b1k3rwaif said:
so what would you advise i change in my kit?
If you are happy and comfortable with what you carry in your kit then don't change it just because somebody you've never met (me
) says they don't like it, carry what you wish my friend
However seeing as you ask, here are my thoughts on the subject.
I find these little kits a bit of a novelty item for use in the UK, I certainly don't need them living in Surrey as I'm never all that far from a road/house/phone and always carry my mobile with me, which is itself a survival tool (although not one to rely on totally), also as a smoker I always have a lighter or two on me and at least a edc folder and most often while at work or out bushcrafting a fixed blade too.
These kits are great for short term survival, the survivor of a light aircraft crash or the sailer who's boat has gone down and he is on a remote shoreline and as I said for military personel who find themselves in trouble and need some short term items to help them on their way back to safety, as I said before i am a great believer in being prepared and that includes leaving detailed route plans and timings with people so that if I don't come back then I know somebody will come looking for me and know roughly where I am. None of the above applies to me in everyday life so I find that I do not need the kits, as somebody said earlier in the thread you might be better carrying a few mars bars or bags of dried fruit along with your knife.
The problem is that the items will run out fairly quickly so unless you are in a short term situation all you are doing is delaying your demise (obviously this is good if it is a short term thing as you'll be out of there before the demise) but if it's a longer term things then you would be better off to know how to do all the things you need to do without having this kit with you (in which case do you really need the kit anyway?)
I am also of the opinion that the longer you are in a survival situation then the easier it becomes (if you know what you are doing - which is where the skills and knowledge bit comes in) and in time it will go through the transition from "Survival" to "Wilderness living" or "Bushcraft". For example, you have 25ft of paracord in your kit. That's going to be great for shelter building but once it's used then it's gone and you might as well not have had it, if you knew how to make natural cordage then you wouldn't need the paracord (or could save it for something you really need it for), however, it can take time to make natural cordage so for the short term the paracord would make life easier. The same applies to the puritabs, they make life easier in the short term but when they run out you need to know how to purify your water. As you are there longer and longer you will find that you have more and more time on your hands as you get more and more organised...you will find loneliness and bordom your greatest enemies and doing things like making cordage and other camp crafts will help to keep your mind busy and ward off the despondancy and dispare that will soon start to set in.
Anyway, I'm rambling now (I know what I want to say but am having trouble putting it down here, would be much easier in a chat round a fire lol
) The basics of what I'm saying is that you cannot cover up gaps in your knowledge and skills levels indefinately, at some point the kit runs out and you need to have the skills to carry on without it and as such if you have the skills then you don't really need the kit...it just makes life a bit easier to start with. So what I'll do is make a list of what I'd carry as a "survival kit" if I was going somewhere temperate but rather remote...say Sweden or parts of Poland.
1) Good quality fixed blade knife in sheath
2) Firesteel
3) Small fishing kit
4) back up folder (most likely a british army clasp knife or a good SAK)
5) small sharpening stone (DC3 or similar)
6) Good quality button compass
7) Small sowing kit but with one large leather needle added
8) Small candle (most likely not a tea lite)
And that's it...if I really wanted to to be picky then as I've said just the knife would do me
It might also help if next to the list of kit you have, I put an example or two of how I might get round not having the kit by using one of the skills I have learnt but please note I am doing this to try to help and NOT to be picky about the gear you carry, please also note that I appriciate that some of the things I will suggest are not possible in certain places for example if you don't have any birch tree's then you can't make birch bark containers lol
so you would have to adapt and improvise with what you do have around you. I would also like to pass coment on a few of the items you have listed and suggest alternatives that in my personal opinion are better items (you may think otherwise and that's fine too
).
1.standard tabacco tin - Too small to boil a usefull ammount of water in so maybe better to have a very small billy instead or learn to rock boil in birchbark containers.
2.sandwich bags , size lagre - I'm not sure what these would be used for? Burn dressing maybe?
1.condom (unlubricated for water carrying) - Where are you carrying this water too? Why not site your camp closer to the water sourse? If you have waterproof trousers then tie the anckles closed and fill them with water - if you're not going far then use normal trousers (they'll leak but you will get quite a bit stay in them if you aren't carrying it far) and dry them before you put them back on.
