John D. McCann, whom you may recall has recently been a contributor recently ITS, has just released a new book called Stay Alive! Survival Skills You Need.

You may remember towards the beginning days of ITS when I mentioned the Mini Survival Kits I built based on John’s first book, Build The Perfect Survival Kit. He’s been one of my favorite authors for a long time and I was stoked to have him contribute to ITS Tactical.

I’m even more excited about this new book, as it keeps in line with what I love about John as an author. He takes a no-nonsense, anal-retentive look at survival as a whole and breaks it down for everyone to understand. I hope he doesn’t get upset with my description of his writing, but it’s something I can totally relate to and fully appreciate.

Stay Alive! Survival Skills You Need

With his first book, John delved deep into each item of what you need in your Survival Kits and why it’s there in the first place; from the mini kit all the way up to the truck-sized kit. In John’s new book he takes that same analytical approach to the actual skills you need to survive.

Just mentioning the different chapters will give you an idea of the breadth of John’s information.

• The Survivor Mentality
• The Indispensable Survival Kit
• Knives & Tools for Survival
• Fire & Light – Survival Assets
• Shelter & Protection from the Elements
• Water Collection & Purification
• Signaling for Help
• Navigate Your Way Back
• Food to Sustain Energy
• Wilderness Hazards & Safety
• Final Thoughts & Resources

Each chapter goes into detail with gorgeous photos and diagrams to explain exactly what John’s trying to teach. I particularly like the sidebar “tips” and DIY information that’s near and dear to what we do here on ITS.

Stay Alive is a must read and a tremendous resource that should be on everyone’s shelf. I’ll leave you with a great quote from Dave Canterbury, who wrote the forward.

Too many survival books are simply cut and paste toilet paper, taken from age-old military manuals that catered to soldiers, that emphasize the use of issue-type items for emergency use. Stay Alive! Survival Skills You Need is packed with information on common everyday items that civilians have access to and can use to build a great kit and how to use those items to keep them alive!

Check out Stay Alive! Survival Skills You Need via Amazon and be sure to head on over to John’s Website where you can also pick up the book and supplies to build your own kits.

I’m sitting at my desk as I feel the floor gently ‘bounce.’ I work on the 11th floor of an office building in downtown Washington DC. Being at the top of the building and next to a small bridge, it’s not uncommon to feel small ‘shutters’ of movement as a large truck passes by.

Was this a truck? An earthquake? An explosion? The bounce subsided for a few moments as my coworkers and I stood and stared blankly at each other.

I typed to a friend on Skype:

“i think were having an earthquake”

Just as we were trying to figure out what it was that we felt, much larger vibrations were now starting to hit, and hard. The ceiling tiles began to shake and it sounded as if loose nuts and bolts were being dropped on top of them. I turned to my right and through the conference room window I saw the building next to ours shaking. The glass made sounds like it was going to buckle under stress.

Then all of a sudden, everything was still. The low rumble was gone. The building once again completely stable. Unsure of what happened and not wanting to stick around to find out, my coworkers and I evacuated the office to regroup on the streets outside.

One more quick message on Skype:

“gotta go”

All I had to do was zip up my bag and head for the stairs. That’s it. Because I try to pack for every situation, there was no scrambling to assemble things. I left my computer behind, with every application still running. It would have just weighed me down and my data is already saved in multiple places (Evernote, Dropbox, etc.).

Freedom Plaza, Washington DC; taken by Jeffrey Levy.

Everyone on the street immediately tried calling loved ones but the voice network for our cell phones were down. I immediately sent my wife a text which seemed to work and then turned to Twitter. It turns out it wasn’t just DC, but almost the entire East Coast felt it. This was a real earthquake (5.8) and knowing the facts afterwards, it was the largest in this area since 1897.

My neck of the woods was relatively untouched but closer to the epicenter there were some buildings affected and chimneys knocked down. Actually, a picture frame at my house fell but that’s it.

Preparation

Because I don’t live or travel in an earthquake prone location, I only carry and know the very basics when it comes to preparing for one. With that said, I have designed my most basic ‘everyday carry’ to cover a large variety of situations.

Below is a list sharing some of the items I had with me ready to go. This is also what I carry on a daily basis.

• Sturdy bag
• Usually my GORUCK GR1 but I had the GR2 at the time.
• First Aid kit
• Basic ‘boo boo’ stuff with band-aids and what not.
• ETA Kit 
• If there were more damage and lives at stake, a true blow out kit would be needed.
• Survival Kit
• Pocket sized and includes everything I need to get home if I have to walk the 10 miles.
• Pocket knife
• I carry a Benchmade Mini-Griptilian. A very strong and capable little blade.
• Multi tool
• Pliers can be extremely useful, especially in an urban environment.
• Flashlight
• What if I were trapped under rubble or even on the Metro (subway) when the earthquake hit?
• Water
• In my bag you’ll almost always find at least a one liter bottle of water.
• Food
• Just a few snacks.
• Backup cell phone battery charger
• Just because voice networks were down, texting and tweeting runs the battery down fast.
• Sturdy shoes/boots
• Had there been significant damage, boots would offer great protection.

Don’t use my list as a rule but as something to give you ideas on. Work on developing an EDC that works specifically for you.

Also, our West Coast readers will most certainly laugh at us for making so much noise about a quake under 6.0 but this was my, and many others first earthquake. Being 11 stories up and feeling everything shifting and groaning was an intense experience. I’m just glad that’s all it was.

Further Reading

Here are some past articles that you should really take the time to revisit:

• Preparedness Lifestyle vs Preparedness Event
• Every Day Carry Planning Series
• How Blow Out Kits Saved Lives in Tucson and Why You Should Carry One
• Three Seconds. Three Minutes. 30 Minutes. Are You Prepared?
• 12 Things You Need In Your Vehicle Emergency Kit
• Pocket Survival Kit Review Series
• Evacuation Strategies and Emergency Kits for Staying Alive
• Can You Physically Save Yourself
• 42 Grunt Tips & Tactics for Your Toolbox when the SHTF

Please feel free to leave a comment with ideas on how to prepare so we can help inform as many people as possible about this. What’s in your ‘go bag’ or what do you carry every day in case something like this happens?

