Perfect for at-home emergency use
"There are numerous components with this, and the biggest is the knife. This is very useful if you are outdoors and need to cut small branches. It will not cut larger branches, though. It will also help fend off animals--though a sturdy branch would be more useful in this situation. It will cut twine and rope as needed, and can be used to cut up animals you killed for food. The knife blade is quite sturdy. The components are a bit skimpy for long-term survival, such as when you are going to be lost for months on a deserted island. I recommend getting the magnesium block for tinder, if only because it works well in rain. The flint wheel works fine with that, but be careful because magnesium burns extremely hot. The supplied tinder may not work well if it gets wet. The compass, mirror, and whistle are all satisfactory. Any compass will do if you are in the woods. As I recommend this more for use during a long power outage on your own rural property or for camping trips, I am not too worried about these components. The mirror will come in handy if you do get lost, as will the whistle. As for the flashlight, it is the weak link. It is easy to turn on by accident, and you only get 15 hours of run time with 10 lumens using 4 small button batteries that are not that easy to get. The worst part is that these batteries are smaller than standard calculator batteries, and children can easily swallow them. It will do well in an emergency, but so will the Illumima-Ti keychain light that works on a single AAA battery that can be a NiMH. Better this, or a good AAA or R123 flashlight. Fenix, NiteCore, and O-Light make fine entry level flashlights that take one AAA or R123 battery which can be a rechargeable. Best uses: Short hikes in areas you are fairly familiar with but that lack basic amenities, cutting up that animal you killed for food, and using it to get emergency supplies in rural areas when the utilities are out for a while. I would not recommend this for serious backcountry hiking, especially in wilderness areas."
