 03/01/01 05:30 AM (server time).</EM></FONT></P>

David,what nation are you from?Please define all iron vs.carbon steel in knifes.I shattered a USAF survival knife in sub zero temp.This was in the 1970's,and I was gifted with a Finnish Puukko. It broke every rule of design,but never broke! I even matched it to a rare Finnish Lahti service pistol.This huge 9mm is the only firearm specifically engineered for cold weather!Are you constructing a sling shot?<br><br>

Australia.<br>I read a lot of articles regarding metal properties. Carbon steel is definitely hard, light weight , amazingly sharp , easy to be resharpened and not easy to be blunt. Don't use it to chop. <br>I watched a documentary video regarding some minority tribes in Siberia who play survival game for their whole life . They choosed iron axe , forest knife as fudamental survival tools though their handmade mink boot worths several Rambo's knife.<br><br>I myself like very primitive , very cheap and self-make survival tools instead of modern technology .<br><br>I am constructing a "shot bow " which combines the advantages of a cross bow , archery , fishgun , and must be light weight , occupies no space , cheap , precise , long range , easy to make with a Victoronix multitools knife ( I have already given up using my Buck's knife )<br><br>I enjoy talking in this forum and I learn a lot from you guys.<br><br><br><br>

can you tell me more about your "shot bow"?<br><br>"Audaces Fortuna Iuvat"

isnt the Glock engineered for cold weather chris? www.glock.com<br>very very reliable pistols last for ever and shoot nicley :)<br><br>

Ron, Yes glocks are nice and perform well in cold climates. The Lahti pistol was the first pistol designed with extreme cold weather conditions in mind, and aquitted itself well in the Winter War while other systems failed. It is a mute point really. During my Arctic survival course training at Elmendorf AFB Alaska it was so cold the cartridges in our Ithaca survival rifles would not detonate. When you experience that phenomenon, you appreciate the less glamorous gear,Magnesium bars, matches, survival shelters, candles, parkas, etc. Did I mention firemaking items?<br><br>

Wow what are we talkin here below 0 temps ? my favorite tool would be a shovel and a had saw to make snow shelter with.<br><br>

It was minus 28 degrees, without factoring in the wind chill factor.If you ever expect to travel in heavy snow, Exploration products has an outstanding snow saw. I felt the need for one in this 100 degree+ weather and just received it LOL. The Grand Canyon actually receives more annual snowfall than St. Paul Minn.!!!!!!!!<br><br>