Is a Survival kit really necessary?

[Plymtom]

The whole concept of a survival tin was that you should always have it on you, and it would be supposedly watertight then should you fall off your boat/whatever you would have a bare minimum with which to improve your chances, like everyone else I tailor what I carry to what I am doing and unless I am swimming I have kit with me or very nearby, so I'd say it's an expeditionary item when you are miles from home or help in the backy tin concept, what we all have on or in our EDC bags (which is a bum bag slung around the front in my case) and/or in our pockets is all we can see ourselves needing.

[janso]

The actual concept of a survival tin is purely from a military viewpoint. As can be seen in many books, mostly taken from Lofty's original, the idea was a small kit for escape and evasion use on the basis of something being better than nothing whilst on the run. With a normal fighting load for a soldier, carrying an additional kit was unfeasible. It did rotate into a dedicated escape and evasion pouch with time. The same basis appears on aircrew survival vests both here and more prominently, in the states during Vietnam.
I had this discussion not too long ago with a charity aid group I was instructing with. Far better to have a proper set of equipment fit for purpose than a tin of dubious contents.
Having looked at various ideas, I've found Dave Canterbury's concept of 5 and 10 C's to be more appropriate for use.
If we're talking about a survival kit on the hill or woods; isn't it what we carry on our back?


Sent from my hidey hole using Tapatalk... sssh!

[Stasher]

I bought a pre-made one ages ago.

It now contains:

5 x 20ps for phone box

Wot?

You have phone boxes round near you?

And they take cash, real money?

If that is the essence of civilisation I am living in the wilderness............................

(Note to self - take 20pees when travelling in town............ )

[Plymtom]

I bought a pre-made one ages ago.

It now contains:

5 x 20ps for phone box

Wot?

You have phone boxes round near you?

And they take cash, real money?

If that is the essence of civilisation I am living in the wilderness............................

(Note to self - take 20pees when travelling in town............ )

I went in a phone box in town the other day I'd forgotten my mobile.... minimum charge 60P so you may want to put a bit more in the tin Hobo

[Trawlerman]

As the title says, is a survival kit really necessary?

It seems to me that most survival kits contain odd bits and pieces that I personally can't see much use for. Given their prices for self contained kits from say BCB they don't seem be value for money and that could be spent elsewhere on something more worthy?

If you mean do you need an SAS Style kit with a small fishing kit, wire saw etc, then probably not.

BUT, do you need a kit that contains spare warm clothing; waterproofs; a UK legal carry folding knife; a torch and spare batteries; a water bottle; some high energy snacks; a space blanket or survival bag etc.... then yes

As others say, design and make your own kit to suit your own needs.

This was exactly what I was getting at. I'm hardly Chris Ryan escaping from sabotaging a Nuclear Power Station so the military-style survival kit does seem a bit extreme to my thinking.

I do have an EDC that consists of Keys, Wallet, Phone which pretty much everybody does. I also carry a Surefire C2, Gerber multitool, Insulin pens, Blood Glucose meter and usually a camera of some sort.

I'm in the process of putting a Get Me Home bag together that will travel with me when I go out of town or extreme weather is expected.

[dizzydays]

If anyone uses Steradent (denture cleaning tabs) or has a relative that does - the empty tubes hold 20p's perfectly (or £1 coins I guess). I have one in the car and drop my 20ps in - comes in very handy if only for car park fees etc. Doesn't look obvious like a purse.
Can't remember what the total is for one full tube - a tenner maybe..

DD ~ on the useless information id, but who still has her own teeth

[hobo]

I bought a pre-made one ages ago.

It now contains:

5 x 20ps for phone box

Wot?

You have phone boxes round near you?

And they take cash, real money?

If that is the essence of civilisation I am living in the wilderness............................

(Note to self - take 20pees when travelling in town............ )

I went in a phone box in town the other day I'd forgotten my mobile.... minimum charge 60P so you may want to put a bit more in the tin Hobo

60p gives you long enough to order a taxi....but not a curry...so maybe I'll put an extra 20p in there
BTW I always carry a spare PAYG mobile too

[CynicalSurvival]

If something kicks off when I am at home that means I need to leave in a hurry then I would throw serious kit into the boot of the car, incl my main toolkit, never mind about wire saws!

It is useful to have a small kit as I go to/from work by rail - I already have enough to carry so small is good, but again the likes of fishing kit is not gonna be useful on my train!!

[Trawlerman]

I've been thinking some more on the subject of pocket Survival Kits. I'm still of the mind that I don't need one for EDC for the same reason that CynicalSurvival came up with 'I don't need a fishing kit on the train'.

I can see and appreciate the usefulness for the SAS Survival kit at certain times. Just not in an urban evironment.

So i've decided to put two together. One for urban EDC that contains things like an 11-in-on credit card tool etc., and another for carry when out of town or in wilderness areas.

[cypher]

I bought a pre-made one ages ago.

It now contains:

5 x 20ps for phone box

Wot?

You have phone boxes round near you?

And they take cash, real money?

If that is the essence of civilisation I am living in the wilderness............................

(Note to self - take 20pees when travelling in town............ )

We actually have one of the old red boxes in my town, it's subject to a preservation order so cant be changed or removed. retro to say the least.