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I have seen many "Altoids Survival Kits" here on instructables and thought I would make my own as a great exercise of what I would take if I was limited. I feel this survival kit takes from a lot of the other kits you can find, but eliminates the personal flare and short lived consumables that take up space. This kit will cost you about $40-60 to make if you need to purchase everything for it, but I feel covers every need to ensure your survival so long as you have a basic understanding of survival and building shelter.
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Everything in this kit is minimized for short term survival, there are no bells and whistles in this kit (however, a VERY small whistle could always be a great addition) You may notice a few of the items are placed in small bags to either be water proof or keep items together. You can find bags this size at many craft stores, also at "hemp" shops... on the plus side, the hemp shops also have cool ones with pictures of the batman symbol etc on them!!!
Your Tin: This is a lot more useful than you might think, it can easily be used for boiling small amounts of water, for cooking and for gathering berries and roots. As it is thin aluminum, don't leave it in the flame for too long.
Paracord: For this kit 15 feet of reflective paracord has been re-wrapped tightly to fit in the case itself, not outside, and not in a wristband. If the cord is IN the kit with everything else, you know it is accounted for. the 550 7 strand paracord can be separated to have a total of 7 strong nylon string strands and the durable outer shell. You only need to know a few knots to build your shelter, my preference are; Square Knot for 2 ends, Figure 8 for looping an end, Clove Hitch for tying a pole, Backpackers Knot for something that can be tightened before securing.
Water Purification Tablets: Since the tin wont be able to boil that much water at a time, these will make do for having "safer" water to drink, boiling is the only 100% sure way to make your water safe, but these are a close second. (use with the condom, try to eyeball the right amount of water for each tablet)
Wire: For Making Snares or helping with constructing your shelter. This thin military trip wire will be adequate for squirrels and rabbits, possibly otters as well. You need to be ready to kill an animal with your bare hands if the snare grabbed its leg. Grab the neck and pull the back legs, you will hear a snap when the neck breaks and the legs will go straight back.
Flint: I had to saw off the handle for the flint stick so it would fit in the case, I added a small handle made of duct tape. This should be your primary fire starting device as it will last a long time and works even when wet.
Saw: This came with the flint, because its so thin it fits in the kit and will make an excellent 2nd cutting tool. Use this first for your flint as your knife will take off a lot of the flint with each stroke and could even be damaged.
Multi-tool: I shopped around for a perfect small functional multi-tool. While I do love Gerber, I'm not a fan of anything celebrity endorsed, but the Bear Gryll Compact Multi-tool actually did come out as my top pick for this kit. Personally, I'd like to see it have a can opener as well, but nothing in life is ever perfect. For info on this tool go here
Cotton Balls: Two Cotton Balls stuffed separately into small sealed baggies. The cotton is primarily for tinder with your flint and steel, however you can also use it with your duct tape to make a crude bandage for yourself. If I didn't want the cotton to be multi functional, I would have added Vaseline to the cotton so they burn longer. So long as you have your fuel (wood) ready to go, you might be able to get away with half a cotton ball to start the fire. Because fire is so important to your survival, I chose to include 2 cotton balls.
Fishing Kit: This kit has 4 hooks to remove all fear from losing one, two weights, and a LOT of line. (the line can also double as another means of tying things, including your shelter or traps if needed) The small bag is only used to keep the gear together. Familiar yourself with tying your hook and use anything from worms, berries and bugs as bait. In the winter, look for woodpeckers as they usually know where the bugs are in trees. After your first catch, fish guts and scales can make good bait.
Duct Tape: Re-Wrap your duct tape into a flatter roll with no core, this saves a ton of space. While duct tape isn't neccisary, it can have a lot of great functions including shoe repair, bandages, making things water proof and even building a cup.
Needle and Thread: 2 needles and Thread wrapped around a small piece of cardboard to keep it together. This is for any clothing repairs needed to ensure your safety. You should repair your gloves and jacket especially in the winter.
Waterproof Matches and striker: (Striker not shown) With only 6 matches these should only be used when ABSOLUTELY NECESSARY! I would suggest you keep them on hand for lighting your signal fire when you see a plane or helicopter in the area. A signal fire has a lot of green leafy bush above the main fire to create a lot of smoke.
Condom: This is great for collecting water! remove the condom and roll it open inside your sock, you now have a great way to collect water! As most people don't care for the taste of spermicidal lubricant, you might wanna go with a non-lubricated condom, but either way it will have a latex taste to it. Be EXTRA careful with this, and if you chose to add Vaseline to your cotton swabs, keep the two away as the Vaseline will eat through the latex. to save space I poked a hole in the wrapper to get rid of the extra air then re-sealed the wrapper.
Your Tin: This is a lot more useful than you might think, it can easily be used for boiling small amounts of water, for cooking and for gathering berries and roots. As it is thin aluminum, don't leave it in the flame for too long.
