In some cases an Altoid Tin kit isn't much help, in others it might be just what you need. For example, what do you need for urban/suburban situations? You probably will not be collecting ground water or trapping pigeons in Rockefeller Center, or setting-up camp in the food court at the mall. Your employer will not take well to you making a fire in your cubical to boil water or generate heat.

When I think of the things I want to have on my person at all times, this is what I come up with:

• Flashlight
• Pocket knife
• First Aid
• Sewing Kit
• Duct Tape
• ID
• Cash
• Car key
• House key
• Public Transit Fare Card
• Hard Candy
• Water container
• Water purification
• N95 Mask
• Smoke Mask
• Multi-Tool
• Insulated Leather Gloves
• Warm, water-repellent jacket
• Warm hat

Water will never fit in my tin, but it fits in my hand, and nobody gives a second glance to someone bringing a bottle of water into a meeting. I can fit an oven bag or condom and some water purification tablets. But do I need them in my pocket? Or is it acceptable to keep them in my EDC?

Gloves, hat, jacket? Not in my tin. I can wear a jacket (and, in fact, my jacket can be part of my EDC transport system, as in Scottevest jackets) and stuff my other items in the pockets. I can probably even get by bringing my jacket to a meeting. Or I can stick a jacket in my EDC bag and have it "available," but not ever-present. Ditto for an N95 mask, smoke mask and multi-tool.

The rest of the stuff can fit into an Altoids tin. And in many cases this would be enough to get by on if everything else was lost. Not to survive for days or travel tens of miles, but to handle common crisis. I don't need my tin to be waterproof or dust proof, though I can wrap it with electrical tape to make it reasonably so. Nothing inside will be ruined by getting wet or dusty, at least nothing that isn't already sealed.

As has been pointed-out elsewhere on this site, even after the 9/11 attacks, walking just 15 minutes away from the WTC area you could get water, food and medical supplies. 15 minutes east or west and you could be on a ferry out of the city. 15 minutes north and you were on a subway or in a cab and heading for a train or bus out of the city, or for a hotel room to hunker down until things sorted out. Wildfires and hurricanes don't pop-up out of nowhere.

True, if you're in an earthquake or tornado prone area, things can go very wrong very quickly and without warning. Your EDC needs to reflect those risks. But I'm not ready to dismiss candy tin kits quite yet. Sure, they are limited, but sometimes they are all you need. And sometimes its hard to bring your EDC with you to every meeting. Ideally, that EDC would still be reasonably accessible, but in a panic even a dozen yards might still be out of reach. Something that carries easily in the pocket of my dress pants still has value, IMHO.