The Survivalet from Ravenwood Outfitters

In the outdoor gear world, we like things that serve multiple purposes. That allows us to cut pack weight. The Ravenwood Outfitters Survivalet is ridiculously simple in design, yet it has numerous uses. And when it’s not needed, it easily slips into a pack or bag.

While I’m not privy to the behind-the-scenes business schematics, I believe Ravenwood Outfitters is sort of a spin-off from Skin Bender Leather Works. Both of them share workspace with Vehement Knives up in Gladstone, Michigan. There’s a fair amount of crossover between the teams. Of that much, I’m positive.

Another thing I know for certain is that the quality of every single thing that’s produced in that building is off the charts. I own several blades from Vehement Knives, none of which will ever be traded or sold.

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Skin Bender Leather Works does almost all of my custom leather, including sheaths. I have a ditty bag and now this Survivalet from Ravenwood Outfitters. I’ve visited their shop a time or two, and I’ve hung out with several of the people there. Safe to say, I’m pretty well-acquainted with these companies at this point.

Survivalet Unboxing and Specs

The Survivalet arrived in a large ziplock bag, packaged with a patch, sticker, and small card identifying the product and listing uses for it. Flat, it measures 13.0 inches by 11.0 inches. The material is 1000D-coated Cordura nylon. Mine is a cool tiger stripe camo pattern, and they offer a few other options as well. The liner is PU-Coated blaze orange. Even this liner color has more than one purpose, which we’ll get to in a moment.

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At the corners, there are snaps as well as grommets. Snapping the corners up gives you a tray that measures about 8.0 inches by 10.0 inches and roughly 1.75 inches deep. The way it goes together, the blaze orange is on the inside of the tray. My postal scale says the Survivalet weighs 2.7 ounces.

Survivalet Uses

The primary use of the Survivalet is as a portable tray. This allows you a handy place for pocket dumps when you’re in camp. The blaze orange liner makes it easy to see everything, so you can grab what you need in a hurry if needed.

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It’s also great for catching shavings when you’re making tinder from a branch. It’s just deep enough that a light breeze won’t send everything flying away. However, you need to be careful you don’t slice into the fabric, which I accidentally did a couple of times. Oops.

If you’re coming back to camp with wet clothes, either from a visit to the beach or because you got caught in the rain, the Survivalet is a great spot to dump your damp stuff. It’ll even hold water if you need a catch basin. It will not, however, do well as a cooking or boiling vessel. That said, I could see using it for some amount of food prep in camp, such as a spot to place fruits or veggies after they’re peeled, sliced, and such.

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You can run cordage through the grommets as handles and turn the Survivalet into a small firewood carrier. It won’t hold a ton of wood, but it’ll get the job done.

The Survivalet’s blaze orange liner can also be used as a signaling device. The aforementioned grommets at the corners allow you to hang it or attach cordage to it for waving it around.

Packing and Storing the Survivalet

You have a couple of options when it comes to packing the Survivalet. You can leave it completely flat. It’s thin enough that it can slip between just about anything in your pack. However, if you want it smaller for some reason, you can fold it in half and snap it together that way.

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The Survivalet is available from Ravenwood Outfitters for $40.