- Thanks Josh for asking about a debrief on this.

Even though we just reviewed the near identical twin brother of this kit, the sixth kit in our Pocket Sized Survival Kit series is the Pocket Survival Pak Plus from Adventure Medical Kits.

As the name implies, it’s quite similar to the standard Pocket Survival Pak. But this kit has some tricks up its sleeve.

What I like about these past two kits from Adventure Medical Kits & Doug Ritter is that the packaging includes a section on “Improving The Odds in Your Favor.”

It urges you to not only go over the survival instructions before stowing your Pak, but to also practice with it beforehand.

The advice makes sense no matter what Survival Kit you’re using, you can never practice too much before you’re in the situation where you “have” to use it.

Contents

• RSK Mk5 Knife
• Pico Lite LED Flashlight
• Sterile Water Container
• Katadyn Micropur MP I Water Purification Tablets
• 28″ Ball Chain
• Fesnel Lens Magnifier (2″ x 3″)
• Rescue Flash Signal Mirror
• Spark-Lite Firestarter
• Tinder-Quik (4)
• Rescue Howler Fox 40 Whistle
• Compass (20 mm)
• Fishing Kit (4 fish hooks)
• Duct Tape (2″ x 26″)
• Aluminum Foil
• Nylon Cord (10 ft., 150 lb. test)
• Stainless Steel Utility Wire (6 ft. of 0.020″)
• Safety Pins #3-2″ (4)
• Sewing Needle & Nylon Thread (50 ft.)
• Pencil & Waterproof Note Paper

Testing Notes

• Weight 6.1 oz.
• I was impressed with the construction of the kit itself but I would have liked to see it in a much brighter orange color, rather than the subdued red that it actually is. In a survival situation you are going to want as many signaling devices as possible.
• The included flashlight worked as well as expected, and I don’t mean that in a bad way. It’s extremely small, so you can’t get a very large beam from it, but the luxury of having some light to operate when the sun goes down is quite handy.
• The RSK Mk5 knife is so light, it’s almost the same weight as the Magpul Executive Field Case for the iPhone 4. It’s easy to grip and use for most tasks. I can’t think of anyway for them to make this knife smaller and still have it be as comfortable as it is. The attached lanyard and sheath allow a few different carrying options.
• The instructions on the water purification tablets were easy enough to follow but actually a little funny. “Wear protective eyewear, protective clothing and rubber gloves.” Don’t they know this is a survival situation? The tablet dissolved in only about a minute or two but the instructions say to leave it untouched for 4 hours and away from direct sunlight.
• The one liter water bag was great. It held the exact amount of water that could be purified with one tablet so that you have the potential for six liters of purified water. It was constructed fairly well and survived some small drops from a height of around three feet before popping at the bottom. But you could possibly fix that with some duct tape.

[The rest of the items in this kit were duplicates from the last. Click to view their testing notes.]

Grading

Cost

3/5 – This section of the grading was a little tricky. While the quality of the contents merits the higher price, it’s still a little steep for some people. That said, you also need to take into account who this kit is geared towards. It’s geared towards individuals that don’t carry a knife or flashlight on a daily basis.

Waterproofness

5/5 – The waterproof pouch is made by Pacific Outdoor Equipment and is easily resealable with the ziplock-style enclosure. With sturdy plastic on one side and durable 40D ripstop on the other, I’m fully confident that this case will survive being dragged over the rocks down a river or creek. In my tests, this bag is IPX7 rated (submersible to 1 meter for 30 minutes) if not better.

Size/Weight Portability

4/5 – Fits best in a cargo pocket but still fits in most front pockets with no problem. If you wanted to shrink the kit down a little and make it more pocket friendly, move the knife, whistle and flashlight to the ball chain and wear them around your neck.

Shelter

4/5 – You have to be creative but you shouldn’t have any trouble making a shelter, especially with the included survival knife. I wanted to give this a perfect 5/5 but without any included type of shelter, I knocked it down to a 4/5.

Water Purification

5/5 – 6 water purification tablets and a one liter container make this kit stand head and shoulders above the others.

Food

4/5 – There’s nothing included in the kit food-wise, but all of the items you would need to catch and cook your own food are included. Go fishing and set some snares to increase your chances of a catch.

Fire Starting

5/5 – The fire starter flint works well even when soaked and when you couple it with the tinder-quiks, you should have no trouble getting a fire going. If you want to save the tinder-quiks for a wet situation and you have the sun available, you can use the included magnifying glass without much trouble.

Signaling

5/5 – A lot of these kits get in trouble because they don’t provide tools for signaling. That’s not the case with this kit. You can use the signal mirror, the extremely loud whistle or even the flashlight. I have no doubt that one of those could save your life. It’s good that these items didn’t get skimped on.

Overall Remarks

Simply put, if you aren’t going to carry a knife, flashlight, or liter of water on a daily basis then buy this kit. It has just about everything covered. Keep in mind it’s not ‘the’ ultimate survival kit but it’s pretty close to being the ultimate pocket-sized survival kit, thanks to high quality items included.

Just as I believe that the best camera in the world is the one that you always have on you, I feel the same about survival kits. Having an amazing survival kit in your truck or kayak that allows you to survive for a week can easily become unreachable in a true emergency or survival situation.

Check out all our detailed photos of the Pocket Survival Pak Plus on Flickr!

The fifth kit in our Pocket Sized Survival Kit series is the Pocket Survival Pak from Adventure Medical Kits.

Doug Ritter, founder of Equipped to Survive, worked with Adventure Medical Kits to develop this Survival Pak. As you’ll soon read, this kit is full of high quality items, but also has some great notes in the packaging that aims to better equip you for survival.

