OK.... Got busy, so it isn't as refined as I'd like, everything here was salvaged from something else. Mostly what I keep in the truck, so I'm thinking I might just need to work out a few bugs I found in this prototype.
To start with, the case is a USGI-type canteen cover. The ACU isn't my first choice for anything, but it works. The little wart you see on the top is a mini strobe from Essential Gear with a red lens. I wasn't able to quite snug it down as well as I wanted, so a double adjust buckle and a little scrap of 1" webbing saved the day- I almost went with some shock cord to give it some stretch, but right now I can adjust it a little without messing around with that y-strap, so I can stow a pair of gloves or a watch cap here if I get too warm for them during the day, or a tightly rolled emergency poncho.
I'd have rather used one of my SpecOps Brand X-6s, but they are a hair too big (7x6x3") for the competition. If I do a final version of this, I'll use one of those.
The sling is attached by a pair of cheapie biners- nothing I'd want to try to suspend myself with, but they work for most gear. Of course, the biners and sling can be stowed to carry this on the belt or on the side of a pack.
It isn't obvious, but the sling is made from a SINGLE piece of paracord, as you can see in the close up below. Fold it into sixths, pair those, and braid. The little bit of ranger band is there as a break away- it is stressed, a couple of pieces this wide form the same area of the inner tube all failed at around 15ish pounds of pull, so if I fall down a hill side I won't get strangled on this. I didn't have the spare cord, or I'd have made another, longer one of these, as this one turned out to be a little too short. (But just right to make a hunting knife into a neck knife.)
Gratitous shots of it packed.
IMG]http://i71.photobucket.com/albums/i132/ironraven/survival%20gear/100_0655.jpg[/IMG]
And unpacked. Lets start with the side pockets.
A tube of Carmex (chapped lips and feet, fire starter), and sipping filter are on one side, the other has an altoids tin of small medical items, containing the following: three sealed packs of Cutter Advanced, some tylenol, advil, benedryl, immodium and pseudoephadrine (the only thing that touches some of my pollen allergies that doesn't make me sleepy). In the main pocket, I also carry a few zip ties and a MiniMag customized with a better spring for the batteries, the Nite-Ize three LED module, some duct tape, and a ranger band holding on a wrist loop.
The small Nalgene fits into the cookie tin very nicely. Downsides to the tin as a water boiling vessel are that it is seamed and has no handles, but I'm going to test it this summer. If it works, it can stay.
http://s71.photobucket.com/albums/i132/ ... 0_0664.jpgThe main part of this is the same PSK I keep in the truck. It is a Case Logic PlayStation Pocket case, so a PSK in a PSP pouch... Yeah, there is humor in that. The pull on the zipper is orange glow cord, and I put yellow retro reflective tape on the large sides so if it gets dropped it should just jump right at the flashlight. Most of the components are culled from two different AMK kits I've come to like, the Ritter PSP and the SOL.
Starting on the right side, you see the AMK Heatsheet, Marble small game knife (couldn't get the lanyard rethreaded, have to add a paper clip), the instructions from the PSP (I might not be the one using this), a spool of dental floss, some snare wire, frensel lens, 8 chlorine dioxide tabs, and a BSA Hotspark.
The left side is where the little stuff lives. The orange widget is a padded sleeve to protect the signal mirror. Duct tape, a vial of 6 life boat matches, a wedged lighter, Sparklite, whistle (I like this style over the Fox40 Micro- not quite as loud, but I've never had trouble blowing this style. The Fox Micro in my experience has to be tooted, and gear should be as instinctive as possible to use) and a vial containing my rather optimistic fishing kit (10 hooks, 10 split shot, 3 swivels, and a couple of sequines to give fish something shiny to bite at). Going back the other way, the empty vial contains four good safety pins, a sewing needle, and three fishing bobber lights (small LEDs, one green two red, they last about 10 hours- I use them rather than mini cylumes because I can turn them off), button compass, 4 tinderquiks, some 20# spider wire on a bit of card stock, and a few feet of aluminum foil.
A word about the aluminum foil- it is NOT for making the infamous and often leaky survival cup. It is part of my fire gear, to make a fast wind break for a tinder pile and to put under the tinder pile to protect it from ground moisture.
I'd thought about hanging a few things off this, like a pair of EMT sheers in the webbing, a caterpillar weave of para cord, that kind of thing, but I decided to keep it as slick as possible. There is still some room in here if you wanted to put a bandanna and something like an altoids tin with a couple of esbit tabs and more firemaking gear at the bottom, but since this had been a busy week I'm not sure that will happen. Of course, this is a warm weather only kit, but I'd still rather have this than just clothes on my back if I have to make it up as I go along in winter.
Now, was this put together with stuff I keep in the truck to add to my bag of tricks if I'm going off the blacktop or is ALWAYS in my bag of tricks, yes? In fact, most of this actually lives in the console of my truck, to go into my EDC bag and pockets as needed, but I'm leaning towards putting this guy together full time at the moment, with a few refinements and a slightly larger pouch (X-6 and a small MaxP TacTile) that would have made it too large for the judging.
And some of the other kits make me all drooly and jealous.
"Even if it's only the handful of people I happen to meet on the street or in my home, I can still protect them with one sword."
When a man go no longer speak without malice intended lest he cause offense, that is when truth starts to die.
There are three kinds of man- Man the Toolmaker, Man the Tool User, and man the tool.
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