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My 1 Pound Survival Kit: Latest Upgrades & Gear Swap
Sep 20, 2025
In this video, I share the latest updates to my 1 lb survival kit, breaking down the gear I swapped, upgraded, and kept the same. A lightweight kit is all about balance. If you enjoy content on survival kits, bushcraft gear, and outdoor preparedness, don’t forget to like, subscribe, and hit the bell so you don’t miss future updates. Tuff Possum General Purpose Pouch: https://bit.ly/46nBIsG Outdoor Element Knife: https://bit.ly/4mlYyFj Aquamira Frontier Filter: https://bit.ly/4kWXc3e Battarix Power Card: https://bit.ly/3UuHTnp Water Purification Tabs: https://bit.ly/4lGNEdK Whirl Bags:
View Video Transcript
0:01
Today's video, I'm going to be showing
0:03
you some updates I've made to my
0:06
onepound survival kit. This was a video
0:08
that I released not too long ago, and
0:10
with some suggestions from viewers and
0:13
some new gear, I've made it even better.
0:17
Stick around. We're going to look at it.
0:19
[Music]
0:26
All right. Not that long ago, I did a
0:28
video um called the onepound survival
0:31
kit. And the whole concept of that kit
0:34
was that uh you could fit everything in
0:38
a pouch. It would be around one lb,
0:42
maybe a little bit over, and it's
0:43
something you could throw in any bag for
0:46
hiking, um maybe in your vehicle. And it
0:50
was really designed for kind of a
0:52
24-hour overnight emergency. So
0:55
obviously with that size of kit, you're
0:57
not going to have everything. You're not
0:59
going to have tons of gear. It's
1:00
basically meant to get you by overnight
1:04
in the woods until you are found and
1:07
rescued. And that was the whole point of
1:09
the kit. It was a good exercise. It
1:11
turned out to be a really uh popular
1:13
video. A lot of people um had a lot of
1:16
advice and chimed in and you know gave
1:19
their suggestions. And I took some of
1:20
those suggestions because I thought they
1:22
were good and I incorporated them to
1:24
make the kit a little bit better. So,
1:26
we're going to go through that today,
1:27
take a look at it, and see what has
1:29
changed. And hopefully that gives you
1:32
some ideas on how to put together your
1:35
one lb survival kit. Because a survival
1:37
kit does not need to be a huge,
1:40
gigantic, heavy, cumbersome piece of
1:44
equipment. It can be very simple and it
1:47
needs to cover some very basic items.
1:51
So the first improvement that I made is
1:54
I updated the pouch. Uh the pouch that I
1:57
had before was from Tough Possum Gear.
1:59
It was a general purpose pouch. It was
2:01
the original and since then he has
2:03
updated it with some different colors
2:05
and he came out with this H high viz
2:07
hunter orange which I love. Great idea.
2:10
But what he did is he also included
2:14
a shoulder strap. If you remember from
2:16
the other video, I had to add my own
2:18
shoulder strap. And this one now
2:20
actually comes with it as an option
2:23
already installed. So then he included
2:25
these glow beads on the zipper pulls,
2:28
which is a great addition for a survival
2:29
kit and for this particular bag. Now,
2:32
this particular bag, you can use this
2:34
for a variety of different things. It
2:35
doesn't have to be a survival kit, but I
2:37
feel like it is the perfect size, uh,
2:42
shape. It's easy to slip into a larger
2:45
backpack or bag because of its thinness
2:48
and everything is self-contained. It,
2:51
uh, doesn't have a lot of, you know,
2:53
features or pockets or extra stuff. It's
2:56
exactly what it needs to be, just a very
2:58
simple kit pouch that contains your
3:01
survival kit.
3:09
Now, this hasn't changed. This is the
3:11
survival blanket from So,
3:14
good addition. Works really well.
3:18
Next item is this uh panel marker. It's
3:20
a signal panel marker from uh air
3:23
aircraft aviation kit from the military.
3:26
Now, if you can't get one of these, uh
3:29
just get some uh flagging tape. You can
3:31
get those at Lowe's or Home Depot. Tear
3:34
off a hunk of 20 or 30 ft of that. Wrap
3:36
it in a rubber band and throw that in
3:39
the kit and at least you have some kind
3:40
of flagging material because then you
3:42
can actually mark trails. You can hang
3:44
it up in trees. People can see it from a
3:47
distance and that's very helpful.
3:53
Bank line. Nice hunk of bank line. Um, a
3:57
little bit more compact than 550 cord.
4:00
Still very tough stuff. Works very well.
4:02
You can put a lot more of this in your
4:04
kit as opposed to 550. Um, I don't
4:07
really plan on doing a lot of different
4:10
stuff on a 24-hour emergency. I just
4:12
want some basic cordage to help me hang
4:15
um, you know, a survival shelter or
4:18
maybe tie up some some sticks to make a
4:21
a small lean to. That's what I need this
4:23
for.
4:26
Just some boo boo items, quick first aid
4:29
stuff, treat some scrapes and things
4:31
like that.
4:34
Uh, the fire kit I kind of made a little
4:36
bit smaller and went down to a Altoids
4:39
tin.
