[Cyrano]

From The Week, the May 13, 2022 edition, page 28, Consumer column "The Best of ..."
This time, "The Best Of ... Graduation Gifts."

VSSL Compact Adventure Kit

This 9-inch aluminum canister packs in more than 70 outdoor essentials, including a sewing kit, matches, and fishing hooks. The canister itself is a flashlight with a built-in compass.

'Pretty cool, huh?'

$175, vsslgear.com
Source: Men's Health


Or in other words, for $175 you can get a kit that is rather less well equipped than a Skynex Rambo knife that costs one-third as much, plus a respectable single AA cell flashlight. But then again, this is not being aimed at people who have a clue.

 

[ncnascarlady]

It's cute but I can pack a better kit in an old fashion film canister for a lot less.

 

[animalspooker]

Thanks C, not I gotta get online and cancel my order

 

[Dutch]

Jeez. That makes my kit packed in an Altoids tin look plain cheap. Better order two. Don’t want to be embarrassed at hunting camp this year…

 

[Cyrano]

I have the same kit built into a modified Model 1897 Swedish bayonet like this one. It does not have a terribly good compass, and it looks a little odd with a bolt sticking out of the hilt, but it has a cut down magnesium fire starter, fish hooks, split shot, glovers needles (those last two in cut down and plugged plastic straws), monofilament fishing line, monofilament sewing thread, and .a diamond sharpening rod. I'll stick with mine instead of that pretentious aluminum tube, I think.

 

[Wicked109]

VSSL Compact Adventure Kit

I ordered one of these 2-pk waterproof storage containers and handed them to my daughter - said: Your task should you accept this mission is to configure one of the cases for a SHTF event to add to your Bug-Out-Bag. She said she will let me know when she's ready to start. She's been thinking about it for a couple of weeks so far.

Robot or human?

 

[Witsend]

I ordered one of these 2-pk waterproof storage containers and handed them to my daughter - said: Your task should you accept this mission is to configure one of the cases for a SHTF event to add to your Bug-Out-Bag. She said she will let me know when she's ready to start. She's been thinking about it for a couple of weeks so far.

Robot or human?

Ya, youths today can put months and months together of "thinking about it"

 

[Wicked109]

Ya, youths today can put months and months together of "thinking about it"

That's true - daughter is my oldest...39. She was in Florida on a business trip this week, heading to a conference next week. Wife and I get dog duty. Son was also on a business trip out west, will be back mid next week. Looks like I'm going to be grilling for a day or two, weather is superb. Yesterday 12 May evening was getting flowerbeds prepped and flowers in the ground. Saturday's expected rain will hold off until late night so the garage will get my attention on Saturday. A lot of stuff needs to be thinned out and tossed or recycled. R/C aircraft and some balsa kits will be dropped off at the local R/C club, that will really make some room. Multicopters (drones) take up much less space.

 

[Witsend]

OK 39, she missed all the significant delayed behavior.

 

[Wicked109]

OK 39, she missed all the significant delayed behavior.

Hahaha...you'r killing me, I laughed so hard my spousal unit came up to check on me. 🤣 She saw I was on G&G, turned around and left.

 

[Cyrano]

I ordered one of these 2-pk waterproof storage containers and handed them to my daughter - said: Your task should you accept this mission is to configure one of the cases for a SHTF event to add to your Bug-Out-Bag. She said she will let me know when she's ready to start. She's been thinking about it for a couple of weeks so far.

Robot or human?

Glad to see it has a rubber gasket.

If I can offer suggestions, she needs to have these among other things in that box:

Uncle Buck LB-5 knife
(preferably a vintage one made in the USA of good steel)
Diamond sharpening rod
(ditch the aluminum handle to save space)
Magnesium fire starter block with sparker rod built in
Little glass or metal tube with fire-starter tinder in it
(dryer lint saturated with petroleum jelly, DIY)
Spool of nylon monofilament thread
Glovers needles and coarse regular needles
(store in cut down McDonalds straw, plugged)
Boy Scout compass
(with copy of variation table for your area - contact NOAA and request a variation table; Copy your region and blow it up to 3x5 card size)
Bottle of water purification tablets
Bottle of iodine
Emergency dental filling kit
(it's tiny, a bitty tub of stuff to pack the hole in the tooth)
50 meters of good monofilament fishing line
Split shot
(in cut down McDonalds plugged straw)
Some compressed food tablets in metal or plastic tube
Small pack of bandaids and gauze pads with adhesive edges

And either inside or tied to the outside in a seal-a-meal custom sized bag, The Official Pocket Survival Manual: A Life Saving Manual Needed By Every American To Combat National Emergencies Caused By Terrorists Or Otherwise, by Robert W. Pelton. More survival information in a smaller package than any other survival manual I have ever found.

