Altoid Can Survival Kit

[Watcherofthewoods 0]

Here is my altoid can survival kit I made last night.  It is based off of the mini kit/DUSK kit found on www.survival.com

 

Contents-

Altoids Tin

Small Sheet of Paper

Small sheet of tin foil

2 Petrolium Jelly fire starters

1 Hacksaw Blade

1 Ferro Rod

5 Fish Hooks

1 Needle

1 Safety Pin

1 Pencil

1 2x2 gauze pad

3 Bandaids

15 Feet Snare Wire

20 Feet Fishing Line

2 Sinkers

5 Matches

Gauze Tape

1 Packet Antibiotic Ointment

1 Foot Ranger Bad

4 Feet Duck Tape

1 Small Sewing Kit

2 Alchohaul Swabs

10 Ft. Paracord

1 Small Knife

Saw Attachment

Contents

 

Paracord Wrap

Ducktape over paracord and ranger Bands

Side View

Pouch

 

 

 

 

 

[mistwalker 0]

Good work SK, nice kit in a small box, what kind of knife?

[Watcherofthewoods 0]

Well, I have it packed in REALLY tight so I'm not gonna open it.  Its a small folder.  VERY sharp.  Got it for 2 bucks from Thesiens.  Just some crappy little knife.  Thats the one I was sharpening in a hurry, and was being dumb, and slipped and sliced my leg open, 7 stiches there

[Swede 4]

Seven stitches  :scared:  I think this  :blushing:  is a better smiley.  :nono:

[survivordan 0]

I know I should know, but what are ranger bands?

[Watcherofthewoods 0]

Seven stitches  :scared:  I think this   :blushing:  is a better smiley.   :nono:

When I was little I hit my knee on the coffee table and tore it open.  I was like 5.  The doctor was an intern and a dumb @$$ who didn't tell me what he was going to do.  He stabben this needle into the knee of a frightened 5 year old, well, I kicked him and bent the needle.  They eventually got the stiches in, but it wasn't easy for them.  I did NOT want stiches becaus I was just tramatized when I was little because of them.  When I got them this time I almost laughed because it wasn't bad at all.

Knee scar after 10 years

Leg scar, like 4 months

 

My mom wouldn't let me take a picture when I had the scalpel like cut, and I forgot to get a pic with the stiches.

[Watcherofthewoods 0]

I know I should know, but what are ranger bands?

Bicycle Tire Inertube, (Firestarter/Slingshot)

[RovingArcher 0]

Nice kit!  Here's the Altoids kit that I paired up with my Becker BK-7.  The tin rides in the sheaths pouch, along with water purification tablets.  The bottle of purification tablets in the photo have been replaced by Katadyn MP-1 tabets.

 

 

 

I should probably update the photo, as medication and water purification has changed, but other than that, it is accurate as to item, though I have added length to line, since I originally put the kit together.  Any items that need protection from water, or require confinement, are enclosed in small ziploc baggies.

 

1ea - one gallon freezer grade ziploc bag

10ea - Katadyn micropur water purification tablets

90' - 12# spyderwire fishing line

8ea - Ibuprofen tablets

8ea - Benedryl caplets

2ea - Imodium AD

2ea - bandaids

1ea - antimicrobial wipe

2ea - Spark-lite tinder (makes up to 8 fires)

6ea - waterproofed strike anywhere matches

1ea - ink pen cartridge

1ea - sewing needle

2ea - trick birthday candles (won't blow out)

1ea - inexpensive LED light

1ea - BSA Hotspark firestarting tool

1ea - Victorinox SAK

6ea - safety pins

20' - 3# fly leader line

25' - stainless wire

6ea - assorted flies and hooks

4ea - split shot

1ea - paperclip

3' - duct tape wrapped around tin

 

 

 

 

[Askdamice 0]

Well it's time again.... I gonna bust S-kid's chops.... for some reason I tend to pick on poor SK every couple months.... but he knows I luv'm.... anyway, I'm not saying he's wrong. Altoid kits are everywhere and everybody uses them... maybe I'm the odd one out....