4:41
And of course, this has a candle to help
4:44
me stay warm. I've got some fire
4:47
starters. I got a big lighter.
4:50
There are some stormroof matches down
4:52
here in the bottom. So, it has several
4:54
items to help start a fire,
4:58
and it's all contained in an Altoids
5:00
tin. So, if I need to make char
5:01
material, I can. I probably won't in a
5:04
24-hour situation, but I still have that
5:06
ability.
5:08
Another item that I think is a great
5:10
idea, especially since we all carry cell
5:13
phones, is this quick charging card.
5:15
It's a power card, and it comes with two
5:18
different adapters to fit iPhones and
5:20
other types of phones. That way you can
5:23
quickly charge it when you're out and
5:26
get a signal out possibly and send a
5:28
message to somebody. Very convenient um
5:31
inexpensive item. There'll be links down
5:33
below. Now, I'm not going to go through
5:35
all these items because you might as
5:37
well just go back and watch the other
5:38
video if you haven't seen it already,
5:40
but this has a variety of items. There's
5:42
a whistle, um a wrist compass, uh there
5:45
is some duct tape, lip balm, there is
5:48
water purification in here.
5:51
Uh there's a small wire saw from an Air
5:54
Force survival kit. So it just has a few
5:56
handy small items and it's all contained
5:58
in this waterproof bag.
6:04
And I have this little Aquamara
6:07
water filter. This is the type that you
6:09
actually drink from the puddle uh of
6:12
water or a container of water um on the
6:15
go. So that is in addition to the water
6:18
purification tablets and there are water
6:22
bags inside this pack that I can purify
6:24
water in. So I don't need a water
6:26
container. Now if I'm hiking I should
6:28
have a water bottle but in case I don't
6:31
um I can still hold water in this.
6:36
One of the significant changes I made to
6:37
the kit was changing out some of the
6:39
tools. Um, originally I had a BPS uh,
6:44
knife with a wood handle and a leather
6:46
sheath, much heavier than this, much
6:48
larger. I also had a fire steel and I
6:52
had a sharpening stone. All which were
6:55
pretty unnecessary.
6:57
But what I found, and I actually kind of
7:00
forgot that I had this, this is from
7:02
Outdoor Element.
7:04
This is their contour knife and it is a
7:07
very small compact
7:10
knife
7:12
that has a lot of features built into
7:14
it. And for this type of emergency, you
7:16
know, we're not skinning elk. We're not
7:18
batoning through, you know, 6-in logs.
7:22
This is just going to take care of some
7:23
cutting tasks, but it has some other
7:26
tools built into it. It actually has a
7:29
whistle built into the handle.
7:33
works pretty well. And then
7:37
it has a sharpened spine.
7:41
And built into the sheath is a ferro
7:44
rod.
7:45
I'll just do a little scraping into this
7:48
pot so I don't get my stuff all burned
7:51
up.
7:54
A pretty effective little ferro rod
7:56
built into the sheath. You see that?
8:02
And then also it has a built-in
8:05
sharpener. Now, these little ceramic
8:06
rods are not always the best, and I
8:09
don't recommend them all the time, but
8:11
if you want to touch up this blade,
8:14
you can certainly do that.
8:16
It comes with this metal clip, so you
8:18
can clip this into your pocket. Um, I
8:21
added a lanyard to mine because I really
8:23
think it's a nice little neck knife.
8:27
And the sheath is very nice. It's
8:29
Kaidex.
8:30
So, that is a perfect little survival
8:33
knife. Haven't really seen anything like
8:35
it. They do make a bigger model. I think
8:36
it's the Contour Feather. Um, it's
8:39
longer, but I think for this situation
8:41
in this survival kit, this particular
8:44
knife is perfect for that application.
8:49
Now, the other improvement that I made
8:52
uh was lighting. I This light was in the
8:55
original kit and it's just a OITE. It's
8:58
one of those single
9:04
AAA battery lights, right? Nothing
9:06
fancy, but it's very bright and it's
9:10
very capable. It's a great little light.
9:12
But the problem with flashlights are uh
9:14
that you they're hard to work with when
9:17
you're trying to navigate down a dark
9:19
trail. When you're trying to do work on
9:21
something in the dark, you need a you
9:24
really need a headlamp. And headlamps
9:25
are great, but they take up a lot of
9:27
room. So, what I came up with is is this
9:30
little headband.
9:33
This is just elastic material that you
9:35
get at the sewing store. It's been sewn
9:37
here
9:39
to make a loop. So, that's the headband.
9:41
And then it has this loop to hold the
9:44
light.
9:52
Now, you have a little headlamp. So,
9:54
this can go on the side of your head,
9:56
and as you move your head, you're able
9:58
to focus and look at what you're working
10:02
on in the dark. You can walk down a
10:05
trail and at least have some kind of
10:07
lighting. Pretty neat idea. Um, I didn't
10:12
invent this idea. This was uh something
10:14
that was given to me by someone else,
10:17
but I think it's a great idea and um I
10:20
encourage people to replicate it because
10:21
it's so easy and simple to do.
