I have two different PSKs, one for urban environments and the second for my wilderness trips. The urban kit contains things like a lighter, whistle, safety pins, sewing needles, dental floss, bandaids, some meds, duct tape and a flashlight. It does not contain anything to eat or purify water. Separate from this urban kit I always carry a leatherman (wave or kick), SAK Traveller, and on my keychain is a whistle, LED flashlight and a P-38. This kit is designed to a) take care of small "emergencies" such as fixing a tear in DD's goody bag, or a minor burn and b)help me make it home if something happens while I'm away from the house. I'm not too concerned about finding water in this urban/suburban environment.

My wilderness kit is only slightly larger. It contains things like a spare compass, three different fire-starters (storm matches, bic lighter and mag bar), a Heatsheet, some rope, signal mirror, water purification tabs, another whistle and a small Gerber lockback knife. This PSK is designed for me to shelter myself and signal for help in case I get lost/hurt in the woods.

Currently I carry a separate, large first aid kit in my wilderness backpack but no 1st aid stuff in my wilderness PSK. This thread is making me rethink that though. I might add a roll of guaze and some sewing needles (not to suture but to patch torn clothes).

-Blast

p.s. I should also mention that both our cars have BOBs which include clothing, shelter, water, tools, data, etc...

I had a commander one time who thought he was pretty tough. One day he managed to slice himself pretty good, and had apparently just seen Rambo, 'cuz he decided to stich himself up. Got halfway thru the first stitch and decided that Rambo is a lot tougher than than he looks, so off to the ER he went. He sait that sticking a needle in already inflamed flesh HURTS!!!

And then there is that infection thing, which of course he never thought about...

Expired suture-kits do make great sewing kit's!

My PSK is designed to get me home. I'll be buggin in unless my home is toast.
Other than my EDC I keep my PSK in the back of my Jeep. Even at work I'm never too far from it and as long as I can keep it moving I'll make it home. If for some reason I have to spend a few days/nights in the process I'm slowly getting prepared.
One of the bigest faults that I have is keeping too much in it. If I need to carry it I want to weight around 25-30 pounds max.

"Most survival situations last from 3 to 5 days".
Five days without food? Not if I can help it. And what happens if the situation goes beyond the 5 day mark?

My survival kit is tailored to do two things:
1) Stabilise the immediate situation. Thus giving me time to think, plan, reconnotre the surrounding area.
2) Provide me with tool's that maximise my ability to return.
Many people assume that they will be rescued in 1 to 5 days. Perhaps they will be, or perhaps not. How long will they search for you? Will you be written off as missing, presumed lost? Will conditions allow for a search?
I decided a long time ago that I would use the first 24hrs to provide myself with shelter etc. After that I start looking for food and materials in earnest. The quicker you start, the greater chance you have of keeping body and soul together.

In the event that I foresee myself traveling in country such as the Inuit do, where a persons clothes must remain intact to avoid freezing while moving about (on the hunt perhaps), I will add a strong needle and a length of strong thread (in case I must leave the shelter, thus exposing myself to the freezing arctic winds). My response may sound a bit sarcastic, and it may in fact be, but still, just because the Inuit may highly value a sewing kit, doesn't mean that they sleep in their clothes. I learned early on that a shelter is the first priority in a survival situation, not being able to fight the artic winds on my way to the nearest town. But then again, different people foresee different scenarios. I'm not saying you shouldn't carry a sewing kit or a sewing machine for that matter, but I won't, only because I don't foresee needing one, not in a PSK, regardless of the minimal bulk and weight. Why not carry a toothpick? They weight next to nothing and might come in handy too! Oh, and what about a bit of wire and steel wool in case you decide to use your flashlight batteries to start a fire. Why use a lighter when in a survival situation you can really justify using all the tricks of the fire-making trade. After all, those items weigh very little and even the wool can be compressed so it doesn't take up much space. Wow, and how about a single .22LR bullet (the gunpowder can be used to start a fire), and a magnifying glass too! What about a few coins so that you can make a phone call, or a calling card for that matter, both of which take up very little space.
Anyways, my PSK is very small, I don't even know I'm carrying it because it isn't any bigger than what I absolutely need. Less is more. By the way, I enjoyed reading all your responses, and I'm not knocking any of you. Autonomy is a great thing, but I can't justify accessorizing my PSK to personally fanciful tastes, at least not in theory.

I didn't say I wouldn't eat, just that I wouldn't need a feast to see me trough 5 days awaiting rescue. I can SURVIVE on herbs, pine needles, worms, crickets, etc. for 5 days. Now if I could catch a fish with something other than my shirt, I would be LIVING not surviving wouldn't I?
I'm just saying a PSK is just that, nothing but a PSK. My fishing gear goes in my wilderness expedition kit, which I consequently don't take with me on planes.

So let's see your kit.
Show us your goods and let the forum have an opportunity to critique it. Your tone suggests that think you know more than some here; prove it by showing a useful and thought out kit with quality tools. Or you are trolling? You points seem more argumentative than constuctive.

The Inuit don't differentiate daily life from survival as we do. Their sewing kits are a part of every day life for them, as are all of their belongings, and all of their belongings are necessary to their survival.
Oh, and when you travel by plane, do you leave your entire PSK behind or just your knife. There's a little legality issue there. But it does illustrate how our lives are very seldom reliant upon survival items, and even less reliant on arctic survival items, so I don't quite follow the logic of your Inuit parallel. And besides, unless you are wearing clothes comparable to what the Inuit are wearing (very thick hair insulation surrounded by waterproof skin), your sewing kit will not help you, let alone save you.

I do know more than some, as does everyone else, including you. Argumentation may yet be discovered to be the key to knowledge (or do they call that debate in your world), so maybe you are right about me "trolling", whatever that means. But perhaps I am being constructive in that I am simply looking to interact with those who think in a similar vein as I, so to speak, or is it of your expert opinion that I am the only one, or is it simply your suggestive tone? Since when is "the forum" of one mind anyways? I have no means as of yet to upload a photo so you can critique my kit, but when I get it up, some day, I hope you will critique it. I like being critiqued. It is one of the ways I learn, as with everybody else, including you.