Hi, Donald,<br><br>"Would this technique work when you don't carry a pump, or would you have to suck all the water out manually?"<br><br>3 feet of tubing is plenty for getting siphoning to work nicely (without needing to to take polluted water into your mouth), so long as you can squirt it into something lower than are draining it out of.<br><br>I was very fastidious with the paper clip bending. First I measured it out, and marked off exactly the spool length I wanted, perfectly centered, then marked it off with a marker. Then I bent the paper clip to shape with a pair of needlenose pliers. I actually spent more than half an hour getting it just right.<br><br>The triple antibiotic ointment that I used has lidocaine already added to it. The lidocaine is a very effective topical pain reliever (or so I've been told by my sunburned test subjects). I simply bought some generic store brand in the pharmacy section of a local supermarket.<br><br>I carry around various meds in my first aid kit and they always remain unused. I don't even use caffeine or alcohol or nicotine. I haven't taken an analgesic since I was a child. I refuse the novocaine shots when I have dental surgery. <br><br>However, I do still carry various meds in my first aid kit, ready if I ever need them. As to the pocket survival kit: which meds do you think I should carry for life and death circumstances? Perhaps a broad-spectrum antibiotic? An anti-diarrhetic to prevent dehydration? What else? I'm open to suggestions.<br><br>You can read about my tests and review of the prototype knife sharpener here:<br><br>http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=215745<br><br>"Get yourself a decent knife for the kit. There's no use cutting corners on survival gear."<br><br>I wholeheartedly agree. I should note that I usually carry a knife or few on me, and it would be a very odd circumstance, indeed, which would leave me knifeless. Nevertheless, I want to have an excellent small fixed blade as a dedicated part of my kit. I think the Busse Skeleton Key LE is the one, and I'm waiting for my order to arrive.<br><br>"Can a mylar bag really serve as a signalling device. I can't try it out tonight because there is no sun, but I've always found the material in bags to be rather dull."<br><br>This may depend on the specific bag. The mylar bag I am using--the type that a laser cartridge comes packed in--is opaque and very smooth and quite reflective. The issue with using it as a signaling device is getting it taut and flat, so that it can reflect with minimal light scatter. Toward this end, there is no way to ever make the performance come within even 20% of a similarly sized glass mirror. However, 20% as good as a mirror is still quite usable, and a hell of a lot better than nothing. And keep in mind that this the mylar bag's signaling role is not primary: I have the bag primarily for water carriage, and secondarily for signaling. In this second role, it is just a back up to my signal mirror.<br><br>(On the subject of mylar bags, I want to let everyone know that some of them can be VERY strong. In my tests, a mylar bag survived being thrown and stepped on, and only burst when I took a good running jump onto it.)<br><br>A water filtration method is a good idea for comfort, though I don't think it is truly critical to survival, when the water is already sterilized. Besides, basic filtering can often be accomplished pretty easily without additional equipment (by waiting for water to settle and skimming from the top, or running the water through my cloth shirt). If water filtration beyond sterilization is critical for survival (or at least health), please argue to convince me of this. If it's just a matter of comfort, then I'd rather keep my pocket survival kit tightly prioritized on survival, to make it a packable as possible.<br><br>I usually use long sleeves, tight pant cuffs, and a headnet to deal with biting insects, but small packets of DEET with reusable cloth are a good idea which I'll seriously consider.<br><br>On the subject of chapstick, I must note that chapstick burns very well and is great for helping to get finicky fires started.<br><br>Money--good idea. I'll stick some bills in my kit tonight.<br><br>Thanks for sharing your thoughts.<br><br>Mike