Making the Victorinox Survival kit better!

[@Peter-jo6yu]

I love your creativity my man.. please protect your health when working with dangerous stuff like grinding and sanding dust... I don't want my favourite and most creative modder to get any occupational health problems in future... 😔

[@FittoSurvive]

Thanks a bunch! I will do my best to avoid the dusts and fumes. 😉👍🏻

[@michaelkeller5008]

i remember a time we'd kill for a maglite... today i look at my olight iXV on my keyring and think "good luck the drastic steps ween't needed" ;) tip: for always finding the right zip-lock-baggy, put some medical tape on it (a square is enough), you can use a permanent-marker to either write about the content, or draw easily recognisable picons on it

[@FittoSurvive]

Yeah, that is too true. It's unfortunate that Maglite did not keep up with the technology. Or if they have, they have remained under my radar.

[@michaelkeller5008]

@@FittoSurvive oh when ledlenser became a thing, they brought out led-models of their best running models, but for prices that were insane - at least for what they were able to do... granted, my olights i bought were not cheap, but compared to the led-maglites, they can do approx 1000times better than the first-gen ledlenser and maglites together...

[@FittoSurvive]

@@michaelkeller5008 I think now their only advantage is that the larger ones double has a bat (baton). 🤣

[@michaelkeller5008]

@@FittoSurvive yeah but the olights (with their military-standard-builds (you can drive a truck over it)) doubles as kubotan ;)

[@2371Anita]

I am totally down with the little harmonica! ❤❤❤

[@FittoSurvive]

Thanks! I was going to play a short tune on it, but had stage fright... 🤣

[@2371Anita]

@@FittoSurvive 😂

[@edgaraquino2324]

@@FittoSurvive maybe next time!..

[@wgkincheloe2458]

I dig it. It really is crazy comparing even my small Olights against any of my old Mags

[@FittoSurvive]

Thanks!

[@ek8652]

The two pockets on both flaps on both the survival and sos kits are meant to hold the safety pins and matches.

[@FittoSurvive]

Interesting! I tried finding a stock picture online but didn't find one that utilized those pockets. But yeah, the matches and safety pen fit great there.

[@bogdan_d82]

Great kit! Personally I would add the Victorinox Spirit X multitool and a real size ferro rod instead of the sharpener 😊

[@FittoSurvive]

That's an interesting idea. I don't know if the Spirit X would fit though.

[@edwardfletcher7790]

Fascinating, I haven't seen this kit before. We've been spoilt by modern LED lights, old bulbs look so weak now ! That tiny harmonica is delightful 😆 Brass liners look so classy, especially with those scales 👍 I'd add a cut down fresnel lens.

[@FittoSurvive]

Nice! Glad that I could show you something new. Yes, modern flashlights have definitely spoiled us. Crazy to think of the lumens now available in such compact sizes. The harmonica really is super cool, even if it isn't really needed. 😅

[@davidnagore725]

I had one of those old mags, and back then they were the bomb. At the level of tech at the time, it seemed they lit stuff up like Christmas.

[@edwardfletcher7790]

@@davidnagore725 Me too, they used a special bulb and were crazy expensive !

[@davidnagore725]

@@edwardfletcher7790 Yeah they were.

[@FittoSurvive]

@@davidnagore725 🤣👍🏻👍🏻

[@manwiththeredface7821]

I would just add an unmodified Handyman to the kit with the FireAnt firestarter and the default red cellidor scales on which are cheaper but highly visible in the woods and if it gets damaged it's not a big problem. Furthermore the Handyman is 5 mm thinner and 30 g lighter than the Swiss Champ. Plus there's no need for the Swiss Champ's magnifying glass when you already have a better one on the ruler-compass-thermometer tool.

[@SouthGlass]

This. Tha handyman is king

[@FittoSurvive]

The Handyman is a great toolset for sure! 👍🏻👍🏻 Thanks

[@edgaraquino2324]

I have posted twice & both have been removed twice...( not you)...I will try again...a very nice set up...I still use the older maglites...I have some with leds, but I can still get a bright light with the older ones...my concern with your selection is that it is very small & could get lost if you do not add a paracord lanyard to it...too bad V does not make these any more...they would have to reinforce them as you did & would cost more today...I like your fire redundancy...never enough if you have an emergency...you can add a ferro rod & put some tinder in the corkscrew of the smaller knife...beautiful, by the way...saw the video....good video, thanks! 😊

[@FittoSurvive]

Sorry to hear about the hassle of posting your comment. My Dad used to have maglites when I was a kid, and I thought they were the coolest thing ever. 😅 Thanks for watching! Glad you enjoyed it.

