Pro Altoids Survival Kit

I've seen many versions of this miniature survival kit. Some, I've seen, had brilliant ideas, while others weren't well thought out. I've taken ideas from other survival kits and combined them with a few ideas of my own. I would also like to point out that I made this entirely out of materials I had around my house, so the contents of this kit are not very professional. Never the less, the main purpose of this instructable is simply to present to you an efficient way of making one that is both small in volume (thus the intent of the miniature survival kit) and professional in appearance.

The first step is to construct the box. To do this, you will need two altoid tins of the same size and shape. First, drill two holes in the bottom of one of the tins. Next, line up the bottoms of the tins (see pictures for reference), and mark where the holes need to be drilled in the second tin. Finally, drill the holes and connect the two tins with either short screws or rivets.

As I said before, if you're looking for more professional materials, this is not the best instructable. However, if you're looking for a cheaper method (one that will still work the way it's intended) I happen to have some pretty good ideas.

If you happened to find yourself stranded in the wild, your priorities, in order of importance, are as follows: water, shelter and fire, food. The average human can live for weeks without food, but only days without water. The importance of shelter depends greatly on your location. With that in mind, here are some ideas for what to stuff your box with:

FISHING LINE: can be used with the hooks for fishing, tying, sewing, etc.

TWO KNIVES: used for cutting and cleaning (field dressing, gutting) food

FOUR SMALL RAZORS: same as the knives, can also be used for medical purposes (two are wrapped in duct tape sleeve)

TWO NEEDLES: repairing and/or making new clothing, medical purposes

THREAD: sewing, fishing, tying

SMALL WHISTLE: signaling for help, scaring off predators

THREE SAFETY PINS: repairing and/or making new clothing

FIVE ZIP TIES: tying

FIVE LARGE NAILS, TWO SMALL NAILS: building shelter

TWO SMALL SCREW EYES: can be used to make a bobber out of a piece of wood for fishing to prevent loosing hooks

FOIL: cooking, boiling water

HOT GLUE STICK: fixing, gluing, sealing

MIRROR: signaling

MILITARY-GRADE CAN OPENER: the only thing in my collection that was purchased, best hand-held can opener ever!

JIGSAW BLADE: can be made into a saw using small nails/wire and a piece of wood

OTHER MISCELLANEOUS OBJECTS: duct tape, paperclips, washers, screw link carabiner, soda pop tabs

FISHING HOOKS OF VARIOUS SIZES: to catch fish, frogs, and other small aquatic animals

MAGNET: magnetizing needle for makeshift compass

LURE: fishing

BAND AIDS AND ALCOHOL PAD: first aid

ZIPLOCK BAG: storing food, purifying water (UV radiation kills microorganisms)

WIRE: tying, making tools like spears for hunting and fishing

MAGNIFYING GLASS: starting fires with sunlight

NAIL TRIMMERS: trimming nails, cutting zip ties, fishing line, and wire

SPLIT SHOT: for fishing in fast moving water

note: the box itself can be used as a pot for boiling and cooking, or as a bowl for eating and drinking

On the outside of the box, you have the following:

GARBAGE BAG: collecting water or food; can be used as a poncho or sleeping surface

CORD: tying

VELCRO CABLE TIES: to hold it all together and give it a professional look

The images above will show you how to put it all together. When all of that is completed, you're final step is to decide what to do with it. Something like this can be stored in a glove compartment of a car, or in a backpack for camping, hiking, etc. They also make great little gifts. Whatever you decide to do with it, hopefully it will never have to be used (or if it ever is, hopefully it bodes well for whoever finds themselves in a sticky situation).

UPDATE: I removed the black knife (since there are already enough blades) and the fishing lure (since there's likely to be plenty of live bait in the wild), then I moved some stuff around until I had room for the following:

EMPTY CHAPSTICK CONTAINER WITH NINE MATCHES: for starting fire; fire can be used for purifying, cooking, warmth, signaling, drying clothes, etc.

STRIKING PAPER: to light matches

TWO BIRTHDAY CANDLES: holds a flame longer than matches

ROLL OF FLOSS: a classic addition to any survival kit