---

I have preached against every single manufactured survival kit I have ever come across. I have always taught the concept of tbuilding your own survival kit. I have admonished factory-made survival kits for three reasons;

1) They are usually in a sealed container that is difficult to open or reseal. This makes it next to impossible for the survivor to truly know what is inside of the survival kit. Often the so-called "survival knife" is nothing more than a razor blade. The trapping equipment leads to nothing more than some dainty "snare wire" which resembles dental floss or sewing thread more than anything.

2) The tools inside are often cheaply made and of poor quality. Very rarely do you find a well-made whistle inside of the survival kit, let alone an efficient compass or fire starter. Again, because you can't open it whenever you wish, it is difficult to know exactly what you have, and often what you have is not very good.

3) The container is uncomfortable and although durable (to a point) becomes almost a burden to carry in ones' pocket.

Mike Fuller from TOPS Knives designed one with Terrill Hoffman though, that he was sure I would be impressed by. When it arrived in my hands I noticed a few things; it was a wallet, not some metal tin that would weigh down my pants, all of the items were in little clear bags, out of the wallet and I would have to put them into the wallet by hand. This suddenly caused me to smile immensely and I was impressed at the simple psychological concept in this process. All of the items being loose and having to be packed away will make the owner/carrier have to physically handle each item. This helps him/her to understand what is in their survival kit, and therefor know what they truly have at hand. This "Survival Wallet" hung from a neck cord, so that it could be worn like those travellers' wallets seen on many tourists. This did away with any need to put it into a pocket and weight yourself down. It also allowed you to keep the survival kit close to your body so it could not get lost. Again, these things assist in countless ways. The survival wallet also came with two plastic D-rings that allow you to clip it to your pack, belt, or fasten it to whatever you wish -though I suggest the on-your-body method.
The items inside included; a three-toned flat pealess whistle, a signal mirror, a fresnal lens, a pocket saw, a compass, the TOPS Firestarter (a small ferro rod with two tiny rods of magnesium), a small LED Flashlight by LightHound, a Lansky Quick Fix Sharpener, Military GI Can Opener, Two ranger bands, 24ft of heavy duty Monofilament line (fishing line, sewing thread, etc), a razor with several pins and needles, and an offset screwdriver (with both flathead and phillips heads). Though I want to include every item in detail, for article length I will simply say all of the pieces worked exceptionally well, and point out a few specific highlights that I see lacking in other kits, that Mike's design seems to have rectified.
I compared the compass to a Silva Ranger compass, plus a Brunton Compass, and finally a shado stick (sun compass), to make sure I had three different comparisons to give decent accuracy. The one from the Survival Wallet lined up with all three items without struggle. I was shocked; usually the small compasses, even by well known brands are not very accurate at all. Yet this one was pointing out everything I needed to see from the maps, just as well as my Silva and Brunton compasses.
The whistle was compared to my Fox-40 Whistle, which is hands-down one of the best signal whistles out there. I noted that the three tones made it very difficult to confuse this whistle with the call of any native or migratory birds. Both whistles stood toe-to-toe with the distance (testing it over a 70 acre farm and throughout the forests). However, due to that three-tone effect, the TOPS whistle is now my prefered carry. As well, due to it being flat, it is out of the way and easily carried anywhere.
The Pocket Saw is actually one of my favourite parts of the kit. The blade is a hacksaw blade, which is rivetted to a kydex handle, making a simple folding-knife style saw, which is one of the most convenient saws I've ever used. I used it to cut bones for fish hooks, accurately shape notches in my bowdrill kit, and set the perfect angle on my deadfall and other trap triggers. Finally, the saw edge is very effective for scraping sparks off of the TOPS Firestarter.
The TOPS Firestarter is a standalone tool which effectively makes a small pile of magnesium shavings, which can then be lit up with the ferro rod. The size was difficult for me to believe as functional, but after a few days carrying just it in my pocket to start my fires, and it quickly gained my trust.
Overall the survival wallet is the best manufactured survival kit I have ever come across. The only two items missing in it are a means of purifiying/disinfecting your water, and a means of making shelter. However, toss in a strip of purification tablets and a garbage bag, and you now have those things. Believe me, the Survival Wallet will fit them, plus any other comforts you think you would like to have. All in all, this is the only survival kit I would ever approve anyone of purchasing, simply because it has surpassed all of my expectations of even a homemade survival kit.. even my own ones!