What would you put in your "Altoids Tin Survival Kit" ?

I feel the thinking behind an Altoids Tin Survival Kit is both very intelligent and extremely stupid at the same time.

I'm sure there have been occasions where a hiker loses his backpack crossing a fast moving mountain stream or something like that, so the idea of having a mini backup kit that can make surviving til you get back to civilization a little less shitty is a nice idea, but the fact is your altoids tin survival kit will have most likely been in your pack, and it's gone now too.

One has to think of very outlandish scenarios to come up with a situation where an altoids tin survival kit would actually save your life.

But on the other hand, an Altoids Tin Backup Kit can make a lot of sense. Suppose you have a small but functional knife, flashlight, some matches, a bit of tinder, etc, in your altoids tin. This is all stuff you might forget, or that one of your hiking companions might forget.

I went hiking with a group and one guy decided to call it quits just a few miles in because he forgot his flashlight and no one else had a spare, and I guess he didn't feel comfortable without one. Well, having a functional but small backup flashlight in your altoids tin would save the day there. Something like a Maglite Solitaire LED flashlight that only uses a single AAA. Have that in your kit with a spare AAA and someone can make do. It won't be the worlds greatest flashlight, but you'll have saved that person's bacon.

So on one hand I think Altoids Tin Survival Kits are a pie in the sky fantasy that will never actually keep you alive because there's just no situation where you'll still have your survival kit but you don't have all your better gear.

But on the other hand, I think having a small kit full of useful and functional equipment as a backup to your main gear can make a ton of sense. I do think these kits are useful.