Well I got board today and decided to test 3 items that are used in psk.
1. Nylon Liner
2. Sealine type holder
3. aquapac
I had used a Doug Ritter ziplock liner that comes with all of his kits which was a upgrade from some I used on the net. I have found that these nylon liners or whatever tends to develop tears in the edge over time near the zipper causing a total loss of water proofness.
Anyway I had submerged them in a pool 8 feet deep for 30 min on the first 2 items and 40 min on the aquapac, 3rd item. I was surprised to learn that the DR liner outperformed the sealine type packs. After submersion, all packs were pulled up and I inspected a paper towel that I had put in each pack with coins and the only one that was dry (no brainier) was the aquapac. The sealine pack was soaked and the DR holder was ¼ wet on the towel showing slight leakage. To be fair to all, the aquapac is designed for this and the others are not, I have a microsd card with important info on it as well as fire starters, tender, etc.. If you are around water a lot, I would recommend switching to a aquapac if you think you may be in the water for any period of time.

After submersion was over


Start

Aquapack gets a 10 min extra submersion before test

In we go

Come on in the water is fine

Stop time

And the winner is aquapack,2nd DR, 3rd Sea pack

Thank you for the demo!

Here are other options:
http://www.bepreparedtosurvive.com/Witz%20Sports%20Cases.htm#Keep-It%20Clear
http://www.bepreparedtosurvive.com/Otter%20Box.htm#OtterBox1000

Izzy, that's cool. Can you list what you managed to pack in there?

In an Emergency Situation,I would Try my Best to,Get the heck out of the water,ASAP!Since I'm not a Fighter Pilot,I don't see Myself Packing an SD card in my Doug Ritter-PSK!Everything in the Doug Ritter-PSK,Is designed to get wet,then dried off & Function normally,of which I have tested Many Times,With No Problems Whatsoever!To be Fair to All,Did you Test the Content's for Validity?I didn't see a Disclaimer,Are you Promoting Aqua-Pac? I Have No Affiliation with the above mentioned Products!

Thanks, would you have room in the Witz "Keep it Clear"?

Kudos on doing a real world test!

Hard-sided stuff in my pockets tends to produce pain and bruises, but they seem to give better protection than soft-sided stuff when packed away.

ireckon and dweste , your welcome for the quick review. I go with soft cases and anything that I can compact as much as possible. Izzy definitely has a good set up but I'm not into hard cases, the first thing I did with Doug's kit was ditch the tube to make more space and went with a smaller whistle. I try to squeeze everything I can in packs, BOB, etc.. and try to go with the most compression possible with vacuum cotton balls and PJ for fire starters plus wetfire compressed as well. My goal is to make it as small, waterproof and non intrusive as much as possible and even got rid of my thumb drive for a microsd card with the mini usb adapter just to gain space. Kinda of heading toward the minimalist side.

Richlacal, I do not, nor am I affiliated with aquapack, I got tired of putting the disclaimer up every time. I think people know if you work for a company or not, I have a lot of favorite companies I rant all the time about because I really enjoy there product and believe in it to highly recommend like watershed, Busse, western mountaineering, Canadian goose, steripen and fenix to name a few. I don't work for these companies but have bought a lot of things over time from them and use them extensively to recommend to others for items that will last them a long time or make there life easier. I get no kickback or anything nor would I want anything.

As for Doug's kit, It's a very thought out kit, there are items I got rid of off the bat and changed it with things I feel more comfortable with but all in all (except the tin foil) his kit is a very good kit for price and performance. He did a great job of setting a dollar amount to sell it and then building the kit with the best of what he can get to fit in this range and maintain a positive amount of safety and quality.

Sorry about the long Rant...you can use it as a bed time story for the kids...

Falcon, I always have a few changes with every pre-made kit myself, and I'm not all that experienced with survival needs. It's just plainly obvious to me that some things should be replaced for my particular needs. Further, I like to practice with my kits. So, I'm constantly replacing the nicely packed contents anyway.



Can you please describe the vacuumed cotton ball thing? Also, can you describe how you're carrying the petroleum jelly. In my kits, I think I should be able to get more tinder in there somehow.

