Scenario not given - Taking the focus of this web-site; unexpected short-term survival until rescue which is expected in short order (72 hrs to three weeks) - I am not setting up a colony or hiding out from the bad people.<br><br>knife (minimum for survival)<br>fire <br>water (now I can eat and drink<br>cord<br>tarp (now I can find shelter)<br>whistle<br>mirror (now I can signal for help)<br>compass (now I can find help)<br>DuctTape (FAK, and Sewing Kit and cordage and ... all rolled up ;>).<br><br><br>I carry these tools everywhere and always. The particular brand and model changes and I often carry redundancy in the important first three (knife, fire, water). For example, right now (urban env at a desk) I am carrying:<br>knives: leatherman wave<br> Mini multi tool with built-in flashlight<br> 4 safety razors<br> 2 Xacto blades<br><br>Fire: mini Bic lighter<br> Spark light fire starter and 5 tinder tabs<br><br>Water:<br> 20 Potable Aqua tabs<br><br>Cord: 10 ft of paracord<br> 100 ft of strong nylong line<br> 30 ft of nylong string<br><br>Tarp: large garbage bag<br><br>Whistle: aluminum key-chain whistle<br><br>Mirror: Inner surface of the Altoids tin<br><br>Compass: Button compass liberated from REI key fob<br><br>DuctTape: 10 ft folded flat rolled on itself.<br><br>In my car in my belly pack I have<br>knife: Cold Steel Bushman with cord wrapped handle<br><br>fire: More mini-Bic's <br> Mil Surplus Magnesium bar with flint and striker<br> <br>Water: 1 Gallon water bottle<br> 1 liter water bottle with cordage for slinging over sholder<br> 1 bottle of Potable Aqua tabs<br> Katadyn filter<br><br>Much of the above listed items are part of the Altoids tin PSK that I carry which includes more than the first 10 essentials including a wire saw a couple of snares, photon II, .... (See earlier post here)<br><br>I also carry a mini FAK containing bandaids, moleskin, scissors, tweezers, CPR mask, gloves, super glue, antiseptic, aspirin, ibuprofin, benedryl, magnifying glass, Xacto blades, safty razors, Potable Aqua tabs.