The internet is a fascinating place and you never know what you will find if you go looking around long enough. As a prepper myself, I have to try to broaden my horizons from time to time because after a while of looking, you do start to see some repetition. I guess I am guilty of adding to this repetition somewhat myself obviously with the Prepper Journal. There is content that we post that has been covered before, but I hope we add a different viewpoint in some cases. I like to rationalize covering topics that have been well documented already by saying that there are different ways of looking at virtually everything under the sun and I am always game for finding or learning of a new way to do something.
The other day I was looking around, and this may happen in cycles, but on this day there seemed to be a higher than usual percentage of web pages, YouTube videos and articles on the subject of the Survival Tin. The Survival Tin if you aren’t aware is billed as a one stop shop for anything you need to keep you alive, stored in a small container. The container is usually the size of an Altoids tin; hence the name Survival Tin. The contents are very creative and diminutively packaged so as to get a whole bunch of little things in one small container.
One of the great things about a survival tin is that anyone can create one of these by yourself, and like I said, there are hundreds of videos at least on this very subject. The contents are all easy to find and can vary according to each person’s preference or situation you are preparing for. Here is an example of the types of items that some creative people have packed into their survival tin:
- Rubber Band
- Small flashlight
- Waterproof matches
- Leatherman Micra
- Ziploc bag
- Wire saw
- Basic sewing kit
- Tissues
- Basic fishing kit
- Safety pins
- Mirror – for signaling
- Pencils
- Compass
- Can opener
- Emergency whistle
- Small candle
- Snare wire
- Flint and tinder
- Water purification tablets
- Spare knife
Pretty impressive if you think about it, that all of these little items can fit into that small container. The goal of having all of these items with you in that small container is that you will carry it with you at all times. By making this survival tin part of your Every Day Carry equipment you will be more likely to benefit from having these items when you need them.
But whenever I look at one of these tins, I imagine myself carrying it every day and wondering what situation I would need to be faced in that would make this tin something that would actually help me Survive. Most of us have pretty similar days in that we wake up, eat breakfast, go to work or school and then eventually come home. There aren’t a lot of opportunities I can see to use the tin but maybe I am wrong and you can think of a thousand ways these small items all make sense. It could be that some disaster strikes and you are no longer at home, but somehow transported into the wilds of Africa with nothing but your survival tin. Actually, if I wanted to I could easily rationalize how any one of these items could benefit me any day, but would they be required for survival? I don’t know, but that isn’t the main point I am trying to make.
So, you have a survival kit now and you carry this everywhere you go now. Maybe it’s in your backpack or your purse. Maybe you just stick it into a spare cargo pocket on your 5.11 tactical pants. Now you are prepared for anything, right? Wrong. I think there is something missing from this plan. If you have a survival tin you have to be prepared to use it. You have to have the mindset that says I am going to take my wire saw even though I live in a big city with zero trees and use it to live if something happens. You have to be able to do something with that compass. You have to know how to make a fire with that flint and tender. You have to have both a brain that knows how to use the items you have carefully assembled and the will to live that will give you the motivation and creativity needed to use these implements to somehow make your life better.
The survival tin is just a small example but I know of people who buy tons of survival gear. The most impressive to me are the ones who create color coded lists of their inventory, mark everything with colored sharpies and place everything they have in a basement on shelving units from floor to ceiling. Sadly, it is some of these same people who take a car trip without having a first aid-kit or a map if they get lost.
Purchasing some amount of survival gear is a requirement I think for most of us. You will need tools to help augment your natural inclination to live, but you can’t stop once you have purchased that lantern. You have to know how to use it. Ideally, that big generator you bought after last year’s blackout has been tested and you know how to hook that up and get it going quickly. Prepping isn’t about buying things, it is about being prepared. Preparedness doesn’t end when you have an axe. You have to take that axe and be able to use it. If not, what do you have? You have a lot of really nice stuff that someone who did not prep is going to want to take.
But that won’t happen you say because you also purchased the best handgun you can get. Seriously, if you want to call yourself prepared, an equal portion of this game is the mental attitude you need to survive. You can take someone with a strong desire to live and nothing but a pair of fingernail clippers and put them up against someone who has an entire warehouse of survival gear and guns, but not a clue as to how to use any of their stuff and guess who will win?
The most important item you have to consider is your mental state and that is what you need to pack first. This above all of the mini fishing kits in the world is what will keep you and your family alive. Survival tins and gear are all excellent tools, but make sure your head is on straight first and then regardless of what life throws in your path; you will find some way to make it through.
by Pat Henry
I have most of your listed items that I carry in a Maxpedition pouch that I wear attached to my belt. The only problem I see is the wire saw. Most survivalist will tell you they are flimsy and worthless. My own experience bears that out. A small saw that looks like an extremely small saw that looks like a small cutting chain like that on a chainsaw with handles attached at both ends. Wire saws have a nasty habit of breaking and take considerable time to cut through a small branch. Other than that your list is pretty complete. Might want to add some instant fire cubes to the list. They’ll light even when wet.