I got this idea a few years ago from a post that Kyle Defoor published on his Tumblr Blog. His was more of a last-ditch crash kit that he hoped never needed to be used. I took that idea and ran with it for my own personal survival kit. This is the kit that gets thrown into my small sling bag when I go on shorter day hikes, bike rides or any type of outdoor excursions we decide to tackle. The advantage of this small kit is that I can throw it into any bag really and turn that said bag into a go-bag if you want to call it that. I’ve also got a small urban survival kit contained in a Pelican 1020 case, but that is for another article (coming soon!).
Onto the rural/wilderness survival kit itself. Although my contents differ a bit from the one Kyle Defoor put together, the shell remains the same. I honestly have not found a better shell to use for this kit over the years and I’ve used many different pouches and kits, due to the nature of my job. The shell is a SealLine See Pouch. Similar to the more popular SealLine dry bags, it’s a micro version of that. It comes in two sizes. but the size and color I’m using is the Large Orange See Pouch. The pouch is waterproof when closed and keeps everything dry if submerged or exposed to the elements of mother nature. The pouch can also double as a water container when all the contents are removed which is a huge advantage.
Let’s dive into the contents and go over why I chose the specific products that I did.
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- SOL Heatsheets 2 person survival blanket
- Frontier emergency water filter straw
- Bic lighter contained in an Exotac fireSLEEVE
- UCO Stormproof matches contained in an Exotac MatchCAP case
- Suunto baseplate compass
- Streamlight Microstream flashlight
- Gerber LST folding knife
The only item I have not put into this kit is some type of cordage to use for shelter building or gear and clothing repair. My goal is to keep the kit minimal with only products I need. In order to do that, you actually have to take the kit out and use it. Common practice a lot of the time, is to build a survival kit, keep in in a bag and then never use it. I prefer to use mine and restock anything that gets used. Not only does this keep me familiar with the kit, but it gives me the confidence knowing that it will work if I ever get pressed into a survival situation.
There are a few changes I could make to the kit in order to trim it down a bit more. Since I do carry a folding knife and light on my person daily, I could remove the Streamlight Microstream and Gerber LST from the kit. This would reduce the weight a bit and give me some extra room for 550 cord or bankline. What are your guys’ thoughts?
*Photo and video courtesy of the author