Please show this post to her. It should give her a starting point. Survival is an art, not a science. She needs to pack what works for her, not for you, me, or anyone else.

 

[Wicked109]

If I can offer suggestions, she needs to have these among other things in that box:

Cyrano, that's a good list and I want to highlight your suggestion about the Emergency Dental Filling Kit - you get a gold star - we never thought of this.
I will share one item she gave us for our Bug Out Bags, she gave us (wife and I) 4 tampons each...said - Mom doesn't need them any more and neither do you except they work great to plug a bleeding hole until you can get medical attention.

Cyrano, I will pass on your list and reading suggestion to daughter and son. Thank you for sharing - very good stuff. 👍

 

[Cyrano]

Cyrano, that's a good list and I want to highlight your suggestion about the Emergency Dental Filling Kit - you get a gold star - we never thought of this.
I will share one item she gave us for our Bug Out Bags, she gave us (wife and I) 4 tampons each...said - Mom doesn't need them any more and neither do you except they work great to plug a bleeding hole until you can get medical attention.

Cyrano, I will pass on your list and reading suggestion to daughter and son. Thank you for sharing - very good stuff. 👍

During the Vietnam War, the so-called "antiwar activists" shipped literal tons of the old-style bulky menstrual pads to the Viet Cong. They work very well as field dressings.

Something worth remembering for the post-SHTF scenario. There are still reasonably thick pads for sale in the personal care aisle at the supermarket.

 

[Mindy up North]

That's actually quite comical 🤣

 

[Wicked109]

Cyrano, I will pass on your list and reading suggestion to daughter and son. Thank you for sharing - very good stuff. 👍

Cyrano, my daughter really like your list, she's been looking on the internet for some of the items. She also indicated some of the items in our bags needed to be updated. More to come.

To all the G&G family, Have a great Memorial Day weekend, I'm flying my US flag from Friday through Monday. Will be grilling, saluting, and remembering those that have passed.

My dad and all his brothers and sisters all served during WWII, all who were in combat made it home, one uncle (Navy) was at the docks at Pearl Harbor during the attack, got badly burned but survived. I listened to their stories growing up. One uncle would only give a high level review and I said something to the effect - If I'm old enough to ask you, I'm old enough to hear what actually happened. He never watered down his accounts after that. I was 10 or 11...

 

[Cyrano]

One thing about my list: I forgot to add fish hooks and a flat spool of fishing line. Don't know how I missed that!

 

[blue fox]

Cyrano, my daughter really like your list, she's been looking on the internet for some of the items. She also indicated some of the items in our bags needed to be updated. More to come.

To all the G&G family, Have a great Memorial Day weekend, I'm flying my US flag from Friday through Monday. Will be grilling, saluting, and remembering those that have passed.

My dad and all his brothers and sisters all served during WWII, all who were in combat made it home, one uncle (Navy) was at the docks at Pearl Harbor during the attack, got badly burned but survived. I listened to their stories growing up. One uncle would only give a high level review and I said something to the effect - If I'm old enough to ask you, I'm old enough to hear what actually happened. He never watered down his accounts after that. I was 10 or 11...

I hope that you can remember enough of those stories to record them. If any of those folks are still alive try to get their stories on record. It is history that is being lost and they need to be heard. Have a great weekend

 

[60942]

I have the same kit built into a modified Model 1897 Swedish bayonet like this one. I




View attachment 174615

This is just like my 1896 Swedish bayonet!

 

[Wicked109]

If I can offer suggestions, she needs to have these among other things in that box:

Cyrano, update - Daughter has been ordering some items to update our BOBs, not sure what all she got, will probably be during our Fall inventory, food rotation, and clothing change that she passes them out.

 

[Wicked109]

If I can offer suggestions, she needs to have these among other things in that box:

Cyrano, this excerpt above was from your 14 May 22 post where you provided a list of recommended items.
On Saturday 4 March 2023, a fairly heavy box arrived by FedEx. I let my daughter know and she said it's for our Bug Out Bags. I have no idea what she got but I am looking forward to finding out and will let you know. Might even post some photos. With everything that has been happening in the world recently, might be good to update and add a few new things.
This will revive an old thread but there is some good info posted on it for any new members.

And Cyrano, I might be older but I still remembered I owed you a response when we updated our BOBs - we didn't do a Fall update so now it's almost Spring
Take care my friend.