Since I was fourteen years old I’ve carried tools for self defense. Since that time I've also made a study of realistic defense and real street fights to better understand how such encounters occur. With better knowledge of real self defense comes a better understanding of what may be needed after the fact.

Medical attention might be needed after an encounter, but you might first have to make it out of “hostile territory” to get that medical attention. This is called Street Escape & Evasion. With this in mind I have assembled a small kit, which can be carried almost anywhere, that offers some options for personal medical care as well as escape and evasion.

The basic platform for this is a $10 USD “Travel Wallet” from Wal-Mart.  It has an outside zip pocket, an inside money pocket with a zip pocket behind that, a slot for a short pen, a slot for ID, a pocket behind that, and an inner mesh pocket with a zipper. It has a snap buckle fastener on the outside. The "Travel Wallet" is larger than a normal wallet, but fits nicely inside a jacket or vest pocket and isn't too bulky. Another wallet that could be used for this kit is the SpecOps Tactical Holds Everything (T.H.E.) Wallet. It is a different format but  could be used in manner very similar to that shown here.

Inside my "Travel Wallet" I can carry quite a lot of cash and coin, as well as my ID, business cards, and a small writing tool. To these I have added a CRKT K.I.S.S. folder, eight band-aids folded up behind my ID card, two 2”x3” bandages, eight feet of surgical tape, a small sterile stitching kit with surgical thread and needle, a tourniquet, and an AT&T 60-minute phone card. I’ve also replaced the small pen with a carbon fiber spike.

The band-aids go behind my ID, the K.I.S.S. goes in the pocket behind the ID slot, the spike goes in the pen slot next to the ID, and the earplugs and stitching kit go in the outside pocket.

Band-aids, tourniquet, bandages, tape and stitching kit are for emergency personal medical care after an accident or attack. Together they are  just enough to patch yourself up and get out of Dodge, or to help you until you can get back to the larger medical kit in your vehicle.

The phone card provides an option for escape and evasion that is better than carrying loose change for a payphone. The phone can’t eat the card, the card weighs less than change, and you can get a lot more calls out of it.

The K.I.S.S. is not the ultimate choice for a defensive blade, although it is a handy utility knife. Some Velcro and an Emerson La Griffe or Cold Steel Urban Pal would work much better.  You can apply adhesive Velcro to the La Griffe or Pal sheath and sew-on or apply the corresponding Velcro patch to the inside of the pocket where the K.I.S.S. now rides.

The spike is more a novelty than anything else. A short pen would be more useful, and the spike inside the wallet isn’t as easy to access as it would be elsewhere. The spike, however would be another viable last-ditch weapon.  Because it looks like a pen, it has a small element of surprise to it. It’s made from carbon fiber tubing, so it’s really more like a really big hypodermic needle than a spike. A Bic pen cap fits it nicely, so it can be carried discreetly outside the wallet.

Editor's note: Check your local laws! Do not carry
any item that can be considered an illegal weapon.

The Travel Wallet functions as my main wallet, which is why I carry cash and business cards in it.  It brings everything together:  street survival tools and daily necessities.  It fits comfortably inside a jacket pocket or in the cargo pocket on BDU-style pants.  As a unit, the wallet comprises a simple street E&E kit that is handy and easily carried.

The only additions I can think of making to this setup, aside from those already mentioned, would be a small LED light, (such as a Photon Micro-Light) and a Leatherman Micra, which has scissors for tape/gauze and includes other handy tools. However, this is a work in progress, so it's anyone's guess what I’ll find to add to this kit. Of course, this is just my approach.