K-Mart Survival Kit - An Honest Review

A few weeks ago, I was in K-Mart and picked up a new piece of gear that K-Mart have only just started stocking - a pocket survival kit. I had already reviewed the product on my YouTube channel, however I felt that it was appropriate to write a companion piece to the video and give my honest opinion on the gear.

The full kit packed up in it's case

Button compass: My opinion on button compasses in general is not a very positive opinion. I truthfully do not like them and find them to be relatively useless. I would find a flat, full-sized compass far more useful and just as compact for this kit.I would not be very likely to keep the button compass in the kit going forward. I did however, find the carabiner that the compass came with, a very useful tool.

The button compass and carabiner

Torch: The torch that came with the kit was everything to be expected from a pocket torch. It was compact, functional and bright. My only criticism was that the torch did not come with a battery, however this was a very small issue, and very easy to overcome.
Given the price, the torch is well and truly a very functional a valuable part of the kit.

Pocket torch with battery wrapped up in plastic

Whistle: I found the whistle to be both compact and loud. It would be used primarily for signalling, as the universal signal for distress is three loud, short blows in quick succession.
Given the low price, the whistle is very good value and fulfills it's purpose. 

Loud and compact, the whistle is a valuable part of the kit

Multi-tool: I love the fact that a blade has been included in the kit and quite honestly, I don't think that anything else could have been included for the given price. Whilst the multi-tool does not include pliers and did not come with a factory edge, there is no way that this would have been possible while still keeping the tool compact and affordable. It's also worth noting that these issues were very easily circumvented.
  As much as I favour smaller multi-tools such as my Gerber Dime, it is worth noting that these can cost far more than this entire kit. There is no way to include a large and substantial blade in the kit without increasing size, weight and price; and this is not the intended purpose of including this particular blade in the kit.

Not the biggest or best blade available, but certainly the best for the price

Ferro rod: By far the piece in the kit that impressed me the most, ferro rods of similar size car retail anything up to thirty dollars, depending on the brand. The fact that this came with an entire kit and was still priced far cheaper than most ferro rods of comparable size means that this entire kit is worth buying simply for the ferro rod alone.

 

 

 

 

 

Easily the best value, the kit is worth buying simply for the ferro rod.

Whilst I feel that this kit could benefit from some kind of cover element such as an emergency poncho or emergency blanket as well as some cordage such as a small hank of guy rope or jute twine, I feel that as far as value for money goes, this is definitely a kit worth purchasing both for those who are starting out with their kits and for those with established kits. It gives a solid base to build on for anything from a day kit, to a seventy-two hour kit, to a complete INCH kit whilst still being compact enough to be used as a stand-alone emergency hiking kit, should one be separated from their main backpack for any reason.