Since I've posted the sling pack, I'll post some photos of the biggest kit that I keep standing. I've got bigger ones, but they aren't fully assembled unless I feel they are likely to be needed. I'd love to keep my big pack fully loaded, but I can't afford the duplicate items that would require. As a result, if this needed, stuff some spare socks in a zipper bag, stick that in the hood of my poncho liner, roll that up, roll my poncho up around that, put two compression straps on it, and clip it to the outside of this. Grab my boonie hat and stuff my sunglasses into my bag of tricks which I sling on the way out the door.

For people who are wondering, that all takes just under four minutes. I keep a gallon ziplock in the sock drawer, and the poncho and liner are in my closet right next to the dresser. Another minute to find boots and grab my wallet and belt pouch if I'm not wearing them. Not bad for the potentials that the load gives me.


The pack is an older model waist pack from LL Bean, I'm not sure if they make them any more. Despite it's good looks, it actually been taken out more than a few times.

This image is actaully already outdated. Rather than the Pock-Itz pouch you see on the right side, I have added a much updated first aid kit in an army surplus first aid pouch and box (the big one that was developed in the 90s based on the old airborne and marine jungle kits) thanks to tfishers post on PFAKs. Becuase the camera is on loan to someone, I won't be able to update the pic for a while.

Contents:
1 pr nitrile gloves
1 trauma dressing (the older military type)
1 cravate
1 2" roller gauze
4 4x4 gauze (2 in the box, 2 out of the box and in the pouch)
4 bandaids (8 in box, 6 in pouch)
2 knuckle bandaids (in pouch)
2 fingertip bandaids (in pouch)
6 closure strips
1 small roll of duct tape (I bet everyone saw that coming)
3 provo-iodine wipes
4 alcohol wipes
12 asprin
12 tylenol
20 immodium
6 tylenol allergy (benydryl puts me out faster sleeping pills)
1 pr tweezers
1 surgical prep razor, 2 razor blades
8 medium safety pins
1 pr earplugs
inventory sheet

The items described as being out of the box but in the pack are in zipper bags, in the pouch with the box. They are there becuase they are common enough things to need, but I don't want to break out the entire kit for them. The box is closed with a strip of electricans tape and a pair of ranger bands.

Opposite of the medical kit is a SpecOps Brand X-4 pouch, the green thingy only the left. This carries a 500ml square lab bottle from Nalgene. Not quite as tough as thier usual bottles, but it fits into places better. If I've got time and aren't going to be using the slingpack/bag of tricks combo, I pull the PSK and PMK out of the sling pack and put the PMK under the bottle, and the PSK alongside it, as I only have to undo two snaps and the X-4 is free of the rest of the pack.

You can't see becuase they blend in, but there is a small, vertical loop of webbing on either side. I have an Annex clip in each one, which I can use with the roll of 1" webbing to make servicable (but not stellar) shoulder straps from, as I wear this around my ribs most of the time. I just find it more comforable there, and there is a "shelf" that keeps the pack from sliding lower there. I've experimented with carrying this as a chest rig, but the buckles are a pain to undo- if I was double jointed, it would be a breeze, and I could have this up front with a bigger pack on my back.

There is also a 2" wide webbing band around the pack. It snugs it up nice and compact.


These are the loose items that are part of the kit, but can't stand on thier own. They've been joined by the former contents of the Pock-Itz pouch, which aren't shown.

2 33 gal heavy duty liner bags
space blanket
1 pair light weight wool boot socks
5' 1" flat webbing
double adjust side release buckle, 1"
5/8" compression strap
key biner (to be replaced by a real when I get some coin)
~50 feet of paracord wrapped around a scrap of plastic tubing- I like this packaging, it's tidy, but slow to unravel
Otter Box 1000, with 6 AA, 4 AAA and 2 CR123 batteries (never know what I might have with me)
1 5" lockback knife, an old Explorer Tiger Paw (not shown)
diamond sharpener (not shown)
12 5" zipties (not shown)

These either go into the internal pocket in the pack, or are packed in the main body around the other modules.


