Survival Tins

[hog]

Guys and Ladies.
Just a question, does anyone here carry a survival kit ? Not a FAK but a genuine SAS style tin with the bits and bobs in that will catch you a rabbit, get a fish, signal a helicopter and patch a cut, perhaps even help you find your way.
I had a spurt of energy and got an old tin to put one together.
I suppose its fun and as they weigh next to nothing is handy for stashing in the pocket for the incident that has you wishing you had anything more than your empty pockets.

 

[Mesquite]

Nope.... Never felt the need to as it's extremely unlikely I'd ever find myself in a situation that I'd need to use one.

If I were to put a kit together it'd be more along the lines of emergency energy rations, foil blanket etc. No need for fishing or trapping kits in this country at all.

 

[Corso]

I used to but to be honest the times I've tried to use the stuff (what if/for fun senarios) I found so many of the items bellow par/too small for cold wet hands to use

I carry multiple odds and ends in my pockets and kit bag now but stick to the thingas i'd actually need in an emergency - no snare wire, wire saws etc.

 

[John Fenna]

I always use to carry one when on exped in forign parts.
I dont bother to carry one so much now but I still include the idea in my teaching.
Sorting out what is good/useful from what is a waste of space is a good exercise.
In my Bushcraft and Survival articles for Adventure Bike Rider magazine I started with a survival tin and then looked at bigger go bags.
The following articles that contained "how to make" sections were than writtenwith the idea that the tools mentioned in the "Survival tins" article were all you had in the way of kit.
A base line to grow from

 

[hog]

The thing is never say never.
The whole point of them is that they dont deteriorate and are inert untill needed.
Who knows with the Podgy dude in North Korea playing war games we may soon find ourselves in a scene from 'The Road' or'Book of Eli' Certainly here on the Island the shops would empty very quickly if a ferry was not to come for a while.:vio:
Just saying.

 

[blacktimberwolf]

They're OK as a gimmick but may give a false sense of security as they wouldn't be much help in a real survival situation in the wilderness. If anyone is in a scenerio in the UK where an improvised snare or fishing line ( which have little chance of working at the best of times) is required to survive, they are doing something seriously wrong & obviosly don't know that they only have to walk in any direction for less than 20 miles & would come to a road & probably pass several houses & numerous people along the way.

I think It might take a little more than a length of nylon & a safety pin to get by in the real wild world though, even with years of experience in huntin' 'n' fishin'.

 

[hog]

Agree to all the posts, just wondered what the sentiments were, perhaps a good thing to pack if one were going to visit one of the 3rd world $h!thole$, you know the type of place your embassy likes you to check in with them before you leave the hotel.

 

[Andy BB]

When the SAS Survival Handbook first came out - decades ago - I made up such a survival tin, and it was nice to have as I was doing a lot of travel worldwide with my job, and better to be safe than sorry etc etc..

However, no point nowadays, as virtually all of its contents would be banned from carry-on luggage!

 

[copper_head]

I do like enjoy the process of putting them together, something quite meditative about trying to fit as many functional items as possible in the smallest space. I suppose this is the same for EDC pouches and bug-out-bags. In reality however I stopped bothering to carry them, if I'm out carrying my bushcraft gear then I've all I need anyway. If I'm hill walking and I ran into trouble then no amount of fishing line, snares or tallow candles are going to help me.

That said I do have a couple of items that live in my FAK (which come with me on hills or woods) which I suppose are a nod back to the old survival tin. Namely a small match safe with matches, a couple of hooks and line and some needles and thread. Then some chlorine tablets, a lighter, a photon light and a whistle. All tucks away in the back of my FAK pouch.

 

[John Fenna]

I do like enjoy the process of putting them together, something quite meditative about trying to fit as many functional items as possible in the smallest space. I suppose this is the same for EDC pouches and bug-out-bags. In reality however I stopped bothering to carry them, if I'm out carrying my bushcraft gear then I've all I need anyway. If I'm hill walking and I ran into trouble then no amount of fishing line, snares or tallow candles are going to help me.

That said I do have a couple of items that live in my FAK (which come with me on hills or woods) which I suppose are a nod back to the old survival tin. Namely a small match safe with matches, a couple of hooks and line and some needles and thread. Then some chlorine tablets, a lighter, a photon light and a whistle. All tucks away in the back of my FAK pouch.

