For a kit to be better, the kit one puts together has to at least do everything that the SEVENTY2 can do. Correct?

Jeanette Isabelle

Not neccessarily. A kit has to meet the requirements of the user and resolve conflicting requirements in an acceptable way. The kit that does it better is the better kit. Seasonal changes in requirements may make a modular kit better. Leaving things out that you do not need may also make the kit better. It saves bulk and weight.

I went though the REI website and listed the current retail prices for all the equivalent items in the 72 kit. should have basically the same capabilities. For very little more, one could surpass the capabilities of the 72 kit, by adding a compass and a signal mirror. Food was the single exception, their choice being relatively inadequate for any reasonable level of activity (one does not burn many calories sitting in a lifeboat and the rations are fine if you are completely sedentary.

In the real world, one would shop even more carefully and achieve a result less costly and much more satisfactory. I will admit that I did cheat - at no time was I blindfolded.

I startle at the language "do everything that the 72 kit can do" - the kit, or any kit, doesn't do anything. The user employs the items in the kit and other resources to achieve fire, shelter, etc. The critical component is the knowledge, skills, capabilities, and determination of the survivor-to-be.

This kit is so inadequate in so many ways. I think we covered most of then in the other thread. Anyone buying this hodge-podge is throwing their money away.

Unless otherwise stated, a comparison of kits has to be judged on the functions of the kit, not the requirements of the potential user.

Jeanette Isabelle

Where is this list?


That does not matter as long as you can do what you said you can do.

Jeanette Isabelle

scrawled on a sheet of scrap paper....

How am I supposed to know that everything on your piece of paper can do everything the SEVENTY2 can do?

Jeanette Isabelle

Here is the relevant post:

Just added up my figures - came to a total of $432, subtracting REI's money back patronage dividend (typically 10%), the total expenditure would be under $400, substantially cheaper than the $562 quoted price tag.

I would add several items, notably a compass, signal mirror, and a headlamp. Another item of huge importance is a map or mapping capability - my preference is a reasonably up to date USGS based topographic map, like those issued by National Geographic.

Food is an interesting issue. As the reviewer correctly states, good meals are not an immediate concern. This is true if one is sedentary and not doing arduous travel. If hiking, better chow is a real good idea - at least some kind of caffeine for morale, if nothing else. I deleted food from my above calculations - that is a highly personal issue. I tend to grab GORP, a few energy bars, and a Tanka bar or three as I head out the door - many more calories, and actually nutritious...

In the real world, of course, you will not set down and order blindly from any catalog. Begin with things at hand, items with which you are familiar, and then add to the assemblage as you run across promising gadgets which will eventually be folded into the mix, based on trial and experience. Ultimately this will be cheaper, not that it matters. When your gear must perform, the last consideration is the cost of the item - does it work as expected?

And ideally, this equipment is used, demonstrating its capability, and not stowed away, awaiting a FIAT (Future Imaginary Apocalyptic Time) when society disintegrates and murderous mobs emerge. FIATs may occur, but erupting volcanoes are more common.
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Actually, I had trouble finding items of as low effectiveness as the items included in the 73; I substituted a headlamp for their flashlight.- Most glaringly the omission of a headlamp, a signal mirror, and a compass. This is an astonishing deficiency, and that isn't the end of the shortcomings .

Especially lacking are the cold weather items. Yes, they do include mylar sheets which reflect 90% of your body head. Read the fine print - they reflect 90%mo of your radiant heat. That works well in space, but here on earth, convection and conduction are the dominant mechanisms for heat transfer. The mylar sheets do keep off rain and wind which is some benefit.

I thought it interesting that they did include a beanie, although a balaclava helmet would have been better, but they omitted a full brimmed hat, a vital item in hot climates. Of course this is a problem due to the lack of specificity with regard to climate and environment, always a problem with one-size-fits-all assemblages.

I sincerely hope that if you really intend to use this kit, you will give it a trial run or two (even just in your backyard would be sufficient) and make adjustments and additions accordingly. Your life is worth it.

I feel like a broken vinal record. You can add whatever you want but if you are unable to put together a kit that can at least perform the minimum then you have not done what you claim that you can do.

Jeanette Isabelle

You indeed are repeating yourself. I feel further discussion will not serve any useful purpose. I hate to put it that way, but it is true. It is impossible to literally duplicate this kit from the REI stock, because too many REI items are of higher capability. They can accomplish all the functions of which this limited kit is capable and more besides, for less that 400 dollars. Add in some of the really important items and for about that amount you will have a much more capable assemblage.

Realistically, mix in some of your own tried and true items and the cost is even less. not that it matters when a crisis develops.

I will comment no further. Best wishes....