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#297989 - 01/08/21 03:02 PM Deconstructing the SEVENTY2 Kit
chaosmagnet Offline
Sheriff
Carpal Tunnel

Registered: 12/03/09
Posts: 3819
Loc: USA
I do not own this kit, in fact I've never seen it in person. I am not affiliated with the company that makes it or any competitor to them. I have no affiliation with any product mentioned here.

According to the website, this kit contains:

  • Backpack with water bottle pouch, 26L, 600D tarpaulin
  • 48oz Nalgene
  • Admittedly nifty looking organizer and pouches
  • Survival tent, mylar, 2 adults
  • antibacterial wipes, 15
  • Sawyer mini kit
  • Datrex rations, 12x 200cal bars
  • Convertible shovel/pickaxe
  • UCO Stormproof matches, 15 matches, 2 strikers, 1 match safe
  • Cheap-looking "zoomie" flashlight
  • Cheap-looking pliers-based multitool
  • 100ft paracord
  • Basic first aid kit
  • 2x chemlights
  • Mylar emergency blanket
  • Small tube of nice sunscreen
  • Flashlight/phone charger/radio, looks like an Eton
  • active carbon air filtration mask
  • 2x handwarmers
  • Goggles
  • Cheap-looking knife
  • Mischmetal firestarting rod
  • Acrylic beanie
  • Cold weather gloves



The backpack included with this kit didn't look bad. A little too much branding for my taste, and I'd prefer two water-bottle pouches. It would be easy to spend <$40 or >$150 here. I'll pick the Dakine Network as being a reasonable equivalent at approximately $55 with shipping (https://www.dakine.com/products/network-26l-backpack?variant=31575197024336).

48oz Nalgene, $12 on Amazon.

For pouches, grab some freezer ziplocs in various sizes, perhaps $5.

Survival tent (https://smile.amazon.com/Go-Time-Gear-Emergency-Survival/dp/B07NVWY95Y/) $20.

Antibacterial wipes, a lot of options here, I picked https://smile.amazon.com/Lucky-Super-Soft-Antibacterial-Wipes/dp/B0097W81U8/ for $4 (note that this are nice wipes and more of them than included in the kit).

Sawyer mini kit, exactly what I have in my kits, $20.

Datrex rations, $12. But I strongly prefer Millennium bars; a pack of 6 with about the same calories of the Datrex rations is $15. If room permits I would also carry three Mountain House packs and a stove, which I worked out from my Amazon order history at $53.

I've owned a convertible shovel/pickaxe that looked just like this one and it failed on first use under non-stressful conditions. Cold Steel makes a very rugged small shovel for $34. Add some time sharpening one edge and $9 for the sheath.

Stormproof matches with match safe, $14. Add a mini-Bic and a zip-tie (or a chunk of failed bicycle inner-tube, if you prefer) to protect the button, $2. Add a Spark-Lite and Tinder Quik kit, $11. Add an Esbit stove with 6 Esbit tablets, $13. Starting a fire with a mini-Bic and an Esbit tablet is cheating, sure, but I like cheating if it gets me warm when I'm cold.

The flashlight included in this kit is objectionable to me. There are several flashlights that cost less than $10 that are far better. I can recommend a Klarus XT1C v2 (https://www.batteryjunction.com/klarus-xt1c-v2.html) without reservation, adding a pack of 12 CR123A batteries and an inexpensive case for four extra cells brings it to $64. A headlamp is also a great idea. If you want battery diversity (perhaps you can find one size of battery but not another) the Nitecore HA23 is surprisingly good at its price point for $25. If you want one kind of battery so that you only need carry one kind of spare, the Nitecore HC30 is great at $55. But the one I like -- a lot -- is the Fenix HL50. Discontinued but still available for $50, it can run on either 1x CR123A or 1x AA. I wish Fenix hadn't discontinued it, it's that good.

The multitool here looks pretty bad. I'd get a Leatherman Rebar, ST300, or Wave, for $100 (or possibly less).

100' of paracord is too much. 50' is plenty and takes up less room. $5.

The First Aid Only kit is a good kit at the price point for $17. I personally add a Rescue Essentials Advanced Footcare Module for $22 along with some extra BZK wipes ($1).

Chemlights suck. I wouldn't include them.

I do not like cheap mylar blankets. The Heatsheets 2-person is far superior for $10.

My kits no longer have sunscreen wipes (discontinued) or cream (messy!). This sunscreen stick (https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B00CICLTAI/) is small, and works well for me for $10. You could spend less on a larger stick.