[@edgaraquino2324]

@@FittoSurvive you are most welcome! ...they still are!...

[@thorin693]

Try the olight titanium whistle very compact and loud.

[@FittoSurvive]

I've looked at it before on their website, but never pulled the trigger.

[@unfi6798]

G'day mate. Just like other manufacturers, we are sure that Victorinox is watching your channel for ideas in updates & improvement. Excellent content as always. Cheers from Australia.

[@FittoSurvive]

Hey! That'd be cool if they did take some ideas from my channel. I definitely wouldn't mind.

[@davidnagore725]

I think I'd go with the bigger knife and ditch the bic. I'd replace the regular matches with stormproof or strike anywhere matches. If space allowed (can't tell for sure) maybe even replace the matches entirely with the bic, even? With this set up, I would use the magnifying glass as the primary fire starter with the secondary being the matches or bic. With that all said, I'd rather have the other custom SAK. You just can't beat the utility of a saw and a heftier knife blade.

[@FittoSurvive]

Yeah, replacing the matches is a great idea. I agree about having the saw, it would be important for a survival kit.

[@TK8866275]

Some zip ties, some length of dark green floral wire, pair of nitrile gloves, travel size tin of Tiger Balm which could be used for bug bites but is also great fire starter and if you change Swiss Champ for a smaller knife to make room for a lighter, you could choose something better than a Bic for example Clipper Jet Flame.

[@FittoSurvive]

Excellent ideas. I tried fitting the small clipper lighter, but with it's cylindrical shape, it took up more space than the Bic.

[@jinxjones5497]

Ive got a new in box survival kit and ive just acquired an SOS kit NIB too but i have another kit that i picked up sans knife to keep the price down as i have several swisschamps anyway. I thought about an upgrade kit for the maglight solitaire but now it has an Olight i3t EOS which is the same length but a little wider but fits the slot. Good find on the little pockets behind the velcro on the flaps. I used my XLT in the larger side for a while which is what you could have done with the wider dragonox. I went with #36 bankline but I'll get some kevlar. I'm not super happy with the compass but i know Suunto make a model called a clipper made to clip on your watch strap so I'd trust that more.

[@FittoSurvive]

Very interesting. I didn't even think about moving the SAK to the other side. That does open up some new ideas and options.

[@petercsizmadia9642]

Nice kit!

[@FittoSurvive]

Thanks!

[@pizza_junior8694]

Like always a pretty nice Projekt, but could you make a Video where you going to custumize an cybertool L. I would love to See one of these spyderco blades an that knife. Also a full steped Video about the customationprozess where your showing everything from taking the Scales of, over the Single layers with their Mechanik too the point where the scales will be replaced. A also wondering where you get the Single pieces, i found a couple of Spacer, scales and knifeblades on the Internet but not any special Tools like a wood chisel

[@FittoSurvive]

Thanks. I am planning on making a complete how to tutorial for modifying SAKs.

[@dgunearthed7859]

5 c's of survival...cordage, cutting. Combustion, check. Toss a swirlpac 1 liter bag and a space blanket. Then u have it. As mentioned in another reply, i said hook the harmonica to your keychain and keep the whisle

[@FittoSurvive]

Thanks for the advice! I appreciate it.

[@DerekZimmer]

Love your knives and videos! Have you made a survival themed knife? Something that addresses fire starting, bushcraft, cooking, heavy duty, etc. And/or office themed? I’m thinking of a work and play pair.

[@FittoSurvive]

I haven't done anything like that before.

[@strongandco]

Great kit!!!

[@FittoSurvive]

Thanks!

[@arnoldcohen1250]

Great video. Would add two adult aspirin tabs-pain, fever, anti-inflammatory, blood thinner and in case of a heart attack can be life saving. Agree Imodium for diarrhea, more effective and takes up less room than bismuth.

[@FittoSurvive]

Thanks a bunch. Excellent advice.

[@SaleemMamode]

I really like the spirit x tools. Sturdy and usable. Is there a way to have the spirit x tools in a knife form factor - maybe a 110mm platform and a spyderco knife? Would be the ultimate toolset /knife

[@FittoSurvive]

That would be a really interesting project!

[@gunandknifenut]

Where do you find those small packets of burn cream and the other packets? Awesome video.

