Considerations: When you sit down and think about making your own
Personal Survival Kit, the first question that usually springs to mind is what to put in it? After compiling a
list of necessary items, the next problem is finding a suitable container. Bearing in mind that
every part of the Survival Kit should have a use, maybe the old tobacco tin is not the
best solution. Ideally, the container itself should be multi-purpose (use it for
cooking in, drinking from, as a signalling mirror, etc.). Not knowing ultimately where you will
use your Survival Kit makes putting one together somewhat difficult. You could
gather lots of little items suitable for survival on land and end up being cast
afloat in the middle of an ocean! If you know you are going in a
risky area (jungle, desert, etc.) you can plan accordingly and construct or
purchase your Survival Kit to be as useful as possible.
The commercial alternative:
 Buying a commercial Survival Kit is fraught with
potential dangers; the greatest
risk being the quality of the contents. If you shop around you will find cheap Survival Kits on offer. Imagine you are lost in the jungle and need a knife; the
inferior knife in your Survival Kit breaks the first time you try to use it and the tiny phial of water purifying tables is not designed for use in areas where
water-borne parasites are resistant to chlorine and iodine.
Suddenly, the cheap  solution was not the best. Some commercial Survival Kits are
okay, some are rubbish, knowing one from the other is not always easy as the
trick is to put a few quality items in the tin to make it look good and bulk it out with inferior
goods. Be wary of a Survival Tin sealed in plastic, always open it and
inspect the contents. Do not open it up the first time you need it for real
because you could be in for an unpleasant surprise. Reseal it with Duck Tape or
use it to practice with and buy another one to carry with you.
If you make your own Survival Kit:
The container:
The first design
consideration should be the
container itself and how you intend to carry it on your person. As I mentioned
above, the Survival Kit historically was an old tobacco tin and this concept has
stuck, so many survival tins on the market use a similar tin. The concept of
keeping a Survival Kit in one's pocket is also a questionable idea. This can also be
dictated by climate. If you are wearing heavy outer garments with plenty of
deep pockets, fine. If you are wearing shorts and a T-shirt, anything heavy in
the
pockets of your shorts soon becomes annoying and is easily lost in certain situations
– or left
behind because it is a nuisance to carry.
The best design concept is to
have a container carried in a pouch or bag, which may also be fastened securely on a
belt, hung around one's neck or placed in a pocket. The mode of carrying may
then be applied to the situation you find yourself in. For these reasons we
developed a highly durable carrying pouch made of strong waterproof material for
military and expedition use and, as an option, a leather carrying pouch for bush
craft enthusiasts, hikers and hunters. Regrettably, we do not supply these
carrying pouches as separate items. If you choose to make your own survival kit, and are
going into seriously adverse terrain or are on active service in the military,
use a waterproof bag like the Blackhawk drop bag (if you can get hold of one).
 The second
myth is that the Survival Kit has to be very small and there seems to be a
crazed need to make the container as small as possible and the contents as
miniature as they can possibly be. I have needed a Survival Kit for real and I
can tell you that miniature is not good! When you are cold, frightened, tired
and hungry, your hands shake, you are clumsy and it is easy to give up on using
the miniature contents within the first few desperate hours. Find a container
that will hold what you need, one you can used as a cup for drinking, to
heat small quantities of food and water, and one that is strong, light and durable. Finding a
suitable container is a real challenge, we recommend the Mini Mess Tin supplied
by BCB (photo above); this mess tin has a waterproof seal to keep the contents
dry.
Other considerations
Is your Survival
Kit going to be general purpose (useful in most locations)? Is your Survival Kit
going to be specific (for use in a specific geographic area)? Do you plan to
carry your personal survival kit with you at all
times? Having a Survival Kit on a flight is impossible at the moment on most
airlines unless it travels cargo. All of these factors need careful consideration.
Having collected all the contents, make sure you can both pack and repack them
easily in the container. If you find you fumble with anything, or constantly drop any of the small items, try to replace them
with other products. Test your design in your own back yard by trying to use the contents in a howling gale and lashing rain, in a snow storm, etc. Get it right
first in a
non-threatening situation.
A Personal Survival Kit is designed to support one person; each person in a group should carry one!
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