In the packaging itself, on the second page under “Improving The Odds In Your Favor” there is an important piece of survival information. Something so essential that I’m going to share it here. Are you ready? Don’t blink!

“Your fundamental survival tool is your brain.”

There it is. That’s the key to survival right there. Having the tools in this survival kit will only be of use if you are in the right frame of mind and if you have the know-how to survive.

Contents

• Rescue Howler Fox 40 Whistle
• Rescue Flash Signal Mirror
• 20mm Survival Compass
• Spark-Lite Firestarter
• Tinder-Quik [4]
• Duct Tape [2" x 26"]
• Scalpel Blade [#22]
• Stainless Steel Utility Wire [6 ft. of 0.020"]
• Fresnel Lens Magnifier [2" x 3"]
• Heavy Duty Nylon Thread [50 ft.]
• Braided Nylon Cord [10 ft., 150 lb. test]
• Fish Hooks [4], Sinkers [2] and Snap Swivel
• Heavy Duty Sewing Needle
• Safety Pins #3-2″ [4]
• Pencil and Waterproof Note Paper [2 pcs.]
• Contents List [gives examples on how to use each item]
• Waterproof Instructions [10 pages]

Testing Notes

• Weight: 4.0 oz
• The kit itself was strong, sturdy, resealable, waterproof, and even floatable. While it was very easy to open and close, I had no worries of it opening on it’s own and dumping the contents.
• To say the whistle was extremely loud would be an understatement. It’s said to be able to reach 122 decibels and can be heard over a mile away! It exceeds the specifications set by The International Convention for the Safety of Life at Sea (SOLAS) and the U.S. Coast Guard.
• This was my first time using a signal mirror and I was more than happy with the results. There are easy to follow instructions on the back and it took no time at all to figure it out. With a plane or helicopter flying overhead, this will be one of your best options for getting rescued.
• When I first saw the compass, I thought it might be the cheapest quality item in this kit. But it actually surprised me. It is extremely small and accurate. The liquid felt to be very viscous with ultra smooth movement.
• The Spark-Lite Firestarter worked extremely well and even continued to work after being submerged in water for a few minutes. It claims to have over 1,000 sparks so I’m sure you won’t have much trouble starting a fire if you have this on you.
• The Tinder-Quiks lit quickly and stayed burning for almost 3 minutes. This is certainly something you will need if working with wet material.
• Duct tape was super sticky and easy to tear. Pretty much just your basic duct tape. Since this kit didn’t come with any first aid supplies, I would probably save some of this to use as a bandage. It actually burned pretty well, too, and gave off some good black smoke. You could use it as a fire starter or signal device.
• The scalpel was crazy sharp! It is indeed a surgical blade and while you should always carry a decent knife, in a pinch you can use this blade. It’s not very easy to work with but it’s better than nothing. I was able to fashion a ‘knife’ with just duct tape but it still wasn’t very easy to make something like a fuzz stick.
• I made a snare (but didn’t test it out) with the wire which was pretty easy to manipulate. Very strong yet still able to be ‘broken’ by just folding back and forth as fast as you can; it melts at the joint and separates so that you can trim to size.
• The Fresnel Lens Magnifier (I believe it’s pronounced ‘fruhnel’) worked very well. It took a while for me to start a fire because the sun kept going behind clouds but eventually I got a decent flame.
• The nylon thread was strong and there was a ton of it. It works well as fishing line (though I didn’t catch anything), but could also be used for lashing or repairing gear and clothes.
• The braided nylon thread was very strong and claims a 150 lb. test strength. I couldn’t get it to unravel on me and when you burn the ends it really seals up nicely.
• The fishing gear was great. Just about everything you need to fish except for the bait. While there was no ‘official’ lure, you could use the keyring from the whistle or a piece of tin foil. I wonder why most of these kits don’t include actual fishing line. Does the nylon thread have the same strength?
• I didn’t have to use the sewing needle, but it could be used for repairing gear or possibly even a makeshift suture (though I’m no doc!). It has an extra large eye that made it very easy to thread.
• The aluminum foil was just as expected and luckily didn’t have any holes from being folded. I used it to boil water but you could easily cook with it too.
• The safety pins are huge and can be used for any number of tasks, such as clipping the whistle onto your clothes or using them to keep your backpack closed if the zipper breaks. Like duct tape, they have a million uses!
• The pencil was crazy small and took up no space. It was also very easy to sharpen. The paper it came with was waterproof yet still burned easily if you needed it to start a fire. Even when burned, the water proofness of the paper still held its integrity.
• In addition to all of the standard survival contents, they threw in a waterproof instruction booklet that told you (and showed with pictures in some examples) how to handle medical issues, build a shelter, start a fire, find food and water, signal for help and more. This little booklet could be worth it’s weight in gold (although it’s pretty light, but you get what I mean) and is especially worth having on you whether you go with this kit or not.

Grading

Cost

5/5 – You can find this kit online or in stores between $25 and $35. I almost gave this kit a ’4′ in this category but the contents are of such a high quality that I reconsidered. I’m sure you know the saying of quality versus quantity but this kit doesn’t skimp on any of the items, so you really have the best mixture of quality and quantity.

Waterproofness

5/5 – This case is waterproof and resealable. Also, the plastic feels super tough so drops or scrapes on and over rocks shouldn’t be a problem. This bag is IPX7 rated (submersible to 1 meter for 30 minutes).

Size/Weight Portability

5/5 – Even when repacked, this kit is tiny. Roll the top over, stuff it in your pocket, and you’re good to go. It’s hard to ask for something smaller.

Shelter

4/5 – This kit has just about everything you need to build a shelter even though there is nothing in the kit that can be used as a shelter itself. You have enough cord, thread, and wire to lash together some branches; add some natural foliage with a bed of leaves/boughs/etc. and you have yourself a shelter.

Water Purification

4/5 – No water purification tablets but I was able to bring water to a boil with the included tin foil. And unlike the last kit, there were no holes in this tin foil so the water didn’t leak. Also it’s a pretty big piece of tin foil, so you could possibly use it to carry some water.

