Tiny survival kits

Discussion in 'General Survival and Preparedness' started by Snake_Doctor, Jan 20, 2014.


  1. Snake_Doctor

    Snake_Doctor Call me Snake...

    My question is how small is the smallest survival kit you've ever made, and what was in it?
     
  2. Alpha Dog

    Alpha Dog survival of the breed

    This has been a quest of mine for years or should I say and addiction.....lol I guess I'm trying to find the Holy Grail of pocket survival kits I the smallest I got down to was a Altoid can witch contained 1 mag fire starter, 2 of the little fire starter pieces, 5 water purification tabs vac sealed in plastic, a piece of Para cord about 3ft, 1 of the little wire saws, a button compass, 1 heavy Ziploc sandwich bag folded up with a $50 it, 3 #6 fish hooks, appx. 10ft of 20lb test fish line, 3 small sinkers. and one of the credit card steel survival tool.
    Here is the tool incase anyone wanted to see it. I picked it up at Amazon around $5.00 seems to be well made.
    th?id=H.4842709976550326&pid=5.
     

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    Last edited: Jan 26, 2014
    Yard Dart likes this.
  3. ColtCarbine

    ColtCarbine Monkey+++ Founding Member

    The knowledge and information between my ears, is about as small as it gets. Lol!
     
  4. chelloveck

    chelloveck Diabolus Causidicus

    much the same here....but I've often been accused of being a pin-head! ;)
     
  5. Snake_Doctor

    Snake_Doctor Call me Snake...

    Lol, me too! I keep trying to find an old aspirin tin but have no success. I'll post my tiniest kit to date some dat, but ever smaller and more complex is the rule for the twisted little group I belong too. My current psk is in one of those little tins you put gift cards in around the holidays, and pretty complex. have made a kit in a tic tac container for an adventurer and am working on one in a tube that held ten Tylenol. Thanks for all the responses. BTW that little wondertool you posted is available for $!.50 at emergency essentials.
     
  6. Yard Dart

    Yard Dart Vigilant Monkey Moderator

    I have a fishing kit put together about twice the thickness of a can of altoids...
    It has about anything in it I could need to fish, snag or create a string line in it. I made a second kit off of it and have them vacume sealed and in a second BOB. As a side note I have a back pack that I picked up years ago from cableas that is essentially a fishing BOB, it carries almost everything fishing oriented I have.... If I had to bug out it goes with us, as we are in a great fishing area and it would provide food on the move.
     
  7. Snake_Doctor

    Snake_Doctor Call me Snake...

    Thanks for responding. You didn't mention any allowances for fire. shelter, first aid, etc. Are they in there?
     
  8. Yard Dart

    Yard Dart Vigilant Monkey Moderator

    Just a part of a larger kit for me.... if you go out into the wild you best have even a small pack, as that is prudent in my hood. You get stuck outdoors at night around here and you can get hypothermia pretty easily most times of the year. If you get injured, disoriented (lost) or run into a party in trouble, it is best to be prepared. I do not travel anywhere outdoors without a reasonable pack, call it a bug out bag, GHB or other. It has to provide you the essentials of survival including medical, food, shelter and water treatment. If you are wandering with anything less, you are taking an un-needed chance on trouble.
     
    Last edited: Jan 29, 2014
  9. Snake_Doctor

    Snake_Doctor Call me Snake...

    I always carry a lot of survival gear, in layers. But my current interest is tiny, highly complex kits. Think smaller than an altoids tin.
     
  10. Snake_Doctor

    Snake_Doctor Call me Snake...

    For some reason this avatar pic came out compressed
     
  11. kellory

    kellory An unemployed Jester, is nobody's fool. Banned

    I'm a hunter, so a pack is standard equipment when in the woods. My son though, made hollow steel hiking pole with a lot of tiny kits within. Frog or fish spear interchangeable tips, two mylar blankets, several types of line and cordage, first aid kit, fire starting kit, and a fishing kit that fit inside of a paintball ammo tube.
     
    Last edited: Jan 29, 2014
  12. Snake_Doctor

    Snake_Doctor Call me Snake...

    Nice! I've thought of a hiking staff like that, but been busy going tinier and tiner to just to keep winning first place in a contests. May lose this time though. One of the girls has a waterproof metal container the size of a zippo from what I hear.
     
  13. Yard Dart

    Yard Dart Vigilant Monkey Moderator

    It is a cool idea, but
    Bet she freezes to death in the real world..... the only real competition we should be chasing is reality....and surviving it.
     
  14. kellory

    kellory An unemployed Jester, is nobody's fool. Banned

    IMHO, if it is too small to use easily, then it's too small. I work with tools every day. Tools that do what is needed, get replaced when broken, tools that work poorly, get tossed in a drawer for last resort.
     
    Yard Dart likes this.
  15. Snake_Doctor

    Snake_Doctor Call me Snake...

    True. I make my kits as if I were goig to have to depend on them, then add the goof factor for people with no training. She's a bigger firebug than I am.
     
  16. kellory

    kellory An unemployed Jester, is nobody's fool. Banned

  17. natshare

    natshare Monkey+++

    Are you looking for something smaller than a regular Altoids tin? Like maybe the size of a Zippo lighter?

    Look for Altoids mini's. They also come in a tin, but it's, well.....mini! Right around the same size as a regular sized Zippo lighter.
     
  18. Witch Doctor 01

    Witch Doctor 01 Mojo Maker

    while going small is nice.. I would like to echo that a kit such as you describe is of limited use with out a lot of practice in how you use it... the smallest kit I'm comfortable with is in a old aluminum GI grenade container... and that would be for 72 hours or less. Keep in mind that most folk who use these kits (SAS, SF, Guides, etc.) have a great deal of training, are it top shape, and have the experience using them... YMMV
     
  19. chelloveck

    chelloveck Diabolus Causidicus

    natshare, oldawg, BTPost and 2 others like this.
  20. Snake_Doctor

    Snake_Doctor Call me Snake...

    wow! My heartrate went up a bit on that tubular kit. Thanks for sharing. How much are they and where can the be purchased. I've done the altoids mini to death, some very complex, 2-3 methods of making fire with plenty of tinder, snare, fishing and sewing kits, razor blade, scalpel, minor medical, OTC medications, etc. But thank you for that suggestion. I am well trained and in shape, with extensive training, but I'm always willing to learn something new. That'swhu I try to tailor kits to the individual, then add a goof factor in. While I would be comfortable with the micro kits if thats all I had, I know that most wouldn't find them helpful. They're mainly for th members of our group to rate and all we win is bragging rights. I always have several projects in the works, right now they include a survival cube (about 2" square), a Tylenol tube and one of those plastic match cases from Wal-Mart. Thanks for all the responses.

    I don't know if I could use such a tiny fire steel with my big mitts. Not without slicing myself up with that one inch blade. But it is an interesting concept. Thanks!

    Here is my current psk. A bit longer and wider than an altoids tin, but shallower. Side by side the top of the lid reaches the bottom of the altoids lid just barely. GIFT CARD SURVIVAL KIT (2).
     
    Last edited by a moderator: Jan 30, 2014
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