So, there I was today frantically rummaging about the house looking for my digital multimeter when I came across a hard shell glasses case. You know the type; taco-style with the spring-loaded spine. I thought to myself that would make a great urban PSK container. I doubt this is new, I just felt like sharing it.

BTW, have any of you seen my multimeter?

Yeah I have, it's right over there

Great find. I like it when people think outside the box and adapt items to other uses. Eyeglass cases are a handy shape and size for carrying stuff without getting in the way.

I set up a nice little kit in a plastic eyeglass case I got as Wally for about $3. This one is made of what I take to be ABS and the two ends come apart and mate in the middle like a slip-fit pipe fitting. The overlap is about half an inch, so smooth and tight that it is pretty much watertight, and configured in a wave shape that seems to spread stresses. Impressive engineered for such a simple and inexpensive object.

I like this a bit better than the configuration where an eyeglass case opens like a book. Opening like a book the material you would locate in the upper half has to be stacked and balanced when you open it. Good chance you drop something and closing the case the one I assembled tended to get stuff caught in the action. The only way I fund to avoid this was to only use half the available interior volume.

An up side to this plastic case is that once opened you can hold the the open ends up and each has, because of the overlap, a little more contained volume than the unit has when put together. Which means I can slightly over-stuff each side. More of the available space gets used and it is less likely to rattle. Kits that rattle are annoying.

I really like the shape and size. Six inched long when assembled with very well rounded ends the cross-section is a 2.5 inches by 1.375 inch oval. Volume seems remarkably capacious and available given its small profile. It came in various semi-transparent colors, as I remember it there were festive bright blue and lime green models, but I selected a nondescript smoke-gray one. A brighter color might be better for a PSK.

Assembled the case is pretty strong. It is sturdy enough that using one hand, and an above average grip strength, I can't crack or crush it. It might crack if I jumped and landed knee first in the middle, the weakest area, or otherwise purposely made a great effort to damage it, but it has impressed me.

It is a little too big to carry in a front pants, unless you wish to look like your very happy to see everyone around you, or shirt pocket, but it fits well in a thigh tool pocket, some hip pockets, most jacket pockets. It would easily disappear in typical BDU-sized cargo pockets.

The main weakness is that there is no positive mechanism to keep the two ends together and the unit closed. The ends are so rounded and smooth that it has never come apart on its own and I kind of think it may not be anything but a theoretical issue but depending on the slight friction of the slip-joint to keep it all together doesn't inspire great confidence.

I'm thinking of trying to rig a 1/8" bungee cord inside arranged so it pulls the two ends together. Drilling each end and knotting the bungee would be an easy way of doing it but it would compromise the water resistance and eliminate any use of the ends as cups or containers for water.

I might try to buy a couple more and experiment.

So what do we put in a personal survival kit that's an eyeglasses case. I've got a couple of them, and they seem awfully small to me.

I don't know, this case looks like it haw plenty of space.
Also right off the bat your going to have a better leeway for longer items. The improvement I would like to see on something like this is the mesh style pouch with the elastic top running lengthwise on one half and side to side towards the end on the other half.
http://www.countycomm.com/ccemergencykit3.htm

I'm probably missing the intent of the original post, but my PSK/ get home kit is soft sided....In my typical attire,shorts and nylon cape back fishing shirt, there was not a comfortable way to carry anything hard in pockets for my daily exercise walks/bike ride.... I'm retired so don't have to worry about PC at work...I broke my stuff down to three areas of carry
1. key ring..Gerber tempo LED AAA, P38, pill fob w/aspirin/immodium, Fox 40 whistle

2. 4x6 heavy duty zip loc pouch for water carry (300ml)reinforced and covered with duck tape.. in upper half folded, signal mirror from AMK kit, miniBic/tied actuator taped to button compass, blood stopper gauze, 3x4gauze, 2-cloth knuckle bandages, 6 Katadyn ClO2 tabs,insect wipe, alcohol wipe (fire start) rides in outer pocket of shorts

3.in multitool belt pouch.. 4 quarters taped together, Victorinox Farmer, offset screwdriver with 2 1ft strips of duck tape, mini pencil, tweezers, heavy duty needle and 2 large safety pins taped to section hacksaw blade, spare AAA battery, Scout firesteel, 20ft 14# mono

have a Benchmade axis lock folder and Leatherman PS4 and 3AT in pocket...spreading out the stuff made it more comfortable and a means of transporting water here in Fla was a primary consideration...don't know how the duck taped zip pouch will hold up, but has been in use for approx 2months now...

The only intent was that I thought about it; I'm pretty deep like that .

The internal dimensions are roughly 6x2x1 inches.

I imagine that having two ziplocks would help prevent the stuff from reorganizing themselves all over the floor when you open it.