Arizona Rattler Kit

[Chako]

In a discussion with ironraven, he made a good case about doing a write up on several survival kits. I thought to myself that could be a good thing. Seeing that I have 3 Gerber Bear Grylls survival kits and 2 SOL survival kits, I figured I should expand my collection with a few more kits. I was lacking an Altoids tin survival kit, and thus I did a search on eBay.

I came across a 2 pack of what the seller called a "Arizona Rattler Kit" . I figured with that sort of title, it might contain some sort of snake kit, but it did not. However, what drew me to the kit was the cute handmade tin carrier that made it a little different from the other such kits online.



As seen above, the carrier comes in cloth camo and has several ways to carry it. You can use the attached D clip, or you can belt carry it with the attached belt loop found on the back.



The case is a tight fit, so your tin shouldn't rattle around except for the items inside if you pack it wrong. What I did like about the case once I opened the single snap...yes, no annoying Velcro here, which to me is a big plus, was a rubber fabric band that holds a little glowstick.



Taking the tin out of the carrier was a bit of a struggle. It helped a lot to remove the glowstick first. 



The can is held closed by what the seller calls a Ranger Band, but what I think is possibly a cut bicycle inner tub. either way, it is a sturdy and relatively wide rubber band that I guess can be used for all sorts of field improvisations. It is a good idea.



It is another struggle to remove (and I may add, to put back on) the Ranger Band. Once opened, the tin is packed with quite a few little items. From the online description, it looked like a lot of good things were packed into a very small package.



Included in this nice little kit are:

1. Lubricated condom. It can be used as a water vessel once the lubrication is removed.
2. Ranger band. Good for lots of uses. Use your imagination. Could be used to make black smoke if you burn it.
3. String. for traps, to tying things. 10 feet of it.
4. A fishing kit. Yep, not a survival kit without one of these. At least you get 10 feet of fishing line with a few hooks, and 4 shot weights.
5. 2 Band-Aids with antibiotic ointment on them.
6. 1 Triple antibiotic ointment. To heal wounds.
7. 2 Alcohol swabs. To clean wounds.
8. 1 Vaseline impregnated cotton ball. For fire starting to other uses.
9. 6 feet of wire. Building, repairing, catching food in snares.
10. 1 small bag of magnesium shavings. For fire starting.
11. 15 waterproof matches with striker.
12. 1 safety pin. Good for repairs, etc.
13. 2 water purification tablets good for up to 2 quarts.
14. 1 Hexamine fuel tablet. Fire making, cooking food, etc.
15. 1 button style compass.
16. 1 Combo flashlight and laser pointer.
17. 1 aluminium whistle. Signaling for rescue, scare or attract bears, depending on how hungry they are. 
18. 2 trick candles. Windproof fire and light source.
19. 1 2 1/2" lock-back knife.
20. The tin itself can be used as a reflector to flash towards rescuers. Not as good as a dedicated mirror with aiming system, but better than nothing. Not to mention it holds everything together. 

With all of this, there is little room to add much more to the kit. Possibly a mini pencil and some paper, maybe enough room for some written survival instructions, or one of those little metal roll up saws, and that is about it.

When I laid eyes on this kit, I thought it looked like a well designed survival kit. After receiving 2 of them today, my appreciation behind the thinking that went behind this kit only increased. This is one very nice survival kit.

[ducttapetech]

That is a pretty good kit.

that's us mobile

[Lynn LeFey]

Hey Chako,

Just to answer a speculation you had... yes, 'Ranger Bands' really are just slices of bicycle intertube. Apparently, they're called that because army Rangers started using them for various field stuff, and they caught on. Cheap, readily available, SUPER sturdy, lots of uses.

[captain spaulding]

Why would they not put in a non lubricated condom? I mean I can think of one reason just in case you have company and plenty of water and don't need it for a water vessel, but still. 

[Chako]

They sell non lubricated condoms? 

I have never seen one....mind you, if we go back enough, they used to use sheep intestines. 

[dmanuel]

Yeah, nonlubricated is the standard for survival kits 

Ranger bands also make excellent tinder if you have a lighter or match. Not the cleanest burning but it will burn for a good while, and pretty hot to boot.

[sir_mike]

Nice kit and if you want to add a pencil, I would recommend getting one from any golf course, they are the perfect size!

[dks]

Maybe the lubricant makes the condoms last longer (feeds/preserves the material)  or maybe the maker just puts in what he/she had available at the time.

