What do you carry in your urban survival kit?

On-person and daypack:<br><br>appropriate clothing<br>Benchmade 720BT or 705<br>SureFire E2eHA with spares carrier<br>Leatherman Micra<br>Leatherman Supertool 200<br>(3) Photon 3's (white, red, and yellow)<br>synthetic koppo stick<br>Fisher Bullet space pen<br>tweezers and fingernail clippers<br>small sewing kit<br>(12) bandaids<br>keychain capsule with (6) aspirin<br>(2) "lawn&leaf" size trash bags<br>sunglasses<br>mobile phone<br>$1.50 in assorted change and $50.00 in assorted bills<br><br>I'm always trying to revise and upgrade.<br><br>

Mine has sort of settled down in three "tiers". I carry a shoulder poch that can convert into a small pack (padded shoulder straps behind a zippered panel) for my commute and keep it in the car when I'm driving. Aside from books, papers etc. the poiuch contains some items that are awkward to get into a tin... a tiny umbrella, fleece cap, folding water bottle, sunglasses, palmtop computer, spare reading glasses, that sort of thing. There's also a large tobacco-size tin for small items. <br><br>However, I've recently added another tin to the mix, one of the Altoids-size (Windmill) tins to cover those instances when I do walk away from my desk, and the pouch, during the day. By segregating those bare essentials into a very small tin, I can take that out of one of the pouch pockets, slip it into a pants pocket, and have at least that with me when I leave for meetings or lunch. I was caught without my pouch once for hours when I returned from lunch to find the building evacuated for a fire alarm.<br><br>Outside of the pouch and kits, I'm almost always carrying a cell phone, a Leatherman Micra and a Windmill lighter loose in my pockets, a Fresnel lens, an oven bag (for water), a P38 can opener, a Brunton card/compass, and a silve pen in my wallet, a BSA "Hot Spark" on my key chain, and often some larger folder on my person somewhere. <br><br>Inside the pouch and kits:<br><br>Money- currently $150 in bills and 70 cents in change.<br>Emergency phone numbers and phone card number<br>a "permanent match" lighter<br>a second P38 can opener (doubles as flint striker)<br>one button compass (small kit) and a somewhat larger wrist compass<br>fleece cap and neck gaitor<br>Gerber LST folding knife<br>3 safety pins, 1 paperclip<br>4 nylon wire bundlers<br>2 lawn-and-leaf bags<br>1 Totes pocket umbrella (I carry a larger one when it's actually raining when I leave)<br>1 Platypus folding water bottle<br>Photon 3 LED flashlight<br>1 large black silk bandanna<br>at least 2 pairs of spare reading glasses, folding, plus normal spares in pouch<br>one pair of sunglasses<br>2 kits of 2 needles, one threader, and strong nylon thread each <br>3 "Mycoal" brand chemical heat pads<br>1 bundle of 10 feet nylon cord, 1 of 30 feet<br>1 small roll of duct tape<br>1 ACR emergency whistle<br>1 pager-size FM radio with earbuds and 1 spare coin battery<br>3 folded maps<br>2 REI "Featherweight" mirrors, one full size and one cut down<br>1 Leatherman "Mini"<br>1 Fisher "stowaway" space pen (the pouch carries two more Fisher Military pens)<br>2 more oven bags with twist-ties<br>Spare keys for house and vehicle<br><br>I keep a pair of running shoes in a bag in a desk drawer.<br><br>There's probably something in there I've forgotten. There's a lot more in my vehicle, but currently my vehicle is a LONG way away while I'm working during the day.<br><br>I'm thinking about getting one of those ultralight silicone-nyon ponchos to carry for real downpours. I want to get one of those Sinclair earbud radios for the small tin, and possibly a small AM/FM/TV band radio for the pouch.<br><br>Always open to suggestions...