[@nickmartino2839]

Obviously your limited on room ..... but if you are going the route of a potential burn... the cream is great but like with any injury.. but especially burns... you should really think of a way to cover or dress said burn to protech it from getting infected or having any debris getting into the wound.

[@FittoSurvive]

I completely agree with that. The best I could fit in a kit like this would probably be a large band aid.

[@timsummers870]

I never understood the comb that comes in that kit. Perhaps if you’ve been lost in the woods for six months you could use the scissors to trim your hair and the comb to keep a descent hairdo for when the rescuers find you. At least you wouldn’t look like a bum when they take your picture.

[@FittoSurvive]

LOL That's a good reason to carry a comb. 😅👍🏻

[@snoopu2601]

I carried a Swiss army knife for 5 year's it's tried and true mine didn't have that many tool's just all the one's I could use. Screw, Philips driver, can, bottle opener, win bottle opener, knife, file. I carried in a weatherman case the first ones they came out with I lost my weatherman and the Swiss army knife fire perfect in it.

[@FittoSurvive]

Sounds like a great knife. That's cool that it fit well in the other case.

[@harpsnake]

it's crucial to highlight that even the most audibly robust "standard size" harmonica doesn't quite measure up to a signal whistle's volume. Consequently, it may not fully serve the intended purpose.

[@FittoSurvive]

Yes, I totally agree with you. It's not an ideal replacement, but more of a multipurpose substitute.

[@dgunearthed7859]

​@@FittoSurvivehook the harmonica to your Keychain and keep the whistle

[@chrisk.1539]

I have some ideas,you can put some pills in Kinder Egg's Toy Capsule or in a Tic Tac box(You can put some Matches)😉,for not take enough space and some other little things in a empty plastic Deodorant Roll On,in some Deodorants i don't know if can all,you can pull out the Ball,i have done it for example Axe Deodorants Roll On you can pull out the spot where the Ball is,clean inside and put some things.

[@FittoSurvive]

Interesting idea. 😅👍🏻

[@dallasn16]

I'm not sure of you're committed to using victorinox products but skinth makes some great products for just this purpose. Handmade in Canada with 1000d Cordura, I've been using them for almost 10 years.

[@FittoSurvive]

Not committed to Victorinox. This was just an upgrade project for a classic survival kit.

[@KungFuTweety1]

Add a 1 liter water bag

[@FittoSurvive]

I wonder if you are thinking what I am thinking you mean. 😏

[@66meikou]

When did vic release that kit? I'll have to search you vids for the edc one. Just a thought. Immodium is probably better than pepto and the pills are smaller.

[@FittoSurvive]

Sakwiki to the rescue: www.sakwiki.com/tiki-index.php?page=SOS+Kit OK, I will have to check out the immodium tabs.

[@wjf213]

I really like what you did as far as upgrades, EXCEPT one....please get those iodine tablets out of there NOW. I did this a long time ago, and the tablets leached the iodine out and turned everything orange, and literally destroyed several items in my kit. It rusted all the fish hooks, the tin itself, the small knife and razor blade, it tinted the plastic compass face orange, it even turned my ASPIRINS orange. It made all the cordage brittle to the point where two year old could break it. The fishing line, and nylon cord was all shot. Iodine is VERY corrosive to say the least. You can already see what it's doing to that plastic bag. The tablets are worthless and will soon make the kit the same way. You really can't take those tablets out of the GLASS bottle with that special Teflon seal in the cap to keep the iodine inside, and repackage them into smaller containers. It just does NOT work, and once you open the bottle, the tablets are pretty much worthless in less than a year even in the bottle. One thing I would add, is a perfume sample vial, a BIG one, and fill it with your favorite bug juice. I bought a bunch brand new vials off of ebay years ago and I filled them up and stash them all over so I always have some bug juice handy to keep from getting eaten alive. Keep up the great work.

[@FittoSurvive]

Wow, thanks a bunch for sharing that with me. I didn't do any research into whether or not the iodine pills could be stored out of the glass bottle. Makes sense though. 👍🏻👍🏻

[@mannihh5274]

The original kit seems to be rather old, the Maglite Solitaire clearly isn't upgraded to LED. As long as it isn't run over by a tank, I don't see any advantage with the Olight. Yes, It's brighter, but certainly drowns the battery quicker too, I prefer a long runtime over brightness - don't need to scare a bear off from 1 mile away and there's no space for spare batteries in the kit. IMHO the harmonica is ridiculous for replacing the whistle, it offers not even a quarter the noise, a good whistle provides. Whistles come in many different form factors, choose a small but loud one. If you care about space, first thing to go is the bulky brass bead, it has no value whatsoever for survival. As for the knife, I would choose the Victorinox Camper or Huntsman, upgraded with the Firefly ferrorod and Helix-tinder. And I wouldn't do without some band-aids, preferably those for finger injuries. The sting-kill can easily be replaced with great plantain out of the field, which is found almost everywhere. BTW: your fingers and speech look and sound like you had too much coffee today 😆😉

[@clintwestwood3539]

How do you cut Kevlar if you can’t with scissors tho 😮

[@FittoSurvive]

It can be cut, but it is more difficult than your typical cordage. I sharp knife can cut it.

