Here's the idea for the contest: design a survival kit costing less that $50.
Your kit description should start with some idea of what kind of scenario it covers: I doubt anybody can design a do-it-all kit for that kind of money, so make some assumptions, and make them explicit! I'm doing this partly for fun, partly to refine some ideas, but mostly to learn!
Suggestions: URLs for items which can be purchased online, nearest-dollar or rougher accounting, and sub-dollar/commodity items can be assumed to come from home at no cost. Or do it your way :-)
Here's my first entry: Muppet's Lost-In-The-Woods Kit
A $50 buck basic survival kit for the "briefly lost in the woods" scenario. The sort of thing one might carry on a day hike which suddenly turns out to take a little longer than expected due to a sprained ankle, or a minimalist kit to outfit an inexperienced friend with.
----------------------- the easy stuff -----------------
- two person sized space blanket - actually a very cool item, I saw them today.
http://www.rei.com/online/store/ProductD...gory_rn=4500522$5
- whistle with compass. REI sells this at three different prices, branded by Coglins, Sunnuto and For Kids.
http://www.rei.com/online/store/ProductD...ory_rn=11549413- OR whistle with compass and waterproof match case
http://store.yahoo.com/wj-enterprises/5insurwhis.html$5
- Iodine for water purification (either potable aqua or 2% tincture of iodine) plus vitamin C to kill the taste
OR
- Potassium permangenate crystals. These sound great, but I can't find any solid information on them online.
$5
- Lifeboat or equivalent matches, plus a bic lighter and a bit of a candle
$5
- Cheap LED flashlight (Dorcy AAA from Walmart or the Energizer LED headlamp for $12)
$10
------------ now some harder choices, $20 left --------------
- knock-off swiss army knife with wood saw (or a cheap or craft knife and a cheap folding saw, also around $10)
http://froogle.google.com/froogle?q=knif...mp;amp;start=30$10
- metal cup / mess kit pan to heat water.
$5
- small bottle of hand sanitizer, and some bug repellent/sun screen
$5
-------------- No money left, stuff from stores, assumed at marginal cost. ----------------
- Recycled soda bottle to carry water.
- String
- Sticking plasters
- Food
- Pen, paper
- Stout garbage bags
- Duct tape :-)
- Safety pins
---------------------------------------------------------------
Your turn :-)
PS: I've crossposted this to a couple of other forums, to see how different communities approach the problem... hope that's OK.