Under the circumstances you describe, what items would keep you alive in your kit, and how?
The wire could be used to bind branches if no suitable Y shaped sticks or withies, etc. were available. This might help me make a rudamentry shelter with my jacket, which has a huge moral boost, gives a feeling of safety and would act as a heat reflector. The fire, given crappy weather, could be lit with the dry tinder, using steel or matches, and the candle is useful if fine starting fuel if sparse or hard to find. The saw has obvious uses in shelter building and fire lighting, though I hardly need to use a saw generally.
The rip I got in my jacket could be mended with thread and finished with plastic tape. But since it's now pissing down, I'll use a safety pin a as a temp fix. Plaster (or cloth and tape) and pain killer could be use for the cut I got (god I'm unlucky).
The dry tinder could instead be used as the basis of a signal fire, since someone will be coming looking, as I've logged a plan, even though I diverged from it to photograph what I thought was a wolf. The heligraph or even metal lid could also be used for signalling. Whistle too.
The plastic bag could be used to contain a decent quantity of water, even if it was drawn from moisture in the air. This could then be treated with a tablet. Alternatively the water treatment straw could be used ad hoc, but this is not so simple.
The wire saw can be used in conjunction with cord to bring down high branches which may be laden with fruit. This may be the only way to detach a decent standing dead branch for firewood. Avoiding climbing trees is a good thing, especially with a sprained ankle I got myself (my oh my).
Being not super sure where I am (how unlike me), I'm not going far, even with a small compass (though I have a real one in my pocket). I head down to the lake to try for a fish or wild fowl with the fishing kit, not only bacuase it passes the time. I'll use the small sharp knife to prepare any game because it's clean. I can use the tin to cook it in if I really want to, but we're not going to be here for long. I could leave a note with the waterproof paper and the pencil if I really want to. Alternarively, I could make up a crossword.
The tin is better served as a pot to make a hot drink before bed to keep the old core warm. It's a ballache to make tea any other way. Also good for mixing remedies for tummy pains, say. Even a rehydrating drink with the salt would be useful is water is short.
There are other uses, obviously.
Even without half of these disasterous coincidences, some of this kit will be useful and potentially life saving. Since you never know which bit, you might as well take it all. Since some of if is very small, and could be useful in SOME environments, it's just as well keep them in.
Sure a lot of this could have been done with a knife, a steel and shoe laces, but who needs hard work when it's yacking it down?
Don't you have more stuff in your pockets than you would have in a little tin? Folding knife? lighter or two? button torch on your keychain? small packet of tissues? bag of sweets?