Food

4/5 – No food or candy was included in the kit itself, but there are a plethora of options for catching, preparing, and cooking your catch. You can set snares or go fishing and then use the scalpel to prepare your dinner and the tin foil to cook it!

Fire Starting

5/5 – You have a few different options when it comes to starting a fire with this kit. There are Tinder-Quiks which are great for wet environments where you have no sun and little chance of starting a fire. Then you have the flint fire starter which you could use on either the Tinder-Quiks or just dry tinder. And lastly, if you have some sun, you can use the magnifying lens.

Signaling

5/5 – Finally, some real signaling devices! This kit has an amazing whistle and a legitimate signal mirror. Both are important to your rescue and cover two different angles of signaling.

Overall Remarks

This is by far the best pre-made kit I’ve yet seen. Everything included is high quality and the additional reading material supplied is top notch. My favorite line from this kit? “This Pocket Survival Pak cannot, however, contain all the equipment or supplies you might need or want in an emergency.”

It then runs through a list of items that everyone should carry in addition to this kit. Having that disclaimer may sound like a no brainer but not many other kits would put that in print and I believe it shows integrity. I would trust this kit with my life and it did not disappoint.

While the definition of Wilderness Survival means many different things to many different people, today I’m using it in the context of a recent Boy Scout Campout I went on with my son and his troop.

Each year our troop, which my son has officially been part of for just about a year, holds an annual Wilderness Survival Campout they call McGyver. They call it McGyver because it’s a one night campout in January with nothing more than what you can carry in your pockets.

When I heard about the premise behind this campout, I was thoroughly impressed that the scouts have this rare opportunity to get out into nature and truly experience what it’s like to be out in cold weather with close to nothing with them for shelter.

McGyver

A caveat to the “only what’s in your pockets” was that they boys were allowed to have a sleeping bag and plastic sheeting with them to rig a shelter. Being the adventurous type, I decided to not allow myself the luxury of a sleeping bag or plastic sheeting on our overnight wilderness survival campout and show the boys it could also be done without those things.

We were fortunate enough to have a scout dad that had access to a huge game preserve near Glen Rose, TX where we all truly felt alone with nature for our night of “survival.”

I decided to carry what I always strive to have on me, which is my homemade Mini Survival Kit, 50 ft. of Paracord and an Adventure Medical Kits Heetsheets Emergency Blanket. I do have to mention that I also had water in a BCA (Back Country Access) Stash (freeze-proof hydration system), Nalgene, an Emerson Commander, MRE and my all time favorite headlamp, the Petzl e+Lite.

While the typical camping amenities were out the window, this article is focused around the usage of the Heatsheets Emergency Blanket and what I’ve found its capabilities and limitations to be.

Shelter

I had a plan in my head before the campout to utilize the Heatsheets Emergency Blanket as a traditional a-frame shelter secured by paracord. Having my Emerson on me I knew I’d be able to fashion stakes of some kind to anchor the tarp.

After some discussion about survival fundamentals with the boys, we all set out to build our shelters. With any kind of shelter, even a tent, the first thing to pay attention to is of course where you’re building it. You want to take notice of where water runoff would go in the event of a downpour and ensure you’re on high, flat ground.

Insulation

Then next thing is to insulate the ground. Not only for padding, but also to provide a barrier between you and the cold ground. While also important if you’re in a sleeping bag, it’s much more important in my situation where I only had the clothes I had on between me and the ground. Luckily there was long, dead grass surrounding the clearing where we were camping.

I selected a spot based on a nice natural feature I saw where a tree was growing up out of the ground at a 45˚ angle. I decided this would make a great backbone to string up my emergency blanket along. With that I started laying the dead grass down for my insulator, which proved to also provide some comfort during the night. We’d hoped it would drop below freezing, but temperatures stayed in the upper 30s.

Anchor Points

Knowing I wanted to utilize the tree as a backbone to my shelter and an a-frame configuration, I knew I’d need anchor points on the point of the A-Frame as well as anchor points to stake down the sides. I’ve utilized rocks in the past to shove into a section of a tarp, and wrap cord around it to make an anchor point, but there were no rocks to be found in our campsite.

I did, however, find what appeared to be some kind of cypress berry that I covered with the section of the Heatsheets Emergency Blanket I wanted to use as an anchor point. I then wrapped a two foot section of paracord around the berry anchor point and tied two half-hitches. I did this to the eight different anchor points that would be staked in, as well as to the four in the top that would hold the shelter up.

Staking

After I had the lengths of paracord hitched around my anchor points, I set out to tie a taut-line hitch with the remaining length of paracord. The paracord I was using for the top anchor points was longer so that I could wrap it around the 45˚ angle tree that made the backbone of the a-frame shelter.

Finding strong wood for stakes was another chore altogether, as all the dead wood on the ground was very brittle. We were of course following the Boy Scout Outdoor Code and not cutting off any living limbs, which I would have done if I was truly “surviving.”

When you put stakes into the ground you want to try to shoot for placing them at around a 30˚angle. Luckily the ground was soft enough that the stakes I had could be shoved into the ground, yet still held well.

A-Frame Completion

After I had the survival blanket staked in and adjusted the tension of the taut-line hitches, I set out completing the a-frame by finding other dead wood on the ground to stack up on the sides of the backbone tree.

I would have liked to have found branches with leaves or more covering on them, but I also wanted to see how wind-resistant my shelter wound up being as well. I did pile leaves up around the bottom of the a-frame to insulate the distance between the bottom anchor points and the stakes.

Shelter in Use

Being around a group of Scouts I probably didn’t get to bed until after midnight, but surprisingly I got a fairly good night’s sleep. My main concern with the Heetsheets Emergency Blanket or any emergency blanket is condensation. The reflected heat that these kinds of blankets provide and lead to condensation build up, which is never a good thing in the cold or otherwise.

