All good things.
I'd consider this upgrade, IF you could fit it in ?
Not as cheap as the foil space blankets, but way more versatile.
Keep a few foil blankets for windbreak/rain tarps. With foil side toward fire, the reflective heat and the space bag I'm suggesting, you would be good to go in most conditions  It's made by Adventure Medical.


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ST- I have been thinking about those, because I've tried to use those space blankets before, and they leave a lot to be desired. But they can also be used to help waterproof a hasty shelter, among other improvised uses - however packing two or three space blankets might take up the same volume as that emergency bivvy, so this will require some further thought and testing on my part.


masterangler - Be wary when ordering the SOG from retailers, as they often don't offer a choice between the kydex and nylon sheath. I ordered my nylon sheath after the fact - the kydex is kind of neat but its wider (so I couldn't secure it to my pack strap comfortably), and I wanted the pocket to hold a firesteel and a whetstone. My hunting buddy got the Field Pup, and he really likes it. It's just as solid, but a little smaller, and doesn't have the half-serrated blade, which is a feature I enjoy.

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Akula,

if a survival kit gets too big to bother carrying, you won't -- I'd go with a smaller mylar bag like the one above;  I have an "emergency poncho" I picked up up somewhere that's a bit longer and wider than a deck of cards but only half as thick. Just google for "emergency poncho" and you'll find lots of options.  crawling into the bag with the poncho worn over the top of that should offer waterproof and warmth.  I'd back the firesteel and bic up with at least a book of matches, or a small box of strike anywhere waterproof matches (in ziplock bags, doubled).  Butane doesn't work too well in really cold temps.  

The fanny pack I use for hunting is an old convertable model, with a zippered top that opens up into a day pack - when zippered closed which is how I carry it 99% of the time, there is just enough room in that folded up top half for me to carry my "emergency kit" -  that poncho, a knife sharpener (which I use everytime I get an elk), a bottle of iodine tablets (which I also use from time to time) , a mini first aid kit (few bandaids and aspirin mostly), a small hank of thin nylon cord -  100' I think - might be more, but can't remember, a small spare knife like a Gerber LST, a spare compass (there have been times when I was certain that my compass was wrong - had to be! - digging out that second companss to confirm direction can be really important in those instances - of course compass #1 was correct, but now I knew it for fact), a spare flashlight that's about the size of a 12 Ga shell - I have used that that spare light several times, when I've had the bulb on my Mini-mag burn out on the way in - I can replace the batteries in the dark, but no way could I replace the bulb without another light to see by; a small matchbox wrapped in a couple of layers of ziplocks (maybe 2 - don't remember) a spare pen - mostly to fill out the tag if my other pen doesn't work, and a topo map of my main hunitng area - that's my tinder if I need it.  That's form memery, can't remember what else may be in there, but that's enough for me to survive.  I can't fit a space blanket or bag in there, not much else.  The volume availbale is maybe 12" x 5" by 1" thick and in ther is the folded up top of hte daypack as well, so its a tight fir.

I've kind of been playing devil's advocate on the altoids tin thread, so I'll keep wearing that hat.  Whatcha gonna do with that snare wire ?  How many people have you ever heard of who actually succsessfully snared something  (I did see a Griz get snared once on a TV show) ?  again, to be useful, you'd need soft wire that could be bend/broken into pieces, and enough wire to set maybe half a dozen or dozen snares in different locations if you actually hoped to snare a rabbit.  You'd be better off with the nylon cord  - you could sit by a squirrel midden or fav log of the squirrel and maybe with a long leash, be able to snare a red squirrel - odds for that are a whole lot better than thinking you'dd get a rabbit.  I've been thinking that a useful item, for a snare, would be a long 30# test leader - wire or mono - would be simple to clip back on itself to make a loop, and that could be attached to your length of nylon line.

I favor a lot of smaller diameter line over a bit of para cord - I don't carry a space blanket, so my plan is to use that line for shelter building - and I want enough to do that - to lash brush or small trees together, or to lash a cross pole to two trees for a leanto.

I googled paracord pedometer - an abacus on string ?  I'd say forget that and use the space for another pack of matches, or more line.

jimmar wrote on Nov 23^rd, 2010 at 4:41pm:

ROFLMAO!   

Needed a hanky to wipe the tears from my eyes!!

My late Father was a avid old school deer hunter.
He and his buddies would set-up a army surplus tent and stay in the woods for a week at a time.

He spent more than one night in the woods, trailing a wounded deer.
They all wore the full wool coats and bibs. Dad always carried a few tins of sardines and kitchen matches in a old pill bottle.

He also carried 2 big garbage bags in his pocket. If he had to spend night in woods, he would find a old stump and set in on fire. Then he would step into one bag and tie it off each side of his waist.
The other bag he would cut a slit for his head and arms. He stayed warm and dry and eventually would come back dragging that big buck

The new woven type lawn and leaf bags would be excellent for a make-shift bivy.