"Survival Kits"

After that was John's class on "Survival Kits". He listed 7 basics for a Survival Kit: Fire-starting, Water (purify, store, carry), Shelter, Signal (for help), Navigation, Means to collect food (snare wire, knife), and Medical (even if it's just steri-strips/band-aids). Those are the main categories you work from.

Here John shows one of his compact Survival kits:
And an even MORE compact kit:
Here it is up close:

John's hat had 30' of braided parachute cord for a hat band. Inside that he had fish hooks and line. He also had a magnesium fire starter in his hat. He had a bandana, which can be used as a sling, to filter water, and even to blow your nose on!

He carries an oven bag, folded into a tiny bundle, for a water bag. Before hand, he pours a liter of water into the bag and marks the water line. Then he has a measure to go by. You can use a camera bag, a mint can (such as Altoids), or any type of bag or container for a Survival Kit. Even the very compact kits he demonstrated were packed with an amazing amount of stuff. Metal containers for your kits can be used to cook in, boil water, or melt snow.

He recommended Contractor's trash bags. They can be used as a poncho, a shelter, to carry water, or can be filled with leaves to make a mattress and/or blanket. Here John models the method he uses to cut a trash bag to make a hooded poncho:

A cable saw can be coiled and packed, or even built into the belt aorund your waist. Foil cooking pans can be folded flat and carried in your pocket. (Good reason to wear cargo pants! Those pockets aren't just for decoration!)

You should have lengths of parachute cord. There is a multitude of uses for it, such as tying things (even tying on splints or bandages), using it to hold together a shelter, etc. An important note is to be careful what you buy. Paracord is NOT parachute cord. Real parachute cord has 7 strands. Another type of useful cord is the replacement cord from venetian blinds.

Rubber tubing is handy to have. You can use it to blow on your fire to rev it up, to make a slingshot, or as a straw. Sewing bobbins can be used to wind up fishing line or snare wire. For snare wire he recommended 24-gauge brass wire.

Make a bail handle for all of your pots and cups. Punch a small hole on each side of the top of the pot or cup. Bend a wire into an arch, hook up the last little bit of the wire and put it through the holes. He cuts a small notch in the top of the rim near the holes to keep the wire in place, upright:

An antenna wire can be used to push the pith out of the center of sticks, and it can be stuck on the end of your tubing to make a better straw or blow tube.

For more information John has a wonderful website where you can not only get more information, but also order all sorts of products to make putting your own Survival Kit together a fun project: http://www.bepreparedtosurvive.com/. He is the author of the first book devoted solely to buidling survival kits.