Small Comforts!

Outside of a few large purchases like a backpack, boots, other articles of clothing, a knife, cookset etc. it is the small things that can bring comfort to a survival situation.  Often, these items are lightweight and little enough to be tucked in the corners of a survival kit, a small belt pouch, or even the clever pockets made into some hats or caps.

For instance, a small book of paper matches in a pill-sized Ziploc bag, can be a great assistance when needing a quick fire.  Or a tea bag, also in a small Ziploc bag can be a great comfort and caffeine boost.  A tea bag can also be used on a wound to help staunch bleeding because of the Tannins in the tea.  A small packet of sugar added to the tea packet adds sweetness to the tea, gives and energy burst and can also be used in a wound as it has antibiotic properties.  A dozen fish hooks weigh very little and can be very useful in obtaining much needed calories and protein.  Of course, a small hank of 20-30 feet of fishing line is easy to wind around a small stick or pencil and combined with the hooks makes a great emergency fishing kit.

Hard candy, can be an excellent choice in a survival kit as it lasts a very long time (years in some cases) and gives sugar and energy and can be helpful in a first aid situation if someone is having an insulin attack.  A micro light which attaches to a zipper or key chain is much better than no light at all and can have a battery life of several hours if used sparingly.  (Be careful of the kind of button on a micro light if you keep it on your key chain, I have had them get pressed against something else in my pocket and drain the battery, which of course renders it useless) An eyeglass repair kit can be a lifesaver for those who wear glasses or even sunglasses.  Sometimes all you need is a tiny screw and screwdriver and you can see again!

A small sewing kit is awesome to repair rips in your clothing and with the addition of a sail needle can even repair heavier items.  A button compass, about the diameter of a dime can give you a generally reliable course to follow and it works on rainy or cloudy days as well as at night.  The best ones are made of brass and sold by the Best Glide Company.   Four safety pins are excellent to have along for emergency repairs and even emergency fish hooks or line guides for fishing line on a made stick fishing pole assuming you have some type of fishing reel apparatus.

No list of this kind is complete without a few feet of duct tape, the Gorilla brand being about the best you can buy for survival or actually any case where you need tape.  It is truly a multi-purpose item and will probably get it’s own blog post some day!  You can tuck in a few feet of brass wire, 18 gauge, for snares or suspending meat over a fire or for strong lashing if needed.  Even a small razor blade, from a utility knife or paint scraper, is better than no knife at all.  You can (with difficulty) clean a fish, small game or even debride a wound if necessary.  A P38 can opener is a life saver if you happen across a cabin with canned food and no way to open it in an emergency situation.  A few band-aids can keep a small cut from getting dirty and then infected.  A small bar or piece of hard hand soap in a pill sized Ziploc bag is great to wash your hands or clean out wounds.

Most of these items, if not all of them, can be carried in the larger size Altoids tin.  Many people make fun of the Altoids tin size survival kit, but in a true emergency having these small comforts can go a long way to making a survival situation more manageable.  Reading true stories of survival, it’s surprising how thin the margins are sometimes between survival and death.  It may just be that some of these small comforts will not only make you more comfortable, they may even save your life.

Case in point, a man parked his car beside the road by a steep embankment to go down an spend a few minutes by the creek at the bottom.  He slipped and broke his leg and was unable to get back up to his car and had to spend a cold, lonely night until the next morning when someone came by and discovered him.  He had a survival kit but it was in his car!  If he had had even a book of matches in his pocket, he could have gathered a few sticks and at least been warmed by the fire. While he was only down there overnight, if he had been in a less traveled area, it could have been long enough before he was discovered that he might have lost his life.   A kit is no good unless you have it on you.  This is why the Altoids tin kit is great because it’s small enough to slip in your pocket wherever you go.  So don’t make fun of small comforts as they can sometimes be a great comfort!

In life, it is the small things that can make a great difference.  A word of encouragement, a pat on the back or a nod of approval.  Many people are discouraged and battered by disappointment, disease or loss.  Always be prepared to help and encourage others.  This is the way of the Christian.  To lift up others and be a blessing wherever you may be.  These small comforts given to others, just may be your Christian mini survival kit!

Have any suggestions for small comforts that you have discovered for your survival kit? Please let us know in the suggestion box below.

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PS. You can check out my website where you can set up training for many of these skills at www.waypointsurvival.com and look at and order my custom knives at www.benderknifeworks.com.

James B.