I live in the country and usually work in urban areas. ( I never really know where I will be from day to day) I always carry the same things. This is the bare minimum on my person.<br><br>I have blue eyes. I dont go through my front door without sunglasses.<br>tin with normal stuff. Its similar to Doug's example <br>lock blade swiss army knife<br>swiss-tech mariner<br>ASP saphire on short lanyard<br>fox-40 whistle (my dog answers to it now. he picked up that one on his own)<br>one orange hankerchief (everyone in Tennessee thinks its a football thing)<br>357 magnum rigged for concealed carry night combat (thats what the ASP is for)<br>one reload<br><br>I dont worry about disasters, accidents or rabid animals as much as I do the people in some of the areas I go to. They usually dont build factories in the middle of ritzy neighborhoods.

We had a thread a while back on the urban survival kit / EDC items. You may want to do a search on it.<br><br>I carry the stuff in an altoids tin <br><br>It's contents are:<br>1. mini disposable butane lighter<br>2. aluminium whistle with waterproof container which has 10 aquatabs water purification tablets and 2 cotton balls with petroleum jelly.<br>3. roll of dental floss<br>4. 1 med + 1 large sewing needle + thread<br>5. 2 x paracetamol + codiene<br>6. 2x Polaramine SR 6mg (antihistamine)<br>7. 2x Diphenoxylate / atropine (anti-diarrhoea and antispasmodic)<br>8. Princeton Tec Pulsar II<br>9. 3 safety pins (s/m/l)<br>10. 2x alcohol swabs<br>11. 1 cotton bud/1 cotton bud w/providone iodine<br>12.30cm duct tape<br>13. 2x adhesive bandages<br>14. 2 oven bags with plastic tie<br>15. 5 pc paper<br>16. 2 x paper clips<br>17. 1x nail clipper<br>18. 1 small paper cutter blade.<br>19. 1 fresnel lens<br>20. 1 $10 note<br>21. 2 x 10c coins to make phone calls<br>22. Mini Golf pen<br>23. 16mm compass<br>24. 2 spilt rings with homemade wire saw<br>25. 2 bandaids<br>26. 3 twist ties<br>26 2x self relighting trick birthday candles<br>tin is kept closed a ranger band.<br><br>I'm into the contents of the tin constantly, e.g. pen, paper, duct tape, meds, bandaids, light, dental floss, safety pins, nail clipper etc....<br><br>I also carry a leatherman wave on belt, have a princeton tech pulsar 2 and acme tornado whistle on keychain and a SOG X-ray vision with 10 ft paracord lanyard (tied up nicely)<br><br>Actually, its just the junk I carry daily which i think would be useful all chucked into a altoids tin.. <br><br>

How did you fit everything into such a small kit. I am in the process of building my own EDC and would love to see pictures of this kit.

I'm sorry. I have no pics of the kit.<br>The largest items in the kit are the whistle, lighter, princton tec light.These follow the length of the tin.<br>The lighter is a small pen like lighter about the length of the altoids tin and up to about the width of a pen.<br>like these <br><br><br>By the way, they make excellent spark lite wanna-bes when modified..... <br>The whistle is a small aluminum whistle with a pill container screwed on where I keep the water purification tabs.<br>I fold the bags up very thightly and hold them with rubber bands. All the rest are small bits which go in here and there as they are flat and small. Every corner of the tin is filled up and hence the ranger band to hold it closed!<br><br>HTH<br><br><br><br>

Where'd you get the whistle? I would be interested in such a tool.

My soft side briefcase contains:<br>Small tin with the normal array of small items (like Doug's kit) - A duplicate tin goes in a jacket pocket in cooler weather.<br>Small umbrella<br>Small first aid kit<br>Surefire 6P light w/extra batteries (1 set)<br>AAA Maglight (fits in an ink pen slot)<br>Palm computer<br>Batteries (4 AAA for maglight & Palm)<br>Emergency Poncho<br>Space blanket<br>Benchmade folder<br>Whistle<br>$20 in bills<br>$2 in quarters<br>Chewing gum<br>Mints<br>2 candy bars<br>Small bottle of water<br>Pens / paper / work material<br><br>On my person:<br>Leatherman wave on belt<br>Folding knife in pocket (currently carrying a Spyderco Delica)<br>Tube chapstick<br>Bic lighter<br>Photon I attached to a Cold Steel Mini-pal<br>Bandanna<br>Wallet: Money, cards, phone numbers, morse code sheet, band-aids, safety pins, & toothpicks<br>Watch (can't live without it)<br>Glock 23 w/extra mag. (goes most places)<br><br>My keychain:<br>Keys<br>Small CPR mask<br>Small SAK<br>Photon II<br>Nail clippers<br>Fire Department ID badge<br><br>Kev

