Survival Mess Kit

This was my main survival kit that I used for a few years. I went with this partly because it could hold more than some of the small and medium kits I have, and also because it was actually realistic to boil water or melt snow in this.

Tatonka tins. Morph between oval and rectangular. Meant as a mess tin. They don’t make it any more, but just for fits and shiggles, the info I have for it is Stainless Steel Box "M", Art. No. 4006. 14½ x 10½ x 5½ cm, weight is 340 g and the volume is 350 ml. Handle that folds over the top, and then latches down. Latch and handle spot welded on. I’ve wondered if those spot welds might not be the weak point on it, but so far they have survived just fine. Nothing to complain about after using it for 15 years.

For anyone interested in something similar, there are two options I can think of. They are aluminum though, not steel, and do not possess a handle. But the size appears to be about the same.
http://www.survivalaids.com/order1.php?pg=1183&mc=1
http://www.sigg.com/ch-shop/en/accessories.html

I spray painted the outside with high heat manifold paint. Too shiny for this uber stealthy ninja.

I didn’t bother putting a mirror in this kit because the underside of the lid is shiny enough.

The lid has a rubber (might be something else, can’t really tell you for certain exactly what the compound is) gasket, that I would say with almost certainty needs to be procured from the company itself if it needed to be replaced. It’s reminiscent of the gasket on a mason jar or on one of those glass flip top jars. But that’s where the similarity ends. Its unique shape makes it almost certainly a proprietary thing. I’ve in all honesty never needed a replacement, but I guess if they’ve stopped making them, I’m probably screwed. The thing that is kind of annoying about those gaskets is that they are loose in the groove for it. When you put it in you can pretty much get it to fit perfectly, but it’ll never stay put for that long. I suspect the reason for it is so that if you do any cooking with it, you can take it out, so the heat doesn’t damage it. I’ve thought of some sort of silicone caulking, but I’m just afraid of totally mucking it up.

I’ve largely given up on matches. Mainly because they are a very finite source of fire-lighting. I have them in here, but one of those things that should really be replaced by some more water purification tablets or a lighter.

Pair of nitrile gloves. Besides their use for administering first aid, they can also be filled with water, a hole poked in a finger and used to irrigate wounds, they can also serve as a vapor barrier. Under a pair of gloves they help keep your hands just a little warmer. Or if you have no gloves, these are better than nothing.

Unknown length of fishing line on a bobbin.

2 Breast Milk Storage Bags. (water storage, tinder storage, collecting food stuffs, transpiration bag, etc.)   

Fresnel Lens Magnifier. (fire lighting in day light hours, aid in removing splinters, aid in reading instruction sheet)

Bic lighter with a zip tie under the plunger to prevent the butane leaking out and a piece of cord taped on to tie a lanyard to.

1 #11 Scalpel Blade. (rudimentary back up blade)

Rolled up trash bag. Good for gathering leaves for constructing a debris shelter, keeping stuff dry, sitting on, a rudimentary rain poncho, a roof on a shelter, gathering water, etc. Very versatile bit of kit.

4 MicroPur MP-1 Water Purification Tablets

Fox-40 Micro whistle. (Signalling)

Vaseline soaked cotton balls in straws, the ends sealed with wax.

Length of hacksaw blade. (striker for flint, cutting)

15 meters (50 ft.) nylon cord. (shelter building, repairs, traps, fishing, etc., etc.)

5 Meters of 96 lb. Test Nylon Cord. (shelter building, repairs, traps, fishing, etc., etc.)

Suunto Comet Compass/Thermometer. (No longer offered.)

WetFire, pre-crumbled.

3 meters (10 ft.) of #18 68 kg (150 lb) test braided nylon cord.(shelter building, repairs, traps, fishing, etc., etc.)

5µ Silicon Carbide on a mylar backing (micro-abrasive for sharpening)

Folded up baking pan. (cooking, boiling water, melting snow)

Two pieces of Rite in the Rain Paper. (for leaving notes for rescuers, as a memory aid)

1 sq meter of aluminum foil. (cooking, insulation, signalling, waterproofing)

(Autocross, Tech3, and Compact Ballpoint Pen Refill). About the smallest pen refill out there.

Piercing needle. Lancing a blister maybe. Not really a necessary item, but I had one, it takes up no room really and weighs next to nothing. What the heck, throw it in there. Could find some use for it if the situation was truly that desperate.

And everything put back in.

EDC Survival Tin

I’ve been putting together kits like this for a long time. I think the first one when I was about 11. Partly because they are just fun to do, and partly of course the idea is that they serve a practical function. While I have some pretty well thought out gear with me whenever I head off into the woods, I like having some sort of a backup. In case I lose something, I’ll have a spare. I have a proper compass, but what if I lose it? I have a proper knife, but what if I lose it? That sort of thing.