1.beta light (or similar) - I can't see a need for this, if you need to signel then a large fire is going to be better that a beta lite by a long way. If it's to look at stuff in the dark then wait until it's light again. If needs be then make a natural torch from birch bark or pine resin or whatever else you can find.
1.bic lighter (small ) - A novelty item but very useful none the less, certainly worth havnig in the kit and only not in mine as I carry one anyway being a smoker. Keep it dry thought or it won't work until it has dried. If you didn't have it then there's always fire by friction.
1.spare flint (for above) - Again no problem with this as it takes up next to nothing and is very handy.
1.tin opener - To open what exactly? If you've got plenty of tinned food then you're hardly in a survival situation are you?
1.small lock knife - Can't argue with this item at all...but do make sure it's a good quality knife, a Spiderco or something of that standard. Certainly a darn site easier than knapping your own flint knife!
1.button compass - Not essensial if you know your stars and other natual indicators but certainly for the size it is worth having to make nav quicker.
1.pencil - Again not a bad thing to have but you could use natural paints or charcoal if you needed too.
1.wiresaw - Totally useless IMO...don't even bother carrying it. Do you really need nice neatly sawn wood in your survival situation...can't you burn your way through bigger logs for shelter building and just feed longer ones onto your fire bit by bit.
1.tea-light (light it before packing as a prelit wick will catch a lot quicker when you need it) - Candles are a good idea, they last ages if only used to light your fire and then put out again but I don't like those tea-lites and prefer a slightly cut down normal table candle or a bees wax one which has other uses or a tallow one that in very dire circumstances can be eaten.
1.book of matches - Nothing wrong with having matches with you...mayeb several books spread about your person and kit would be better than one book in a survival tin. Some people like to dip the heads of the matches in the book all together into molten wax to waterproof them.
10. aquapure tablets - Again, useful for the first ten litres you drink but after that you'll need to purify naturally and this goes back to what I was saying above about long and short term survival.
1.small sewing kit(you never know) - Add to it a larger leather needle and you have a really useful bit of kit. In time you could fashion your own kit from bone or antler so not essencial to have but a good luxury.
fishing line/ hooks and weights - Exactly the same as above, you can make your own from bone, antler etc but nice to have and doesn't weight much.
20ft.brass wire - Very useful for snares, you can make natural ones but the brass wire is more reliable and easier...so you make 7 or 8 from it and then another 20 or 30 natural ones and lay them all out, hopefully one will catch your dinner for you.
6.safety pins(various sizes) - Can't see much use for these...fishing hooks maybe but I'd rather have a few ready make hooks that work better and are lighter.
1.bin-liner (as large as you can find, this goes outside the tin) - Can't see a massive need for this either - if you're carrying your kit in it then you're doing well to have that much stuff. You could improvise by roughly weaving a basket or if it's for shelter waterproofing then use leaf litter, turf sods, bracken thatch or whatever else is about. In long term survival the bin liner will soon be trashed so why become acustomed to something you won't have all that long. Also in longer term survival once you start to hunt and trap (if you are able and skilled to do so) then you can use the skins instead of the bin liner.
1.Magnesium Firestarter (use the back of the knife as a striker) - I don't like these at all (in fact they come second only to wiresaws in my list of gash kit). I advise to take it out of your kit and replace it with a proper Swedish firesteel that will work better and last longer.
as many cotton pads as you can fit to stop rattling and as kinder) - nothing wrong with this but again they will run out pretty quick. Better to get into the habbit of picking up tinder (cattail fluff, birch bark etc etc) and popping it in your pocket as you wonder throught the woods, then when you need tinder you need only reach into your pocket.
25ft.paracord (wrapped around tin) - Useful to have but will run out soon so make sure you can make natural cordage and know how to use withies. For a bow drill to start your fire the paracord would be more durable than natural cordage but then again why not just use your boot lace for the cord on the bow and then pt it back in your boot when you are done.
tape to secure it (can be used for various things) - Like what apart from helping to waterproof the tin that I wouldn't be carrying anyway?
I hope that is of interest to you and maybe even of some help, I think I've pushed the point enough now but I am trying to help and not to be negative.
All the best,
Bam.
