Altoid kit EDC Kit
1 — Button Compass — $.99
10 — iodine tablets to disinfect 1.25 gallons of water (two tablets disinfects one quart)
1 Each — Salt and Pepper Pack (Fast Food Restaurant — Free)
1 — Chicken Bouillon Cube (Out of a $2.50 jar of bouillon cubes, so the cost might be $.10, and I like a little flavor if I have to make a soup or sauce in the bush)
1 — Firesteel — From Firesteel.com for 1.99 (I bought 10 of them when I bought them)
1 — Rubber fishing lure (Free out of my fishing tackle)
4 — Fish hooks (free out of my fishing tackle)
2 — Birthday candles — (Free out of a box of birthday candles, to help start stubborn fires, for light for short periods or to waterproof something)
2 — Zyrtec tablets (Free out of a bottle of Zyrtec, and invaluable 24 hour relief from my allergies)
1 — Immodium tablet (Free from a bottle of Immodium, and for obvious reasons, I would think)
1 — Sudafed Cold & Flu Tablet (Free from my box of Sudafed)
4 — 200mg Advil Tablets wrapped in aluminum foil (Free from my bottle of Advil)
1 — sealed antibacterial ointment packet — $.80 from a package of them I bought at REI
1 — Sealed alcohol swab
3 — Band aids
1 — One Quart plastic freezer bag with double seal — For gathering water or filling with vegetation and creating a solar still out of so that I can extract water from plants in the bush
2 — folded 1 square foot of heavy duty aluminum foil for creating ad-hoc cooking tools
1 — razor blade
5 — wax covered strike anywhere matches wrapped in aluminum
25′ — 6 lb test fishing line
25′ — waxed dental floss (this stuff is strong as hell if you need to lash something quickly without tearing down some paracord.
25′ — sewing thread
3 — sewing needles
12′ duct tape — cut into 3″ strips and layered one over the other and then taped to the inside lid of the Altoids tin
2 — 24″ 45lb test steel fishing leaders to be used as snares. — $2.50 at Sports Authority (I buy them in lots of 10 when I buy them, as they store in VERY little space.
2′ electrical tape sealing the Altoid tin closed keeping out the moisture.
10′ 550 Paracord — wrapped around the outside of the altoid tin.
4 — cotton balls for tinder and to keep things from shaking around
Without taking into consideration the cost of the bulk goods, if this kit cost me $7.00 to put together that is a lot of money. Again, it is built around my needs and is less generic than those you can buy in the store. If you are building an EDC kit, I urge you to build one based on the needs and requirements you may have for yourself and not build something too generic. I will get into my “carry on” EDC kit in another post…