> Silly or dangerous?

Obviously a small kit can't do the job of a big one, but generally having something is better than nothing. If a micro-kit contains the ability to make fire and nothing else, it's still worth having, surely?

It's a while since I tried, but I remember getting quite a lot into a 35mm film cannister. A coin-cell LED torch, matches, striker, tinder, blade, some paper money, sewing needle and thread, tweezers and pen from a SAK, plastic straw. I forget whether I managed a button compass or whether I had to magnetise the sewing needle.

Probably my smallest kit at the moment is a thin money-belt. It contains some money, some plastic bags and some water treatment pills, and a tin-opener. I have it with me in the summer when wear shorts and no jacket, and I don't have room for an Altoids tin.

I also have a micro-kit that is about 1/3rd the size of an Altoids tin (it measures 2"x2"x0.75") and has: mirror, Photon Freedom, compass, ferro rod, hacksaw-blade striker, 3 TinderQuick tabs, cotton wool, scalpel blade, 3 Micropur tablets, water-proof paper, Fisher pen refill, tweezers, safety pins, 1m chord.

It would of course be better to have more. It's a compromise. The mirror is very small, but still better than the shiny tin lid. There is no container for water, but I can hope to be able to improve one on the field. A scalpel blade isn't as a good as an RSK, but it's better than teeth and nails. A button compass is no good for accurate bearings but it'll prevent me walking in circles. I originally designed this kit as a supplement to my EDC, which was weak in fire-making and water purification. My EDC has a better knife, a whistle and some other stuff.