This kit is big enough to have a cooking module in it. When the kit is in standby, I keep the fuel in the manufacture's bottle, but if I know I'm likely to be using it, I tranfere the Heet to red aluminum bottle that is clearly marked as "stove fuel".

contents:
alcohol stove
windscreen/pot stand
Wally World grease pot, with the strainer (great for steaming veggies)
3 cut down pencils (to raise the pot stand as needed)
steel wool
micro fishing kit (back up)
more zip ties
a tiny tin, with 2 True Lemon packs, salt, pepper, garlic and chili powders
ramen noodle flavor packs (beef, chicken, chili chicken)
matches
waxed dental floss
a bit of plastic gift card with xacto blade and 2 large eye needles (on other side)
6' of paracord inner strand
~10' of brass wire
P-38
2 breast milk bags

As you might tell, this pot also gets used when I'm camping. There is additional space in it, I'm just not sure what all to put in. As this is a cooking pot, I don't want too many things to keep track of when I'm actually cooking something. The pencils were added when I found that at times the windscreen actually was too short, and I was snuffing the flames, but it had been trimmed to fit in the tin.

It's accompanied by a plastic tube that I couldn't get a good picture of, which is about the size of a soda can. I stuff 3 granola bars, 3 slim jims and 8 jolly ranchers into it.


This is the big daddy of this bag. The kit is stuffed in an orange watch cap for padding, then into a gallon freezer bag to keep it dry. The tin itself is European military surplus, French I think but I'm not possitive. It could be from just about anywhere in NATO; it is dated in the 60s, the last number has been scratched up. There is a third, inner tin that I set aside for other purposes that came with this.

The ranger bands hold everything nice and snug, including a zipper bag with ~30 feet of paracord and a dozen index cards.


Not shown in this layer is the first thing you'd see, a bandana. It's there to pad the package.

contents of the first and second layer:
1 pouch with 4 bags of green tea, 8 sugar packets, 4 True Lemon packets
4 Walnettos
4 ramen seasoning packets (2 beef, 2 chicken)
Match case w/ laquered strike anywheres matches, 3 stay lit birthday candles, and a little bit of wire wrapped around it
8 assorted safety pins
2' fish tank tubing
2 mini glow lights, with built in clips for fishing poles (holds onto anything)
3 breast milk bags


contents of the rest of the tin:
pencil stub, unsharpened
MagLite Solitaire (batteries are common and I can rebuild it by touch) with two spare bulbs in the base
spare AAA battery
Victorinox Camper (?, like the Climber, but it has a saw not scissors)
10 immodium
bottle of Potable Aqua
bottle of PA+ neutralizer
magnesium fire starter with a piece of hacksaw blade and a craftsman 4-way coin screwdriver
full sparklite kit
tube with duct tape, red electricans tape, 20# spider wire, glasses screws
tube with 20# spider wire, snare wire, fishing kit:
-12 assorted hooks
-large fish hook/gaff, with tack
-10 assorted needles, including one for a sewing machine to use as a micro awl
-8 screw eyes (2 large, 6 small)
-8 sinkers
-3 swivels
-5 US dimes

micro screwdriver, with a 3/64" drill bit, large awl needle, awl/scribe, 2 mini philips drivers, 2 mini standard drivers inside
small spool sewing thread
small vial each of salt, chili powder
still more zip ties
3 fishing leaders
3' square of caterer's grade heavy duty foil
mini wound kit (2 2x2s, 4 1x3" bandaids, 1 knuckle bandaid, 1 fingertip)
3 tinderquiks scattered about the kit, including one in the thread spool.

The tin is intended to be a grab and go item, just like the X-4 pouch but slightly different in scope. There are times where this belt pack would be broken up and put into a large pack, but the tin would stay together in a side pocket where I could grab it.