10:24
if you got a sewing machine or you can
10:26
even do this by hand. You just go to the
10:28
sewing store or the fabric department in
10:30
Walmart, pick up some elastic
10:34
and make a little rig like this and this
10:35
fits my head perfectly.
10:38
Now, in the original video, I stated
10:41
that it was a little bit over a pound.
10:42
And some people were really um adamant
10:46
about knowing the exact amount that this
10:48
thing weighed, and there were some
10:50
guesses. And um I really didn't address
10:52
it because I really didn't think it's
10:53
that big of a deal if it's a little bit
10:54
over a pound. So I weighed this one
10:56
again with the new additions and the
10:58
subtractions and it came to 1 lb 9 oz.
11:03
That's it. Uh no more, no less. Um I
11:06
think that is reasonable and that I'm
11:09
still calling it a one lb kit because it
11:11
just it's easier to talk about it that
11:13
way. Uh but so 1 lb 9 oz is this kit in
11:18
its entirety with everything in it. So
11:21
some of the things that you absolutely
11:23
have to have in these kits and what's in
11:25
this one um you have to have a way of
11:28
treating water. So we want to be able to
11:30
disinfect it, make it safe to drink. So
11:34
any of the tablets that you can buy like
11:36
from Kadine or Aquapure,
11:38
um they all work very well. um you'll
11:42
need some type of bag to contain that
11:44
water unless you're carrying a water
11:45
bottle. And you should have a water
11:46
bottle if you're hiking. But if you
11:48
don't, if for whatever reason you're
11:50
separated from that gear or you don't
11:51
have it with you and all you have is
11:52
this kit, uh there should be some type
11:54
of water bag inside of it. Um there are
11:58
things called whirl bags. They uh they
12:00
hold about a liter of water.
12:05
drop a tab in, let it set for the amount
12:07
of time that says in the packaging, and
12:09
then that treats the water and makes it
12:10
safe to drink because you definitely
12:12
don't want to get sick when you're out
12:13
on the trail. Um, fire making is very
12:16
important. Um, why is fire making
12:18
important? Well, it's for warmth,
12:20
obviously. Um, but also it's it's ideal
12:23
for signaling and it's also very good
12:27
for
12:28
making you feel more secure and safe.
12:32
Fire has a huge psychological effect on
12:35
humans. Um, and it's very important in
12:38
survival to have some type of fire. Even
12:41
if it's warm outside, starting a small
12:43
fire that's safe, uh, can really help
12:46
with, um, how you feel about the
12:48
situation and actually calm you down and
12:50
it gives you a task to do and kind of
12:52
focus on and and then of course the
12:55
signaling aspect is hugely important.
12:57
Now, signaling in these kits also is a
12:59
big deal. We have there's the whistle on
13:02
the knife handle. There is the flagging
13:05
panel or signal panel, but you can also
13:07
use flagging tape. Um, if you have a a
13:11
headlamp that has a strobe function,
13:13
that can be utilized uh as a signaling
13:16
device. Of course, signal mirrors um
13:19
have good use, especially out west where
13:22
there's a lot of cleared area um big
13:25
open country signal mirrors work pretty
13:27
well and they use a lot of aerial rescue
13:30
assets out west whereas they don't use
13:32
that many here in the Midwest because
13:34
there are so many trees. Helicopters and
13:36
planes don't always work that well. Um
13:39
so signal mirrors are something you need
13:42
to have. uh the whistle of course and
13:45
then you need to be able to control your
13:47
body temperature and having some type of
13:51
uh survival blanket or myar sleeping bag
13:56
uh like the so
13:58
is very key because even in summertime
14:02
uh and there are cases I I've actually
14:04
talked about this in other videos and I
14:06
had to put some uh comments in some of
14:08
the descriptions um on my last video
14:11
because people were like well it's not
14:12
important in the summertime. Absolutely
14:15
is. There have people have died from
14:18
exposure in the summer because they're
14:21
out hiking. They're in their shorts,
14:23
their t-shirts, and all of a sudden
14:25
there is like kind of a freak storm that
14:27
pops up. The the pressure drops, it gets
14:30
cold, there's rain, and now they're
14:33
stuck outside with very little clothing.
14:36
They are wet, the temperature drops, and
14:38
they become hypothermic, and they die.
14:40
And it it it's happened. I've read
14:42
stories about it. I know it's it's
14:43
happened. So, you have to have be able
14:46
to control your body temperature and
14:48
shelter is super important. Um, it's
14:51
just one of those items you have to
14:52
have. Of course, adding a tarp to this
14:54
would be even better or a rain poncho.
14:57
That's going to increase the size of the
14:59
kit, but maybe that's something you can
15:01
have in your backpack.
15:05
All right, hope you found this video
15:07
useful. As always, thank you for
15:10
watching. Uh, do me a favor, leave a
15:12
comment down below. Tell me what you
15:13
think about this, what items you would
15:15
add, subtract, what items are in your
15:16
kit. Uh, consider subscribing if you
15:19
like this kind of content. I try to
15:20
release a video every week. And as
15:22
always, thank you so much for watching
15:24
and we will see you next time on the
15:25
Prepared Wanderer.