 

I have a real caveat with these "everything in a can" survival kits. They just seem too "spread thin" to me... If that makes any sense. Everything is thrown in to them yet I don't think they are substantial enough to be effective. (plus you forgot water procurement )

 

How many of you have actually took one of these things out and spent a weekend with it? I did, once..... not fun! I picked just about the worst fall weekend to do it on too.... Cold rain that lasted 2 days prior to setting out. I would have been better off with a spool of twine, a good sized folder and a firesteel. Fishing gear? not a chance... antibiotic ointment? Do you know how well your body is equiped to stave off infection if you just flush the wound?

 

Infact lets go through the list. Please don't take this as an attack on SK... this could be ANY typical survival tin. I'm the one comin' from left field here. he has made a fine kit by most standards.

 

Altoids Tin - not very effective for water transport/treatment, not water tight. I'd use a deep container like a soup can or canteen cup... and I'd put the contents in a plastic bag... but leave a little air in it... sucking out the air will create a vacuum and actually draw water in.

 

Iodine tablets (added) - good for treating water among other things, I'd bring 'em

 

Small Sheet of Paper - the possibilities of you needing a piece of paper aside from tinder are remote.

 

Small sheet of tin foil - making char, possibly signaling? this stuff will fall apart on you after a couple uses.

 

2 Petrolium Jelly fire starters - yes they are effective.... but I have never used them.... ever. Jute twine, baby.

 

1 Hacksaw Blade - scraper for the ferro? tiniest saw on Earth? get a good folder.

 

1 Ferro Rod - Boo-yah S-kid! love it!

 

5 Fish Hooks - do ya think yer gonna fish for survival? best kept for the pack... on second thought, keep a couple hooks just incase.

 

1 Needle - for repair?  maybe... put it with the hooks. For stitches? you are a bigger man than me, kid.

 

1 Safety Pin - Never hear of that being a "make it or break" it item. Gone

 

1 Pencil - burn it with the paper

 

1 2x2 gauze pad - I'd burn them to... just be-gauze.... bad pun.

 

3 Bandaids - convenient.... buy the fabric "elastoplast type"

 

15 Feet Snare Wire - snare wire is good.... 50lb test spiderwire is also good

 

20 Feet Fishing Line - see spiderwire above

 

2 Sinkers - sink em!

 

5 Matches - 6 -8 take up as much room as a mini bic and are more suseptable to moisture.... use em to burn the pencil and paper!

 

Gauze Tape - see "elastoplast" and twine.

 

1 Packet Antibiotic Ointment - clean your wounds ..... see iodine tablets above.

 

1 Foot Ranger Bad - never ever used one, heard they are good firesarters..... see twine, bic and ferro above.

 

4 Feet Duck Tape - wrap it as a handle for your ferro... good for cuts and blisters.

 

1 Small Sewing Kit - see spider wire and needle.

 

2 Alchohaul Swabs - burn em.

 

10 Ft. Paracord - paracord is my kryptonite.... bring a 500m spool!.... lol.

 

1 Small Knife - make it a good one...... no cheap stuff... sharp and durable can be two completely different animals.

 

 

I'll stop harassing my fellow mod now..... lol

 

In short I believe a kit with fewer, well thought out items in a substantial quantities is the way to go. The overall size might increase a bit, but its worth it IMO.

 

 

 

Don't tell Adi.... or I'll get in trouble fo sho!

Rick

 

 

[Askdamice 0]

The bottle of purification tablets in the photo have been replaced by Katadyn MP-1 tabets.

 

I got those MP1 tablets too... and was all excited.... until I read that they take up to 4hours to work.... I'll take my chances with 20minute iodine tablets and giardia.... lol.

 

 

And those imodium tablets..... you would need up to 8 capsules for it to be effective. And don't take them if you've got a fever. Diarrhea is your body's way of ridding itself of bacteria/viruses, folks jump to imodium too quickly and make matters worse.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[nurkerool 0]

Well it's time again.... I gonna bust S-kid's chops.

