Mini Survival Kits

MINI SURVIVAL KITS

While it seems PSKs are all the rage currently, I have been making them since I was a child. Oh, I read Bradford Angiers Survival In The Outdoors until the poor thing fell apart and put together my first survival kit on his advice. An army surplus mussette bag jammed so tight I had no room for the items I would need on a simple trail hike, And I had less than a third of what he had suggested.
Thinking there had to be a better way I began to cut it all down. Even though my hiking was in the New Mexico desert I often had to cross the Rio Grande river and desert rain storms can be monsoons, so I needed a water and dust proof container. My mom gave me a 12x12x3 inch tupperware container which fit perfectly and left plenty of room for food and and water. As a loner I hiked alone and merely told my mother, "I'll be across the river." Or "Past the ponds." I know, pretty basic, and I would'nt let my kids be that vague, but this was in the 70's, a gentler time. Being alone and perhaps hurt, I had to pack the container tightly and carry extra rations and water. The only extra clothing I ever carried was a ratty old hoody. And hiked in tattered Keds. I had to dig into that kit a few times but I never had to actually use it in a survival situation. Moving into my teens I hiked farther and in more rugged terrain, taking more clothing and trail gear and cutting down the survival kit. Less survival items and smaller containers meant more room for what I used daily, and less dead wieght.
So began the trend towards smaller and smaller. A tobacco can. A baking powder tin. "You can cook in it," my brother said. Ever smaller I went. An M-16 magazine pouch was extremely complex and was eventually stolen, Altoids tins, 35mm film bottles, tubes which had held glucose tablets, small mint tins, Tic Tac and Double mint containers. To date the tiniest kit I have made which could be depended on to give one a chance at survival is built into a plastic box which held automotive blade fuses. About 1.5x1x3/4 inches roughly. It's contents are below.

1 single edge razor blade
1 X-Acto blade
25 small strike anywhere matches trimmed to fit and waterproofed
1 homemade spark device
2.5 cotton balls torn up and used for packing now, tinder for the spark device later
2 tinder cubes my own design
1 cut down birthday candle
2 striker strips, one inside one out
2 sewing needles in a bottom groove of the container
10 feet dental floss unwaxed
10 feet strong sewing thread
2 small safety pins
1 copper snare
12 feet fishing line
1 swivel
2 fish hooks
1 crappie jig
3 split shot


I'll try to post a photo with this long, drawn out ramble.
My current project is a complex Tic Tac kit with a compass and magnifying lens and possibly a battery operated light. Yes the container is fragile but it's the challenge which motivates me.
I'm still looking for an old aspirin tin for a kit container.
My question is this: What is the size of the tiniest kit you have ever made? And what are its contents?
Thanks for taking the time to read this and for any responses you may care to post.
NOTE: Fot some reason my digital camera is refusing to do it's job, so i apologize for not posting any pics of the kit.

I never ever warmed up to the little kit idea. Never found a practical use for all the little gizmos, fishing lines, razor blades etc. I understand it's like a hoby to some folks. Me, I just stuff what I need in my pockets.

If I were to make a mini kit I would most likely consider using a crosman pellet tin as the container. I use them for carrying snare kits or fishing kits in a similar way to what you describe as a psk. The way the lid threads together combined with a length of tape makes the can reasonibly water proof.

I will post a pic here in a sec......

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There you go. I bet you could make a mean mini kit in one of these if that floats your boat. I sand the paint off and add glow in the dark tape to both side. Once I write on the tape I can see it in the dark most times without having to use my light.

It's big enough for most mini stuff (spark lites etc) and rides really comfortable in a pocket.

Thanks Stephen. I made a pellet tin kit about 20 years ago. It sat out in the garage with other kits. It and an 8MM film can both held quite a bit, but they rusted hopelessly shut. Think I still ahve them in a box somewhere.

Great post. Lots of the forum folks seem to have been making psk's since childhood.Or in my case, seem to have extended childhood beyond previously known limits.

