A 'Compact' Survival Kit©

 

 

The other day I was rereading Colonel Francis Max McCullar’s article titled “Just Pure Hell”, when I noticed an interesting sidenote.  A Chief Warrant Officer (CW3) that he knew, had removed the powder from a ladies compact, a replaced it with survival supplies.  The Chief Warrant Officer thought that having a signal mirror, waterproof matches and some other survival supplies in a pocket-size container that was always with him was a great idea, but some of his fellow soldiers laughed at it.  Colonel Francis Max McCullar thought that it was ingenious, and I agree.  

 

Today, in many survival magazines, authors talk about every-day-carrying (EDC) items.  These are usually some type of survival supplies that are held in an innocent looking container, which doesn’t draw attention to itself, and is always carried in your pocket, every day, everywhere.  Most times when an emergency happens, people don’t have their emergency supplies on them, the supplies always seem to be in the glove box, a backpack, a coat pocket, etc., and often these supplies are destroyed or can’t be reached during or after an emergency survival situation.  

 

So, I thought I would try to duplicate that unknown Chief Warrant Officer’s compact survival kit and see just how much, and what I could fit into it.

 

First, I had to take out the powder and the hinged tray, so that there would be room for survival supplies.  When I was done, I only had a space that was about 2 ¼ inches wide by 3 ¹/₈ inches tall and ³/₈ inches deep (about 57 mm wide 80 mm tall, and 10 mm deep).  That isn’t very much space to work with, so we will have to prioritize what to put into it.

 

So, what should go in it?  Your survival priorities, based on the “Rule of Threes”, are FIRST AID-SHELTER/FIRE-SIGNALLING-WATER-FOOD, in that order. 

When building a survival kit, you should keep in mind the “72 Hour Rule”, which is that most times, when you are “misplaced”, searchers will find you within 72 hours.  In fact, Paul Anderson, a 42-year veteran of the National Park Service with 11 years as the superintendent of Denali National Park, is quoted as saying that “Our stats show 85 percent of all lost people are found within the first 12 hours, and 97 percent are found within the first 24 hours”¹.  However, you might have to keep body and soul together longer than just 72 hours, because according to Orrin Knutson, the author of Survival 101: How to Bug Out and Survive the First 72 Hours, sometimes it takes a while before anyone realizes you are missing, and some police departments have a policy of waiting an additional 24 to 72 hours before beginning to look for a missing person.  

  

The first problem with the compact survival kit is that it is WAY too small to be able to hold much of anything.  I decided that I would prioritize building a fire and providing drinkable water and leave out the higher priority first aid or shelter building supplies.  On the plus side, the compact already has a built in mirror, that can be used for signaling, so our third priority has been met. 

 

 The items I chose to include were:

 

Three UCO Stormproof Matches, each with a 15 second burn time, and a striker, and one Cakemate® Relight “trick” birthday candle, all in a reclosable baggie.

 

Two reclosable plastic baggies, each with a petroleum-jelly soaked cotton ball inside.

 

One piece of 12 by 18 inch (30 by 46 cm) heavy duty aluminum foil, enough to make a container that will hold one liter/quart of liquid.  This foil will double as a waterproof container for the survival supplies.

 

Two pouches of Katadyn Micropur MP1 water purifier tablets, enough to disinfect 4 liters/quarts of water.

 

Two large safety pins and one razor blade, in a reclosable baggie.

 

I was already upset that I couldn’t fit a gauze pad, some BZK Antiseptic Towelettes and a couple of Band-Aids ®, into the compact with the other supplies.  And I WAS really unhappy that I couldn’t fit the other survival supplies that I wanted, into the compact. 

 

However, I was able to fit the UCO Stormproof Matches and trick candle, two large safety pins and one razor blade, and one of the petroleum-jelly covered cotton balls inside the compact.  And I could have put the two pouches of Katadyn Micropur MP1 tablets in as well, but without anything to hold the water to be disinfected in, they were useless, and I just couldn’t squeeze the aluminum foil into the compact. 

 

But was it a failure?  The Chief Warrant Officer originally only put a book of matches inside his compact, and I was able to fit three stormproof matches and a few other items into mine.  So, even if I would have liked to have been able to put more into my compact survival kit, I would have to say it was a success!

 

Don’t forget to come back next week and read "1001 Survival Uses of Safety Pins

 

I hope that you continue to enjoy The Woodsman’s Journal Online and look for me on YouTube at BandanaMan Productions for other related videos, HERE.  Don’t forget to follow me on both The Woodsman’s Journal Online, HERE, and subscribe to BandanaMan Productions on YouTube.  If you have questions, as always, feel free to leave a comment on either site.  I announce new articles on Facebook at Eric Reynolds, on Instagram at bandanamanaproductions, and on VK at Eric Reynolds, so watch for me.

 

That is all for now, and as always, until next time, Happy Trails!

 

 

Notes

 

¹ Devon O’Neill, “How Backcountry Search and Rescue Works”, Outside, March 4, 2016,

 

Sources

 

 

McCullar, Francis Max, Colonel; “Just Pure Hell”, United States Army Aviation Digest, September 1973, page 7, https://books.google.com/books?id=PjSe9kA8x_gC&pg=RA9-PP2&dq=%22krispy+kritter+klub%22&hl=en&newbks=1&newbks_redir=0&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwieqdPA9P__AhUEq4kEHdyPB3gQ6AF6BAgHEAI#v=onepage&q=%22krispy%20kritter%20klub%22&f=false, accessed July 8, 2023

 

O’Neill, Devon “How Backcountry Search and Rescue Works”, Outside, March 4, 2016, [© 2021 Outside Interactive, Inc.], https://www.outsideonline.com/2059616/how-backcountry-search-and-rescue-works, accessed October 9, 2018

 

United States Navy, Sea & Land Survival, Device 9B7, [Naval Training Equipment Center, Olando, FL], https://books.google.com/books?id=R3er5Ef-m28C&pg=PP1&dq=land+survival+9b7&hl=en&newbks=1&newbks_redir=0&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjHob3u4dD_AhXbKFkFHaHHAZUQ6AF6BAgDEAI#v=onepage&q=land%20survival%209b7&f=false, accessed Aug 1, 2023

 

Waite, Sara; “Merino man publishes survival guide”, updated May 8, 2019, [©2021 MediaNews Group, Inc.], https://www.journal-advocate.com/2013/07/26/merino-man-publishes-survival-guide/, accessed September 9, 2021