Urban Survival Kit

There are a lot of guides for kits to help you survive miles from anywhere--but how often do you end up miles from anywhere? What about the everyday, the mundane, situations where you constantly find yourself saying, if only I had& and even though it's always the same thing, you've never got it? You need an urban survival kit. Full of the things you need wherever you go. A pencil. Scissors. Tape.
This is a survival kit for wherever you are. You'll be better off for having it in virtually any situation; Sub-Saharan Africa or the subway station, The Rockies or the rock show, The Outback or just out back. Remember, this is just a guide I've been able to come up with--if you've got an idea for something that's missing, something that would work better or something I should leave out, let me know, and by all means personalize your own to your own situation.


I've included in every shot a pencil, ruler and penny, for the purpose of demonstrating scale

Step 1 Multitool

This is the most essential of all essentials. The Samurai's blade was his soul, and so it is still--though my soul conveniently has pliers, scissors and screwdrivers along with a keen edge. The best I've found of these is the Leatherman Juice S2, not so much because of what it has, but because of what it doesn't. No corkscrew. No nail file. Absolutely nothing you don't need. Just pliers, wirecutters, a knife, scissors, a combo bottle/can opener, a Philips and three sizes of slot head screw driver, all in a small, lightweight package. This thing has fixed snowboards, bikes and sawmills, preformed exploratory surgery on an Xbox 360, filleted the thumb of a romantic rival (While he was using it. Don't look at me like that) and accompanied me on many deep wilderness trips. It is far and away the most expensive thing in this guide--around forty hard-earned American Dollars. If you're not willing to pay just over $9 an ounce--almost the price of sterling silver--for your knife, the Gerber 01471 is also a good alternative. It's more robust than the Leatherman Juice, though heavier, and has the same weapon set plus a serrated blade and a saw. Not only that, but the blades all lock and the pliers are spring-loaded, all for the low, low price of around thirty bucks, or $2.65 an ounce. With the Juice, it's the metal that's not there that's expensive. Still, this is your blade. Your blade is an extension of your self. Without your blade, you are naked.

One minor note: certain people, such as the sterling folks at airport security, might prefer you to be naked in this particular sense--indeed, if they find that you have a knife, they might insist that you accompany them to a small room and become naked in an even more literal sense of the word. Other places that object to your sharpened metalic soul are schools, sports games, concerts, government buildings and hospital MRI wards. Be warned.

Comments

[KwartzKitten]

Does.... Does that third one just click onto the battery?
That ROCKS!

[Mother Natures Son]

Yep. It's pretty cool.

[moneyfuskie935]

That's a gross understatement!

[KwartzKitten]

I don't have a better word, sorry!

[moneyfuskie935]

Sorry if I came off as angry- you don't have to apologize.

[KwartzKitten]

Oh, no, that's okay!

[Zorasta]

http://www.thinkgeek.com/gadgets/tools/98ce/?srp=1
this might be a worthy substitution for your ball point pen cartridge I own one and I've always had good luck with it

[User1]

Can you do a demo on how to use a condom for pet waste disposal? :-)

[Alex-95__]

I got to the word condom then started cracking up before reading the last half of the sentence lol.

[zarablue]

Pooper scooper bag not actual pet disposal lol

[godhole]

Ramp it a step up by loading the free suite at PortableApps.com - then you have browser, word processor, etc etc which you can plug into a pc. Whatever you do online will not leave tracks on the pc, but only on your flash drive. Password protect it, and then you can scan personal documents and important stuff onto there. Great instructible for those of us who live in cities. Too many fishhooks and signal mirrors in the other ones! :) The only other thing I would add is one of those mini high volume whistles, which are very useful in rescue situations.

[Alex-95__]

How do you password protect your USB? Could you please provide a link and/or instructions? Thanks

[Mother Natures Son]

Great idea! I'll include that.

[fridelain]

Forget about Portable Apps. Load it with Slax (http://www.slax.org/), with the aircrack-ng, ophcrack, Truecrypt, Tor, Privoxy and file forensic modules. A guide for using those too. if a PC is compromised using PA won't give you any privacy.

[Blackonyx2234]

If i were a secret government agent somewhere infiltrating enemy grounds
lol

[Mother Natures Son]

That was my thought, as well--I pretty much use portable applications to print things out at school, not so much to fight the system.

[Blackonyx2234]

All of that will come in handy

[Mother Natures Son]

Ah, yes. A whistle. Forgot about that--I don't need one, because thanks to my dental configuration, I can whistle just as loud on my own. I guess there's a technique you can do with your fingers, as well, to whistle loud enough to be heard over long distances.

[godhole]

Yes indeed, although I could never get the hang of that. The newer whistles, though, are able to be heard at far distances, louder, and with less breath. Still - nice. :)

[garavin]

Also you could find yourself in a situation in which you only have one hand free to use (a building collapse for instance), or other injuries. In that case a survival whistle is better than relying on the two finger technique (which some people find hard to learn-- anyone who can blow through their mouth can use a survival whistle)

[dwilson23]

Love your article but the second most useful tool for EDC (Every Day Carry) or urban survival kit after my Swiss Army cyber-tool is my Motorola Atrix Smart phone. It has a radio, flash light, camera, camcorder, usb stick, Google search, email, contacts, docs, weather, GPS, compass, calculator, Games, music, movies, TV, books, measuring device, level, sky map, notepad, clock, stop watch, recipe book, translator, image and music recognition. I guess if all else fails I can also use it as a phone. I also carry a extra battery.

[pzorn]

and if the power grid goes it turns into a useless paperweight.