ireckon,
I mix cotton balls with PJ and then use a food vacuum sealer and compress them down for space. I also have a small magnesium stick and lighter fluid in a FOB with a small countrycomm peanut lighter. Then I have a modified Blast Match ferro rod (basically a Blast Match Rod without the plastic housing with a small hacksaw blade for a striker) I have 2 magnifying glasses, one is the credit card plastic one ands the other is glass. I have had high failure rates with the plastic over time so the glass is a back up. I use rite rain waterproof paper with Dougs pencil and a swiss army knife replacement pen for a backup. I use 50 feet (vacuum sealed for compressness) fishing string that is 100 lbs rated with a needle to sew if needed. I have had 550 parachute cord fail in a saltwater environment extreme test and the 100 lb string didn’t (I'm sure chlorine helped in that as well)I have a salt water pool with chlorine tabs to help reduce the run time on the pump for energy consumption. I still use 550 cord in all of my equipment, not my personal carry. I can use this string for any shelter or what I need and I can carry a ton of it in near nothing space, plus I have weaved 3 strings together and it will support my weight (not recommending that. The Mirror has a sunglass cleaning cloth that stores it and protects it and can clean smudge marks off of it. I have a 16 gig microsd card with all my pictures and medical, licenses, birth certificates, etc.. and heavily encrypted using 3 encryption methods and a insanely long password. I use a leatherman charge TTI for my EDC, for the size plus built in belt clip (no holsters) it has been the best tool I have for work and carry. I have a fenix LD01 light with 2 enloop batteries, fingernail clippers and tweezers (you’d be surprised how much I use these 2 items. All in all it is 100% waterproof and can fit in my pocket unnoticed and it is soft against my leg. I am always modifying trying to squeeze more things in a limited space. Working to get a water bag and tabs in their.

My EDC




Making Vacuum PJ+CB




550 parachute cord Type 4 breakdown with UV and saltwater

Replacement for EDC only, still use 550 in BOB's


Leatherman Charge TTI

Falcon, that's a nice kit! That's very similar to how I need my kit to be.

Thanks ireckon, hopefully it will give you some ideas.

Falcon, I can't identify some things:
-the item on the top left (can opener?)
-the bag with black & white writing (sewing kit?).

ireckon here is a list of the kit, also not shown is dougs hooks and swivels from fishing kit. If you see anything I missed let me know.

Kit contents are as follows:

From the Doug Ritter PSK Kit
http://www.adventuremedicalkits.com/product.php?product=148&catname=Essentials&prodname=Pocket%20Survival%20Pak%E2%84%A2

1-pencil
1-compass
1-Needle
1-plastic magnifying glass
1 fishing kit (hooks, swivel, weights) (ditch the tube, consumes too much space)
1 sealed scalpel
1-Signal Mirror

Other Vendors
1- Aquapac Keymaster
http://www.nrsweb.com/shop/product.asp?pfid=28791&pdeptid=1631

1-Fenix LOD flashlight
http://www.amazon.com/Fenix-Flashlights-Natural-color-Aluminum/dp/B000N2J9MA

2-enloop batteries
http://www.amazon.com/Sanyo-Pre-Charged-...7294&sr=8-7

1-tweezer
http://www.countycomm.com/tweezer.htm

1-Stainless Steel peanut lighter
http://www.countycomm.com/sslight.htm

1-hacksaw blade with magnesium rod
http://www.bestglide.com/K1_Info.html

1-blast match rod (removed from plastic housing)
http://www.rei.com/product/775076

1-small REI whistle
http://www.rei.com/product/726607

1-fingernail clippers (Wal-Mart )
http://www.jr.com/tweezerman/pe/TWZ_3085/

many-cotton balls and Petroleum Jelly (Wal-Mart)

1-magnifying glass lens (can’t remember where I bought it, but here is the same thing I think)
http://www.black-bear-haversack.com/product_info.php/products_id/2169

1-FOB vial (that holds lighter fluid for lighter) I bought it at CVS years ago, may have to find another vendor, here is example
http://www.911medalert.com/catalog.asp?action=showitem&id=1463&subcat=17&t=%23+1463+-+Aluminum+Nitroglycerin+Pill+Holders++%28+an+engraved+911MedAlert+charm+is+available+%29

Swiss Army Knife Replacement Pen Small
http://www.swissknivesusa.com/html/swiss_army_victorinox_repairs_1.htm#

3-sheets rite rain paper
http://www.riteintherain.com/ItemForm.as...f4-c87ac650f9e6

1-Black soft sunglass case cut down to hold signal mirror
http://www.eyewearplanet.com/body-specs-bs-soft-case.html

50 feet- Power Pro Braid - 100lb.
http://www.seaisletackle.com/browse.cfm/4,2126.html

1- 16 gig micro sdhc card and usb adapter
http://www.hacknmod.com/store/index.php?act=viewProd&productId=244

Fishing string is 100 lb rated, can be used to sew cloths and equipment in a emergency, catch fish,used as a snare and make shelter and secure gear. I have 50 feet wrapped around a card in a very small profile.


Sunglass soft case protects and cleans signal mirror

Thanks!

You welcome ireckon, when you get done with yours, I'd like to see your version. I'm always looking for ways to improve mine by putting as much quality items in as least of space possible.

