I car­ry an Altoid EDC Emer­gency Kit just about every­where I go.  I have one that can get through air­line secu­ri­ty (no razor blade or knife, but it does have a fire steel and scraper in the kit that makes it through secu­ri­ty with no issues).  The one I car­ry every day how­ev­er has a razor blade, match­es, fire steel, etc.

Here are the con­tents of my Altoids kit:

• 1 — But­ton Com­pass
• 1 Each — Salt & Pep­per Pack­et
• 1 — Chick­en Bouil­lon Cube
• 1 — Fire Steel
• 1 — Fish­ing Lure (this is in the kit in the event I can­not find bait and have to fish)
• 4 — Fish Hooks
• 2 — Birth­day Can­dles
• 2 — Zyrtec (aller­gy med­i­cine, because I have aller­gies)
• 1 — Immod­i­um Pill (enough said)
• 1 — Sudafed Cold & Flu Pill
• 4 — 200mg Advil Pill
• 1 — Pack­et Antibac­te­r­i­al Oint­ment
• 1 — Anti­sep­tic Pad Pack­et
• 3 — Water­proof Bandaids (CVS Brand)
• 1 — Quart Ziplock Freez­er Bag (fold­ed)
• 2 — 1 Square Foot Heavy Duty Alu­minum Foil (cook­ing, puri­fy­ing water over a fire, sig­nal­ing)
• 1 — Razor Blade
• 5 — Strike Any­where Match­es — Wax Cov­ered (hand dipped)
• 2 — 24″, 45lb test steel fish­ing leader to be used as snares
• 25′ Waxed den­tal floss string (Very strong)
• 25′ Sewing Thread
• 3 Sewing Nee­dles
• 10′ Duct Tape
• 2′ of Elec­tri­cal Tape wrapped around the out­side of the Altoid Tin, seal­ing it from the ele­ments and water
• 10′ 550 Para­cord (sev­en strand) wrapped around the exte­ri­or of the Altoid Tin.

I built the kit based on my needs.  This is real­ly bare bones, as well.  If, with luck, I am ever strand­ed in the wilder­ness, this kit would allow me to have a few crea­ture com­forts eas­i­ly, such as fire, spice up a bad meal, more eas­i­ly find direc­tion, find a pro­tein rich meal, hold water, cook, etc.

I am of the opin­ion that every­one should look at their own needs and require­ments and build an EDC kit around that, and not mim­ic some­one else’s kit.  I also car­ry it for the psy­cho­log­i­cal ben­e­fit of feel­ing more pre­pared that if I went out into the for­est with just noth­ing.  Mak­ing a bow drill, and using it looks sim­ple enough, but have you ever tried?  A fire steel and match­es are always more help­ful when you need them.

I also keep an inven­to­ry list with the kit at all times so that I  can remem­ber what is in the kit if I need to open it up.  It rarely gets opened.  Maybe once a year to retro­fit it with a new item or to tak­en an item out based on my needs and require­ments.  The last time I changed out some of the con­tents was spring 2010, and will prob­a­bly do so again next spring if I feel the need or desire.