Actually I found it in a hardware store believe it not.<br>It was lablled 'Survival whistle' and touted a waterproof compartment for pills.<br>I suppose the size is right for GTN (heart pills), but is also great for chlorine water purification tablets. I think iodine would react rather nastily with the anodised aluminium.<br><br>If you have trouble locating on I can get one and send it to you (via the lunch box / trangia box shipment I'll be making to schwert soon.... sigh, still waiting for the stock to arrive... )<br><br>

Trusbx,<br><br>Might as well toss in a few of these whistle/containers<br><br>I am curious about them. Most of the combo whistle/compass/matchsafe/whatever devices I have seen here are large, bulky, and toy-like. <br>

My Urban carry is very similar to what Presumed Lost has posted below, but this is what works for me:<br>Cel-phone on belt<br>In my pockets:<br>Altoids tin PSK (Doug style)<br>Leatherman Wave with Bic lighter in pouch<br>Kershaw liner folding knife<br>Tums<br>Spare cel-phone battery in back pocket<br>On my keychain:<br>Mini-Mag flashlight<br>Bar Creek Lockback knife (holds a sharp edge and used constantly - $4.99 at Wal-Mart)<br>Small emergency whistle-led flashlight. (don't know brand)<br>In my soft sided briefcase:<br>Various work related items<br>Bible<br>Maps of Tri-County area, three closest states, and USA<br>Sports bottle with water<br>Zippered Day-Runner with Cel Phone pocket<br>Inside the Day-Runner:<br>In the cel-phone pocket I carry a Sony AM-FM-TV-Weather cassette radio with ear buds because I've found that TV news in an emergency situation is more up to the minute and reliable than local radio stations. <br>Velcro-ed in on that side are:<br>Sheffield folding knife<br>Aqua Pur<br>pepper spray<br>bic lighter, <br>AA flashlight, <br>mini multi-tool, larger multi tool<br>lightstick<br>Coleman compass-thermometer<br>Metal whistle and lanyard<br>tea-lite candle. <br>In pockets on other side are:<br>Pictures of family<br>50 feet nylon cord wrapped on cardboard<br>MSA affinity plus dust mask 7-1554-1 NIOSH N95<br>Emergency and family phone numbers and phone card info<br>Paper, pencil, large rubber bands, paper clips<br>Several sizes ACCO metal clips (Office Depot - Very Useful)<br>2 Planters Peanut Bars<br>Pouch with various meds and waterproof matches<br>2 Oven bags<br>2 contractors trash bags<br>flat roll duct tape<br>Mini playing cards<br>4-pack AA batteries<br>One Lens from broken eye-glasses<br>Digital Thermometer<br>Iosat iodine tablets (Nearby nuclear power)<br>Red bandana<br>Spare keys<br>Everything fits nicely inside. My daughter says it looks like I a Bible cover. Still keep a three day food pack in the car, and a .38 for the just in case.... Regards to all, and thanks for all I've learned here.

sure. I will get a few and toss it into the pack. I'm still waiting for the stock of the tins and lunch boxes to arrive before I PM you. <br><br><br><br>

Rather than list items that are not dissimilar to the many excellent assemblies; let me mention a few ideas. A newspaper is a common urban item of carry; Wall Street Journal for suits, Berkeley Barb for Birkenstocks etc. A clean newspaper( medium not message) is; emergency insulation,tinder,sanitary compress , dust mask and even self defense. In urban disasters whole nieghborhoods may be secured except to residents or employees. If you have recently moved carry something with your CURRENT address and name, ie a utility bill, pay stub etc.