I typically approach pre-packaged survival kits with a bit of skepticism. Typically a pre-built kit is crap if I can be blunt. Maybe this is because I’ve never experienced a quality made survival kit. I typically say make your own, but the ESEE Advanced Survival Kit is changing my mind. The other pre-made kits I’ve seen are basically Wal-Mart quality. The ESEE Advanced Survival Kit blows those away.
First and foremost every little piece of this kit is high quality. Every piece of it. The small Cordura bag hides a surprisingly amount of tools. These tools are just jammed in there, and the kit isn’t bursting at the seams. Tools don’t come tumbling out when you unzip the kit. In reality, the only real loose item is the ESEE 4 survival knife. I’d imagine in a survival scenario this knife would be on the belt and not in the bag.
There is a high level of genius built into how this bag is packed. Everything has a spot, and everything has a purpose. All of the gear is super easy to access and the bag is deceptively small once you start unpacking everything. As I unpacked the kit I started to think I’d be pulling Narnia out eventually. Once unpacked it’s easy to reassemble in the correct order. I’ll provide a complete list of everything at the bottom because there is just so much.
Let’s talk about the bag first. It’s extremely well made. It comes in either Olive Drab or Bright orange, as you can see I have the green variant. The top if fitted with a small elastic band with slots to hold small items. Perfect for a glow stick to make sure you can find your bag at night. You also get a generous portion of velcro on the front. The pack has two compartments, a small and a main compartment.
The rear of the bag has a generous helping of MOLLE. There is also three separate straps that allow you to carry the pack as a backpack, or a messenger bag. As a messenger bag, you could use the MOLLE to extend the bags size with addition pouches, or slap a rifle mag carrier on it.
Let’s dive into the kit itself. The front pouch has all your instructions for the knife, the headlamp, and compass that is included in the kit. The front pouch also contains an H bandage, and there is room to add extra medical gear. The main pouch is where the party is at.
The bag opens completely and gives you immediate access to the tools inside the kit. Everything is packed brilliantly. The front flap has a mesh net for a variety of small goods. It also has a pouch that holds two emergency blankets, two pouches of Utility flame and a package of small plastic bags. The rear part of the main pack features a large section of rope that is wrapped around everything in the kit. It’s secured by velcro straps. This rope is 25 feet in length and 8mm in diameter.
On top of this tarp is a 60 inch by 60-inch tarp that’s yellow for easily signaling. You also get two extremely thick yellow trash bags that are 45 gallons in size. In the center is a small tin box that is actually a cooking pot with handle. The kit is filled with small pieces of survival gear, including a compass, matches, flint, a real Swiss Army Knife, water purifying drops, snare wire, and a lot more. Again everything will be listed at the bottom.
You also get a Petzl Headlamp and batteries for it. You have a bright orange carabiner that is rated for 24 kn load, so it can hold a real load. A small top pouch with quad folding flaps holds two tins. One is sealed and that is your fishing kit. This small kit comes with everything you need for survival fishing. The other tin can be used to house you own small gear, or you can place the waterproof survival cards included in the kit. You get 9 survival cards, which cover a wide variety of different topics and you get three map cards.
This kit has pretty much everything you could possible need outside of a firearm, some ammo, and some basic food and water. The kit itself includes zero crap. Every product included that is not Randall’s is high quality, and of course, every Randall product is extremely well made. I look forward to diving more into this kit, I’m betting I’ll learn a thing or two as well.