I have an Aquapac for a camera, which works well. My main concern is that it get punctured. I wouldn't fill it then just chuck it naked into a pocket; I'd want to give it some protection, if only another plastic bag.

Thanks for the advice Brangdon, I put it in a pocket by itself and use freezer bags to hold some of the components on the inside. When I first got it I was skeptical of it's strength due to how thin the material was, but I am still running tests on it but so far it is holding up like a champ. I even carry it in one pocket that has a 10 in one screwdriver and reading glasses in the pocket and no failure yet. Still waterproof and I have been monitoring it to make sure it will hold up. Time will tell but so far this has been the best bang for the buck for waterproof and compactness I have found so far. Roll up bags and nylon zip pouches doesn't cut it for true water except for watershed zip drys but they unfortunately don't make small pouches.

I use high quality tupperware.

I find a dice bag (synthetic, not leather) to be useful for providing a bit of protection, organization or privacy:

http://www.coolstuffinc.com/main_supplies.php?viewType=Dice%20Bags&info1=Dice&info2=Bag

Just a thought, I'm not sure if it would be good over the Aquapac.

Thanks ireckon,the dice bag looks interesting. Sure wouldn't hurt putting it into it. It would make it less conspicuous if you had to take it out, also it may be even good for mirrors or optics depending on the material.

TeacherRO, Some of the Tupperware that has the locks and seals may work but they utilize to much space for what I am after. They are great for protecting things in a pack or so forth but consume up a lot of space. I am constantly working to make my BOB and PSK the smallest and most equipment for space. Still haven't conquered reducing weight but making progress in reducing size.

Regarding your Aquapac kit, I'd leave outside anything that doesn't need waterproofing at all. Then, I'd use a suitable bag (maybe a dice bag) to carry the Aquapac and the stuff outside of the Aquapac. Items from your kit that I wouldn't put inside the Aquapac include at least the following:

-tweezers
-toenail clippers
-ferro rod
-magnesium
-striker
-mirror
-whistle
-fishing kit
-vacuum sealed cotton balls
-magnifier
-needle
-scalpel

In particular, I would want the whistle and the mirror to be quick access. Inside the Aquapac, I'd include the following from your kit:

-peanut lighter
-extra lighter fluid
-battery
-flashlight
-compass
-USB flash drive
-paper
-pen/pencil

I realize this changes the dynamics of things. However, it's still "one pack" because of the outer dice bag (or whatever). At that point, I may even go for a waterproof container that's smaller than the Aquapac.

I currently have a neck kit for when I go play in the snow, but I doubt you'd learn anything from it. I'll take pics when I think I have something worthwhile to share.

Good advice ireckon, one bad thing about me if I did that, then I would start adding more things in that new space (dice bag). Then the kit would start growing more and I'd be back into a bigger PSK or fanny pack. I have a bad tendency to do that with my BOB as well by adding things here and there that end up weighing my packs down and becoming to bulky. By keeping everything in the aquapack it forces me to stay within that space no matter what, letting me keep critical and items I use a lot everyday. It fits well in a front pocket or cargo pocket and it keeps the basics. I am always opening to ideas and if you get time, I'd like to see your kit as well. I would like to get that smaller mirror like Izzy has but I can't find them anywhere for sale except in the kit and I am not going to buy a kit for the mirror. I'm thinking about putting a condom in there with water tablets for a water container and purification. I'm still trying to work within that space model cramming as much as I can for space and keeping the integrity of the container together.
Thanks

When I go play in the snow, I feel like fire starting is important enough for me to dedicate a separate kit to it. Here is a fire starting kit that I'm confident I can use to start a fire even after falling in water in freezing conditions. In that sense, it's waterproof.

http://forums.equipped.org/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=211780#Post211780

That's cool, where do you keep the big container that houses your kit? Do you use cargo pockets or a small pouch or pack?

I'll keep that kit in a jacket pocket. It's for playing in the snow. I used to go snowboarding with no survival thoughts in mind. Now, I'm starting to take bigger risks. So, I need to get more serious about survival gear when I go snowboarding, snowmobiling, etc. I wouldn't need something that big for everyday camping or whatever. By the way, I bought that Mg/ferro rod after seeing your kit, thanks.

Gotcha, I stuff my coat pockets well if I go snow skiing of hiking in snow.I'm glad you found something in the kit you can use, when I ski I always carry a fast find 210
http://www.rei.com/product/791972 which fits perfect in the pockets or jacket. It's a great last ditch tool in case you break a leg, arm or whatever. You may want to add that later if you don't have a PLB if you snow board off the trail down the mountain at night when no one can hear you. Anyway, I may look into candles as well, I like the idea to keep a fire going for longer periods of time if no tinder or firewood is around.
Thanks