Your thoughts on pre-made "survival kits"

[NightShade]

So, I've seen all these survival bags online. Pre-made with "everything you need to survive" from anywhere from 1 day to 1 year. Some of them are obvious ripoffs with cheesy gear I wouldn't take with me on a walk to my neighbor's house (a few 100 yds.) But I have seen others that seem fairly reasonable priced, with at least halfway decent gear (though I would make a few additions).
Now I have many,many well outfitted packs, so its not like I'm trying to decide to buy a pack" to survive"..
I'm just interested in what you guys and girls think of these pre-packed survival kits.
so what's the verdict?

[Rick]

Personally, if I had no knowledge and found a pack that protected me from whatever I was worried about then I'd buy it. Any preps are better than no preps. I'll bet everyone on here has bought something or several somethings only to wonder why they bought it later on.

I think a pack that is designed around you and your knowledge is the best world but short of that a pre-made pack is at least a start in the right direction.

[kyratshooter]

Pre-mades offer the untrained a false sense of security. These kits get purchased, shoved into the closet, never used and the contents never examined. If you use the contents while trying to learn proper processes, they have to be replaced and the only replacement the untrained know is another premade kit, which was more expense than they really wanted to start with.

I can imagine Dad, huddled on the tornado shelter, reading the instruction book printed on the pack flap by the flame of a bic lighter trying to figure out how to make the chemlite sticks work.

We have always stressed boots in the field here. Practice makes perfect and all that. Premade kits are an emotional bandaid so the average yuppie can feel like they have done everything they could to prepare, when all they did was spend a bit of money.

Buying something, even if it is the best made, does not insure that it will save anyone or anything if no training comes with it.

[SARKY]

Have to agree with kyratshooter, false security is no security at all. Invest in the information and training to build yourself a kit that truly fits your needs and skill level.

[crashdive123]

I agree, to a point with all three responses so far. A pre-made kit may not include the "exact" items that are needed, but they are something. I also agree in the false sense of security that can be found in buying gear, but don't believe it is limited to the pre-made kits. Any gear or equipment that you do not know how to use is useless, just as not having it or being able to reach it is as well. The pre-made kits do have their place, but IMO that place is a starting point and not a destination.

[Sarge47]

Yeah, I agree with Crash! Start out with a "pre-made" kit, but don't let it end there. Think about where you're going to be, then check out the kit to see if it's what you're going to need. Replace any items that are not germane to your location o r are poor quality.

[Pocomoonskyeyes3]

Quite honestly, I don't even look at these "Pre-made Survival Kits". Although I did buy a pocket kit from, of all places, "Auto Zone". I bought it just for the container it was packed in!

I have yet to see a reasonably priced, well made "kit". While there may be some out there, I haven't seen them 'cause I haven't looked for them.

IMO too much is dependent on an individuals skill level/skill set. What may be good for ME, May not be good for you as our skill levels/sets are going to be different. It's kinda' like fishing, it all depends on where you're going, and how good you are. Although I do believe there are some "Basics" that are good no matter where you go, who you are, or your skill level/set is. Each "kit" should be designed around the individual using it. Anything beyond "Basics" is TOTALLY dependent on the individual. The basics are covered in all "Survival kits", so it just depends on what you need to bolster your weaknesses. It also depends on what kind of "Survival" you are referring to. A chemical leak would require different stuff that being lost in the nearby woods. Knowledge and improvisation skills are perhaps the two best things in the inventory of anyone wanting to "Survive" anywhere.

[Canadian-guerilla]

whoever is making these pre-kits may be thinking

how can i give the " leastest " and make the " mostest " money


make your own custom/personalized survival kit

[Rick]

While that may be true with some, I don't think all of them are so evil. Doug Ritter teamed up with Adventure Medical Kits to put together a decent little kit.

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Cost has to be a consideration but then it's a consideration when you buy something isn't it? You want the Kifaru bag at the WalMart price and settle for something in between.

It's easy to tell folks to build their own kit but how do they do that if they don't have the knowledge? Or would you rather them do without anything until they build the knowledge? Just asking.

[Pocomoonskyeyes3]

Well to be fair, let's look at what's in it...... $34 at the AMK site......
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Guests can not see images in the messages. Please register in the forum.OK for what's in it, I think this is a fair price. However, I think I could get the major things - Button Compass, Fresnel magnifier, Signal mirror, Rescue whistle, Spark lite, And Snare wire, myself. The scalpel is pretty useless IMO for any uses other than First Aid or skinning an animal. Even skinning the scalpel blade is dangerous without a handle and POTENTIALLY poses as much threat as it does aid to the user.