[@joominatore6527]

Although it all looks very nice, this is almost useless survival kit and it doesn't really makes a whole lot sense. It depends on what survival situation is, but "the wild" was mentioned here so i would assume the most likely scenario would be being lost in the woods, that stuff happens all the time, people going hiking and the dark catches them and they can't find the way back. Number one danger in most of those situations is hypothermia, as the temperatures go down in the night, so the focus is making an improvised shelter and fire to survive the night. All you would need is a good fire starting kit, a stronger knife and maybe a small survival blanket to use as the heat reflector and a tarp. You don't need fish hooks, needle, don't need victorinox multitool, those are more for day to day urban situations.

[@FittoSurvive]

The point of this video was to upgrade an already existing Victorinox SOS kit. This would not be my "go to" survival kit.

[@famillemarie9690]

Bonjour a toi est ce que tu vends des couteaux personnalisés.merci d'avance et super vidéos comme d'habitude

[@FittoSurvive]

Thanks. Yes, I do sell custom SAKs. Here's a link to my website: www.f2scustoms.com

[@famillemarie9690]

Merci beaucoup

[@afonso159]

Out of topic, did you ever try to make a mod with the garden models? Do you think blade with the bark lifter (3.9020) would fit in a 91mm spring?

[@FittoSurvive]

I have not tried that yet. 🤔 Might be interesting though.

[@XyrxesTube]

The original survival kit is really bad. I like pretty much nothing about it. Important things are missing, but there is a lot of nonsense. In addition, everything could be made lighter and smaller here. Your approach is much better Cody👍

[@FittoSurvive]

Thanks a bunch for that! I appreciate it.

[@barryrudnick4450]

Did you leave out the compass/thermometer/magnifying glass

[@FittoSurvive]

No, I added it too. It's in the front pocket on the left

[@LKS-1976]

Poor dragon fly, I'll take it and give it a great home. ;)

[@FittoSurvive]

Lol 😂

[@richcar7936]

I enjoy your channel. I’m a long time fan of SAK and own more than a few. I have a few suggestions. Color code the ziplock bags or, better, small pill bottles for the moisture sensitive items, pills, matches etc. How about some multi-strand survival cord as a lanyard for the knife. I love the harmonica absolutely the best damn thing for survival situations. You might come up with a blues song.

[@FittoSurvive]

Great ideas. Yeah, the harmonica is a fun addition. 😁👍🏻

[@josemendes9535]

👍👍👍👍

[@FittoSurvive]

Thanks!

[@CharizardFan_og]

You must build a knife specifically for this kit, then you have to decide if this is a Urban Survival kit or a wilderness survival kit...

[@FittoSurvive]

Yes, agreed. I'd probably go for the huntsman toolset for a wilderness kit.

[@tikkidaddy]

I would consider replacing the matches with UCO storm proof matches. If your water tabs run out you need to boil. Also Imodium AD for the happy happy joy of emptying your colonic contents with most of your water into the bushes😂

[@FittoSurvive]

Good idea. I'm sure these older matches are not the best quality. 👍🏻🤣

[@dgunearthed7859]

I was going to suggest imodium too

[@peterolsen3797]

you need to slow your hands down. you make me nervous.

[@FittoSurvive]

That really is a bad habit that I have.

[@chrisduhaime5689]

Microw TOOTHBRUSH and paste

[@FittoSurvive]

Excellent idea. And a Colgate Wisp would easily fit.

[@naka-YAYA-plaza]

This guy talks and kind of sounds like Elon Musk.

[@FittoSurvive]

🤣 It's gotta be because I use a lot of "ummm"s in my speech.

[@naka-YAYA-plaza]

@@FittoSurvive Damn I didnt know Elon was into survival. GET ME A CYBERTRUCK!

[@michaelfitzell2741]

slow down, you talk too fast!

[@FittoSurvive]

My apologies, that is a bad habit of mine. 🫣