 

I agree that the tin kits don't hold much (jeez, you oughta look at my S-kit somewhere here on a thread) but...something is better than nothing.  SK's kit does have the POSSIBILITY of being an everyday carry, whereas my kit goes with me to the woods or when travelling...and not much else.  They usually double as our car kits, with additional car-specific stuff kept in the car all the time.

 

Edit:  I just thought of something too...in an urban situation...you will be able to "liberate" or salvage all kinds of things, but it might be nice to have this little kit with specific items that might not be so easy to find.  Example...cans, bottles, and packaging will be easy to find...but hooks and weights? 

[Askdamice 0]

I agree Nurk...... hooks, needles, blades, wire are difficult to replace in the field... wilderness and urban.

[nurkerool 0]

Funny thing about the safety pin...I remember hearing the old stories where kids would use them as fishing hooks.  My first survival kit had two of them holding the strap to the denim pants leg bag I had sewn up.  That didn't last long, but I've never heard of them used for fishing in probably the last 20 years.  One of the little  censored.gif 's came undone and jabbed me in the leg.  The trick was that because they aren't barbed, you have to keep constant pressure on the fish as you handline it in.

[antagonizer 0]

Funny thing about the safety pin...  The trick was that because they aren't barbed, you have to keep constant pressure on the fish as you handline it in.

 

Not necessarily. I use to use safety pins when fishing for burbot.  Most of the time the fish swollows it, or it sits sprung open in their throat holding tight.  I've had more trouble removing a safety pin than a real hook that simply snares the mouth.

[Watcherofthewoods 0]

This is NOT supposed to be a super efficent survival kit.  This is for EDC.  I can put this in my bag at school, carry it in my pocket, whatever.  It is just for those times when I am not going to carry around my fanny pack kit or somthing else.  I know its not gonna make a HUGE difference, but its better than nothing.

[Weyfarere 0]

I know its not gonna make a HUGE difference, but its better than nothing.

 

Zactly!  :thumbup:

[nurkerool 0]

Worst part is, probably one of the items in there is not allowed for carry in school.  For instance, the wire could be a garrote.  I bet you have to ride a bus too.  In the old days when we walked to school, you coulda cached the kit close to school if something happened.

 

[Watcherofthewoods 0]

I ride to school with my dad in his van.  Really, I could keep it in my pocket without any problems.  I don't think I will though, just in case.  I am going to keep it in the car though so as soon as school is over I can pop it in my pocket.  I am also going to keep my fanny pack in the car too, just in case.

[nurkerool 0]

I'd cache one close to the school within walking distance.

[Watcherofthewoods 0]

Realisticly I could just keep one in either of my parents rooms, as they are both at the same school as me

 

[antagonizer 0]

Sk, Rick put it well when he addressed the fact that most of the things you have in there you won't need.  Think about it this way. Rope you can make, antiseptics you can find, fishing with 'traditional methods' is time comsuming and risky. 

 

First and foremost concentrate on issues that could 'seriously' affect your ability to survive like water purification tablets and antibiotics.  You can go for weeks without food, but drinking bad water will take you down right away. A little polysporin is good too. Nothing slows you down like trenchfoot, and likely you won't have a pair of socks to change into.

 

Now, fishing with a line and hook is almost pointless.  How many times have you gone out for a day with your tackle box and come home with nothing?  You need something that guarantees fish.  That means cheating and using 'non-traditional' (and non legal) methods.  I don't mean you should carry dynamite in your kit, but a few cherry bombs work fine and they're legal.  As a kid we would often use them to stun frogs so we could catch them. It wouldn't hurt them, but they would be out for a few minutes.  Other things like nets, fishing pots, etc. These things are slightly less effective, but will GUARANTEE a meal and are more re-usable than the cherry bombs.  Point is, if you rely on a hook, what happens when you get a snag and lose it?

