Survival Keychain

David,

If you notice the rules of Bladeforums, you gotta have a gold membership or dealer membership to advertise on the forums. Since you're somewhat new, I'll assume that it is an error on your part, if it's the first time you've done this.

Amd, no, before you might bring it up, don't try to claim you were just attempting to innocently "discuss" this product. :D

~Brian.
 
I carry p38, LED and SAK on a keyring. I wonder what type of water purification tablets they used in the Aluminum container.
 
A very nice basic set of tools.

My guess of the next most important item is a smallish ferocerium/firesteel/metal match. The Utilikey could probably be useable as the striker.

I have read that the boyscouts have a $2 or thereabouts item with a handle to hook to keyring, but have not found anywhere to actually order one so small/cheap with fob/handle attached. I know, get one without the handle, and epoxy to an unused key...
 
I concur with Brian.

To deal with the actual issue, the concept is not new but that doesn't make it a bad one. I have a similar kit on my key chain. It is detachable and has been very useful. We will be showing it in future offerings. The problem with kits of this type is the potential for the kit to become cumbersome as more items are added to the ring. This kit seems to have stopped at about the right point.

Ron
 
Thanks for the feedback so far. In regard to the water purification tablets, I am using Potable Aqua. The Potable Aqua tablets are placed in a mini zip lock bag prior to placing the tablets in the small, blue, aluminum capsule.

--David

Note to moderators: I just signed up for a Gold Membership. My order number is 21316.
 
Keychain looks nice. One suggestion...Replace the Photon I with either a Photon II or III. The Photon I, although cheaper, has only a momentary on function, making it very limited in use as a survival tool. Sure you would have to increase the price of the keychain, but it would be worth it to have one of the best/smallest LED lights made.

Mike
 
Mike,

Thanks for the feedback. The Deluxe Survival Keychain has the Photon II. I might upgrade the standard Survival Keychain to use the Photon II instead of the Photon I on the second production run. Do you think people would be willing to pay an extra $5.00 for the Photon II? My goal for the standard Survival Keychain was to minimize cost and weight.

--David
 
I think yes, they would pay $5.00 more for the Photon II. Maybe offer two packages -- the photon II being the upgrade, with an explanation of the difference?

~B.
 
www.onestopknifeshop.com carries the Photon I for $9.99 and the Photon II for $13.99 a difference of 4 dollars. Even better is the Photon III which they sell for $14.99. Given that the Photon III is only 1 dollar more than the II, why not just add the III to the keychain. Don't know where you are buying your lights from, but the site I listed has some of the best prices I have found on the net for the Photon lights. In fact if you really wanted to add value to your keychains you could add the Photon III at a cheaper cost to you if you bought from that site, provided you are currently paying what you listed in the itemized section which shows the Photon II for $15.95.

And no, I don't work for or represent that site. I just have recently searched to find the best price on Photon lights, and they came out on top. I don't know if you can get a dealer price that is better directly from Photon or not.

Personally, I would suggest the Photon II on the standard and the III on the deluxe version.


Mike
 
Re: Mini-LED lights
Allow me to point you all to the Inova Mini-LED light.

Good points:
- about the same size & weight as the Photon II (okay, 1/4" longer)
- both momentary and constant-on capabilities
- 72 hour runtime
- shrouded LED to help prevent scratching the LED lens or knocking the solder joint holding the LED loose
- water resistant per website (IMHO waterproof, because I've seen them glowing away in jar of water after a couple days)
- visibility range = 1 mile
- cheap, $9.50 at 1SKS (support your Bladeforums sponsors :)) for the opaque cased ones
http://www.1sks.com/store/inova-microlights.html
I just called 1SKS and verified that the ones they sell are both momentary & constant-on (the website says momentary only, it is incorrect).
- use easily found 2016 batteries
- tool-free battery changes
- sturdy (I've had a couple banging around on a neck lanyard with some keys and an Assault Shaker for a few months now with no detrimental affect on their functionality)
- make great economical gifts, I've found very few people who don't seem grateful to have one for their keyring

Bad points:
- light leaking from translucent cased Inovas can disrupt your vvision when using it for finding trail in the dark (I recommend the opaque cased ones to avoid this & they are cheaper too)
- I always want a few more of them around ;)

In case you can't tell, I like these little lights A LOT!!! :D
 
RokJok,

You made some excellent points on the Inova MicroLight. They are one of my best sellers on PocketLights.com I chose the Photon II over the Inova MicroLight for two reasons:

1) the Photon II is smaller
2) the Photon II is a better platform for imprinting -- I plan to put the Survival Keychain logo on these lights during future production runs.

