Mini Survival Kits

[Jonathan Cottrell]

Hi everyone, this is my first post.

I'm sure that we are all familiar with mini survival kits, but has anyone had to use one for real? What were the circumstances that led to you using it, what did you use and how well did it work? How would you improve your kit?

 

[Womble]

Hi Jonathan.

I Can't say I have, but welcome to here anyway!

 

[Adi007]

Do you mean the tobacco tin kits? Like the SAS kits made popular by John "Lofty" Wiseman?

It's a real eye opener to go out into the woods with a jacket, warm trousers and a tobacco tin survival kit. After 24 hrs all romantic concepts of "easy" survival vanish and you realize just how hard it is. if you want wanter, you have to work for it, if you want food, it's hard work. Keeping warm and dry is hard.

The only real test of any kit is using it - and I always suggest using it before you have to!

But it is also both fun and educational!!!! :-D :-D

 

[JakeR]

There was a time where one would have been perfect. Read about my trip to the karoo desert, south africa in the Bushcraft chatter section. A water purifier would have been good. As we didnt know whether boiling the river water would be safe enough to drink (it contained many parasites including bulhazia).

If i were to creat a small survival tin. What should i put in it (tobacco tin)?
Bearing in mind that i wont really get myself into *bad* situations?

Thanks,

Jake

 

[maddave]

Any kit is better than none at all but the pocket survival kits are just something to give you "the edge" over nothing at all. That's where for me survival and bushcraft differ. Bushcraft is a way of making yourself comfortable and safe with the minimum of kit whilst enjoying the great outdoors, survival is trying your hardest not to die. I'm sure when fighter pilots and the like got shot down over enemy territory they would have sold their soul for a Granny B, water filter, Hoochie etc, but their kit was just to keep em alive. Thiese kits do work however but it's like what was said earlier, practice with it and if something fails, it's not so bad if you just have to get the bus home. It's a different matter if it fails in the middle of the Kalihari desert :biggthump

 

[sargey]

i think the point with mini kits is pocketability, yes an sfa would be a nice thing to have, but it doesn't fit into your average pocket.

"survival" is never easy, a mini kit doesn't make it easy, nor does having a knife an axe and a ball of string. if i had a knife and an axe, i'd happily swap either one for my mini kit.

as for real world use, the most useful bits for real emergencies are the sewing kit and the stash of safety pins. typically for clothing repair. the next handiest bit is probably the first aid items.

for playing in the woods use the problem is packing and repacking tiny components in the dark when you're shivering. i prefer bigger more useable components, bigger firesteel with the handle removed and replaced with a special tie-wrap'n'hose loop is better than the tiny ones. a sun brand mini baseplate compass is better than a tiny button compass. single sided stanley knife blades with medical tape handles rather than scalpel blades.

i also keep my kit in a small waterproof otterbox rather than a 'baccy tin.

cheers, and.