What's the strangest item you have in your survival kit/pack?

[stealthchaser13]

Laser fire starter home made.....works great as long as the battery is good.

is that one of the ones it shows how to make on youtube using a dvd/brd burner's laser?

 

[Don Rearic]

I guess some would say it is the Compass Brand Jeweler's Loupe in there. It's 10X and very small in size.

 

[landserpunk]

Along the lines of the lock pick set....learn how to make a shim for padlocks. I watched more than a few videos on making a shim out of an aluminum can. I will never feel secure with a padlock again....lol Great skill though in an SHTF situation. I just made a couple that I have in my different bags.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bXRUd63ycTU

JESUS!

I did not know it was that freaking easy... Changing locks now...

 

[T. Erdelyi]

how well do these work? still have to struggle to get anything unlocked?

They work great but just like freehand sharpenin' it takes practice, practice, practice.

I always carry some kind of padlock or lock cylinder and when I need to wait in the truck for somethin' I practice pickin'.

If you've never had any luck pickin' start with cheap locks first than work your way up to the better locks also there is lots of info on the net on how to pick, youtube videos, it's easier to learn now then when I started

Now that's slick! I've been wanting a decent small lock pick set for my BOB, I might just have to pick one up. Thanks!

They sell for something between $25-$45 look up lockpicks on the internet, you'll find all kinds of dealers, southord and lockpicktools are two of the best.

 

[DH1]

100,00 Iraqi Dinar. It was from a E&E kit I carried on my last tour in Iraq last year. Oh, and 100,000 Dinar is like $75 USD so not a lot of money.

Was it a kit you made yourself, or was it issued to you?

 

[Don Rearic]

JESUS!

I did not know it was that freaking easy... Changing locks now...

Don't get freaked out. Most older padlocks can be shimmed or otherwise bypassed through the keyway somehow. Ball-bearing locking padlocks like American Lock Co. padlocks, you cannot shim. You can bypass the older ones, however.

As a matter of fact, the older American Lock Co. padlocks are easier to bypass right through the keyway then they are to pick. They can be a real irritating lock to pick.

The newest manufactured American Lock Co. padlocks should be impossible to shim because of ball-bearing locking, hard to pick because of serrated pins and they should have a guard in the rear of the keyway to prevent insertion of bypass tools to operate the actual locking internals of the lock.

Think of those bypass tools as a car opening tool. For decades, a lot of car locks were harder to pick than house type locks, so the car opening tools to operate the linkage between the lock cylinder and the lock works at the point of release were developed. That's what these types of bypass tools are to padlocks. They also make bypass tools that will go right through the keyway on standard commercial locks and operate and throw the bolt, too.

 

[bxrad36]

dental floss and extra undies

 

[FortyTwoBlades]

dental floss and extra undies

 

[savagesicslayer]

Mrs Dash table seasoning(yellow cap)
1 pack of colt cigars for barter.I interchange this with a pint of vodka.
Tampons for tinder
clove oil.for pain relief/toothache care.
tea lights (3)

 

[greathornedowl]

Zippo wicks, 2 green tea teabags and coffee soap; soap really cleans anything.

 

[Don Rearic]

The "you only need a knife and some spit" crowd would have a field day with this thread.

 

[knivesngear]

probobly a book of matches with a pinup girl on the cover

 

[knivesngear]

actually thats not a bad idea

 

[ckaufman55]

I guess mine is the condom that contains it. And the monkeys fist around that.

 

[gundude73]

i have some small titanium darts in mine, probably not overly strange but cool

 

[NiceGuyJer]

I rotate a couple of Cuban cigars from the humidor to the pack. Like to know when I'm having my last one if SHTF.

 

[MrPan]

Something else I carry and have carried but I use it differently now, is Pepcid for heart burn.

A few weeks ago I was helping a friend of mine clean out an old basement full of mold. It turns out I'm very allergic to that mold and I swelled up so bad I had to go to the ER for the first time in my life to get treated. I had what looked like huge welts, a few inches across, all over my body.

The doc gave me prednisone and everything went back to normal pretty fast. She then told me that I should take benadryl and along with benadryl take and antacid like Pepcid.

She said it sounds funny, but the Pepcid not only blocks the making of acid it also blocks the crap that your body is making, that makes you have an allergic reaction. Long story short, it works and works fast.

I rode in my friends truck and just riding in it with whatever small amount of mold we carried into it from before, made me start breaking out again with huge welts. I popped two pills each and in about 15 minutes I was fine.

So now when you take benadryl for an allergic reaction to something, pop a couple Pepcid at the same time.

 

[matilda]

For me it would have to be mothballs. They have saved my hide from bears and other critters with a nose. Wouldn't leave home without them. They really work that well !!!

 

[skinz0021]

I keep a master lock & key on my truck bag and b.o.b. Thought I might need to secure something....hope most don't carry bolt cutters..Or a pick set with knowledge of how to use it..

 

[Joben]

I have a related question:

Does anyone have something in their kits and not know why?

Have you ever gone through a kit and said "What the heck is this?" or "What's THIS for?"