WOFT,

I appreciate the feedback, but I remain unconvinced.

With all respect to your mother (Boers still have reputations as excellent marksmen), I know that if I personally couldn't skip eating and hike for a day without becoming "really sick", I'd be much more concerned about the health implications of that, than possible "survival" scenarios.

Hypothermia is a complicated issue, and I certainly recognize the value of food in staving it off- there have been times on the trail where food, carbs especially, have made the difference between sleeping and feeling cold all night for me... but we're dealing with very limited space here, and I'd contend that the space is much better used for firestarting and maybe even inusulation or chemical heat pads (both of which I carry every day, this time of year in the Northern hemisphere) than for bulky foodstuffs.

Again, it isn't a question of what would be "nice to have".. certainly, food makes it onto that list (I personally probably enjoy it more than most- and it shows). The question is what's most appropriate for a small personal survival kit. I just don't see that many scenarios where the appropriate reaction to a short-term emergency is... eating.

The same criteria would seem to apply to any number of items that “other” people might need- they'd be "nice to have" in some scenarios, but they're not generally likely enough to be needed to rate inclusion in a small personal survival kit. By definition, it’s “personal”.. it’s intended to get YOU through. You can’t realistically carry everything that YOU might need, much less what others might need, and if you don’t survive, you can’t help anyone else.