Jake, good thread man; you've got a great discussion going!:thumbup: My short answer is “nay,” read on for long answer if you’re interested.
I'm with you in that I usually carry a pack with everything I normally need in it, and the psk is secondary. Everything in the "psk" realm is stuff I'd only use if I lost my main gear somehow, or simply walked away from my pack to fetch some water down by the river and ended up falling in. I like keeping my psk stuff separate from my main gear because it'll always be on my person and not in my pack, and I don't have to constantly replace things except for items with an expiration date. I want to know everything is there and in good shape when I need it, and that I'm not lacking anything because I failed to replenish the supply (firestarting, cordage, fresh batteries and bulb etc) or some other reason. And of course, I put the kit together myself, so I know what each item is, how to properly use it, and have previously practiced with it all.
I don't dig the tin set-ups, because I don't think they hold enough quality and efficient items to which I'd trust my life in the worst case scenario (in addition to my brains of course). That's just me, with my current knowledge and experience. Maybe I'll get some disapproval for this, but if I end up in a true survival situation in the worst case scenario, I don't want to have to improvise every damn thing. I don't want to screw around, I want to stack the odds in my favor and make sure I live. However, yes, that must always be counterbalanced against weight and actually having what you need on you at all times.
I like the idea of distributed or layered pocket set-ups, but I’m like others here in that I don’t like to have a lot of stuff jangling around in my pockets. And I don’t like having to load it up and take it all out with every change of clothes, I like having my psk in one spot where I can strap it on or off in 3 seconds.
That’s what led me to my own belt pouch based set-up, where on my person I’d have my knife and firesteel, along with efficient means to provide shelter, fire, and water in a pouch or two. Food acquisition I think is less important in most survival situations and depends much more on skills, ones that I have yet to learn and practice. Right now I carry a knife and firesteel, pouch, and guyot on a sturdy belt. The guyot holds survival items instead of water (I have a bladder in my pack), but it’s still 3 easy to carry belt items. In my opinion, a knife w/ firesteel, belt pouch, and canteen is not much to carry on one’s belt, and the weight is negligible. It doesn’t get in the way of my mobility and enjoyment of being outdoors either. But it does provide many more useful and quality survival items than what I’d be able to fit in an altoids tin. To top it all off, it fits my personal convenience and retention requirements.
In reality there are 4 items on the belt. Since taking this pic I have attached a folded up second mini-rollypoly (it’s tiny!) into which I’ll dump the contents of the guyot when I need to use it for water in a survival situation.
I hope to knock down the psk even more in the future, eliminate redundancy and a few not-as-essential items, to where I have everything I need in the guyot. That’d be two items on the belt: a knife and firesteel and canteen (three with second folded up dump pouch). Extremely easy to carry and have on your person at all times. Even then, that would be lowest I could see myself going, regardless of how experienced I become.
So basically, no, I don’t dig altoid-tin alone PSKs. I think they’re better than nothing, sure, but I believe there are better alternatives (distributed in pockets, belt pouches, survival keychain/neck rig etc) that offer the same portability with negligible/manageable weight, while allowing you to carry more or better items on your person; items that tilt the odds further in your favor in the worst case survival scenario.