[facilitator476]

My life seems ruled by irony so If i would have anything in a urban survival situation, it would be a zippo with luck on it. Thanks for letting me see the future

[jungleFish]

Despite its name, duct tape ISN'T good for fixing ducts -- it's not fire-resistant and the adhesive loosens at high temperatures. Use a foil tape instead. :)

But for everything else... duct tape.

[aulia0]

it's because the last name inventor is Duct, so it's called duct tape

[jungleFish]

Turn's out that there's a good chance that it was originally called "duck" tape, according to http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Duct_tape. I don't see mention of anyone named "Duct" though.

[Mother Natures Son]

That's sort of the joke--it's good for everything but ducts.

[Lildevil963]

ROTFL EMERGENCY CONDOM

[Wolframite]

A thought, can you store toothpaste in the container part that the brush part get stuck in? Not that toothpaste is a requirement by any means, your teeth can be brushed without toothpaste in a pinch, and usually wherever you wind up spending the night does have toothpaste. Still, it was a thought.

[Mother Natures Son]

Not really enough space. The brush portion detaches and reverses to store in the handle, taking up any available room for even the smallest tube of toothpaste.

[iankasley]

I actually have seen extremely small (like 2-3 uses worth) tubes of toothpaste packed inside of travel toothbrushes like this, usually I've gotten them as complimentary toiletries in hotels or on international airplane journeys. There are a number of wholesalers offering such things online via sites like alibaba.com, (though you'd have to buy a bunch) and minimus.biz has some flat packets of toothpaste which might fit in there if folded up.

http://www.alibaba.com/showroom/travel-size-toothpaste.html

http://www.minimus.biz/Colgate-Cavity-Protection-Toothpaste-packet-C01-0114201-1100.aspx

A small vial or baggie of baking soda could also easily be folded over and stuck in the handle I suppose.

[Wolframite]

I was thinking squirt some toothpaste out into the little container from the tube. But that would likely just be a waste of paste.

[holzmanj9]

The thing I have had for since maybe 1997 that I use all the time is a Leatherman Micra. It is very small, on my keychain, and it has a small knife, scissors, bottle opener, screwdrivers (a single bladed Phillips, a standard sized flat-head, and a jewellers' sized one that fits my glasses), and even marks on the outside in both inches and centimeters.

I really do use this all the time. And when I was in the Air Force they prohibited personal tools, but no-one was able to figure out how to get rid of keychains, so I could have it wherever I went and so I could do things quicker and easier than others. Very useful.

Until it got lost in a move, I used to have a larger Leatherman that was always on my belt.

[Mother Natures Son]

The micra is a brilliant little tool. I envy the tweezers, no doubt. However, if I recall correctly it has scissors in the place of pliers, and I find myself needing both on a regular basis. Also, I'm sort of obsessive when it comes to not having tools I don't use, and the bottle opener and nail file each perform a single specific task, neither of which I really ever use.

[holzmanj9]

Yeah, it has scissors instead of pliers. Sometimes a plus, sometimes a minus. The bottle opener, well, for me that seems appropriate in an urban setting, and I use it, but I know how other things can be used to remove bottle caps. I actually hardly ever use the file part of the nail file, but I've used the hook at the end hundreds of times. (Oh, and the bottle opener is part of the jewellers screwdriver, and the nail file has the aforementioned hook, so they aren't quite single-purpose items.) I won't say it is the very best thing to have, but it has often been very handy. Sometimes I wish there were pliers, but there are different models out there that have them- and then I might wish for scissors!

[Mother Natures Son]

Exactly--that's why I stick with a tool that has pliers and scissors, even if it is more expensive, the scissors aren't quite as heavy-duty and it's not quite a keychian. And of course, any real man--even a teetotaler like me--needs to know how to open a bottle on the edge of a table.
Why wouldn't they allow you personal tools in the Air Force?

[GrantR]

Airforce personnel are subject to strict tool control when working on aircraft so that every tool is signed out from the kits to do the work then signed back in when finished. This is to try and ensure no tools are left behind inside aircraft where they could jam controls/get eaten by engines etc.
A personal multi-tool for example, used to open a panel, could be left behind and no one would know as it wouldn't be subject to a tool control check before flight.

[stevepuk]

I have a firesteel and find that it's pretty difficult to actually get a fire going with it. However it is definitely the fastest and easiest way to light gas and meths stoves when I'm camping, especially if it's raining or windy. Maybe one day I'll learn to start a fire with one.

[Mother Natures Son]

It's tricky, but really not that hard. You just need the right materials. I carry small lumps of tinder, made from cotton balls dipped halfway in beeswax. Even lighting pine needles with fire steel is almost impossible, because it's like trying to light thick branches with just a match. Dry cotton balls (medical, not cosmetic--cosmetic cotton has fire retardant) light quite easily, and drier lint isn't bad either. Soaking half of it in wax, Vaseline or similar gives you an incredible fire starter.

[shannonlove]

Stimulants are a good thing to carry for emergencies.

Back before the 60s and the drug war, survival kits of all kinds, especially the government issued ones for the military and civil defense, included amphetamines as a standard issue. The reason was simple: Survival situations are exhausting and falling asleep at the wrong moment can get you killed. Stimulants also tend to find off depression and keep spirits higher (for a time at least.)

Today, the old school stimulants will land you in jail but you should still include caffeine tablets, ephedrine if you can get it, other herbal stimulants and decongestants can also work.

And if you or a loved one are an addict of some kind, squirrel away an emergency reserve. A survival scenario is no time to go cold turkey.