Eton makes an excellent small flashlight/cellphone charger/radio gizmo. Be wary of cheap brands, some use a coin cell rather than a capacitor to store energy, and thus fail quickly. The Eton I like is $34.

I do not see the value in carrying an activated carbon filter mask, but you can get a pack of three for $13.

Handwarmers are sure nice to have but if the packaging is breached they become useless. $1.

I prefer an inexpensive but rugged pair of ballistic-rated sunglasses to a pair of goggles. $20 is generous.

Don't get me started on this knife. A stainless steel Mora for $15 would be so much better.

Firestarting rods are great, but I prefer the Spark-Lite above.

If you don't have an acrylic beanie to spare, I really love the Countycomm WX Warrior beanie, super warm and low-bulk for $6 before shipping.

Maybe my hands are a weird size but I won't buy gloves if I can't try them on. I'd probably spend $35 on Mechanix ColdWork gloves.


Assuming you bought everything on my list and had none of these things laying around, and shopped fast instead of looking for deals, you're up to $670. This is far more than the $389 you'd spend on the kit. But when you start with the kit and add a good multitool ($100), usable shovel ($43), Heatsheets ($10), Knife ($15), flashlight and headlamp ($114) my build is $1 cheaper.

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#297990 - 01/08/21 03:13 PM Re: Deconstructing the SEVENTY2 Kit [Re: chaosmagnet]
chaosmagnet Offline
Sheriff
Carpal Tunnel

Registered: 12/03/09
Posts: 3819
Loc: USA
Good heavens, I forgot duct tape! Innumerable uses, including first aid, firestarting, gear repair, I'm embarrassed I didn't think of it. $11 for three flat packs.

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#297993 - 01/08/21 05:00 PM Re: Deconstructing the SEVENTY2 Kit [Re: chaosmagnet]
Ren Offline
Addict

Registered: 11/05/07
Posts: 522
Loc: Wales, UK
Yeah, that flashlight is infamous. Not seen them anodised red before though. Cree XM-L T6 led. Just looked them up on Alibaba, and $1.69 for low quantities.

Have Blizzard Survival blankets instead of mylar, as double or triple layered, also made here in Wales.

Rubber O-ring on Bic lighters. Idea stolen from BruceZ.

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#297995 - 01/08/21 05:41 PM Re: Deconstructing the SEVENTY2 Kit [Re: Ren]
chaosmagnet Offline
Sheriff
Carpal Tunnel

Registered: 12/03/09
Posts: 3819
Loc: USA
Originally Posted By: Ren
Rubber O-ring on Bic lighters. Idea stolen from BruceZ.


Oooooh, I like that!

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#298000 - 01/08/21 07:02 PM Re: Deconstructing the SEVENTY2 Kit [Re: chaosmagnet]
chaosmagnet Offline
Sheriff
Carpal Tunnel

Registered: 12/03/09
Posts: 3819
Loc: USA
Other things I think a kit like this should have included:

  • Duct tape (as mentioned above)
  • Navigation: At least a compass, and probably a map of the most likely AO
  • A way to charge your cellphone -- the crank radio is better than nothing, but a small powerbank is much easier to use
  • A rain shell
  • Playing cards
  • Clean dry wool socks (added by the user)
  • A small candle
  • Ritter PSP or PSP+ (of course)
  • Hygiene module beyond a few wipes, such as Colgate Wisp disposable toothbrushes, dental floss, soap, washcloth, bathing wipes
  • Bug wipes
  • A ballcap or some sun protection hat
  • Trauma kit (even if you aren't trained, someone around you might be)
  • A bandana
  • small notebook and pen
  • spare cash (added by the user)
  • spare glasses, if you wear them (added by the user)

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#298001 - 01/08/21 08:01 PM Re: Deconstructing the SEVENTY2 Kit [Re: chaosmagnet]
Jeanette_Isabelle Offline
Carpal Tunnel

Registered: 11/13/06
Posts: 2946
Loc: Nacogdoches, Texas
As someone who bought one, I'll chime in. I had already written a review a while back.

Originally Posted By: chaosmagnet
The flashlight included in this kit is objectionable to me. There are several flashlights that cost less than $10 that are far better. I can recommend a Klarus XT1C v2 (https://www.batteryjunction.com/klarus-xt1c-v2.html) without reservation, adding a pack of 12 CR123A batteries and an inexpensive case for four extra cells brings it to $64.

I'm a MAG-LITE fan. Nevertheless, I see nothing wrong with the flashlight Uncharted Supply included.

