What we tried to do with the E&E kits is compromise (I hate that word) with the most quality gear as possible compared to the price of the kit. I would really like to have a better compass in them but that jacks the price even higher.
I don't know what people expect. I mean, there has to be some profit on the thing or why even bother? The brass Peyser (NATO) compasses are nice but they are a little flighty...but they are high quality and they are accurate as button compasses go. Tru-Nord makes a great compass that is more than a little bit bigger.
I know Silva compasses have went in the crapper but their zipper pull model is still a good compass and the first one of them I ever had was included with the Buckmaster!
There is enough room in the pouch to add a second compass of higher quality.
That Silva zipper pull compass would be ideal but people have to get over the fact that Silva screwed over their other compasses but the zipper pull model is still a great compass.
We sold a bunch of these to a military unit a while back. So far we have gotten great feedback as a last-ditch kit, even though some of them added/removed components to fit like they want. Another point I want to make about the kit is we figure just about anyone who buys one of these already carries an EDC knife.
I think I would rather people mess around with their kits and become very familiar with them instead of just stowing them and forgetting about them.
A good knife for the RAT E&E Kit is the small Douk-Douk. In the past, Fred Perrin has clued me into a lot of cool stuff from around the globe when it comes to escape and evasion ideas. Fred teaches European Military Units.
ALL of the Douk-Douks can be hammered with a rock so the steel body collapses and what you have made is a very small fixed blade...then going back to Henri Charriere and the French Penal Colonies in French Guiana, you can make a sheath out of newspaper to carry it. Charriere taught McQueen this and you can see that in the movie
Papillon. McQueen was carrying a folder similar to a very plain model Corsican Vendetta, popped it into the open position and then carried it in a folded paper sheath so he didn't have to waste time opening it.
People that are really into this stuff have to look to other places for hardcore information and a lot of that is going to be old prison information.
Now, if you really want a great buy on a good kit, check out the USMC kit that Don mentioned. I just bought one from Cheaper Than Dirt. Thanks for the link and heads up on that one, Don!
No problem, thank you for all you do.
The USMC Kit on CTD is listed as the USMC Pilot's Survival Kit, it is the same kit issued to Recon and Anglico, etc. It is definitely worth $60.00, you get some cool stuff for that money!
What double post? I don't see no stinkin' double post.
