No offense intended, guys, but....

Too often I see people at this site who seem to be more concerned with the size of their kit than its usefulness. I guess this okay if the only places you go is the rut between home and work. It's a hobby in theoreticality (?) that probably will never be used.

HOWEVER... how smart is it to arbitrarily designate the size of your kit, force the contents to fit, and then find yourself in a real survival situation? A good, well-thought-out kit for most situations should fit in a fanny pack. Why force it to fit into a 1"x1.5" mint tin?

Two of the most common hazards of operating away from what currently passes for civilization are dehydration and hypothermia. You don't even have to be in the wilderness -- all you have to be is beyond shouting distance of people, with a broken leg. How wonderful it would be THEN to open your kit and find a metal cup stuffed with Bics and matches!!! <img src="/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />

Granted, most of the kits used by ETS members are hobby kits, never to be used. But if you need it, you're probably going to REALLY need it, so why cheat yourself on contents?


The original poster of this thread lives in Canada, pretty cold country to be caught out with minimal fire and water-heating capability!

Sue