As I wasn’t wrapped in the blanket and it was a fairly low-profile a-frame setup, I feel that the little condensation that it did collect was negligible. Had I have been wrapped up in it more or sleeping right against the side of it, I’m sure I would have noticed more condensation.

I did take off my boots, but left the layers of my PCU (Protective Combat Uniform), watch cap and gloves on. All in all I was surprised at how warm I stayed. While a lot can be said about wearing the PCU layers, gloves and the watch cap, I do feel that the shelter aided in keeping me warmer than being out in the elements.

What I also really like about the Heetsheets Emergency Blanket is the 56″ x 84″ size and the durable polyethylene construction. Plus the fact that it weighs 2.5 ounces and when vacuum sealed, hardly takes up any room whatsoever.

My Experience

I think the coolest thing I took from the campout, other than being able to put the AMK Heetsheets Emergency Blanket to the test, was seeing the scouts build their shelters and learning practical applications, like ensuring your shelter is blocking the wind and not creating a wind tunnel! Also the experience and confidence they gained by spending the night in a shelter they built themselves is something they’ll always have with them.

This experience also taught me that I need to spend more time outdoors with the things I carry on a daily basis and truly learn what each item’s capabilities and limitations are. Despite working with the items outdoors before, I’ve never truly tried to “survive” with what was in my pockets… That might be the next article you read from my outdoor adventures.

The fourth kit in our Pocket Sized Survival Kit series is the Ultralight Survival Kit by Lifeline. You may remember the low scores I gave the last kit by Lifeline, so you can understand my apprehension when I found out that this one was from the same company. But looks can be deceiving and I was willing to put this kit through its paces.

I like their tag line on the front of the packaging:

“A mixture of essential items to help you survive if lost or stranded in the outdoors.”

That’s the key thing to remember with all of these kits. A good kit should include some of the basics and have multiple uses for each item. There is no true ‘one size fits all’ kit, but most do contain a few truly essential items that, when paired with your creativity, can help you survive in an otherwise difficult situation.

Contents

• Weatherproof Carry Case
• Waterproof Matches
• Aluminum Foil (18″ x 12″)
• Emergency Blanket (50″ x 80″)
• Fishing Line (50′), Fish Hooks (4), Sinker Weights (4)
• Snare Wire (8′)
• Map Compass
• Emergency Whistle
• Emergency Cord (10′)
• Duct Tape (36″)
• Survival Guide
• Reusable Zipper-Lock Bag
• Surgical Blade
• Wound Closure Strips (5)
• Safety Pins (3)

Testing Notes

• Test weather: 34°F (wind chill of 23°F)
• Weight: 5.4 oz
• The ‘weatherproof carry case’ was a nice tough plastic ziploc style bag. A little hard to open because of the small ‘grab’ area. It closed pretty easily though.
• The matches were indeed waterproof and lit very easily. Due to the wet and windy conditions, I had to use almost all of my matches and even some of the matchbox to get the fire going.
• The aluminum foil did not work for boiling water because the creases in the folds caused some holes. It would still work for building a reflector or signaling device as well as cooking a fish or something.
• The emergency blanket really surprised me. This thing should be in every kit. I honestly couldn’t believe how well it worked.
• This kit had the most complete set of fishing gear but I still couldn’t catch anything. I’m starting to wonder if these kits should come with some artificial bait.
• The snare wire is super tough. The strength of this thing surprises me.
• The compass seemed accurate enough but it did feel flimsy. It would give you a basic sense of direction though.
• The whistle worked extremely well. It was actually the same exact kind that was in the previous kit.
• The emergency cord was pretty standard. It felt strong enough to do most tasks.
• I thought the duct tape was like every other kind of duct tape but I actually really liked this tape. It was super easy to tear.
• Including a survival guide in these kits is a great idea. It helps give you something to focus on. If you find yourself already knowing all of the survival tips, just use it as a fire starter.
• The ziploc bag came in handy because of its size. All of the contents could be easily swapped if you didn’t have any real need for the ‘super protection’ of the hard plastic bag. The zipper part of the seal felt a little weak but clicked in well. Maybe it was just thin.
• The surgical blade was crazy sharp. I would feel bad using it on wood because I wouldn’t want to dull the blade. I did fashion it into a sort of spear (but not without a little bit of help from my pocket knife).
• The wound closure strips didn’t stay on very well. I just put one on my hand and it just was not very sticky.
• Safety pins were pretty standard. They could be really good for fixing gear or clothing.

Emergency Blanket Testing Notes

I started off inside of the tent, thinking it would be more like a traditional shelter. Then I realized it would be a much better test if I were truly outside with no shelter at all. So, I did just that with only the emergency blanket and the clothes I was wearing. Oh, and my hat and some light gloves.

While I wasn’t out there the entire night, I quickly realized how important the emergency blanket was. Without it, I would have been very cold and uncomfortable. It was pretty easy to rip and you should be careful when unfolding it. I put a pretty good gash in mine which affected its heat retention. It’s worth noting that not once did I get a shiver though. The wind would keep blowing the blanket off of me even though I tucked it under my body.

What I want to do for the next time is spend the entire night outside with (or even without) a shelter in something like the Heatsheets Emergency Bivvy by Adventure Medical Kits.

The temperature when I left was 26°F with 13°F windchill.

Grading

Cost

5/5 – For the gear it provides, this kit is worth the money ($14 on Amazon.com)

Waterproofness

5/5 – Waterproof, resealable and tough. This bag is IPX7 rated (submersible to 1 meter for 30 minutes). It even repacked well, as it had a separate ziploc bag. Two is one and one is none.

Size/Weight Portability

4/5 – Weighed in at under 6 ounces and in a form factor that makes it extremely portable, this kit scores gets almost a perfect score.

Shelter

4/5 – This kit scores the highest in this category out of all of the ones I’ve tried out so far. The emergency blanket is a true shelter, keeping you warm and at least semi protected from the elements. And there is string and other gear for building a true shelter.