Chris Kavanaugh identified Oetzi as the first member of the forum: a description of O's belt-pack psk is here . His equipment choices are interesting: plenty of emphasis on fire-making and equipment repair. It is also apparent that O was committed to new technology: he had abandoned spark-making technology in favor of transporting hot embers, and had replaced his stone axe with a copper tool. Just like us.

Great link Mike. Thanks! Interesting how similiar is was to us today.

Thanks for the nostalgia, Snake. I too made survival kits as a kid. I loved stories like "Swiss Family Robinson", "Robinson Crusoe", "The Hobit" "Journey to the Centre of the Earth" and all things Jack London. Having grandparents who lived in the country and the freedom of childhood in the 70s, many an adventure was had with one of those kits.

I'm sure part of the reason I love making survival kits oday is because of those early childhood adventures. I've made of little PSK component kits (i.e. tiny fire kit or tiny FAK) but the smallest survial kit I've made is about the size of an altoid's tin. I just can't help the urge to go a little bigger so I add a few more goodies.

this is a repo of the "lost kit" i had in Scouts back in the late 50's.



the can is for fish hooks and many of the items are from that old kit.the matches in the box are the old WP ones that i cut down for that first kit but the repo has new ones,the pink things are cut birthday candles for fire starters.the needle taped to the lid was run over a magnet and the north end marked with red paint.
the dime? well on a Scout hike we crossed a road in a place where us kids thought we were way out in the woods in Southern NY and there was a tiny one pump gas station with a pay phone!

Wow! Great contribution. Thank you for reproducing that kit to share with us!
What is the small (glass?) vial?
Actually for that matter can we get a detailed list of the contents?
Thank you.

mattmayhem..in case CANOEDOGS can't get back for a reply... the black capped vial..halizone tablets were the most common water purification tablets for us Scouts in the 50's and 60's...though my Scoutmaster (an OSS vet)had us carry tincture of iodine...the top vial with cotton looks similar to an iodine ampule that came with "snake bite" kits... the Cutter snake bite kits, small bottle of iodine, matches in a safe, roll of electrician tape, Scout compass, and single edged razor blade, along with a couple of dimes, some string, and a whistle would fit in a GI first aid kit pouch... we couldn't afford real camping gear, so my stuff was GI surplus... stainless canteen and nested cup always on your web belt along with the first aid pouch...I think there was an angle headed flashlight too

I like the mess tin based kits aswell. Plastic is nice for waterproofing and protecting but doesn't have the ability to cook in.
I have the actual military mess tin and tried to make a kit like "lofty" in the sas survival guide but some of the items are obscure and not avalible to me. When I use my own choices its always overflowing.

I didn't realize it but you are right! I, too, have been building kits since I was a kit. I am pretty sure I still have one of my earliest ones sitting in a drawer in my parents house. It can be very easily dated since at the time, I was very interested in word search. I clipped out one or two from the local newspaper and put it in as tinder and a mind game.

Conway Yee

Izzy, have you found a source for acquiring the AMK mini-mirror on its own? The only places I have seen it are as part of a larger kit, most of which I didn't need.

Thanks mike. According to people I know I've never quite grown up. LOL

Hey Jac. Hope you enjoyed your trip. The problem I have is the more room I have the more I jam into my PSKs until they are almost impossible to repack in the field. I hope to go as small as an aspirin tin. I think every kid should have an adventurous childhood. Thanks for responding.

Wow! Now THAT is a nice many kit! Thankks for sharing Dogs. I myself would have crammed that open space with other items and totally made a mess of things. Thanks for sharing!

Very nice Izzy. Thanks for sharing. I'll check on those kits. I respect that you insist on the best quality. MY BOB has only the very best.

I had the surplus canteen with cup and a knife on a web belt for close hikes. A match safe in my pocket and a spoon and tea ba bag in the cantten carrier.

The us GI mess kit has that useless eating plate. I saw a flat rectangular mess kit somewhere on the net which fit a cargo pocket and gace two cooking pots. I think it might serve you better. The early WWII British Commando survival kit I once saw was nice and advanced for it's time. I have a swiss mess kit in the works. Big and heavy it seems to hold a lot. Hope this helps.

