I agree, Tjin. We often criticize the shortcomings, and debate philosophies, but something is usually better than nothing. If a simple kit building project gets people thinking, it's a god thing.

I have invested in these two items. Kifaru woobie xpress and Snugpak poncho.
I believe they will make me comfortable whatever mother nature throws my way.
Together they form a "minitent" in which one can sit down
with feet tucked under the rainponcho and woobie having ample isolation against cold.

Even warmer when arms are pulled inside.

Snugpak poncho pack size is a couple of (manly)fists. Kifaru woobie bigger but can be compressed quite a bit. Perhaps into a size of 3 litres.

I don't live in the extreme climates of Herman, Jacqui, and most of the rest of the members, but my inclusion of a 2mil contractor trash liner is to act as a bivvy ...with poncho and mosquito netting ... seems like a good way to get off the wet ground (most likely leaning against a tree) a chance to remove your shoes and allow your feet to dry... from AFLM's video, the addition of a high quality candle is a good idea

Contractor's bags are great, Les. You can do so many things with them. I keep one or two in most of my kits. They make an instant dry patch of ground, you can cut em and wear em, stuff em and lay on them, cut them and make a roof out of them, you can make water potable with em if they're clear, you can carry stuff in em, wrap stuff with em, make signal flags and trail markers, etc., etc... I'd put them right up there with the bandana.

It occurs to me that if you were going to make a survival kit out of a fanny pack, you might want to consider one with a water bottle holder, or a water bottle holder add-on.

FWIW....a 2mil contractor bag can be vacuumed down to about 3/8" thick at the fold and 5 1/2" square... without puncturing the bag, it is difficult to remove all the air with my Food Saver...

I don't have an issue with minor differences in philosophy, but a kit made up like the one the OP showed exhibits horrible ideas that will not be helpful in any real emergency. Those kinds of things ought to be exposed for what they are. Talking about why they are such bad ideas is a good thing as it makes us think a little about just what such a kit ought to cover.

I have never been a big fan of the Altoids type kits. I just don't see them as especially useful. The way I see it the stuff that is truly useful in such a kit would probably fit in a 35mm film canister. The rest of it is just there to fill in the empty space. But, I do see talking about the contents of such kits to be useful.

a little more sophisticated and better quality... I like the thought process of Beast 12101.. in case you have not seen this reply for a 20 item "survival kit"

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xa4oiYwtLbE

Off topic, but it made me giggle: "Canada, the land where you can get a sunburn and frostbite in the same day."

On topic : Today was the perfect example - sun, high winds, rain, hail and snow, alternating all day long. I don't know what the actual temps were, but it went from warm to chilly and back again several times, and it's almost cold now. (By Canuckian standards.) I would've hated to be voluntarily camping in it, never mind getting caught out it in. My kits, especially in Spring and Fall, need to cover all the elements dependably. Shelter, fire and water are top priorities, and in these seasons of heightened hypothermia risk, high energy food makes the list too.

If you're going to take along a pocket kit to help you battle these elements, you need good quality stuff that you can depend on. That doesn't mean top of the line but, especially if you're less experienced or with less experienced people, you don't want to have to depend on cheap, easily broken stuff

Of course, a wise person would have checked the weather report and planned accordingly, including getting out of it when things started turning ugly.

it was 33F this morning when the beagle and I went out for our morning 3.25 mile walk.

it is supposed to be in the 80s tomorrow.