Hi everyone, it's been a while since I last posted but I do still pop in from time to time.

Phaedrus's thread "Flashback Sunday!" reminded me that I've been wanting to get some more of Doug's pocket survival paks. I've searched for them online but I can't see them in many places. Does anyone know if they have been discontinued?

Yeah, looked a few weeks ago and they seemed scarce.

Flashaholics have the regular PSP it seems.

https://www.flashaholics.co.uk/products/adventure-medical-kits-pocket-survival-pak.html

Alarming but true, it seems the original PSP is out of stock everywhere in the USA as well.

They discontinued both versions some time ago. The new owners of the company were not interested in discussing any further production, unfortunately. To date, have found nobody who is.

So are you saying that if we manage to find a source, to purchase now before they run out of stock?

That's a shame! It's so hard to find a small kit worth carrying and the PSP was one of the few. I must have five of them!

Thanks!

Indeed

I didn't know the company changed owners but that would explain a lot! My gut feeling is that they've really cheaped out and cut quality across the board over the last couple years. Most of their newer kits use lower quality components than they used to. One example is the sparker wheel- instead of the excellent old Spark-Lite most of the newer kits user a larger, gimmicky looking sparker that's not as well made nor as robust as the old one. Much of their stuff seems to be made to a lower standard/price point. Hopefully this doesn't spread to their HeatSheets blankets! They're one of the few reliably high quality "space" blankets on the market.

Lower quality components - a perennial issue with off the shelf kits
But this provides an opportunity to recreate DR's kit using good stuff - we have the specs right before us and the kit can even be customized for specific situations.

For example, I spend significant time on the SoCal Channel Islands. The snare wire in the kit would be of little use there. There are no critters, other than rare and endangered species, besides mice. On the other hand, the table is set at every low tide - an abundance of edibles in every tide pool, plus lots of veggie foods on land. Just personal preference, but I would add a Bic lighter. And so on....

I would have a different kit, and rather different gear in general, for a winter hike in the mountains and hills on the mainland.