I hope to be starting a new job this week, working in an office.

I have to fly under the radar, so to speak, in terms of preparedness, because I sure don't want to attract undesirable attention. Therefore, I am once again re-doing my key fob emergency kit.

I found the "SAK Fob Kit" by V Shrake, at http://www.oldjimbo.com/survival/v-shrake/sfk.html . Any opinions on this kit, or on key fob kits in general, would be welcome.

i personally think a big key fob kit is annoying to carry, they flop around and don't fit in pockets very well. A small kit on your key chain would be fine, if it isn't to bulky. A kit based on a container usually is more space effiecient than hanging lots of gear together.

I can understand your desire to be discreet, especially in this age of overly-paranoid, under-trained "security" guards, but ... looking at that key fob kit, it seems to me that hauling something like that around would attract MORE attention, from all the clanking and jingling if nothing else. I would join PC2K in opting for a mini-PSK. That's one reason my Altoids tin doesn't have any paracord wrapped around it, just a discreet layer of electrical tape around the edge to seal it.

I think that a kit like this is not really low profile. If you want to conceal it a container for sweets or tobacco products might be better. If you go for a tobacco tin or a cigarillo tin you may not even be expected to offer something from its contents. I carry my office kit in a small tobacco tin with a lighter strapped to it. Of course I don´t smoke in the office ´cause I don´t want to badger my coworkers. So far nobody tried to solicit tobacco from me when they saw the tin.

I two altoids tin kits balanced in each front pocket. One is a FAK which sees weekly, if not daily, use and the other is a PSK similar to Dougs ( I have previously listed contents with pic's just search). I also carry a few other items, some on my key chain. I haven't reached the physics limit of having my belt fail to hold up my pants yet. <img src="images/graemlins/wink.gif" alt="" /> I have a swiss micro-tech+, swiss utili-key, small tubular whistle, small match safe, and ASP saphire light on my key chain, Cell phone on one hip on the belt and Leatherman wave on the opposite hip. I also carry a small multi-tool and a largish butane lighter on a split ring in my pocket and, to balance my rather large wallet, I carry a decent spool of tylon twine in my other back pocket. I find that I can carry this set of gear in jeans and in my suit without it being remarkably obvious. I don't wear tight fitting clothes and My dress slacks are pleated in front. I have considered those Docker e-pants with the extra concealed pockets but they are too expensive for casual pants and too casual for dress. I carry my PDA in my shirt pocket or vest pocket depending upon whether I have my vest on. If I am wearing my vest I have a bunch of other stuff as well.

I guess what I am trying to say is that if you are not wearing really snug fitting clothing then you can carry a bunch of stuff. OTOH, if you are wearing really tight jeans or slacks then a bulky keychain will stand out as much or more than a PSK which looks like a candy box.

FMI, what does FOB mean in this case ??
(I guess it's not Father Of the Bride, nor Full Of Beer ...)

TIA
<img src="images/graemlins/cool.gif" alt="" />

Alain

Surprisingly, for this forum anyway, it's not an acronym. A key fob is simply any adornment that attaches to your keys. It goes back to the days of the pocket watch. A watch fob was the chain attached to the watch that was worn across the front of your vest and secured in the opposite pocket. It also applied to anything else attached to the pocket watch or chain.

Ed

Thanks a lot !
Every day, on this forum, I learn something new...



Alain

I personally find there's a limit to what I am willing to carry on a key chain. Right now I have a Fox 40 whistle, a neck lanyard (that came with the Fox 40, chain-stitched to shorten it), a SAK Classic, a Photon Micro-light, and a key blank with 4 lighter flints Krazy-glued to it and sealed with heat-shrink tubing (I found out the hard way that the heat-shrink tubing really is necessary). Oh, yeah, and keys. <img src="images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />

Even that is cumbersome to the point that I find I sometimes "forget" to put the keychain back in my pocket after using it - I'm likely to just toss it on the kitchen table. In fact, even as I type I realise my keys are not in my pocket. <img src="images/graemlins/blush.gif" alt="" />

I just replaced the Fox 40 - just now - with a no-name green metallic whistle that I bought on a whim in a local camping store. Its advantage is that it has a - *gasp* - SECRET COMPARTMENT! Shades of Captain Midnight! You can't put much in it - it's about 1/3" in diameter and maybe an inch deep, but it is watertight and will hold a couple of dry cotton balls. (I haven't tried putting a dab of vaseline in there with them.)

I'm not as paranoid (or perhaps just not as realistic <img src="images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" /> ) as other posters on this site - I don't own a gun, don't intend to buy one, and when I leave the house in the morning, I don't consciously worry that I might not get home for several months. (The worst that's ever happened to me was having to spend the night in a hotel due to a whiteout/blizzard that made it virtually impossible even to see the exit ramps on the highway.)

One thing to remember about a "key fob survival kit" is that it's a fat lot of good if it's still in the ignition and you're standing 50 feet away watching your car burn to a shell - or sink in 15 feet of ice water, which is a real possibility in winter up here. (I once hit a patch of black ice, doing 50 mph in Nova Scotia, at night, with oncoming traffic on one side and a sheer cliff on the other. People pay money for rides like that. <img src="images/graemlins/shocked.gif" alt="" /> )

I spent the night in the first hotel I came to that night, too. <img src="images/graemlins/crazy.gif" alt="" />

My answer here is it sort of depends. I think V's fob contains stuff he is likely to use often vs the sealed tin kit approach.

I go the mixed route. I carry two key devices. One has my house and car keys only along with the car door opener thing, the other has a Leatherman micra, BSA hot spark, aluminum capsule with vaseline/cotton tinder, and a stainless pill capsule. Other "essentials" are spread around my normal clothing pockets, belt etc. This way no one container has the works, and this way I can keep the contents semi thin.

I always wear a wool vest with multi-pockets, this takes most of the stuff, my pant, shirt and coat pockets along with a shoulder bag take the rest. I have recently renovated and slimmed my EDC down, but still wear the vest.

Each layer is more capable than the other. I also think it is important to maintain a decent desk kit at work....no taking it through security everyday, mail it to yourself if needed. Mine has water, 3 foot prybar, hardhat, gloves, dustmask and safety glasses. I also keep a waterproof coat and hat year round at my desk. I also keep a hidden set of car and house keys at my worksite.

Neck ID string contains ID, Fox40 and LED light.

I think spread around has many advantages over the single pouch approach, but in reality I tend to be redundant in many areas because of this approach.