SWAT Survival Kit.

Chako · **on:** April 11, 2019, 02:44:35 AM

I found this at Tool Town...if you are in Ontario Canada. I know a few local SWAT members on the police force, and I am mostly certain they would never carry any of this, let alone endorse this product. So I got a kick out of the name.

Lets take a closer look at this survival kit. The plastic carrier is surrounded by a paper sleeve that tells you about all the goodies inside.

Getting past the paper sleeve, you are greeted with a very cheap plastic case with 4 terrible and cheap toggles. I say they are terrible because depending on who knows what, they will be super easy to open and close, or a bear. One side has a rope that was designed to get in the way of opening and especially at closing the case.

Opening all 4 will get you inside...that is after you have sworn a few times about sore finger tips and idiots who designed such a set up.

Moving that emergency blanket over, gives you a better glance at the inside content.

So here is what you get inside...a bit of a mixed bag at best. The iZoom 3 AAA flashlight isn't the worst out there, nor is the flint and striker. The swivel saw is a bit on the cheap side. The metal whistle and empty match compartment is ok as well. The two multi-tools and the button compass are laughable however. I haven't opened the emergency blanket...but I would have to say that it is probably cheap as well.

As a survival kit, I cannot recommend this overly much. The case is a big let down and I am uncertain if it is even waterproof to be honest. The closure system is poorly designed and executed. The contents are a mixed bag. I suppose if you have nothing else to depend upon, this would do in a pinch...but the tools are not all that great. I did not pay much for this kit...and am quite happy that I didn't.

clown · **Reply #1 on:** April 11, 2019, 03:18:17 AM

Quote from: Chako on April 11, 2019, 02:44:35 AM

I found this at Tool Town...if you are in Ontario Canada. I know a few local SWAT members on the police force, and I am mostly certain they would never carry any of this, let alone endorse this product. So I got a kick out of the name.

Lets take a closer look at this survival kit. The plastic carrier is surrounded by a paper sleeve that tells you about all the goodies inside.

Getting past the paper sleeve, you are greeted with a very cheap plastic case with 4 terrible and cheap toggles. I say they are terrible because depending on who knows what, they will be super easy to open and close, or a bear. One side has a rope that was designed to get in the way of opening and especially at closing the case.

Opening all 4 will get you inside...that is after you have sworn a few times about sore finger tips and idiots who designed such a set up.

Moving that emergency blanket over, gives you a better glance at the inside content.

So here is what you get inside...a bit of a mixed bag at best. The iZoom 3 AAA flashlight isn't the worst out there, nor is the flint and striker. The swivel saw is a bit on the cheap side. The metal whistle and empty match compartment is ok as well. The two multi-tools and the button compass are laughable however. I haven't opened the emergency blanket...but I would have to say that it is probably cheap as well.

As a survival kit, I cannot recommend this overly much. The case is a big let down and I am uncertain if it is even waterproof to be honest. The closure system is poorly designed and executed. The contents are a mixed bag. I suppose if you have nothing else to depend upon, this would do in a pinch...but the tools are not all that great. I did not pay much for this kit...and am quite happy that I didn't.

Thanks for sharing. I just love when folks take one for the team and buy these questionable bits of gear if only to share them with the forum and, in some cases, give us a good laugh.

So what will you do with the kit? Might I suggest EDCing that multitool and seeing how it holds up?

Chako · **Reply #2 on:** April 11, 2019, 03:23:33 AM

Perish the thought!

I will do the right thing and put it deep in a collection drawer, never to see the light of day again for a long time.

clown · **Reply #3 on:** April 11, 2019, 04:38:21 AM

Quote from: Chako on April 11, 2019, 03:23:33 AM

Perish the thought!

I will do the right thing and put it deep in a collection drawer, never to see the light of day again for a long time.

Maybe it will resurface some years down the road in a "Show us your shelf queens" thread

pomsbz · **Reply #4 on:** April 11, 2019, 06:48:11 AM

Why on earth would a swat team find itself in a survival situation?

MMR · **Reply #5 on:** April 11, 2019, 08:09:10 AM

Nice review

I’d say the name itself is an indication that this kit is designed for people who don’t know anything about survival or even the outdoors.

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MMR · **Reply #6 on:** April 11, 2019, 08:20:44 AM

I will say though that this is by no means the worst “survival kit” I have ever seen

I remember a few year back on my local hiking/ outdoors forum; there was a competition where members had to scout through eBay, AliExpress etc. to find the cheapest and highest rated survival kits they could find and then the challenge was to spend a day (or afternoon) in the woods with them and testing all the tools. Usually the ones tested were under €10 with shipping.

Some of them didn’t even last 5 min, seriously some of the kits had all the “tools” broken within the first 5 min of usage.

It was pretty funny.

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Noa Isumi · **Reply #7 on:** April 14, 2019, 05:17:21 AM

SWAT survival kit....

"SWear AT survival kit"

SirVicaLot · **Reply #8 on:** April 14, 2019, 03:52:35 PM

Quote from: Noa Isumi on April 14, 2019, 05:17:21 AM

SWAT survival kit....

"SWear AT survival kit"

I had the same MT in a Roadside Assistance Kit i bought a while ago. It is a piece of horrible junk. On the plus side you could note that the metall is so weak and soft, allowing the tools to be bend in any desired direction...

Alan K. · **Reply #9 on:** April 14, 2019, 05:26:47 PM

SWAT teams have, on occasion, had to venture more than 30 feet off the highway while pursuing a suspect, or conducting a surveillance, or a search and rescue operation. One team member could easily get lost once they can no longer see the road.

I would think, however, they might be better off with one of those early 1980's Rambo knives with the survival kit in the handle. At least they came with the matches and some fishing line and hooks.

Chako · **Reply #10 on:** April 25, 2019, 12:18:41 PM

cody6268 · **Reply #11 on:** May 16, 2019, 04:15:40 PM

Compass, fire starter, and maybe the whistle look decent, but the rest looks like junk. Thread that compass on a coat, I think it would be quite handy to have there.

I actually assembled a small kit myself. Case came from a small first aid kit I'd put into another container and added to. Cheap rain poncho had been in my pack for who knows how long (probably since Scouts), for years my folks have bought standard Johnson & Johnson first aid kits that came with emergency blankets we never used, I had somehow left the waterproof Uco matches out of my mess kit (which is stored at a friend's house with his camping gear; since I rarely use it, I decided to let him let his Scouts use my kit), and I have tons of small knives. And I thought my LED Maglite Solitaire was perfect for a small kit. Only thing to add is a decent fire steel, purification tablets, and another compass--can't recall what I did with my old Walmart compass I had in Scouts; and I do not own a fire steel. Will probably go with a Doan magnesium bar.