“Always have an escape plan” Desmond Llewelyn as Q, The World Is Not Enough (1999).
Kidnapping for ransom and extortion, hijacking, piracy and terrorism are now a worldwide phenomenon. If you work or travel in potentially hostile environments, escape and evasion planning should become part of your routine. Escaping from captivity will require a combination of tools, techniques and skill.
ESEE® Knives Izula® Gear Wallet E&E Kit is a compact escape and evasion kit designed by Randall‘s Adventure & Training® in conjunction with personnel working on overseas missions. Izula Gear gets its name from the tough, agile ant found in the lowland rain forests from Nicaragua and eastern Honduras south to Paraguay. Known by the Peruvian locals as the “isula ant” it’s also commonly referred to as the “bullet ant” since its sting is said to be as painful as a bullet.
The Wallet E&E Kit isn’t designed to replace a traditional survival kit though it does include tools for survival. The Wallet E&E Kit is designed as a purpose driven “last ditch” E&E kit. It’s built with time tested tools to help the user escape and evade hostile forces.
The Wallet E&E Kit is designed to be small enough and light enough to be easily carried on the person at all times. The complete kit measures only 4 1/4″ x 2 3/4″ (10.79cm x 6.98cm). Total weight is approximately 4 oz. (113gm).
The Wallet E8E Kit features a heavy-denier black CORDURA® nylon tri-fold wallet style container that bears the Izula Gear ant logo. The edges of the wallet are reinforced with nylon binding tape and the corners are thermally sealed to prevent fraying. The wallet can be carried as a standard wallet, worn on a belt with its integral belt loop or secured to gear via integral grommets. The wallet is secured closed by a hook & loop. Unfolded, the wallet exposes a variety of well thought out tools
All of the items in the kit were chosen by Randall’s Adventure Training for their ability to be easily hidden on the person and remain undetected should the need to escape a desperate situation arise . The wallet-style container is only designed to hold the kit when it is not needed. E&E tools should always be properly layered / hidden on the body to lessen the likelihood of detection.
Small tools, such as those included in the Wallet E&E Kit, are easily concealed by taping them to various places on the body or clothing. Surgical tape is excellent for this. They can also be concealed under hook & loop uniform patches. There are numerous other possibilities, limited only by the imagination..
There are a couple of caveats. Concealing E&E tools in or under items of value is generally a poor idea, as these items will likely be taken by captors. Hats should also be avoided for concealment, as they can easily be lost in a scuffle.
A ferrocerium fire starting rod is attached to one of the grommets on the wallet by a split ring. Although an important tool to have, it needs to be emphasized that a fire should only be built in an E&E scenario when it is absolutely necessary for survival. Any fire should be kept small and built under canopy to dissipate the smoke.The center of the wallet contains two small pockets. One pocket contain a 20mm air filled compass with a rotating dial marked with a10 degree divisions. Although slower than a liquid-dampened compass, it is more sensitive, floats, and has no fluid to leak or form bubbles that can affect accuracy. The other center pocket contains a heavy-mil Ziploc® bag with a non-magnetic Ceramic razor blade with lashing holes, two tiny rare earth cylindrical magnets with a red-painted end that points north when hung from a string for gross direction compass and a tiny non-metallic handcuff key.
There are two additional pockets on the left side of the wallet. The bottom pocket contains 25 feet of twisted 3-strand Kevlar cord. The Kevlar cord can be employed as cutting tool to cut though Flexible restraints, rope and other bindings, as well as for lashing and snares. The top pocket contains an ESEE AH-1 Arrowhead and a Ziploc bag with four fish hooks in assorted sizes.
The ESEE AH-1 Arrowhead deserves special mention. Also available separately, it is a versatile cutting tool that can be lashed to a stick for use as knife or spear in a survival scenario. The AH-1 Arrowhead measures 2 ½” (6.35 cm) overall and features 1095 carbon steel construction with a black powder coat finish, dual razor-sharp cutting edges and a lashing hole.
A mesh pocket on the right side of the wallet contains six plastic business card sized cards printed on both sides with survival tips, a FLOSSCARD® with 12 yards (11m) of waxed dental floss inside for sewing, lashing, fishing, snares, use with the cylindrical magnets as compass and dental hygiene, with E&E tips printed on the backside. Also included is a similarly sized signal mirror with instruction on how to use it and the polished side protected by a peel-off membrane.
The mesh pocket also contains a clear plastic survival / navigation card with map scales, a printed compass bezel that can be used to enhance the accuracy of the cylindrical magnet compasses and the six most used international ground to air signals. The compass bezel and ground to air signals are also printed on the back of the signal mirror.
The E&E / survival instruction cards included in the Wallet E&E kit are excellent instructional tools and great reminders. They cover the basics, but the time to learn E&E techniques is not when you actually need them.
ESEE also makes an optional add-on E&E Tool Kit for the Wallet E&E Kit. The add-on E&E Tool Kit consists of a zipper pull with hidden handcuff key attached by coated Kevlar cord, micro escape tool that can be hidden on the body and used to saw through cordage, tape or flex ties (as well as shim single-locked handcuffs), a handcuff shim, and a BIC®-style pen cap with a handcuff key molded into the retention tab. All of the items come packaged in a plastic tube and easily fit into the Wallet E&E Kit container. All are very useful additions to any E&E kit.
Although handcuff keys and handcuff shims are important components of any E&E kit, in most instances handcuffs will not be employed in unlawful detentions. You will likely be tied or bound with dime store packing tape or duct tape. You need the capability to be able to cut or break ties.
Although also valuable components to have in an E&E kit, lock picks and padlock shims / bypass tools (such as the excellent Bogota Titan lock picks and Quick Sticks padlock shims and EZ Decoders combination padlock bypass tools from SEREPICK). weren’t included in the Wallet E&E Kit due to the legal restrictions in some localities. Also, lock picking is a skill that requires training and practice. The ESSE Wallet E&E Kit is designed to be used by someone with minimal training.
The ESEE Wallet E&E Kit has a MSRP of $98.49. The add- on E&E Tools has a MSRP of $33.00. They may be purchased on the ESSE website,
The SEREPICK Bogata Titan lockock set has a MSRP of $35.00. MSRP for 2-packs of QuickSticks and for 2-packs of EZ Decorders is $10. They may be purchased on the SEREPICK website.
Sources
ESEE Knives / Randall’s Adventure & Training
www.eseeknives.com
SEREPICK
www.serepick.com
Material Disclosure
I received this product as a courtesy from the manufacturer so I could test it and give my honest feedback. I am not bound by any written, verbal or implied contract to give this product a good review. All opinions are my own and are based off my personal experience with the product.
*The views and opinions expressed on this website are solely those of the original authors and contributors. These views and opinions do not necessarily represent those of Spotter Up Magazine, the administrative staff, and/or any/all contributors to this site.