This tin is the one I always carry around in my day to day, life in the city pack. While some would argue that the likelihood I would ever need it in an urban setting is slim to nil (and they’re probably correct), I still feel good knowing I have it. I guess it’s sort of an attitude and mindset thing. While the likelihood of a calamity befalling me in a city is a fraction the chance as on a remote canoe trip, having this is just cheap and light insurance. Better to have and not need, then need and not have. I’ve had instances where I wander through a pretty sizable forested area on the way home, or jumped in a car with a friend after work and head off to a remote area to take pictures. For what it weighs and how much room it takes up, it really doesn’t hurt to have it.

And besides which, there is lots of stuff in here that is just handy to have for repairs and things of that sort. On more than one occasion something in here has saved the day. A spare lighter. Wandering around in the PATH system beneath Toronto the compass can help with direction finding. Safety pin to temporarily mend a torn garment. That sort of thing. It doesn’t even have to be a dramatic life and death situation. There are things in here that will assist with mundane day to day stuff too. If the lasses don’t think you’re handsome, at least they’ll think you’re handy.

I got the grooviest tin I could possibly find. I am a mycophile, so why not. And given the choice between this and Che Guevara, I’ll take this in a heartbeat.

Survival Kit Contents

1. 1 sq m of Aluminum Foil (cooking, insulation, signalling, waterproofing)
2. 2 pieces of Rite in the Rain Paper (for leaving notes for rescuers, as a memory aid)
3. Mirror (signalling)
4. Hacksaw Blade (striker for flint, cutting)
5. Pen (Autocross, Tech3, and Compact Ballpoint Pen Refill) wrapped in ? m of 2.5cm Duct Tape and ? m of 2.5cm TransPor Tape
6. 3 m x 5 cm Duct Tape (repairs, first aid, can be formed into rope)
7. Flint (fire starting)
8. 5µ Silicon Carbide on a mylar backing (micro-abrasive for sharpening)
9. Sparklite (waterproof firestarter that can be used one handed)
10. Bic Mini Lighter (small zip tie placed under plunger to prevent inadvertent release of butane.)
11. 2 Nails (repairs, shelter building) wrapped in ? m of Orange Flagging Tape (signalling, trail blazing, site marking)
12. 1 Small Zip Tie (repairs)
13. Vial of Potassium Permanganate (disinfectant, fungicide, fire lighting, water purification)
14. 4 Tinder-Quick
15. 2 Sewing Needles (repairs, splinter removal) wrapped in ? m of Dental Floss (hygiene, expedient repairs)
16. 1 Large Needle (awl, repairs, splinter removal. Large eye for large cord)
17. Whistle (took a hacksaw to a WSR Whistleloc Buckle)
18. 1 StingStop Pad 
19. 1 Benzalkonium Chloride Pad (disinfecting wounds)
20. 1 Povidone-Iodine Pad (wound cleansing, purifying water)
21. 12 Snap Swivels
22. ?m of SpiderWire
23. 1 #11 Scalpel Blade (rudimentary back up blade)
24. 5 Meters of 96 lb. Test Nylon Cord (shelter building, repairs, traps, fishing, etc., etc.)
25. 1 #22 Scalpel Blade (rudimentary back up blade)
26. 18 lead sinkers
27. 3 extra small fishing hooks, 3 small fishing hooks, 3 medium fishing hooks
28. 8 MicroPur MP-1 Water Purification Tablets
29. 2 Breast Milk Storage Bags (water storage, tinder storage, collecting food stuffs, transpiration bag, etc.)   
30. 3 Aspirin
31. 1 Compass
32. 1 Imodium
33. Safety Pins (repairs, securing items to prevent loss, fashioning a sling, fish hooks)
34. Fresnel Lens Magnifier (fire lighting in day light hours, aid in removing splinters, aid in reading instruction sheet)
35. Phone Card

One thing that I added to it since this photo was taken was about a meter and a half of fine gauge stainless steel wire. While ostensibly it’s included in kits like this for snaring, my main purpose for it is repairs. I also realize now that more Micro-Pur tablets are really, really valuable.

Part of the fun of these is the puzzle aspect involved in getting it all to fit inside the tin.

Paper goes in first.

Then the foil.

Then the mirror. (The blue is a protective film over the mirror to prevent marring of the surface.)

Then the micro-abrasive sheet, the phone card and the duct tape. (It’s on a long length of wax paper and folded.)

The large needle and the hack saw blade come next.

Fresnel lens after that.

The scalpel blade and the breast milk storage bags go on top of that.

The zip tie and the flint go in next to the bags.

The cord goes on top of that.

The topical wipes go in next.

Then the lighter, SparkLite and the pen with the duct tape and TransPor go in.

The needles wrapped in dental floss and the nails wrapped in flagging tape come next.

Almost there. Safety pins, whistle, Imodium, fish hooks, Potassium Permanganate vial, and bobbin of fishing line.

The sinkers and the swivels, aspirin, TinderQuick and the Micro-Pur tabs finish it off.

I’ll fill any nooks and crannies with dryer lint to stop any rattling and also because it’s a really good fire starter.