I am thinking of adding a section to SurvivalKeychain.com where people could build their own survival kit keychain based on components that they choose. Do you think that people would be interested in this option?

--David Kochan
 
RokJok,

I have an Inova LED light that is a year or so old. It only has a momentary on function, not a constant on. This is the reason I switched to Photon III, which I now prefer over any other keychain LED light. Maybe they have made a newer model which offers the constant on feature, but even the description for the Inova Light on 1SKS site doesn't mention it having a constant on feature. Maybe this is just an oversight, and since it sounds like you have one you could clear that up. Also, if yours has the constant on function, is it only on the "clear" case version, or is it on the black and grey case? You make a good point regarding the shrouded LED light offering some protection, but some situations would be better suited if you could have the scattered light offered by an exposed crystal. Also, the need for tools to change the battery is only a problem on the Photon II. Both the Photon I and III have snap on/off cases. Also an advantage of the Photon III over the Inova, is the multiple modes it offers like the Auto off after 1 minute, Low, Medium and Bright intensity, and 3 speeds of strobe for signalling. Personally, I only like the 3 levels of intensity so I can dim the light when I want to preserve night vision. I always can push the button to get full bright in a split second if needed. As always YMMV.

Mike
 
At this point, David you are acting as a dealer and advertising your wares. If you want to sell as a dealer on this website, you'll need to sign up for a Dealer membership.

Given that you have 6 stores listed in your signature, you shouldn't have a problem with the standard dealer fee.

Please refrain from advertising on this site if you are not going to help keep it open.

Kevin
 
Mike,

The new Inova MicroLights have a squeeze switch and a constant on/off switch.

--David
 
Hi Mike,

I'll touch on each of your questions sequentially.

Maybe they have made a newer model which offers the constant on feature,
Yes, that's the case as David said.

... but even the description for the Inova Light on 1SKS site doesn't mention it having a constant on feature. Maybe this is just an oversight ...
As noted, 1SKS has incorrect info listed on the webpage linked above for Inova Mini-LED lights. That's why I called them to verify that their item has constant-on (as well as momentary) before posting the link in my initial info.

Also, if yours has the constant on function, is it only on the "clear" case version, or is it on the black and grey case?
IIRC both case types have both momentary and constant-on switches. I only have one translucent Inova and am pretty sure it also has the constant-on feature. I just can't lay hands on it at the moment. I know it's in one of these piles somewhere... :rolleyes:

Thanks for the breakdown of features offered by the Photon III. Since water (rain ;)) is so common here in the Seattle area, is the Photon III waterproof? I like the couple of Photon II's I have, but their susceptibility to water keeps me from using them as much as I otherwise would.
 
I have found that my keychain tends to get too big without adding survival goodies. Instead, I have utilized several of these items as zipper pullls on my lightweight field vest and my parka. Yes, I've had to purchase multiple Photon II lights, whistles, and the like, but if I'm in the field, I'm always wearing one or the other. This means I don't have to remember to "pack" anything -- My jacket and/or vest is my mini-kit. (I also use the pocket in the sleeve of my parka to store a vacuum sealed pouch with several more survival items).
 
RokJok,

Yes the Photon III is Water Proof (or resistent actually) to about 6 feet. The Photon II supposedly isn't resistent to water due to the manual switch, but I have a Photon II that I carried on my keychain for a long time until I upgraded to the Photon III. I have dropped my keys into rain puddles several times with no ill effects on my Photo II light. I have never been swimming with it though, but it has enough water resistance to work in the rain or after the occasional quick dunk which was all the water resistance I needed.

BTW if you haven't checked it out yet, there is an excellent and very thorough LED flashlight review here http://www.equipped.com/led_lights.htm

and here http://www.uwgb.edu/nevermab/led.htm (haven't actually read this one yet though)

A forum on lights is here http://www.candlepowerforums.com/cgi-bin/ultimatebb.cgi

Mike
 
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