IMO it should have a space blanket, which it does not. Truthfully? I wouldn't buy it. I've heard "Doug Ritter" but have no clue as to who he is, other than a "Kit Designer". That is the only way I've ever heard of him. "Oh it's this kit designed by Doug Ritter", etc...Unless I priced all those items individually, and this was a better price I wouldn't buy it.

Quite honestly I would rather buy a kit that had the items I chose, AND a Mora or Opinel knife than that kit.... even for more money. I would then add the other items I felt I needed.

[Rick]

You missed my point. I don't think Doug set out to build a kit with the idea of let me provide the leastest and charge the mostest. I would tend to believe he set to provide an economical kit to cover the bases. No more, no less.

Doug Ritter is a noted survival expert primarily in the aviation realm. Only recently has he been involved in kit design.

Here's a link to his site.

http://www.equipped.org/drbio.htm

[Pocomoonskyeyes3]

You missed my point. I don't think Doug set out to build a kit with the idea of let me provide the leastest and charge the mostest. I would tend to believe he set to provide an economical kit to cover the bases. No more, no less.

Doug Ritter is a noted survival expert primarily in the aviation realm. Only recently has he been involved in kit design.

Oh I agree, I think for what's in it, it's a fair price with the exception of the 2 items - add Survival/emergency blanket, exchange a knife for the scalpel. Still unless it was a better deal for me to buy the kit instead of individual items, I wouldn't buy it. I'd rather build my own, tailored to MY needs/desires.

I guess that's the reason I don't know of him, I'm not an aviator, and I don't fly....without a parachute.

[Sarge47]

In marketing there HAS to be a profit. Even if you buy components for your own home-made survival kit, somebody made a profit off of what you bought. I just placed an order with Safe-zone and I hope Rick made a profit...not a large one, mind you, but a modest one.

That being said, yes, somebody IS making a profit off of any marketed survival kit. That's THEIR motivation for making & selling them. However, if you'd like to learn how to make your own just visit the "Survival kit" sticky:

http://www.wilderness-survival.net/f...ival-kits-info.

A lot of info there that should help!

[Pocomoonskyeyes3]

Well I figured someone was making a profit. I'm just saying which would be more profitable for ME.
As I would be buying it for only SOME of the items it contains, and others are unnecessary things I ALREADY have in my possession.

[Canadian-guerilla]

i'm gonna pop over to the dollar store
and see what kind of survival kit items i would buy for $25

an idea for another thread ? - pics from each member ?

[Rick]

Uh, yeah. Modest. Sure. REeeaaaal modest.

[SARKY]

Since AMK is just down the street from me, I have talked to those guys on several occasions. It's funny, because the biggest problems I have with that kit is the scalpel blade, the button compass, the sparklite and the whistle. I don't find those items up to par. Not when you can get a type #27 silva compass (which also eliminates the need for a separate signal mirror), a Gerber ultralite locking folder, a BlastMatch, and a Fox 40 (which works much better than their howler.)

[hunter63]

If you have nothing, (hard for me to imagine) It's a start.......

I guess I just get a kick out of looking at them in the store/on line/catalogs.....kinda like a moth to a flame.....just to see what they have in them.

I have purchased small FAK's and included them in my kits/pockets/vehicles/boats....but mostly I have created my own mostly by finding out the hard way.
"Hey, I really could have used a .....whatever", and in it goes.
And as luck would have it...If you do carry it, won't need it...This time.....Leave it out and you are gonna need it for sure....LOL

BTW, has anyone actually got one of those survival blankets folded back up after unwrapping it? Meaning NOT a snot ball.

[Rick]

That's a great deal like putting popcorn back in the kernel.

[LowKey]

With a 'survival' kit, I tend to start with a First Aid kit and add to that. Not living in a place you can get too horribly lost (you should hit a road within 4 hours if you manage to walk in a straight line) alot of the 'survival' stuff has no meaning to me. Which doesn't mean I don't have means to go fishing or start a fire without matches or that my GHB doesn't have a few necessaries in it. I just don't feel the need to carry such things in a Sucrets tin all the time.

I look at those kits much like hunter63 does. Fascination. Kinda like the sparkly fishing lure aisle. In spite of all their killer claims, a lot of those lures aren't meant to catch fish, just the fisherman who buys them.