Altoids Mini Survival Kit

Here we will answer the most important questions about Altoids mini survival kits, Why every family should have a mini survival kit for their child. What essential items need to be in a mini survival kit, and whether it is better to buy a pre-assembled kit or to assemble one at home. And of course, there is the most important question of them all. What are mini survival kits really good for?

What Are Mini Survival Kits Really Good For?

Due to the size limitations of an Altoids Mini Survival Kit, these kits are meant to be for short-term emergencies only, but they do have a vital function. They are a great learning tool, it teaches how to make do with a minimum of gear, it teaches organizational skills, and the ability to think out of the box.

As much as possible, every item in the kit should have a dual purpose. For example, snare wire can be used for setting traps, lashing sticks together to create a makeshift shelter, lashing a knife to a stick, and voila a spear.

Kids Teaching Aid

Altoids Mini Survival Kit can also be used to teach children the basics of survival, it is a fun way for children to learn the basics of survival. Ask the child what should go into the kit, and what the item would be used for. Ask them if the item could have another use. Take the child into the backyard and learn how to use the items in the kit. Children will be thrilled that they have a survival kit all of their own, that they helped assemble, and that they know how to use.

What To Put In A Homemade Altoids Survival Kit

There is no perfect list of items that will go into an Altoids kit, each and every kit should be customized to the person’s skillset, environment, and what is expected of it. If the user does not know how to start a fire with a flint, pack a Ferro rod, if the person has no skills with a Ferro rod, pack in waterproof matches, etc. Always pack items that you are proficient at using and that will be used in a survival situation in your environment. People pack survival tins for all sorts of scenarios, covering them all will be nigh on impossible, especially considering the size of the tin.

How To Make My Own Altoids Mini Survival Tin?

Start by identifying the objective of the survival tin. Here is a sample hikers survival tin. Hikers’ most likely scenarios are that they are either lost or unable to extricate themselves from their current location to civilization (possibly due to an injury).

So the needs to be addressed will be:

Fire – fire starting device (matches, lighter, Ferro rod, magnifying glass, Fresnel lens, tinder).
Shelter – Mylar blanket, and cordage to build a shelter.
Hydration – Water purification tablets, water container (plastic bag, zip lock bag, condom unlubricated).
Light – Mini LED light.
Signaling for help – Whistle, signal mirror.
Navigation – Button Compass.

There are a myriad of other items that could be added to the kit, depending on the users’ skills and needs, but the ones listed above would be considered the barest of basics.

Depending on the size of the items listed above if there is any space left, consider packing some of these items.

Optional Items To Include:

Duct tape
Aluminum Foil
Butterfly sutures
Mini Tweezers
Electrolyte powder
Safety pins have a variety of uses, such as fish hooks, to remove splinters, to hold makeshift bandages together, etc.
Fish hooks, line, and sinker
Painkiller pills
Diarrhea medication
Needles and threads

For Urban survival kits consider adding in some
Cash
Lockpick set

Homemade Vs Pre-assembled Mini Survival Kit

It is highly recommended that survival kits are homemade. The reasoning being that the person assembling them will know how to use the items in them and that they are customized to the users’ needs and budget. In rare cases where a person urgently needs a kit but is unable to assemble one themselves. Then comes the question of what to buy.

The Best Pre-Assembled Mini Survival Kit

The market is flooded with mini survival kits, if you searched Amazon, you would be spoiled for choice. They usually come with a wide variety of survival items. Now look closely, most of those items are of inferior quality or low-priority items in a real survival situation.

So what is a wise shopper to do? Look for reputable companies, they may not be the cheapest, but they will have the best quality items. And that will be a priority in any survival situation.

 ESEE , SOL, and UST are a couple of the more reliable brands.

While not as compact as an Altoids tin (it is quite a bit larger). The ESEE Mess Tin Kit is probably the best survival kit on the market. It is also one of the most expensive. A friend of mine in Germany got one of these and we had a fun weekend testing it out. This is probably as small as a REAL survival kit is ever going to get.
He also had one of those cheap Amazon kits, and that one failed miserably. There wasn’t an item in there worth keeping and as soon as we got back from the camping trip. He chucked the whole thing in the bin. If you are wondering why he had two such varying quality of items, we were just testing gear out for fun.

Conclusion:

Having something is better than nothing, and that is the logic behind these little survival kits. That they are so small that a person will carry that with them at all times and thereby have something in case of a dire emergency. Therefore its most significant advantage is its size, which also happens to be its biggest disadvantage, namely its size limitation. End of the day, Altoids survival kits are more a learning tool both for adults and children than for actual survival scenarios. I do not think anyone would recommend relying on one of these as long-term survival gear. They will only be useful for a couple of days.

So for a breakdown: