Emergency equipment is easiest to understand when each item has a clear job. SOL, short for Survive Outdoors Longer, builds its range around functions including shelter, fire and navigation, bringing several parts of a backup kit under one brand.
The range is included in Burton McCall’s outdoor and sports selection. Its line-up spans compact items that can be considered alongside the clothing, food and other equipment already packed for a trip.
From bivvies to signalling tools
SOL’s survival equipment collection includes emergency blankets, bivvies, whistles, compasses and signalling mirrors. The choice allows a shopper to look at separate functions rather than assume that one product addresses every contingency.
The brand’s Escape Bivvy, for example, uses a reflective fabric described by SOL as breathable and highly water resistant, with an adjustable hood. Those are manufacturer specifications, and the product should be assessed for its intended role and the conditions in which it may be used.
For retailers, distinguishing an emergency shelter from planned overnight equipment keeps the conversation useful. Pack size, construction and intended use are more informative than treating every bivvy as interchangeable.
A closer look at the Mag Striker
The Mag Striker with Tinder Cord combines a magnesium rod and ferrocerium flint with a separate steel tool. That tool serves as a scraper, striker and bottle opener, while the lanyard incorporates a waxed cotton tinder core.
It is a compact example of SOL’s approach to combining related functions. Carrying a tool is only one part of the decision: knowing its operation, keeping it accessible and following the instructions matter too. Fire use also needs to comply with the rules and conditions at the destination.
Across the range, SOL provides a practical way to organise the emergency side of an outdoor equipment selection, with individual products chosen for a specific purpose.
Image: SOL / Burton McCall.
