A New Take on the Micro-Survival Kit

Recently I had the good fortune of teaching a survival skills class for the fine folks at U.S. Palm in Phoenix. Owners Rob Anderson and Brandon Finch make some of the finest tactical gear on the market today and one of their staff, Greg Beck, showed his micro-survival kit that he always carries with him. Now, bear in mind this kind of kit presupposes that you possess survival skills to begin with, as Greg certainly does, and it would be one notch up from your EDC gear.

The beauty of Greg's kit is in the simplicity. The only thing I would add in are a half-dozen water purification tablets and a few steri-strips and knuckle bandages. Everything here is multi-purpose. Even the alcohol prep pads can be used for firestarting in addition to hygienic needs.

Everything is neatly stored in a multi-tool nylon sheath. To make space for more items, one could substitute the Leatherman with a smaller Swiss-Army knife.

The specific components shown are as follows:

Leatherman Rebar tool

SureFire Titan-A light (AAA battery powered)

Exotac nanoSTRIKER fire starter

Fox 40 whistle

Custom made glow fob

SERE compass

12 feet of 400lb Dyneema cord w/ rubber band

2" x 1.5" signal mirror

(2x) alcohol swabs for tinder

$50 bill

Multi-Tool Pouch

A multi-tool pouch makes for a personal survival kit that you can carry on your belt on short outings.

For more information on their line of tactical gear, visit U.S. Palm.