 

BTW, a little trick I use is that I ALWAYS have a safety pin in my hat.  It started 15 years ago when my hat ripped and I was to lazy to sew it.  After a while I realized that I kept finding uses for it, I.E.  splinters etc. so every time I buy a new hat, I christen it with a new safety pin.  It's a goodluck tradition that's pretty usefull.

[taken by the wind... 0]

~ now that's some wisdom from the heart right there...     8|  (or from the brain.) Either way, that's some common sense in action. Great advice Ant.  :thumbup:

[theking648 0]

I use an Altoids Tin to make char cloth.  :bounce:

[Askdamice 0]

First and foremost concentrate on issues that could 'seriously' affect your ability to survive like water purification tablets and antibiotics.  You can go for weeks without food, but drinking bad water will take you down right away. A little polysporin is good too. Nothing slows you down like trenchfoot, and likely you won't have a pair of socks to change into.

 

 

 

Good stuff Ant,

Couple interesting facts though....

 

-Giardia takes up to 14 days to gestate in the human body and Cryptosporidium take up to 7days.

-Most people get sick in the woods from poor hygiene habits, belive it or not. They are really trying to get that message out there now... since most people are wrongfully diagnosing it as beaver fever.

-Cryptosporidium is ammune to antibiotics.

-An average of 3-4.5% of wilderness travelers/year will get sick from contaminated water. (good odds)

-Even the highest recorded test show only .50 giardia cysts per liter on water. Drinking 89 liters of water with 10 cysts per liter would result in a 50 percent chance of contracting giardiasis, with a high probability that any resulting disease would be asymptomatic.

 

I like to bring Zinc Oxide cream (diaper rash cream)..... great for foot fungus, great deodorant, good for skin rashes, prevent infection, excellent sunblock..... many more uses. Wonderful addition as it can replace many items.

 

Rick

 

 

 

[RovingArcher 0]

Here's my take on the Altoids tin kit.  Used strictly as a just in case you lose everything kit, I think they are excellent.  I have used mine over a weekend and it offers a bit of help, if it's needed and that's really all it's meant to do.  The reason for only two Imodium, is to slow down the runs.  Two worked on me with a harsh flu that I caught.  Fish hooks are good for more than fishing.  They can secure shelter, snag creepy crawlies and birds, hold clothing together and probably lots more that I havn't thought of.

 

Contents-

Altoids Tin - glue a piece of mylar inside of the lid and you've got a mirror or sorts.  Not great, but it works

Small Sheet of Paper - will work for leaving a note, but unless it's write in rain paper, if it gets wet, your note is done for.

Small sheet of tin foil - depending on how much, it's good stuff to have along with you

2 Petrolium Jelly fire starters - I thought about using these, but the tinder quik is less of a mess and makes more fire

1 Hacksaw Blade - How's it work on wood?

1 Ferro Rod

5 Fish Hooks - practice using them for securing lines for a shelter tarp (drum liner, etc)

1 Needle

1 Safety Pin - has a lot of uses like fish hook, clothing repair, secure gear to clothing, used with large bandana makes a dandy sling for a broken arm, etc

1 Pencil - if you don't need to write a note, fire tinder and if longer, maybe used in a pencil snare

1 2x2 gauze pad - besides keeping a cut somewhat clean, will work in a fire

3 Bandaids

15 Feet Snare Wire - Thought about dumping mine for 80# braided line and may still

20 Feet Fishing Line - if your paracord has 7 inner strands, you're good on cordage

2 Sinkers

5 Matches - did you add some wax on heads to help waterproof?

Gauze Tape - I added more duct tape to an item in my pocket

1 Packet Antibiotic Ointment

1 Foot Ranger Bad - Added them to the bottom of the sheath.  Good stuff to have with you

4 Feet Duck Tape - will reinforce tie down points on flimsy tarp material like trash bags/drum liners

1 Small Sewing Kit

2 Alchohaul Swabs - will probably burn them, but if you have serious cut, will disinfect your hands before you work on it

10 Ft. Paracord

1 Small Knife - didn't see the knife

Saw Attachment - I like this idea.