My Second Micro PSK

Contents And Packing Order

Given that back then I was already carrying the following items with me on a daily basis... ...it seemed that I could remove those from my PSK and put most of the remaining contents (one obvious exception being, for instance, the signal mirror) into a much smaller tin. This led me to the idea of an "EDC Supplement" tin, which would just add a few basic extras, mainly for fire building and water purification, as well as some basic hard-to-manufacture-by-yourself-alone-in-the-wilderness kinds of tools. The challenge in my mind became to create a valid supplement to my daily carry which, itself, would be small enough for daily carry, if I so chose.

I started building my first Micro PSK in an Altoid's "Tiny Tin", but later found another small tin, just slightly larger than the Altoid's. It was exactly what I was looking for to complete this exercise, since I had realized I wanted to add just a couple of water collection devices to this kit.

I put various heavy needles and an Exacto-style blade in the bottom.

I cut a piece of compressed dehydrated craft sponge to fit, and placed it over the sharp implements in the bottom. (I cut two, and got one wet, just to see for myself how much it decompresses. The picture is at the top right of this page. Not bad!)

I wrote a warning, since I may not be the one opening and using this kit. (I could be the unconscious one...)

Then, I wrapped a short piece of Teflon tubing and two plastic covered twist ties around the inner circumference of the tin, and put a (cardboard covered) single-sided razor blade in the center.

I stuffed one Tinder-Quik waterproof tinder in the middle of some safety pins and paper clips, and put them to one side. Next to those, I put a Spark-Lite flint and steel sparking device, Sparky magnesium bar with flint rod, trick self-relighting birthday cake candle and four NATO Lifeboat Matches.

On top of the matches, and facing away from them, I put two cardboard strikers, which I had previously tested with these types of matches to make sure they would both work. When I repack this tin, I'm going to swap these' location with the chlorine tablets, to separate them from the matches.

At this point, the candle, matches and strikers came up to a lower point in the tin than the other items beside them, so I placed four chlorine water purification tablets, staggered two-over-two, on top of them.

This didn't quite bring the one side up to level with the other, so I put a piece of hacksaw blade which I had cut to fit on top to that side.

Having evened up everything nicely, I wrapped a BCB braided wire saw around into a circle and fit it in to the tin.

On top of the wire saw, I stacked two split rings. Together, they were just about the height of a brass button compass I put inside them. I padded the compass inside the rings with another piece of Tinder-Quick, and then filled out the rest of the space with more.

Lastly, I placed still more chlorine tablets on top, in the middle, since the top of the tin is slightly arched.

At first, the lid would not close, but that's okay. I knew that this was just air trapped in the tinder. It would soon squeeze out.

So, I wrapped the edges of the tin with different colors and types of 3M electrical tape, stuck a few pieces of different colored 3M cloth and duct tape on the top and wrapped the kit in braided Dacron line.

I wrapped the kit lengthways with Triptease Lightline retro-reflective tent guyline, and widthways with red mil-spec 7-strand 550#-test paracord.

Lastly, I put a heavy duty rubber band ("Ranger Band") cut from a mountain bike inner tube around the kit edgewise to hold the cordage on without having to resort to bulk-adding knot-tying.

This is what it looks like from the top.

The (flat) bottom of the tin is where I intend to stick some fine adhesive-backed emory cloth for sharpening blades. I just need to get some, unwrap the cordage, stick it on and re-wrap the cordage. Then, it'll be just about perfect for my needs.

Would I want to rely on this kit alone for my survival? HECK, NO! But, having matches and tinder is better than not. Having both a wire saw and hacksaw blade is better than neither. Having some extra cordage of different sizes is better than none. Having a few small blades is better than having nothing. You get the idea.

Besides, this kit was really just a fun and challenging exercise in prioritizing. It helped me clarify what I considered most important (i.e. fire building and water collection & purification, with extra cordage to help, perhaps in constructing some sort of shelter). I don't recommend this kit for anyone, because everyone is different. I already have other items on me as a matter of daily habit, and that completely dictated what I would need to add to my "EDC Supplement Micro PSK". Everyone should assess their own carry and their own needs and design their own kit(s). (I would recommend it (they) be larger than this one.)

My own biggest complaint about this exercise is that, by definition, there's just not enough room for a decent signal mirror in a tin this small. I suppose I could just put one on a neck lanyard and keep it with this tin to wear under my shirt whenever I go out with this tin. If I ever were to go out with (just) this tin...

As fun as this was, I don't think it wise to use a kit this size as a substitute for a more substantial kit when going into the outdoors any real distance. The value I see in packing a tin this small (aside from sharpening one's mental skills) is that someone who normally would not carry a pocket kit could actually could get into the habit of carrying one this small as part of their EDC. If that led them to have a kit when they otherwise would not have, than I guess that would be a good thing. Something is better than nothing.

Since I originally wrote this, I have discovered some small tins that will just barely hold the Skyblazer plastic "10 Mile Signal Mirror". The first is Dilbert brand mints. The second is Everest brand "Powerful Mint Gum".  Beware; some idiot someone at the Everest site likes their Flash way too much! :-(
If anyone remembers when Sucrets cough drops came in a metal tin, these are the same dimensions as those used to be... as wide as an Altoids' tin, but not quite as tall or long.
The third tin is the container that the automotive air fresheners "Tin Scents" come in. It's the same height & length as the two Sucrets sized tins, but not as wide. In other words, it's a lot like an Altoids tin, but smaller in every dimension. It is exactly just long & wide enough to barely fit the Skyblazer mirror into.
This last seems like it may be yet another fun exercise. Wider & longer than the current micro kit pictured above, but flatter; it might become the best true "supplemental" tin I've made yet. In addition to the mirror, I would also like to squeeze in one Gerber's "Seal 'n Go" breast milk storage bag, a far better water container than a condom. We'll see...
Of course, if it keeps getting bigger, it may defeat the point... but it'll still be fun. ;-p