Originally Posted By: chaosmagnet
The multitool here looks pretty bad. I'd get a Leatherman Rebar, ST300, or Wave, for $100 (or possibly less).

It's not the worst multi-tool I've picked up. Unfortunately, that is the only positive thing I can say about the multi-tool that Uncharted included.

Originally Posted By: chaosmagnet
Don't get me started on this knife. A stainless steel Mora for $15 would be so much better.

The handle is uncomfortable, but I'm able to maintain a solid grip, and it's a full tang.

Originally Posted By: chaosmagnet
Maybe my hands are a weird size but I won't buy gloves if I can't try them on. I'd probably spend $35 on Mechanix ColdWork gloves.

The gloves are okay, I guess. I wish they would have stayed with the suede leather work gloves they originally had. Uncharted ditched those gloves because they were not waterproof. How many people go diving wearing work gloves?

Disclaimer: I like their product, but I'm not their spokesperson

Jeanette Isabelle
_________________________
I'm not sure whose twisted idea it was to put hundreds of adolescents in underfunded schools run by people whose dreams were crushed years ago, but I admire the sadism. -- Wednesday Adams, Wednesday

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#298002 - 01/08/21 08:09 PM Re: Deconstructing the SEVENTY2 Kit [Re: chaosmagnet]
Jeanette_Isabelle Offline
Carpal Tunnel

Registered: 11/13/06
Posts: 2946
Loc: Nacogdoches, Texas
Originally Posted By: chaosmagnet
  • Duct tape (as mentioned above)

It has duct tape in the Tools Pocket.

Originally Posted By: chaosmagnet
  • A rain shell
  • Playing cards
  • A small candle

The kit is what it is. It can't include everything.

Originally Posted By: chaosmagnet
  • Ritter PSP or PSP+ (of course)

I also recommended adding that to the kit when I review it.

Jeanette Isabelle
_________________________
I'm not sure whose twisted idea it was to put hundreds of adolescents in underfunded schools run by people whose dreams were crushed years ago, but I admire the sadism. -- Wednesday Adams, Wednesday

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#298003 - 01/08/21 08:58 PM Re: Deconstructing the SEVENTY2 Kit [Re: chaosmagnet]
hikermor Offline
Geezer in Chief
Geezer

Registered: 08/26/06
Posts: 7705
Loc: southern Cal
The posts by J-I and CM highlight one of the essential characteristics of any really useful "survival kt" - to really work, they must be individualized to the person's skills, habits, and circumstances. No generic, off the shelf kit can do this. Still, the exorbitantly expensive and marginal kit here discussed, is better than nothing.

But it can easily be improved - I speak from experience as a backpacker and SAR volunteer, where for decades I kept my gear packed and ready to go at a moment's notice. Now sometimes we had plenty of time to prepare - "assemble tomorrow morning at" - nad sometimes it was instantaneous - "meet at ....NOW" In the latter case, you needed reliable gear, suitable for a variety of conditions, that you were familiar with and whose quirks were known. This assemblage had to adjusted seasonally, given the variety of climates available in southerner Arizona - from winter's su zero conditions (in the mountains) to summer hat when, as one of my colleagues famously declared, "your pack turns into a giant water bottle."

Actually the typical BOB pack is just a typical backpacker's assemblage, perhaps with the addition of a hopefully adequate cash stash, which will allow you the option of total self sufficiency for a number of days. You need shelter, food, probably fire or heat of some sort, first aid capability, etc. This will vary depending upon your situation, bug out scenario, and circumstances. It really helps if you have reasonable hiking experience, because you may well have to depend on you own two feet, when all else fails.

Above all, you must utilize the items selected, so that you are familiar with them. Putting them in a closet, untouched until disaster strikes, is setting the stage for trouble.
_________________________
Geezer in Chief

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#298004 - 01/09/21 12:14 AM Re: Deconstructing the SEVENTY2 Kit [Re: Jeanette_Isabelle]
chaosmagnet Offline
Sheriff
Carpal Tunnel

Registered: 12/03/09
Posts: 3819
Loc: USA
I missed the duct tape, thank you, Jeanette_Isabelle for the correction.

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#298005 - 01/09/21 12:19 AM Re: Deconstructing the SEVENTY2 Kit [Re: chaosmagnet]
chaosmagnet Offline
Sheriff
Carpal Tunnel

Registered: 12/03/09
Posts: 3819
Loc: USA
Two questions about the kit, Jeanette_Isabelle, if you could answer them.

What type of battery is used by the flashlight?

Is there a marking on the knife indicating what kind of steel it's made from?

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