Paracord: For this kit 15 feet of reflective paracord has been re-wrapped tightly to fit in the case itself, not outside, and not in a wristband. If the cord is IN the kit with everything else, you know it is accounted for. the 550 7 strand paracord can be separated to have a total of 7 strong nylon string strands and the durable outer shell. You only need to know a few knots to build your shelter, my preference are; Square Knot for 2 ends, Figure 8 for looping an end, Clove Hitch for tying a pole, Backpackers Knot for something that can be tightened before securing.
Water Purification Tablets: Since the tin wont be able to boil that much water at a time, these will make do for having "safer" water to drink, boiling is the only 100% sure way to make your water safe, but these are a close second. (use with the condom, try to eyeball the right amount of water for each tablet)
Wire: For Making Snares or helping with constructing your shelter. This thin military trip wire will be adequate for squirrels and rabbits, possibly otters as well. You need to be ready to kill an animal with your bare hands if the snare grabbed its leg. Grab the neck and pull the back legs, you will hear a snap when the neck breaks and the legs will go straight back.
Flint: I had to saw off the handle for the flint stick so it would fit in the case, I added a small handle made of duct tape. This should be your primary fire starting device as it will last a long time and works even when wet.
Saw: This came with the flint, because its so thin it fits in the kit and will make an excellent 2nd cutting tool. Use this first for your flint as your knife will take off a lot of the flint with each stroke and could even be damaged.
Multi-tool: I shopped around for a perfect small functional multi-tool. While I do love Gerber, I'm not a fan of anything celebrity endorsed, but the Bear Gryll Compact Multi-tool actually did come out as my top pick for this kit. Personally, I'd like to see it have a can opener as well, but nothing in life is ever perfect. For info on this tool go here
Cotton Balls: Two Cotton Balls stuffed separately into small sealed baggies. The cotton is primarily for tinder with your flint and steel, however you can also use it with your duct tape to make a crude bandage for yourself. If I didn't want the cotton to be multi functional, I would have added Vaseline to the cotton so they burn longer. So long as you have your fuel (wood) ready to go, you might be able to get away with half a cotton ball to start the fire. Because fire is so important to your survival, I chose to include 2 cotton balls.
Fishing Kit: This kit has 4 hooks to remove all fear from losing one, two weights, and a LOT of line. (the line can also double as another means of tying things, including your shelter or traps if needed) The small bag is only used to keep the gear together. Familiar yourself with tying your hook and use anything from worms, berries and bugs as bait. In the winter, look for woodpeckers as they usually know where the bugs are in trees. After your first catch, fish guts and scales can make good bait.
Duct Tape: Re-Wrap your duct tape into a flatter roll with no core, this saves a ton of space. While duct tape isn't neccisary, it can have a lot of great functions including shoe repair, bandages, making things water proof and even building a cup.
Needle and Thread: 2 needles and Thread wrapped around a small piece of cardboard to keep it together. This is for any clothing repairs needed to ensure your safety. You should repair your gloves and jacket especially in the winter.
Waterproof Matches and striker: (Striker not shown) With only 6 matches these should only be used when ABSOLUTELY NECESSARY! I would suggest you keep them on hand for lighting your signal fire when you see a plane or helicopter in the area. A signal fire has a lot of green leafy bush above the main fire to create a lot of smoke.
Condom: This is great for collecting water! remove the condom and roll it open inside your sock, you now have a great way to collect water! As most people don't care for the taste of spermicidal lubricant, you might wanna go with a non-lubricated condom, but either way it will have a latex taste to it. Be EXTRA careful with this, and if you chose to add Vaseline to your cotton swabs, keep the two away as the Vaseline will eat through the latex. to save space I poked a hole in the wrapper to get rid of the extra air then re-sealed the wrapper.
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I'm in the process of minimalizing other things in the kit, including half the size of flint, and a better option for blade once I can find the "perfect" one for me.
Thanks for the great Kit!
Regarding the matches, they are not the primary means to start a fire, the flint is there for thousands of strikes, the matches are only there for an emergency such as lighting a smoke signal last minute and they take up about 1/6th the space a mini bic lighter. Once you get good at starting a fire with a flint, you won't see a problem with an absent lighter. :)
I'm not saying either of us are right with the lighter/matches choice. I chose matches because that's all the space I had remaining in my kit, it was a "might as well make use of that last bit of space" choice. If you wish to substitute some rope to make space with a mini lighter just 2 suggestions, first, take off the child proof protection the lighter might have... much easier to light if your hands are cold or injured, and like other water sensitive items in my kit, put it in a small water proof bag.
How do you know if it is pre-fab?
http://www.trademe.co.nz/Browse/Listing.aspx?id=422567668
While i wouldn't recommend this for a battle situation, it can make finding your camp a lot easier in a survival situation. My other suggestion is a neon colored paracord, but I find it doesn't improve visibility in the night nearly as much as the black reflective.