I wouldn't venture to try and guess how many threads I've read that beg the same basic questions, what knife do you carry, what's your favorite pack, what did you have for supper, and What's in your pocket survival kit, there are many more of course, but the above will do.
IMHO, if you don't carry enough survival stuff in your box of survival tricks, including the knowledge and experience to use what you carry, if you do survive your situation it'll be more because of luck and providence than any pre planning on your part.
I've been there and lived through that, I had a very minimal assortment of items in my pockets, there was no planning involved on my part, I was young, strong, and invincible, other people got lost or injured, but I wasn't one of them, in retrospect I probably had more survival items with me than most small PSK's that I seen pictured in the pages of outdoor magazines and on outdoor forums, but what saved me from freezing to death in -10*
below temps and wind chill of -30* was my hunting companions who had the guts to brave the cold and dark to come looking for me when I didn't show up on time.
I had dry windproof matches, my hunting knife, rifle , ammo, canteen and cup, some tea bags, hot chocolate, and a few candy bars, my hunting clothes were made of wool, I had a cheap mylar space blanket, and I had the skills to make a fire, build a shelter against the snow, sleet, and wind that was coming at me sideways, what I didn't have on my side was time, the sun was setting, I was wet from the storm, and had no spare batteries for my small mag-light, my fingers and toes were already stiffening up.
I got a small fire going and was heating water in my canteen cup, but didn't have time to collect enough wood, I wrapped the survival blanket around me, it helped slow down the process of hypothermia, but it wasn't enough to keep my core warm, and I still had to survive the night ahead of me.
My point in recounting this story is to show that there are more complexities to survival than just have a candy tin with a few feel good items in it that we can fool ourselves with by calling them survival stuff, we normally make choices about what to put in our kits while we are sitting in a warm home in a comfortable chair, well fed and not thirsty or hungry, and when the time comes to use the tools and things we've packed into our little PSK, we're wet, cold, our motor functions are impaired, we are shivering too badly to strike a match or ferro rod, it's getting dark and your mind is racing trying to find a way to make this all go away, and it's not.
My PSK weighs about ten pounds, it has a comprehensive first aid kit, shelter tarp, fire kit, cook pot, navigation tools, signaling devices, cordage, emergency food, several cutting tools including a folding saw, water bottle, multi fuel stove, and much more.
If I ever manage to get myself into another such situation, I want to have what I need to make my survival less painful and a hell of a lot less work, It's more practical for me to carry an eight or ten pound pack with me all day while hunting, hiking, or into my camp than it is to suffer not having what I need if I'm ever injured or twisted again and have things turn to crap.