Water Purification

4/5 – I gave this kit a four out of five but that’s banking on optimum conditions. Boiling water in the tin foil is certainly possible but my piece of foil had small holes in the seams from being folded.

Food

4/5 – While there is no food included in the kit (not even a piece of candy), they did provide you with the means to catch and cook food. A pretty complete fishing set and the wire for snares will make a huge difference.

Fire Starting

3/5 – Waterproof matches are a start but what this kit needs is some sort of fire starting cube like the others. That comes in very handy when dealing with wet wood.

Signaling

3/5 – This kit didn’t have any designated signaling device other than the whistle. You could possibly use the emergency blanket or the tin foil but there isn’t any real accuracy with either of those.

Overall Remarks

Out of all the kits I’ve looked at so far, this is the one that I liked the best. It’s got a little bit of everything and honestly, I think the one thing that set this over the top was the emergency blanket. Keeping (somewhat) warm in freezing conditions is nothing to scoff at. Also, it was just a full featured kit for around the price of the sardine can style kits.

Stay tuned for more pocket survival kit reviews coming your way!

How many here remember having to carry a signal mirror in their military E&E kit? How about all the boaters, skiers/snowboarder, PSD or SAR types out there that are carrying one now?

Whichever category you might fall under, I’m sure you also know how much space those can take up and that they can potentially break, crack or become a safety hazard to your fingers. I’d like to introduce you to the future in survival gear with the SAR Eclipse Signal Mirror and Eclipse Micro Pendants.

Now you can have a signaling device on you anytime, no matter where you are. Whether that’s walking in Wal-mart or trekking through a mountain range in Afghanistan. Designed by a fellow veteran Spencer Reiter who runs SAR Global Tool. These are specialized pieces of equipment that everyone’s end of the world go-bag should include.

SAR Eclipse Dog Tag Signal System

You might be looking a the photos saying that they look like a dog tag or washer, but the DTSS is actually multiple dog-tags; each piece having it’s own unique function. As military guys will know, you keep your dog tag on you at all times; whether around your neck, on your keys, or chained around your trouser belt loop. It should also be second nature to have the ESM with you all the time.

If you look closely  at the DTSS it could also be used as a money clip to make it more readily available. When you open it up you see three different tags combined into one. One has a reflective polished mirror look, which is your signal mirror that wont crack or break on you. It’s highly reflective and can be seen for up to 10 miles during the day and 250m at night with a flashlight.

Next you’ll see a small circle made from SOLAS (Safety of Life At Sea) 3M high intensity reflective tape, which has been approved by the USCG. This is hidden under the curved tag section to protect it. When you’re boating or in wooded areas this is a highly reflective tape that is made to withstand marine environments and extreme cold. If you want to be seen in the middle of the ocean this is something that will be beneficial to have.

If you’re Military or LEO, there’s a special addition to the DTSS called GLINT tape which is 5/8” in diameter. Everyone that’s ever been in the military should know what GLINT tape is. It’s the little IR squares or IR GLINT Tape on your pockets that can only be seen under NVG’s with an IR light source. GLINT Tape is for MIL/LEO Only.

A standard 1”x1” square has a range of about 10,000 ft. The SOLAS was tested out to 500m with a PEQ2 and NVG’s which is well beyond the range of what a normal trekker needs. This Mil/LEO only edition is an ITARS items and is a tool you may one day need if your rucking in the out-lands of Afghanistan.

There is one last “tag” for those of use that need the ultimate swiss army of everything. That’s the Ti model that features a 6LA4V titanium tag with carbide enhanced edge on it. It’s very sharp and is used for cutting cord, boxes, people (just kidding) or anything else you need to separate. This of course costs a little more but might be worth it for those that don’t carry a knife on a regular basis.

SAR Eclipse Micro Elite Signal Pendant

Now you’re probably wondering what these little round disks are, they’re the Eclipse Micro Signal Pendants and here’s the designer himself describing them:

“The Micro Elite Signal Pendant has one purpose – to make you be seen. This device requires no batteries and is built to withstand the harshest environments and conditions. If you are a high speed operator, SWAT, LEO, Boy Scout, fly-fisherman, kayaker, diver, etc – a good signal mirror could be worth its weight in gold should you find yourself in a bad spot.”

The signal pendant comes in multiple styles, colors and material. Not only are these small, useful and easy to carry and but are stylish in a sense as well. They come in Orange, Ranger Green, Pink, Yellow and Moon-Glow for those ravers out there. You know the ladies would love pink and you can get these for the kids too.

Using the SOLAS 3M high intensity reflective tape for night signaling, they come on a stainless steel bead chain with stainless steel split ring and are small enough to put on your keychain or to attach to your dog tags to be prepared. The Titanium models come in Bronze, Blue and Tri-Color. They’re flat on both sides to gain more reflective real estate instead of a dome style design.

They’re a multitude of uses for these items and I’m sure everyone can continue to find even more. For anyone that’s interested in purchasing, you can pick them up from my site at SCP Security along with a few other items that you might like.

Most people reading this article are interested in personal protection and preparedness. Sometimes people fixate on a specific threat, whether it be an armed attacker or a weather emergency.

They go overboard in anticipation of that one thing happening, to the exclusion of everything else. For example, students show up to a firearms course without the appropriate first aid gear to deal with a gunshot wound.

Let’s talk about some common scenarios and the time you have to deal with them.

Violent Attack: Three Seconds

Research tells us that even in self-defense, shooting will likely be over in under three seconds. What is important to consider is all the time that leads up to you needing to use any type of violence. The majority of the time there will be several verbal and visual clues before an attack. You just need to identify them.

The way I look at it is that the three second clock starts when you have to fight. The better you are at using awareness and avoidance — instead of starting the clock — the better off you are. If I had to identify the number one area where I see civilian students fail during scenarios it would be interpersonal communication skills. Knowing how to talk to people will protect you more than anything you can carry, and you get to polish that skill every day.