I know it is tool heavy, but the flat screw driver is so small I couldn't say no on the grounds of bulk, and you never know what you might need to open up. The minidriver has all the bits in it becuase not all of my glasses use the same style of screws, which are contained in the tube with the duct tape held in the middle of the spiderwire's bobbin, which is sealed with sticky labels. The drill bit is the largest this holder will handle, I'd rather use that than mess about with an awl- it does a better job of boring thought wood.

What is the cravat for? I'm guessing it's intended to be used as a one-handed tourniquet or as a sling or bandage... A multiple use item?

Thanks

It's a triangular bandage- I learned a lot of things they were good for from my old first aid instructor. She loved the things. Too many applications to list.

I see... I will have to take first aid courses. Apparently we should do it every three years. But for the time being I got the book Comprehensive guide to wilderness and travel medicine and I'll read it.

Frankie

Looks to be a pretty nice setup, ironraven. Thanks for sharing!

Good Stuff!

Do the Ramen Noodle flavor packets have any nutritional value or is just a taste thing? I have a metric crapton (tech term LOL) of those in the cabinet, and if they provide some nutrition, perhaps I should think about packing a few in my various PSKs and BOBs.

Also, is there a reason that you pack Potable Aqua and PA+ versus MP1 tabs such as cost, or medical reasons, etc?

I'm not trying to bust your chops or anything, I just wonder what different people's motivations are for different choices.

Nice looking kit IronRaven. So this is a belt pack and/or over the shoulder? How much does it weigh? I like the little amenities to make a possible bug-out not only more tolerable, but possibly even enjoyable?

Something I found on-line that I though was a good idea caffeine chewing gum, although the ritual of making a cup of coffee is bypassed, jolted into alertness may be needed occasionally.

The ramen flavor packets are easier than bullion cubes to pack, IMO, and if the thing gets soaked, I don't have everything smelling like chicken soup. And you can get so many flavors now, it isn't funny.

As for iodine vs clorine, it's a choice for me. I can't swim in pools becuase the smell of chlorine makes me gag. I know it doesn't do much if anything to kill crypto, but what good is potable water that you can't keep down. The neutralizer is there becuase of the people who might be with me, if they don't have thier kits, one feels about iodine based tablets like I do, and the water does taste better.

It can't go over the shoulder, not easily. It's supposed to be around the waist, but as I said, I find it more comfortable around the ribs. I carry it on the level of chest harness, just against my spine. That keeps it from getting tangled in my regular belt. As I said, I wish I could figure out how to get it to work as a chest rig and still get it on and off by myself.

If I know I'm going to be carrying it for a long time, I take out the webbing roll, run it through the "drag" handle, and lock it in place with the annex clips. This is a close up on one, for those who aren't familiar with them:


Weight, with the PSK and PMK in the pouch with the water bottle, and the metal fuel bottle, I'd guesstimate at about 12 pounds. A little on the heavy side, but I like the weight. I know that there is nothing in there that I'm likely to break, even if I land on it or toss it from a moving vehicle.

I hope I didn't sound like I was blowing you off. The uses of the cravate are so many, if I try to list them, I'll spend the next few days replying to my own post as I remember them out of the context of just doing.

I remember one memorable lab for that class where they took me, the largest person by far in the class, out of a late 80s Ford Escort on a backboard, and the only thing used to hold me down was cravats. Not fun, they dropped me, but in thier defense, they had people on that board that were... well, let's just say I've eaten sandwiches bigger than they were.

Raven, I like your kit. Seems very functional and looks like you got what you need.

I was going to suggest if you want to make it so it goes over your shoulders, get some 2" webbing and some quick connects and a sewing awl ( I carry this in my BOB case something breaks or tears). Make an adjustable suspender looking harness that goes around the middle of your pack and "Y's" between your shoulder blades. The 2 straps that split off of that will go over your shoulders and connect to straps that you connect to the "belt" section of your kit. I have done this for my father-in-law for his "soft tackle box" that he wears with his chest waders. It started out as a fanny pack. It worked well. If you want me to draw something up and send it to you, shoot me a private message and I will E-mail you with it. Hope this helps.