I have used the contents of a Survival tin to repair a mates clothing and rucksack after he took a nasty tumble - the fishing line helped sew up his clothing and the fabric of the pack and snare wire lashed up hir rucksack frame.
Apert from grazes and bruises he was OK but the damage to his gear could have made us very late getting off the hill (or forced an overnight we had not planned for) so I rekon the tin proved worth carrying on that day...
The use of items for jobs they were not initially designed for shows that the tins contents are for more than just their obvious tasks
The mention of the framed rucksack may indicate that this was a LONG time ago - these days we could just pull out a mobile phone and get the Mountain Rescue boys to pick us up....

 

[Corso]

The thing is never say never.
The whole point of them is that they dont deteriorate and are inert untill needed.
Who knows with the Podgy dude in North Korea playing war games we may soon find ourselves in a scene from 'The Road' or'Book of Eli' Certainly here on the Island the shops would empty very quickly if a ferry was not to come for a while.:vio:
Just saying.

And a rusty old baccy tin full of old odds and ends packed away half a dozen years ago will be loads of help.

I'd rather carry a bic lighter, a sak, a torch, and a bottle of water....

 

[Gray]

Only for demonstration purposes really, if I put all my survival kit together, it would fill a small rucksack lol.....but for what.
if I'm out in remote areas I carry a brew kit, chocolate, foil blanket, small fak,small knife and a sat phone as survival kit.

 

[hog]

And a rusty old baccy tin full of old odds and ends packed away half a dozen years ago will be loads of help.

I'd rather carry a bic lighter, a sak, a torch, and a bottle of water....[/QUOTE

Most of the items will be fine surely, nothing will deteriorate, matches may need a check to see they have not gone soft but other than that all should be fine, would rather have a 6 yr old tin of stuff than nothing, I reckon.

 

[ateallthepies]

I like making them up and am always adjusting my tin. I never carry it in case I need to survive, the situation just doesn't come up 99% of the time, but carry it certain places for the general handiness of the contents.

I have used the contents for repairing a ripped tent, glueing my broken sunglasses back together, given the sugar to a diabetic feeling hypo, repairing a stubbed toe, splinter removal, buying stuff with the included money, painkilling quite often, immodium for the runs-me and others etc...!

I know I can pick up that tin and a good deal of situations can be sorted without scrabbling around getting kit together from all over the place.

Steve.

 

[Swallow]

And a rusty old baccy tin full of old odds and ends packed away half a dozen years ago will be loads of help.

I'd rather carry a bic lighter, a sak, a torch, and a bottle of water....

Apart from the bottle of water and (depending on it's size) the torch, all those fit in a tin?

Also I am surprised no-one has mentioned the whistle which IS of use in the UK. There was a thread on here about whistles and someone mentioned going for a walk in the woods and to their surprise hearing a whistle and finding a guy who had done his ankle or something and could not move.

If you are carrying a good portion of the gear or similar gear in your pockets I.e. pockets phone, whistle, lighter etc. then there's not much read difference.

As it happens I've just finished reading 98.6 degrees which is on this very subject. His kit was not a tin but most of it fitted in a eyeglasses container.

 

[presterjohn]

They are great fun to make and an interesting intellectual exercise in a zen kind of way. If I was the kind of person that went on lots of overseas trips in out of the way places then I would carry one. In this country you just need a first aid kit and something to help prevent exposure type problems. Accidents and the cold are pretty much the only thing that kills backpackers and walkers in this country.

 

[MikeLA]

I still carry one in a stuff sack along with other items already mentioned. After all most of the items are first aid and the sew kit inside does come in handy. All in one area so does no harm to carry and not that heavy so been in the sack for many years now. With regular checks to replace items

 

[jacko1066]

I must admit I have bought a bcb tin in the past, when I first bought into all this survival and bushcraft stuff lofty spoke to me through his survival book and I HAD to get 1 and improve it lol.

What would be brilliant (if its not already been done of course) would be to do a challenge thread on here, maybe a weekend with nothing but what you can fit in a survival tin.
Could be great fun!!

Atb
Steve

 

[Minotaur]

No, not any more I went to the Ray idea of a possible bag because I was always finding I had used or it was out of date the stuff in the tin.

 

[maddave]

I spend time in some inhospitable places from the desert to the arctic and I like to have a small pouch on my person with some essentials in. Not a survival tin per se but more a survival possibles pouch.... It's a nice idea that you'll always have your pack on you but a small accident or stumble could see yourself or your pack separated permanently, also stuff breaks or is occasionally lost... I'd rather have a second option than none at all.