It is a marvel of packaging 

[Gareth]

I like the idea of having the trick birthday candles!  Seems like a well thought out kit IMO, though I'd agree that the condom seems an odd choice.

I tried using a piece of inner-tube for fire lighting last time I was out and I have to say it worked extremely well.

[RT1969]

This is a really amazing homemade kit! I'd say it put a lot of commercial ones (I mean from bigger companies) to shame! 

Could you add where you find it and how much it set you back?

[Syph007]

The homemade kits are usually better than the commerical ones and that one looks well put together.  I bought an ebay one before as a base kit then tweaked it for me a bit.  Its a good way to start as you get lots of little things at once.  I swapped the generic knife for a small SAK and the matches for a baby bic lighter.  Those mini bics can start a heck of a lot of fires and then you still flint in there to use for sparks when the lighter is out.  So I think its better than matches.

[Syph007]

Here's one I got from ebay as is, not tweaked yet.







Lots of fire starting tinder and matches and ferro rod.  The little round thing is a mirror, which is great for lots of things like signalling or seeing what is in your eye etc.

The electrical tape around the edge is to make it watertight.

It can be alot of fun to make up this kits and see what you can fit in those little cans.  I like the addition of water purification tablets. 

OH yes and my condom is non lubed... 

[dks]

Usually the first thing I replace in kits like that is the standard condom with an XXL one...   

 

[Lynn LeFey]

Usually the first thing I replace in kits like that is the standard condom with an XXL one...   

 

 

So you can carry more water in it. Right?

Syph... I'm 100% with you on the mini bic. Vastly preferable to matches, more uses, still sparks after it's out of juice.

EDIT: there are a few simple mods you can make to lighters to keep them form accidentally pressing the tab and running their fuel out, too.

[Chako]

The seller is:

azrattlerkits on eBay. I paid 50 dollars for two kits...so about 25 a piece.

[RT1969]

The seller is:

azrattlerkits on eBay. I paid 50 dollars for two kits...so about 25 a piece.

Thank you!  I am on the other side of the Atlantic, but I plan to build something similiar. Some really good ideas here. 

[Syph007]

Oh something else I found handy was the tins with clear tops.  Then you can see whats in them.  I bought some on ebay and they come in a few sizes.  Some quite big.

Search ebay for clear lid survival tin and lots come up.

[Chako]

I also bought two sardine can type survival kits. One to open up and transfer its contents to an altoids tin...for photography purposes of course.

[ironraven]

In a discussion with ironraven,

Don't put this in my pack, it's not my fault.

I'm going to preface this with I've been building, rebuilding and tearing apart kits since I was seven, thats when by tradition in my family you build your first get out of dodge bag with help. So I'm kinda spoiled by good components....

Rattler:

First thing that made me worried was an unwrapped chemlight. Not that hard to accidentally crack, and the catalyst which isn't in the glass container degrades with light exposure- thats why they are wrapped. Then the lubricated condom. I own that knife, my dad owns the light/laser to play with the cats- I wouldn't trust either one. Pre-shaved magnesium oxdizes which makes it harder to light. I have a personal loathing of twisted mason's twine, YMMV. And the compass appears to be dry- have you checked it against another known to be good compass or the north star accounting for your local declination? And they didn't tape the tin. Good news, that looks like the same model of whistle I have on my keys, and I've never had a problem with it (and it's loud enough to signal on the range) but there are cheaper versions with less glue and sometimes the reed isn't right so they don't sound.

It's better than nothing at all, but I hope you didn't pay a lot for them. The pouches look like they could be interesting, there is a lack of good, altoids tin sized pouches on the market.



Syph's looks a little better. They at least taped the tin- replace it once a year or every three inspections though. Lots of redundancy, three razor blades. Tinderquiks, very nice, and the tiniest safety pins I've ever seen. Three strike anywhere matches wrapped in, what, two inches of wire? That would concern me a little, if for no other reason than it was shipped and probably without hazmat fees, which means it could end up in your lap if they'd struck while in shipping. A 20mm-ish mirror though... I don't know, might be more reflective than the lid, but the size difference probably makes it a wash. Braided cord is good, I'm estimating 12-14 inches? Same whistle, same issues. Water purification tabs are good, but watch the dates, and check the seals- I've seen people selling small batch kits pin hole the packaging for meds so they can pack it in there.


NOt bad starting places, either one.

I'm not a fan of those windowed tins- I tried them out. A windowless altoids tin, filled with shot, sealed with electricians tape and left at the bottom of a bucket of water over night might leak a little, but it's good enough for being in you PFD as you get out of the river and watch what used to be a canoe throw itself into the rocks. I did the same thing with one of the windowed tins- the bubbles stopped coming up after a few minutes. Probably more than one manufacturer, but I'd test them.


