Wednesday, February 17, 2010

Survival Tools - The Compact Tool Kit

Mrs. RW's Tool Kit

You never know what kind of bargains you can find at garage and yard sales. Here's a $5 tool kit Mrs. RW got at a yard sale and it was in like new condition. She's pretty handy with tools when she's got them around. Since I'm usually dragging my tool boxes around in the back of my truck, Mrs. RW got herself a set of tools to keep around the house. This little tool kit is also very portable and can be thrown in her truck or the van when she's taking a trip. You just never know when you'll need to have some tools handy.

For the price it's hard to beat and if it can get you out of tight spot when something breaks it will be well worth the price. Although these probably aren't the best quality tools that are available, Mrs. RW says it sure beats using your fingers!

All she needs to do is to wrap it with some paracord and duct tape!

Got tools for the little lady?

Staying above the water line!

Riverwalker

4 comments:

Dustin Tarditi said...

I've had a few of those sets in my time... the molded cases are the worst part, actually - parts get bumped loose and it takes longer to put everything back in it's place so you can close the lid... and you can't change anything out since each bed is made specifically for a certain tool.

My recommendation for these kits:
1) dump all the contents into a zippered pouch - shaving kit-type is perfect, this way you can sit it down, open it and rummage through as you see fit, but in storage it can take odd shapes as space is available.

2) Add a roll of duct tape (gorilla tape is better, but 3x as expensive)

3) Add some baling wire - about 3-5 feet should be enough

4) Add a pair of vice grip pliers (el-cheapos are fine)

5) Replace the roll of electrical tape they put in there (somehow, the tape they use for these kits leaves all the glue on the roll itself and never sticks) - the cheapest electrical tape at the dollar store is, apparently, hand-and-fist better than the best stuff they put into these kits!

6) Put a couple pairs of surgical gloves in a ziploc and throw this in... Mr Murphy insists that you will incur a breakdown with the greasiest/oiliest part on your car/truck when you are dressed in your nicest clothes.

7) Toss in a cheap shower curtain - get it at the dollar store, don't even unwrap it - it's quite small and compact and will fold out into a great dropcloth or overhead tarp when you need it the most.

8) Add a small inexpensive flashlight (reverse the batteries until you need it).

Chief Instructor said...

I love these cheap little kits. As you noted, they aren't the highest quality, but they are better than nothing. If something breaks, they're inexpensive to replace. All of our vehicles have one.

Anonymous said...

Wow, $5 - that was an excellent buy, two points for the Missus! I keep an eye out for good tools when at flea markets, but the oldies are mostly gone, now taken over by the cheap Chinese / Indian / Pakastani made tools which while serviceable, will not last long term. Search while you can.

Dustin, those are some excellent kit additions as well - Thanks! I would also add a glue stick or two to this kit, melted with a lighter, the adhesive comes in handy at times.

riverwalker said...

This was a good little bargain for the wife to keep handy...although not as good as my main tools, it works great for those little jobs.

Thanks.

RW

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