May I ask what were the contents of the survival belt?

<img src="images/graemlins/shocked.gif" alt="" />Wow <img src="images/graemlins/shocked.gif" alt="" />

Personally I can't pick just one item. I feel I can cover most scenarios with a knife and a lighter or something of that sort. Sure, I can make a knife out of rock and start a fire with a bowdrill or fire saw, but I feel a bit better prepared if I already have those items on hand.

Well, I would still have to go with the knife. Under most circumstances I'd find myself in a survival situation for in the Pacific Northwest here, a suitable knife would do more for me in a shorter period of time than anything else would.

Now if you were to qualify my physical condition by introducing some broken bones, hypothermia, or maybe even a little shock, well, all I can say is you're gonna have a tough time lighting a bic with all your fingers broken too, or if they are wet and cold, besides which if you are in a soaking rain, firemaking doesn't get a whole lot easier just because you have a lighter. Without an adequate fuel source to feed into a decent flame, it is just a waste of time.

Watch the movie "The Edge" if you want to see how easy it is to go through a box of matches without getting a fire lit. The movie may not have been realistic, but the situation certainly was.

Like I said a couple weeks ago in a similar thread, a good knife and some decent skills should be all you need for all but the absolute worst conditions. Then I think I'd want a lot more than a lighter with me anyways.

Where is this survival situation?

If it's in San Diego in July, forget anything having to do with making fires, it will be warm there. Think about a bottle of sunblock instead.

If it's on a desert island, better give them a reverse-osmosis water purification gizmo.

If it's on a mountain, maybe a signal mirror.

You gotta be a bit more specific about the situation.

Um...er...uh...
is this a trick question?
a multi-tool like a leatherman wave?

i will agree the leatherman wave,xe6 juice, or the crunch one of those would suffice

Well, it seems the major conflict is between knife/multitool and fire-making equipment....

Well, I'd consider buying (if one is available) or else improvising a multitool that includes some sort of firestarting device. Perhaps a small flint could be included as one of the tool blades, or a lighter could somehow be built in along with a small reservoir for lighter fluid. I guess you could call it cheating, but nobody said a multitool counted as more than one item <img src="images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />

You'd still need decent tinder, but you'd have a better chance of improvising that (from scraps of clothing or paper, shaves of dry wood, etc.)

I think the point is, that the more crucial the ability to make a fire quickly becomes, the less able you are to do it with improvised methods. If you're injured or wet, inadequately clothed and hypothermic already, everything around you is wet, or the temperature is well below freezing, you absolutely have to get a good fire going ASAP, and you might not be in a condition to go hunting for sticks to use, making tinder from improvised materials, and the time/ability/dexterity to use them.

So my ideal multitool would have, in addition to the usual knife blade(s), saw, and pliers (and a litany of useless stuff such as corkscrews and bottle openers), a firestarting implement. A small flint would do.

The next addition I'd make would be a small LED light, and after that a good quality flat whistle. These wouldn't be my first choices in an unrestricted case, but these wouldn't be too difficult to incorporate into the classical SAK/multitool paradigm (and thus meeting the "1 item" criterion). A P-38 style can opening attachment would also be useful,

After that, my most important difficult-to-improvise concerns (waterproof shelter, FAK and water purification and storage) couldn't be implemented into a multitool except in the most gratuitous way (e.g. carry the tool inside a condom filled with aspirins, bandages and water purification tablets), and even I agree that would count as cheating <img src="images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />

Food doesn't become much of a concern for the first few days, and with a good multitool, decent shelter and a fire there should be no problems improvising solutions to that problem.

Navigation can be done quite well by the sun and stars.

Nature provides lots of materials for building relatively waterproof shelters (though a tarp would probably be the next item I'd add after the whistle once resigning myself to abandoning the 1 item criterion - it can be used for building shelter and water storage, among other things.).

will this do?
<img src="images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />

Just ONE item ?

That's a very difficult question... If I had the choice between two, it would be :

- a cheap tramontina machete (not holding an edge very well, but it's thin, tough as nails and easy to sharpen with anything in the field)...

- a big, bright orange, brand new Bic lighter.

Choosing between these two would be hard. I'd probably go for the lighter, as stone tools work just as well in the rain, unlike bow drills <img src="images/graemlins/laugh.gif" alt="" />

Cheers,

David