Personal Survival Kit

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Kevin Estela's PSK and practice PSK

A personal survival kit or PSK is a compact kit meant to be carried on one's person whenever venturing into the wilderness. It provides the basic tools which greatly facilitate a survival effort, especially those for firecraft, water collection and purification, signaling, food gathering, First Aid, and general use. PSK's range in size and form from those designed to be worn as a necklace to those meant to be slipped in a day pack. Though commercially available, these kits are best when constructed by the individual who intends to use them. PSK's are usually highly customized to an individual's needs. For example, if an individual usually carries a full First Aid kit, they may omit First Aid items.

In PSK's, items which can serve multiple roles are often favored since their versatility allows them to adapt to the situation at hand. Items like cord, sewing needles, and blades are good examples.

It is extremely important to practice with your PSK. The best PSK in the world means nothing if you don't know how to use it. In well-practiced hands, however, a well-built PSK can definitely save your life. Be familiar with your PSK, and remember to be inventive.

Kevin Estela's PSK

Kevin Estela is an instructor at a wilderness and survival school, the Wilderness Learning Center in Chateaugay NY, USA. Below are photos of two of his PSKs, lists of their contents, and some of his notes. Click on any image for larger version.

I've been on a PSK kick lately. I'm not one to cut toothbrush handles off to save space and I really can't stand packing those tiny PSKs you see that fit inside film containers (remember those?!) or inside the mini-Altoid tins. I do like to have some basic gear on me and I think I have assembled a very practical kit to suit my needs.

To start off with, I prioritize fire making, water collection/purification and signaling as my top 3 needs for a PSK. I figure I can construct a shelter with natural materials or with an AMK heat sheet I always carry. I based this kit around these three needs and added some extra items for utility or for the simple reason they are difficult to make in the bush.

Here are the two kits I made. I know this post is about my new "Not So" PSK but I believe a person should have two. One kit should be used and practiced with and the other for a real emergency.

This kit is still a work in progress as I'll probably learn some of its shortcomings in practicing with it. I know I want to add a quality small folding knife such as the Spyderco Ladybug VG10 to each. I'd also add some decoy line to both and a few other odds and ends.

For now, I'm quite pleased with this kit. It weighs a bit more than a standard PSK and takes up more space but I'll trade off size and shape for comfort in the ease of use.

PSK next to practice PSK

Firestarting

Signaling

Water Gathering and Purification

Tools

Food Gathering

Cordage and Repair

Fire Starting

BSA Hotspark
Spark-lite
Mini-bic
6x Tinder Quick Tinder

Signaling

AMK Rescue Flash Mirror
Fox Rescue Howler Whistle
Photon Light II (Surprisingly visible at night)

Water Collection and Purification

2x Reynolds Oven Bags (Large)
12x Pur MP1 Tablets

Utility

Uncle Bill's Tick Tweezers
2x Razor blades
20mm button Compass
Small Military Can Opener
Fresnel Lens

Food Gathering

12' of braided stainless steel picture hanging wire
6x Gamakatsu Circle Hooks Size 10
6x Gamakatsu Baitholder Hooks Size 12
6x Mustad Dry Fly Hooks Size 20
50' Spiderwire Braided line 50lb. test
1x Mustad 4/0 "gaff" hook
6x Size 3/0 Split shot
6x Snap Swivels size 12
12x Sewing Needles

Cordage / Lashing

2' duct tape
9' paracord (carried around outside of kit)
6 large safety pins
3" section of 1/4" glue gun stick

In a recent post, I showed off my "Not So PSK" that I carry in my pack. Here is my actual PSK that is a spin off of the Altoids Tin sized kit. I wanted water resistance and found these Plano cases with a latex gasket. I was sold and my PSK was built around it. I've had this kit for over a year now and really like its size.

Reynolds oven bag cut down to fit.
4 MP1 Tabs

Photon Light
Skyblazer Mirror
Rescue Howler

Small Fishing Kit
Small Stainless Steel wire

Small Can Opener
Fresnel Lens
2 safety pins

Spark Lite
8 Tinder Quick Tabs
Small Bic Lighter

Button Compass
Scalpel blade
Ranger Band

Photos by Kevin Estela of the Wilderness Learning Center

Mike Spinak's PSK

Mike Spinak's PSK is shown below. Full comments on the kit's items are available here.

Click here for full resolution

Knife
folding straight razor
scalpels
chainsaw
ferrocerium rod
striker
Spark-Lite firestarter
permanent match
butane torch
fatwood
Tinder-Quik
tinder papers
signal mirror
whistle
home-made water bladder
aluminum box
povidone iodine, in 1/8 ounce squirt bottle
towel
waterproof, insulated hat
home-made bivouac sack
~200 feet of 200 pound Spectra cord
~150 yards of braided 60 pound Spectra line
~200 feet of braided polyester packmaking thread
6 feet of 0.02 inch gauge stainless steel wire
small plastic vial of sewing supplies and fishing kit items
duct tape
Fisher Space Pen ink cartridge
4 sheets of waterproof notebook paper
compass
solar powered LED flashlight
sunscreen, in 1/3 ounce squirt bottle
DEET, in 1/3 ounce squirt bottle
triple antibiotic ointment, in 1/2 ounce squirt bottle
tweezers
aspirin
anti-diarrhea pills
antihistamines
lancet
survival instruction sheet
knife sharpener
ranger band
Trasers (not shown)
map (not shown)
compact flash card with medical and ID info (not shown)

Visit Mike Spinak Photography

Macgregor22's PSK and Gear

In addition to the single, self-contained PSK, Macgregor shows us the other tools he carries. In this approach, the PSK is meant to be used in conjunction with other tools, and is not a standalone item.