i was putting together a survival kit for hiking. i've done this a couple of times before but for some reason i'm never satisfied because i say it's too heavy. my first kit had a small pocket knife, strike anywhere matches in a film canister, flint, two glow sticks, a cd (signal mirror), space blanket, and i kind of worked up from there. i'm trying to keep things as light as possible. i found out that pocket knife accounted for more than half the weight. so i'm looking for an alternative. i thought of getting one of those already put together survival kits. but that seemed way too commercial. but that SAS survival tin looked small and light, something that would be perfect. anyone have suggestions?

gauze or some kind of bandages
bulky i know but u never know when u may need them

needle and thread

water purifying tablets

clear plastic sheet for gathering water (like the SAS are trained to do).

needle and thread...now i haven't thought of that one. what exactly could i use that for?

To fix your clothes in case they fall apart, comes in handy.

To pick out splinters, parasites, and stuff from you skin with the needle.

You can make a compass out of the needle if you know how.

In extreme cases to sew up wounds, you saw "Rambo: First Blood" right.

Yeah, needle and string can come in handy.
Especially that needle as a backup compass. On that note, it'd be smart to stick in a little bit of a magnet as well. Not a big chunk. Just a little bit.

a sattelite phone...

Jarasic park returns...

Clear zip plastic bags

Paracord comes in handy too, and ducttape too. Find something flat and wrap some duct tape around it for copmpactness.

a small bottle of Betadine, or some other antiseptic