Survival Essentials, Battery acid and best flashlight ever

Ah yes, Survival. The truth is, you wont survive anything unless you have an "Essential Survivals kit" …

I was thinking while I was sitting around, and I remembered something about a survival kit I had received last Christmas, I put it in my car, so I would be "prepared"
It included a cheap flashlight and I wanted to see how "survival ready" It really was, after discovering this lovely corner of the internet, I thought I would get a good laugh at what was included. When I opened it up, I was treated the a nasty smell of something brown that had gotten over everything in the kit….

Basically, its a lunch box filled with stuff that is supposed to aid you in a survival situation. Such things as water and band aids.
Included with this amazing set is a FLASHLIGHT. also included, 2 batteries, they power the flashlight (I think anyway) Except, they didn't survive.


I added comments to the pictures just to give it a funny edge, but seriously, if anyone has one of these kits, check it for the battery leaks, i cant imagine being stuck in the woods at night, and fumbling around in the pack and getting the acid all over you as you try to get some water. very dangerous IMO. Well, enjoy the pictures and don't ever rely on batteries.












Hope i saved some some disappointment for someone.

-bobby

I continually improve upon my kit - it changes from time to time, but just keeps getting better..

Yikes. I hope that doesn't happen to me! I have my batteries in a Pelican 1010 case in my BOB...

I guess that's what happens when you rely on low-quality batteries.

Im glad i never needed to use this kit, and it seams that in order to have a reliable kit, i need to assemble it myself. Ive learned alot from this site and i hope people dont have a kit like this in their cars. Any advice on what a kit should have, im listening. Thanks
-bobby

nakahoshi said:

Any advice on what a kit should have

Click to expand...

Check out this link

http://www.equipped.org/home.htm

Nakahoshi,

Hoghead is pointing you in the right direction. Be warned, if you thought CPF had you spending money on stuff you never thought you would, ETS and its forum will only make matters worse (or better, just not for the wallet). It's only a matter of time before you have a filed down Fox40 whistle on your keychain!

The little water packets in the "acid kit" are cracking me up. They may be better than nothing but not much.

Most kits like that are just designed to make someone feel good. Sometimes it's just the person who buys it and gives it away. Sometimes it's the person who buys it for himself. Sometimes everyone involved feels good about it. That's what that kit is really for.

It's not comforting to think about scenarios where we would need things like this. It's so uncomfortable that most won't think about it at all. That's why kits like that sell so well. Someone who loves you briefly thinks about it and buys it for you -- or themselves. Then they're done with it -- they can move on to more pleasant thoughts -- like what to serve with the roast beef tonight.

I'm not trying to be mean. This is the way our minds usually work. If we dwelled on all the bad things that could happen, we'd be so bummed that we'd never accomplish anything. IMO that's why so few are prepared for anything.

I've thought about this subject for over four decades and I've seen what happens when it all comes tumbling down. As soon as it's over and things start coming back to normal they start buying those kits again. They should know better after what's happened, but they don't. Because once they buy that kit...they don't have to think about it anymore.

in all fairness, the acid covered water could come in very handy if you every get mugged and the crook is thirsty!

wow :huh::huh::huh::huh:

Check out some of the "bail out bag" "bug out bag" threads. They've got some good info there.

-LT

A few of the items in there look reasonable, but that's a terrible kit overall. Was it a dollar store special?

If I had to choose a light to be packed away in a survival kit it would have to:

• Be small, lightweight & rugged.
• Be Inexpensive and readily available.
• Use common batteries.
• Have a long runtime.
• Use LEDs or be able to use a drop-in LED conversion.

I'd prolly pick a AA Mini Mag with a Nite-ize LED drop-in.

I'd want 2 sets of 1.5v lithium batteries, each set in its own little Ziploc baggie. I don't know about keeping a set of batteries in the flashlight.

I'd also have a couple Fauxton keychain lights, One on the zipper pull of my kit bag and the other inside the kit (maybe in a little Ziploc baggie).

I would think lights which use CR2016 or CR2032 lithium batteries would be good for a survival kit since they won't leak.

Hope that kit didn't cost much, didn't look too high quality of materials. Were those plain old carbon-zinc batteries?

It was out of some magazine, im glad i never needed it. If it wassnt for CPF i would have never checked it again. just thought its funny that if you really needed any of those things, they were covered in acid. I think a relative purchased a bunch of them for our family, maybe this holiday ill buy everyone rubber gloves and a garbage bag to get rid of their leaky kits. Thanks for the input and links everyone, i really appreciate it. I dont think anyone would use batterys like that for a serious situation, or worse, long term storage.

-bobby

nakahoshi,

Quite apart from any serious issues with batteries or survival kits, I just wanted to say thank you for a very entertaining post!

Loved the pics with the captions!

On a more serious note, however, I would have to agree that swans shouldn't be allowed to make batteries.

LEDMaster2003 said:

I guess that's what happens when you rely on low-quality batteries.

Click to expand...

I tossed some Duracells that did the same thing from my 10-yr-old medical kit. Luckily they were still in the plastic package and didn't ruin anything. It can happen with any brand of alkalines.

Scott

OutdoorIdiot said:

On a more serious note, however, I would have to agree that swans shouldn't be allowed to make batteries.

Click to expand...

They were just feeling left out by the geese and their golden eggs.

-LT

Outdooridiot, thank you, im glad someone got some enjoyment out of this. I was just kinda mad so i needed something to vent my anger, and if i can turn a laugh or 2 out of it, its all good. Im going to stick with rabbits making my non rechargables from now on.

-bobby
thanks for all the coments

aslo, i have one "Survival Essentials kit" for sale
pm me for details

do lithium batteries contain acid???