People have a tendency to train for a long drawn-out scenario with open hand skills, edged weapons, and firearms. That may prove to be a deadly mistake. When it’s time to be violent, get it over with. Concentrate on the fight, not the tool. Smashing their head into a wall will stop them as fast — or faster — than two to the chest.

Traumatic Medical Emergency: Three Minutes

There are injuries so traumatic that what you do in the first three minutes may mean life or death; usually this involves heavy bleeding. You need the hard skills and the right gear, along with the knowledge to improvise if you don’t have that gear. And to be able to do it fast.

I was talking to an Airman while teaching firearms. He told me an amazing story that drives this home. He had just come home from leave, and a buddy picked him up at the airport. On the long drive home he had to take a leak. They pulled into the parking lot of a doctor’s office. The Airman walked behind the building and began to take care of business.

For some reason, he leaned against a plate glass window in the dark. What he had not been able to see in the darkness was a crack in the window. He fell through up to his armpit, and reflexively pulled back out, cutting his brachial artery and just about everything else to the bone. He cried out to his buddy, who was Johnny-on-the-spot and quickly made a tourniquet with a tire iron and his belt. He lost some use in two fingers, but survived and is still active duty — all because his buddy had training, and the mindset to improvise.

During the same class I talked to a flight surgeon. I asked him if he carries a first-aid kit in his vehicle. He admitted that he did not. Here is a guy that could handle almost anything in the way of trauma, but takes his skill set off with his uniform. He did not strike me as the type of guy who would think to make a tourniquet with a tire iron and a belt.

Emergency Evacuation: 30 minutes (or less)

As I write this, I’m sitting in my quarters on MacGuire Air Force Base. It is frigid outside. If the fire alarm was to go off right now, I would slip on shoes, grab my jacket and the Bag of Evil, and roll. I have everything in there I need if I were to be stuck outside for a few hours: more clothes, gloves, boo-boo kit, Traumatic Injury Management (TIM) kit, food, flashlights, etc.

Imagine yourself at home in the middle of the night. The fire department comes to your house and tells you that you need to leave because your neighbor’s house is on fire. This happened down the road from me earlier this month. How long would it take for you to get what you needed for a few hours? You can’t get your car out: it’s blocked-in by fire trucks and hoses. How about your spouse or kids? Do they have a go-bag ready?

Prepare to Prepare

Consider all things: from having some burn gel on-hand to treat a small but nasty oven burn, to making sure that your spare tire is not flat. It all comes down to skills, tools, and the ability to improvise. Are you prepared to be prepared?

The third kit in our pocket sized survival kit review series is the Weatherproof Survival Kit model 4434 by Lifeline.

This kit was interesting. When I stumbled across it, I found it odd that it was so inexpensive for being so full featured. Since it met our research criteria we went ahead and ordered it off of Amazon, but is it truly a pocket sized survival kit?

Some things may surprise you as we take an in-depth look into this kit.

Description

Just by initially looking through the clear case of this kit, it seems as if the creators of it took the route of selecting a few high quality items instead of a lot of mediocre items. I like that. After all, it’s about quality, not quantity.

But sorting through the kit and actually getting hands on, I saw that the gear isn’t as high quality as I first thought.

Contents

• (1) Waterproof ABS Carry Case
• (1) Carabiner
• (1) Flashlight
• (1) AAA Battery
• (1) Candle
• (1) Box Waterproof Matches
• (1) Emergency Whistle
• (5) 3/4″ x 3″ Bandages

Testing Notes

• Weight 6 oz.
• I’m not sure of the exact strength of the carabiner, but it can work for a multitude of other situations; such as a tourniquet, lashing, general keychain/clip, etc.
• The flashlight was, in a word, horrible. It felt extremely cheap and was not bright. I found it to be more suited for reading in bed so as to not wake your spouse! Interestingly enough, the flashlight worked while submerged. I wouldn’t usually risk it because it’s one of the few signal items included in this kit.
• The multi-tool is useful but low quality. The knife blade isn’t very sharp and the pliers don’t have any tension behind them.
• The whistle worked extremely well. It was loud and clear and even worked after being submerged in water — I just had to shake out the excess water.

Grading

Cost

4/5 – The quality of the items reflect the low cost, but technically it’s still monetarily inexpensive ($11).

Waterproofness

4/5 – It is waterproof and resealable. The case is IPX7 rated (submersible to 1 meter for 30 minutes). The only thing keeping this from getting a 5/5 score is the flimsy feeling latch.

Size/Weight Portability

3/5 – The kit is small and portable but a little bulky in the front pocket of your jeans.

Shelter

2/5 – While no “shelter” is included in the kit there are a few bits and pieces that could help if you get creative: the multi-tool, lanyard from the whistle and carabiner.

Water Purification

1/5 – There is no way to purify water solely with this kit. I toyed with the idea of using the container to boil water but I’m not sure if this plastic is BPA free and warping the kit may destroy the integrity of its waterproofing. You would have to find some trash scrap metal to boil with, but as far as this kit goes, there’s nothing.

Food

1/5 – Just like the water purification section, nothing in this kit is set up solely to procure food. Yes, you could rig up some sort of snare and maybe — just maybe — a spear, but it’s gonna be tricky.

Fire Starting

4/5 – The box of waterproof matches and a small candle should come in handy. The matches lit right up even when soaked in water for a minute.

Signaling

2/5 – This score may be a touch too high, but I’m optimistic. You could make a signal fire with the fire starting equipment or maybe play McGyver with the flashlight, but this kit contains no device made specifically for signaling other than the flashlight (because it’s so junky, I’m not counting it).

Overall Remarks

I can’t recommend this kit because it doesn’t cover enough of the criteria. It’s as simple as that really. Now there are other uses, like a waterproof cell phone or digital camera case but with the chintzy feeling clasp, I don’t think I would feel very safe putting my iPhone in it while on a float trip. If you absolutely had to spend less than $15 on a pocket sized survival kit, either one of the sardine can kits would be a better buy.

Suggestions

• If you are going to include a flashlight, invest in a better one, and make it truly waterproof. Even those LED keychain lights are cheap and small and would be an improvement.
• The color of the kit is a semi-clear dark green. With this being a survival kit, I say make it bright orange! An orange kit would be easy to find in an emergency and could double as a signaling device (of sorts).
• The addition of the carabiner is helpful, but why not make it a true climbing carabiner? It would be a lot more practical and not much more expensive.
• The latch of the kit is flimsy. If the latch is flimsy, it’s all too easy for the contents to fall out and water to get in.

Stay tuned for more pocket survival kit reviews coming your way soon!

Continuing our series on pocket sized survival kits, today we are taking a look at another sardine can style kit. This one is the ‘Survival Kit-In-A-Can’ by Coghlan’s.

Just by reading over its list of contents you’ll quickly notice that it has an impressive amount of gear inside. The question, though, isn’t really about quantity, but quality.

Theory

The idea of these kits is to provide all the necessary survival materials in a lightweight and portable package. Here is the product description, straight from the packing:

Lightweight, compact and watertight, Coghlan’s Survival Kit-In-A-Can contains 38 items which can provide warmth, shelter and energy in threatening situations from the desert to the arctic.

Description

This kit is light. That’s one of the first things you notice. The size, weight and form factor of these styles of kits makes it perfect for a backpack, purse, cargo pocket, tackle box, etc.

As it comes from the factory, it’s watertight and even floats. I do worry a little about puncture though. I’m thinking of maybe a car or plane crash doing some damage but if it’s on your person, you may be alright. Also, I only really stress that a puncture may ruin it because just like the Whistle Creek kit, not everything inside is protected from water.

Contents

• Compass
• Fire Starter
• 9.8′ Multi-Use Cord
• 3′ Wire
• 4 Waterproof Matches (heads dipped in wax or paraffin)
• 101′ Fish Line (it’s not real fishing line, just a strong multi-purpose line)
• Soup Packet
• Tea Bag (not enclosed and has no label)
• Sugar Packet
• Match Book (non water proof… why?)
• 2 Antiseptic Swabs
• Razor Blade
• 3 Twist Ties
• 12″ Duct Tape
• Signal Mirror
• Zip Lock Bag
• 2 Bandages
• 2 Nails
• 2 Safety Pins
• 2 Fish Hooks
• Signal Whistle
• Chewing Gum (flavor didn’t last long)
• Sewing Needle (could be used for repairing gear or maybe even a crude suture)
• Energy Candy (tasted like regular peppermint candy to me)
• Note Paper
• Pencil (plastic with graphite insert)
• Survival/First Aid Pamphlet (useful because in a stressful situation, people tend to forget the basics)

Testing Notes

• The fire starting cubes burned solid and hot for 3 and a half minutes. I didn’t do a full “camp fire test” because they were identical to the previous kit’s cubes. They also burned completely out at 5 minutes and 10 seconds.
• The gum was Dubble Bubble and tasty but they really could have picked a gum that has longer lasting flavor. I used the gum as bait for fishing but didn’t catch anything.
• Using a trashed water bottle, I made a makeshift fishing reel. It worked to keep the line from tangling but it’s worth noting that they do not include true fishing line.
• I made some hot tea with the tea and sugar and my wife even enjoyed it!
• The soup broth was amazing! Honestly, it is probably the one thing I would covet the most in a real survival situation. I would ration that little packet to no end and probably use it with everything from just water to any animals I was able to catch and cook.
• The weight of this kit on my scale registered at only 2.9 ounces.
• The amount of duct tape felt adequate. There is just so much you can do with it that I don’t think you can ever have enough.
• These survival kits are so small and portable that it even fits in the tiny compartment under the rear seat of my motorcycle!
• To make a more functional signal mirror, I used the razor blade and cut a small hole in the middle of the included reflective paper.
• The compass worked well enough to provide a basic sense of direction.

Grading

• Cost
  • 5/5 – Very inexpensive, especially for what is included ($10-15)
• Waterproofness
  • 3/5 – While it’s completely waterproof when unopened, you’ll have to transfer the contents into the included zip lock bag to maintain the level of water proofing. Puncture of hard objects is also a concern with these aluminum kits.
  • IPX7 rated (submerged to 1 meter for 30 minutes)
• Size/Weight Portability
  • 5/5 – About as small and light as you can make a survival kit. Fits very well in almost anything. Even the tiny under-seat compartment of a sport bike!
• Shelter
  • 1/5 – This is where these small kits get into the most trouble. They just don’t have anything other than a razor blade and some string to help construct a structure.
• Water Purification
  • 3/5 – You can boil water in the container itself but due to its small size you’ll be running for refills non stop.
• Food
  • 4/5 – I gave the Whistle Creek kit a 4/5 in this category but after seeing this kit, that should be knocked down. This kit includes two fish hooks, wire for snare, as well as hard candy and gum. It won’t be easy to find food to eat but accounting for the size of this kit, I’m impressed.
• Fire Starting
  • 4/5 – Two fire starting cubes, waterproof matches, and a regular book of matches should really help you get a fire started.
• Signaling
  • 3/5 – This kit came with a flexible mirror-like signaling device but it is in no way a true signaling mirror. That doesn’t mean that you won’t attract attention though. It’s a welcome addition. Also, the whistle actually worked very well and seemed to be plenty loud, unlike the last kit’s whistle.

Overall Remarks

I know a lot of people scoff at these little kits and write them off as pure novelty but this is actually one that I would recommend. Although, it’s more of a last resort kit than anything else.

This kit is way more full-featured than the Whistle Creek version. So if you were going to choose between the two, I’d say go with this one. The amount of included gear should (in theory) allow you to survival longer. Once again, this isn’t really the ideal survival kit but it’s perfect for a stocking stuffer or inexpensive gift that actually works to some extent.

Stay tuned for more pocket survival kit reviews coming your way!