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Pro Survival Kit Company Master Pro Survival Kit

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George VanOrden is a veteran of 21 years service in the Marine Corps. His Pro Survival Kit Company produces a line of personal survival kits based on those George originally developed for his own use, based on his experiences in teaching survival in the military.

The kit is contained in a fairly large Cordura nylon belt pouch that is approaching the limits of comfortable size for this category of kit. It is also getting up there in weight at 27.6 ounces (782 g), closing in on 2 pounds (0.9 kg). The pouch is available in Orange, Black, Woodland Camouflage and Desert (6-color) Camo Cordura. The zipper opens across the top and down 1.5 inches on each side. The parachute cord zipper grip is easy to grasp A pair of webbing belt loops on the back panel incorporate adjusters to cinch them up tight for more secure carry.

Inside are two commercial weight vacuum sealed plastic bags. In our early sample the larger bag incorporated a zipper lock seal so that once the vacuum bag is opened, you can still reseal the plastic bag, a truly superb way to do this. The top seal is notched so it is relatively easy to tear open. Later, we were notified and sent a sample of a smaller version of the same type bag now used for the medical kit. Did we mention we really like this type packaging?

The smaller bag contains all the medical supplies, a pretty decent assortment. The standard grade plastic adhesive bandages will do the job in most cases, but are not as abuse resistant or sticky as some. If we bought this kit we'd probably add a Trau-Medic or triangular bandage for a serious injury, which there is room for in the belt pouch

Expiration dates of the medical items and the Potable Aqua are clearly listed on a tag in the package and on a separate list of contents. While some companies will send you a reminder about expiring medical items, Pro Survival raises the bar with an extraordinary offer of free replacement, all you have to do is send them a self-addressed, stamped envelope.

The SOG Cross Grip is one of the better mini multi-purpose tools. Its wire cutter allows you to cut the very tough stainless snare wire George includes.

The Columbia River Knife & Tool Classic KISS Knife that was in our kit has been discontinued and George will be using the Original KISS with a tanto style single ground blade once his stock is used up. The KISS provides a strong locking blade in a slim package. It's only minor drawback is the single ground edge.

This and all other tools are equipped with red parachute cord wrist lanyards, which we definitely like. There's also a mini-carabiner included which allows you to secure this stuff so it is less likely to be lost.

The versatile triangle ceramic rod "dog bone" style knife sharpener can keep all your blades sharp, a definite plus. We prefer the GATCO TRI-SEPS because it makes maintaining an angle easier, but that's picking nits.

The saw blade is fine enough to work on light metals and coarse enough to work with most woods. A reasonable compromise between a good wood saw and a true hacksaw. It can be fitted with an improvised handle for easier sawing, which is difficult with a less robust hacksaw blade.

If you can't get a fire started with all the excellent fire starting gear provided, perhaps you are so incompetent that you will do the gene pool a favor if you don't survive.

Both the Ultimate Survival StarFlash signal mirror and JetScream whistle are top quality and we like that George has gone the extra step, and expense, of adding the mil-spec protective cover to the signal mirror, normally not available on the consumer model. This serves to keep the face of the mirror scratch free in storage.

The excellent Platypus water bottle has both a small mouth for spill-free drinking and pouring as well as the large opening for filling, which can be handy at times in the field. Another example of going the extra step beyond basic for increased functionality.

The roll-up sun glasses work surprisingly well. Designed originally for post-mydriatic temporary eye protection when you leave the eye doctor, they are more than adequate for survival use protecting vision in bright environments without taking up much room or weighing harding anything. They stayed on even under difficult conditions and there's really nothing to break.

The fishing kit, along with the safety pins and needle, is stored inside a small plastic container (recycled from the Spark-Lite). The fishing kit is complete enough for most purposes with plenty of hooks and line. Since we received our original kit, George has added a short tack to help hold the gaff hook in place, an excellent addition.

The Flosscard provides a nice supply of waxed dental floss, good for a multitude of uses, in a very compact and slim package the size of a credit card.

The Atomic Fireball jaw breaker hard candy in the photo has since been replaced with plain jaw breakers, a concession to those who might find the Fireballs a little too fiery for a survival situation.

The fresnel lens magnifier will not only serve as a back-up firestarter, it also makes it much easier to read the small print on the survival instructions. This Survival Instruction sheet is pretty good and when we mentioned a few items we had concerns with, such as the solar still illustrated in the original instructions included in the photo above, George got us on the phone and eliminated that and made some other minor but important changes as well. We like that this is printed on waterproof paper.

Packed with the kit is an envelope with a contents list, including expiration dates for all life-limited items, a reminder to contact Pro Survival for your free replacement of dated medical items, a review of the contents with suggested uses for each piece of gear and all the manufacturers' instructions that came with each piece, a very nice and helpful touch. Also included is the 15 day, no questions, money-back refund offer if not satisfied.

Overall, we rate this kit as "Excellent." (NOTE: This is the first such rating we have given out.)  We were very impressed by the attention to detail and high quality of almost everything in the kit. Its only minor drawback is that it's a bit on the large size.

A lighter weight version of this kit substituting lighter, but fully capable items, such as a Spark-Lite for the Blast Match for example, and that assumes the user will have a capable knife and multi-purpose tool on their person would allow both weight and volume savings for a more compact kit without any significant adverse impact on capability.

George's response to our queries to address items we wondered about shows that he is committed to making it a good as he can, within the constraints of commercial production. Any such deficients, such as they are, are minimal for the most part and not life threatening. While not cheap, it represents an excellent value because it's all there. Slip it onto your belt and you are good to go. Not a lot more you can ask of a pre-assembled commercial survival kit.

Disclosure: In the interest of full disclosure, it should be noted that George is an active participant on The Survival Forum on Equipped To Survive™ and has made a donation to the Equipped To Survive Foundation in support of this Web site.

You can review the entire section by simply clicking on the "next" arrow at the bottom of each page. If you would rather jump to a specific kit or back to the Personal/Pocket Kits section home page, select from the adjoining drop down list:

Personal/Pocket Kits MPI You Can Survive MSR Basic MSR Regular MSR Deluxe BCB Combat Coghlan's Kit-In-A-Can Penrith Combat Australian Mk III Branch LifePac Ranger Rick's Survival Necklace Pro Survival Pocket Pro Kit Pro Survival Belt Pro Kit Randall's Adventure & Training Mini Kit Brunton Emergency Pocket Survival Kit SRU-16/P Parachute Pack Survival Kit AMK Pocket Survival Pak 1-Person Pocket/Pouch Kits

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Publisher and Editor: Doug Ritter
Email: Doug Ritter
URL: http://www.equipped.org/pro_master_kit.htm
First Published: April 12, 2003
Revision: 04 June 20, 2005
 

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