What a treat to be able to preview AND review a survival kit, such as the SOLKOA Suma Pro Survival Kit available at Precision Rifle Supply. When it first arrived, my initial thought was….SWEET…nice and compact. When we plan for any kind of adventure, be it on land or on the water, most new comers don’t realize how quickly the weight of the gear that they are bringing really adds up. Veteran adventurers, elite military operators and gun fighters know to well how it adds up. The unfortunate part of this is, you can only skimp and reduce to a certain point, but still wind up with operational gear weighing in excess of 80-100 lbs. The only thing that you can do is SUCK IT THE f*** UP and push on.
When I opened the S3 SOLKOA SUMA Pro and laid everything out around the rectangular aluminum container that it came in, I began reliving my childhood and Boy Scout experience as a kid. I would often times, go fishing in the local streams that were deep in the woods. Sometimes I would be with friends and other times, just by myself and use either a fishing pole or just a length of fishing line, depending on the size of the stream or vegetation thickness. This survival kit has a nice little fishing kit.
This kit comes with what you see above. I am going to pretend that there are some people out there that have never fished a day in their life, or even been exposed to it by others and explain exactly what everything is. We will start at the top right of the picture and work more less clockwise….this is a fly fishing lure that can be used in rivers, streams, ponds and lakes.  I don’t know much about the type that it is, other then “what” it is. I will be trying it myself, along with everything else in the kit.
What’s next on the list (you ask)?  We have 3 beautiful bronze fishing hooks for your fishing pleasure and you can put whatever the hell you want to put on them (just not yourself, your the one fishing)…..worm, inchworm, beetle, etc. I would stay away from caterpillar’s, because some are either poisonous or toxic. Do your research!
The next one needs no explanation…..fishing line…period.
The things that look like lead balls, are lead weights that can be used to attach to the fish line. These can be pinched with the Leatherman that is also in the kit. If for some reason you lost the Leatherman, it can be squished by flipping the survival container upside down, put the lead weight where you want it on the line, lay the lead weight and line on the container and smoosh it with the lid. You could also put it between you teeth and bite it, being careful not to break your tooth or swallow the damn weight!
The yellow thing was used to store the hooks and you can use it for whatever the hell you want to….Skies the limit.
The tittle orange things are the bobbers. these can be used with the hooks and bait/no bait. If you use the hook-orange bob-bait combo, make sure you use enough bobs to keep the hook from sinking, because you might not be able to see what’s at the bottom of the pond, river, stream or lake that your fishing in.
You will be getting thirsty at some point, from doing all of this stuff and that is what I am covering next….WATER SUPPLY. Roughly 71% of the earth is covered in water, so there is a fairly good chance that you will be near some sort of water. There is all sorts of ways to find water and filter waters. Lets just say for shits and giggles that you are already near a water supply, be it crystal clear or murky. Don’t take chances with water if you have the ability to treat your water. The S3 SOLKOA comes with 8 AQUAMIRE 1 liter (34 oz) treatments tabs.
the directions are on the pouches and tiny as all hell to read. Use your reading glasses or magnifying lens that comes with the kit. There is a reason that the instructions are on the packet….well there is actually two reasons. One is liability, so you can’t sue their ass for not reading the instructions and the other is so you use it the safest way possible.
There is also two water bags with Ziplocs on them that can be used as water bladders, among other purposes.
Fire starter kits are a good thing to have and there are a shitload of them out there. I have four fire starting options. One is a sparking rod with a 3 inch piece of hacksaw blade. These are used together to create a spark, aiding in the starting of a fire, by dragging the teeth side of the hacksaw blade down the length of the rod. You may have to do this multiple times to successfully start fire.
Next is something called fast fire and I have already tested with dry wood and cloudy day and works great. This would be lit with one of the emergency matches or a lighter.
After that is another one that is made of cotton and saturated in something. I will be testing this in the rain as well.
This last one is fairly easy to figure out….water proof emergency matches with strike strips. You strike the match at the black tip. This will create enough friction and activate the match lighting process.
There is some Kevlar line that has three strands in it and is 15  feet in length. This would be great for temporary shelters, nooses, making a fishing spear, etc.
The tan colored line is known as 550-cord and is widely used in all of the U.S. military. This line is extremely versatile in its uses. The great thing about the cord is its guts. there is 7 dual strand-strands inside of the sheath. Some of the things that come to mind when using this would be sewing clothing, shelter building, possible wild game snares, fishing line, sewing a wound ( in an emergency), etc. It comes with a handy carabiner as well.
medication vile for keeping your emergency stash dry and out of the elements.
magnifying lens: possibly use this for starting a fire. you need sun though and will have to practice in concentrating the magnification of the light spot, which will increase the heat intensity to create a flash and then flame.
sewing needle for wound stitching, material repair, stringing fish together. You can also use the sewing needle to find your north and south bearings. All that you need is a puddle big enough for a small leaf and the needle. before you place the needle on the leaf though, you will have to magnetize with either a magnate or piece of fabric material. To magnetize the needle, you need to pinch in the fabric and stroke the needle in the direction of the pointy end. Once this is done, place it on the leaf and give a minute or so to settle out to show north and south. When you are doing it though, you will need to protect the test area from any wind or rain.
Leatherman with instructions: uses are virtually limitless.
2-medium safety pins and 2-small safety pins for quick fixes on material tears, flesh wounds, etc.
ACR emergency whistle: very loud….Great attention getter. Rescuers or people with you can zone in on where you are and eventually locate you.
triple antibiotic ointment for those nasty scrapes or cuts helps to keep the nasty’s out and accelerate the healing process.
signaling mirror for signaling helicopters and search planes. This can also be used from high point of ground and signal towards vehicles or search parties on the ground, if you are incapacitated and cannot move. Best if used on a bright or sunny day by looking through the hole towards who or what you are signaling to and tilting it back and forth. Same thing as turning a flashlight on and off, only they will see the mirror flash much better.
strip of duct tape: can be used to tape material or bandage to a cut or wound. Can also be used to secure things together in a pinch. If used when wet, it will need to wrapped back on itself or it wont work as well.
space blanket which can double as a signaling device (silver on ones side & orange on the other). Can also be use to keep warm by having the silver side against your body, which helps to keep your body warm. It can be used as a sleep bag in an emergency.
compass with rotating bezel for adjusting your bearing to keep you on more of straight path to your next point. Remember that when you are in the woods using this. and string for measuring and locating your position if you have a map.
LED light: VERY BRIGHT
can opener: Somewhat easy to use and takes practice and patience.
Razor knife for getting splinters or foreign objects out of skin. Good for cutting string, tape, game and fish. Keep in mind that this is a fine blade and could possibly get dull quickly if what you are cutting is too tough.
wire for a multitude of things. Some things that come to my mind would be a snare, strapping would together for a shelter, eyelets for homemade fishing rod for fly fishing in a stream, gear repair that is made of tough material, etc.
I will be putting some of the items to use and doing a review on them. I will most likely try to make my own fishing pole to test and definitely use all of the fire starting material in inclement weather. This survival kit in particle, I would say is for the more experienced person that is more “MacGyver-ish” then others. If you have already purchased one of these then I hope that some of my recommendations are useful to you. Good luck and stand by for future reviews.
