Show us your Trangia small messtin emergency kit

[tombear]

I've just picked up a Trangia small messtin to make up a basic emergency kit to be carried in a drop belt pouch or pocket rather than in a pack.

What I want is shelter ( got a Sol emergency bivy so thats covered) the capacity to make 3 hot high energy drinks and a days worth of my personal meds which I'd fall apart without and means of signalling.

The bivy is high viz orange and has a attached whistle which covers some of the signalling. Some sort of torch or strobe will cover night signalling and I'll aquire some of that highly reflective silver tape, I forget the proper name for it, to put on the inside of the lid for day signalling. I tried polishing Ally as a kid, it can be done but it dulled over pretty quickly.

A zip lock and Puritabs will cover water carrying and purification and a pack of issue storm matches fire lighting. I'm mostly in need of ideas about emergency stoves and high energy drinks. Currently I'm thinking along the lines of a Esbit emergency stove and three cubes of fuel, the fold flat sort. I believe there's a British company that makes something similar which comes with a jell fuel which has a long shelf life. I have tried the small BCB stove that holds 3 jell blocks but it takes up far too much space. As to the drinks so far my best idea is 3 hot chocolate sachets and as many sugar packets as I can wedge in.


It would really help me to see what others have in their kits. I'm concerned with surviving 24 hours rather than long term so I don't need things like fishing kits, cordage or cutting tools. I already have a personal first aid kit so that aspect is covered.

ATB

Tom

 

[billycoen]

I use a alcohol stove made from a small round tin,fill it with either fire rope or carbon felt,weighs nowt.For drinks i use those Bolero sachets,tasty and sugary for a bit of energy.Fire dragon do fuel tabs and bottles of gel,good for hand cleanser too.

 

[Deleted member 56522]

I found most items in a supposed "first aid" kit are useless. I especially hated something I bought at Ikea ... it was full of lots of bandages, all sealed with very poor drawings. I knew if I ever used it for an actual emergency, I'd be tearing up packets at random trying to find out what they are and get the "right one" and it'd be in some dirty place with no where clean to put them down.

So, I ditched the lot, and now I have one triangular bandage. With only one main bandage, you grab the bandage and find a way to put it on ... and ideally buy another so you can practice. And, if you want a more advanced kit, put in two, more advanced? Put in three. Need an absorbent pad ... use a triangular bandage. Need to tie the absorbent pad down ... use a triangular bandage. Need to support and arm, leg ... use a triangular bandage. So any emergency ... just grab the pack and take out the triangular bandage.

So I eventually settled on the following (for Scottish hills):
1. A bivvy bag/space blanket
2. A triangular bandage (only ever needed it as a sun hat)
3. Some blister bandages
4. Steri strips
5. A bit of gaffa tape (can be used as another bandage or to repair kit)
6. A small torch (before phones)
7. A small knife
8. An aspirin tablet (for heart problems)
9. Piritin (for allergies)

It ends up being the size of a wallet

 

[Wildgoose]

Three 6 inch nails will hold a pot at a push. Add a few fuel tablets of your choice and you are cooking with erm, fuel tablets…

I’m pretty sure someone on here used to suggest a drink made with melted chocolate covered Kendal mint cake? Might be worth a look

 

[Jared]

Which small BCB kit, the usual one with the large fuel gel blocks? Or BCB Ration Heating Kit?

Ration Heating Kit

The heating kits are designed to be used with and go inside Military and Humanitarian Aid ration packs The compact ration kits include BCB’s FireDragon eco-friendy and non-toxic fuel. The 7g fuel caps

www.bcbin.com

 

[British Red]

I've just picked up a Trangia small messtin to make up a basic emergency kit to be carried in a drop belt pouch or pocket rather than in a pack.

What I want is shelter ( got a Sol emergency bivy so thats covered) the capacity to make 3 hot high energy drinks and a days worth of my personal meds which I'd fall apart without and means of signalling.

The bivy is high viz orange and has a attached whistle which covers some of the signalling. Some sort of torch or strobe will cover night signalling and I'll aquire some of that highly reflective silver tape, I forget the proper name for it, to put on the inside of the lid for day signalling. I tried polishing Ally as a kid, it can be done but it dulled over pretty quickly.

A zip lock and Puritabs will cover water carrying and purification and a pack of issue storm matches fire lighting. I'm mostly in need of ideas about emergency stoves and high energy drinks. Currently I'm thinking along the lines of a Esbit emergency stove and three cubes of fuel, the fold flat sort. I believe there's a British company that makes something similar which comes with a jell fuel which has a long shelf life. I have tried the small BCB stove that holds 3 jell blocks but it takes up far too much space. As to the drinks so far my best idea is 3 hot chocolate sachets and as many sugar packets as I can wedge in.


It would really help me to see what others have in their kits. I'm concerned with surviving 24 hours rather than long term so I don't need things like fishing kits, cordage or cutting tools. I already have a personal first aid kit so that aspect is covered.

ATB

Tom

Tom If you want the old issue hexamine ( with or without a brand new hexy cooker -NOS) just say the word and I'll put one in the post to you. Probably larger than you want stove wise but I've had great luck with them.

 

[Herman30]

Some sort of torch or strobe will cover night signalling

This is what I bought (I chose the green light) for the same purpose: https://orbiloc.com/

 

[tombear]

Cheers for the input folks, lots to consider.