I'd post for payback, but I don't have any commercial kits that are even close to stock any more. 

[captain spaulding]

Usually the first thing I replace in kits like that is the standard condom with an XXL one...   

 

The ones who gloat are the ones with the smallest uh....... shoes.     

[dks]

Usually the first thing I replace in kits like that is the standard condom with an XXL one...   

 

The ones who gloat are the ones with the smallest uh....... shoes.     

OK, get the rulers out..     

[Chako]

Some good points however, I will add, once closed, the glowstick appears to be hidden from light...it is a nice tight fit. I like it because it wouldn't fit in the tin anyways. A good use of some wasted space. As for the rest, many components are stored in air tight little zip bags. I have no fear of the magnesium shavings oxidizing. Yes on the flashlight and laser. It is small and does work however. The seller installed a little cardboard disk to prevent the batteries from draining.

[sir_mike]

@ironraven - can you post some pics and maybe list of items in the kit or kits you have?

Thx.

[ironraven]

@ironraven - can you post some pics and maybe list of items in the kit or kits you have?

I haven't taken picture of kits in a long time, don't know if my camera still works, and there is only one that hasn't had a radical rebuild in the past couple years.

That would be my tiny kit, it lives in the tool pouch in my EDC bag. This one started off a thought experiment for the smallest possible kit I could get by with along with my pocket litter.




These images are a little dated. I've since removed the fishing tackle, which was  put in because there was room, for another tinderquik, and an chlorine dioxide tab down at the end with the compass. I've also folded a bit of aluminum foil in there so I have a dry place to lay a fire. The cotton balls are there to provide padding for the compass.


A slightly larger kit can be seen here:
http://www.zombiehunters.org/forum/viewtopic.php?f=14&t=57454&start=336#p1270041
This was for a competion in another forum, and I hope the link takes you to my entry.

The Inner case in that kit contains most of the items that are now in my PSK, as it lives in my car in a Maxped Janus. It's basically what happens when an SOL Scout and Ritter PSP partner up. I'm going to go from memory here becuase I don't feel like going out in the rain to get it right now:
-Lighter, wedged to prevent accidental venting.
-Vial with UCO storm matches, 22 if I remember correctly, with a striker on the cap and a spare secured in tape inside of the vial to make contact with the matches impossible.
-Sparklite
- tinderquiks
-aluminum foil
-duct tape
-dental floss
-braided masons twine
-heatsheet
-signal mirror
-whistle
-frensel lens
-Aitor Skinner II knife
-button compass
-wire
-sewing needles
-tiny fishing kit (as much as I dislike fish and as cynical as I am fishing kits in PSKs, a small treble hook, a little weight, and some dental floss once saved the day. )
-p38

I can't help but shake the feeling I'm forgetting something. It lives in my car's console, along with a headlamp, Vic Huntsman, a vial of strike anywhere matches, and a pair of workgloves, along with tylenol, advil, tums, glasses wipes, and some quarters. Sunblock and bug dope live in the door pocket, and there is a boonie hat, watch cap, gloves, socks, spare boots, thermal layer and rain coat in my trunk.

In my pockets, a Vic Compact, Fenix e01, SwissTech 6-in-1, jackknife and/or 3-4" fixed blade, lighter (don't smoke), bandana and spare pen, along with my wallet (index cards, comb, aluminum foil, pen, frensal lense, E&E money, plus ID, plastic money and walking around money).

My keys have a BSA Hotspark, a Wenger SAK, whistle, tiny flashlight, and of course keys. And then we add my bag, which is actually one of a couple, but minimally has a tool pouch (with LM Rebar, bit driver with bits, another lighter, the tiny kit above, PocketWrench II, wire, tape, safety pins, t-pins, TOPS folding hacksaw, sharpies, pens and pencils, more note cards), FAK (asst bandaids, 4" and 2" pads, 4" roller, 2 pairs of nitriles, pocket CPR mask, OTC meds, tweezers), headlamp, water bottle w/ steel cup, sunglasses and some backup cash.

In my usual bag, add zip ties, paracord, mason twine, 2 contractor bags and some heat packs in several layered ziplocks, spare wool socks, a chunk of blue camp pad I use for a frame and padding but I will pull out and sit on as well, spare gloves (both leather shells and wool liners), and for about half the year, a spare watch cap.

[edcgear]