Suprising how we hang onto them isn't it? Thanks for responding Yee.

I like the Gerber mini mirrors. Don't know if they're still available.

My messkit is the rectangular commonwealth style messkits which I believe are still in use.

Ahh1 My bad. I live in the colonies and was referring to our old style mess kit. Sorry.

http://goinggear.com/survival/amk-rescue-flash-signal-mirror-mini.html

Awesome, thank you Byrd!

Note that the picture on that link Byrd represents the mini rescue flash's larger brothern... but the dimensions seem right for the smaller one... if anyone orders from them can they confirm that it's the tiny one?

I ended up shelling out the money for the entire kit to scavenge the mirror out of it wish I had waited!

I glad i read this thread. I use a tin metal case as my EDC kit, found it at a surplus store. Its dimensions are probably two VHS tapes stacked on each other. I use a S-biner to keep the latch shut. But I have a old GI mess kit in the garage. I'll see if I can fit my kit in that. Good change of pace

I noticed the same thing and it gave me pause. Then I saw that the site lists the regular Rescue Flash for a couple dollars more, so I think it will be OK. I ordered a few Minis and will post when they arrive.

UPDATE: I was able to fit everything but my maglight and my Army drive-on rag into the GI Mess kit. I suppose because I am always using the Maglight that I should just keep it out and put a couple spare photons in. I am a little bummed about the drive on rag. Its a wonderful multi-purpose item. I suppose I can just keep in my pack with my Buff as my EDC kit seldom is carried outside of my daypack as the pack goes everywhere with me.

The mirrors arrived today from Going Gear and they are indeed the minis. I have one of the old AMK minis and these new ones are the same dimensions. They have an orange backing with the new 'SOL' logo instead of yellow backing with the AMK logo. My old one says 'made in korea' and the new ones say 'make in China'. The retroreflective mesh looks the same but I will test them to be sure.

You guys should snap some of these up for your mini-kits.

That mess kit is kinda heavy, comm. Let me know how it works out for you, please. Thanks.

Snake Doctor, I'll weigh them both for a comparison. The mess kit I believe is heavier by a decent amount, my normal box is just tin. The trade off is that the mess kit has less height. It is a little bit wider but about the same length.

Thanks comm. And maybe you could roll up your drive on rag or fold it and attach to your kit. might be better outside anyway so you don't have to dig in the kit for it. Just a thought. And call me Snake. Everyone does.

I've done the 35mm film canister thing. I forget the contents now. The smallest kit than I can currently find is a tin about 2 inches square and half an inch thick. Contents:

• Mirror card (cut to size).
• Ferro rod (cut to size).
• Hacksaw blade striker (cut to size).
• 3 Tinder-quik tabs.
• Water purifier tablets.
• Button compass.
• Photo Freedom torch.
• Tweezers (from a small SAK).
• Pen (from a small SAK).
• Some waterproof writing paper.
• 3 safety pins.
• Scalpel blade (stronger and easier to use than a razor).
• Cord (a yard or so).
• Cotton wool (to prevent rattling).

It's years old. Now that I look at it again I think it's pretty cute, with a lot of bases covered in a small space. I am not into fishing or snaring; food isn't a priority for this kit. Nor am I a fan of matches. The torch and compass work; I guess the water tablets are expired.

I think the mirror card came from Minsets Online. It comes as a big sheet. I have cut it to just smaller than the tin, so it fits under tin's inner lip, compresses everything beneath it and takes pressure off the lid. It won't be perfectly flat, and a glass mirror would be better, but it's light and not fragile and probably more reflective than trying to polish the tin itself.

What I actually EDC now is less a kit and more odds and ends in various places about my body. My keychain has more cordage, a better ferro rod and striker, a whistle, and I have better torches and knives in other pockets.

Thanks, Brangdon. Very nice! Good equipment for a tiny container.

35mm Pocket Survival Kit with Duct tape wrapped and filled with contents.