I'd completely forgoten about the BCB ration heater they made for the French. The Esbit flat folding stove and the similar Polymath one are a bit too wide to fit in the bottom of the small trangia, which is about 8.5cm wide inside. Neither design lends itself to having one panel folded up at 90 degrees to fit along the bottom and a side. Anyroad a guy on ebay is selling the BCB rat heater stove on its own 3 for 2.99 and another guys selling the 17g fuel packs cheap so i've put in a chit with herself. I may carry a mix of the foil bottomed fuel packs and the bigger ones (27g?) as ive some doubts about the smaller ones burning long enough to boil half a pint. i'll save the foil bases anyway and reuse them if required.

Cheers for the offer of Hexi Red but I've plenty left, even after I sold off several packs still in their 70s//80s stores packaging on ebay when i got rid of the last of the militaria the end of last year. I've kept some for when bulk/weight isn't a issue, never had a problem with the smell or taste , infact it makes me quite nostalgic!

Yes that's the sort of light I was talking about, I'll have to see if anyone stocks them around here so i can have a play with one.

ATB

Tom

 

[tombear]

Stove and fuel tabs ordered and since herself has some sort of voucher for go outdoors decided to get the new version of the Petzl e lite for the tin.

I've used the old version for several years as my around camp headlamp. I'm in two minds as to removing the part that the head band fits onto so it can be angled and fitting a couple of staples to hold cordage or as a point to bind it too a stick or whatever. I'll see how much space there is in the tin when it's full first

Also got some fresh sachets of instant hot chocolate that I can cut down and reseal to reduce the bulk. The d@mn things are half air!

I'm not overly impressed with the whistle on the SOL bivybag so may cut it off and substitute it with something better.

I may add a button compass as they take up no room. I always carry a back up compass anyway, the one on the K&M match safe that's on a billy cord attached to my trousers but cords can snap i suppose.

Atb

Tom

Ps went for a bright orange Fox 40 over a Acme Tornado 2000 as it was significantly physically smaller and the difference in decibels produced is negligible.

 

[tombear]

Found a suitable pouch to carry it in, a Condor EMT pouch. I'd used it briefly as my first aid pouch before rethinking what and how I wanted to deal with the issue. Now use a small first aid kit for most situations but have a BFO IFAK kit for situations with a higher risk factor such as if I will be using serious cutting gear. But I digress.

Anyroad it's green ,I would have prefared a bright red one for a emergency kit for once, and the tin fits it well. There's about 1/2 and inch freespace end trend and side to side but this works out well as I wanted to pad the tin out a bit anyway. From previous experiance of using a emergency bivy bag I wanted to carry a head covering of some sort, hats do get lost or what's suitable for a day trip in the sun can prove inadequate at night. In the end I decided on a headover/snood as I've always found them very versatile especially an merkalon ( I've had it 30 years so the spelling may be off) one. I could always use the spare space to add some more snacks instead.

The back has molle built in and one thing I need to do is work out how to fit drop loops so it can be worn on a belt and ride below the hip belt of my pack. Any suggestions?

Hopefully I can get herself to a Go Outdoors this weekend so she can use her discount to get a Petzl e lite, she reckons it should be £18 which ain't bad. Then I can make the kit up and seal the lid on with electricians tape. Normally I'd use gaffer's tape but the old school electricians tape seams to give a better air tight seal and leaves less sticky residue on the tins. I can use a section to make a guard on the tin to stop my frying my bottom lip since I'll be drinking straight out of the thing. I also need to print off and laminate a signalling aide memoir with my details on the back, phone numbers, medication etc etc. I don't think I quite need a blood chit, although it can be quite hairy out past Bacup...

ATB

Tom

 

[tombear]

Finished the kit less a couple of straps to drop it below waist/belt level which I can make tomorrow. The tin weighs in at 527 grams and is packed tight so there's no rattle.



The BCB ration stove fits in the bottom perfectly. Half a fuel block will do for each drink and there's 10 grams of sugar to go with each hot chocolate. I was going to pack any gaps with ration boiled sweets but there wasn't much room to spare.

The Petzl e lite I stripped of all the superfluous bits oso it would be a bit less bulky and added a hootchie cord necklace. For the gram counters it now weighs 17 rather than 27. Yeah, in this case it's a bit silly but for say a Altoids tin sized kit it may be worth doing.

Hopefully I'll never need it and i'll only pop the seal to periodically replace the food element.

Incidentally I always carry on billy cords a SAK, a matchsafe and a rugged dumb phone.



AtB

Tom

 

[Herman30]

@tombear Where did you get those ready packed matches?

 

[tombear]

We bought a bunch of cheap ration packs for the boil in the bag meals a few years back and there was a pack in each.

Ebays full of them in various multiples under Ration Pack Windproof Matches. The older stock ones have brown heads rather than pink, not that I've had a problem with the old ones not lighting.

AtB

Tom

 

[Jared]

UCO do sell refills, packaged in 10. But haven't been able to find a source in the UK at least.

Survival Stormproof Matches - 10 pack in bag | UCO Gear

Good things come in small packages, like UCO’s compact Survival Stormproof Matches. Diminutive but dependable, these small fire starters will light in any weather—and will easily relight even after being submerged in water. Whether you’re summiting, sailing or savoring singletrack, pack a few of...

www.ucogear.com

Bought a Life Systems Stormproof matches refill recently, and that was 15 matches and only one striker.

 

[tombear]

Made up a pair of drop straps from my very last 1944 Pattern metal fittings and some thick, 1 inch wide nylon webbing. I could have possibly made them a inch shorter but I erred on the side of caution.



Not pretty but strong.


Atb

Tom