Survival Tins - Updates

TeeDee

Full Member
Nov 6, 2008
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Exeter
Those are interesting indeed...

here is the ali express lockpicks i got if anyone wants....
£7.06 soon

ive uccessfully used the larger set, havent used the mini card ones yet...

Indeed my concern regarding false economy ( inexpensive ) would be if the items are serviceable for task when needed.

I've had too many bad experiences with poor quality metal work.
 

Minotaur

Native
Apr 27, 2005
1,624
246
Birmingham
Credit card tools are very usefull, the best looking ones ive see are the surival tips one with magnetic backing. but there are loads of differenet options, some have arrowheads and speartips.
Really interested in the concept and some of the ideas posted are really interesting. One of the reasons I fancy making my own is that I would put them in 2oz tins so makes sense to fill the space and increase the size.

Re grappling hook, im not sure yet but they are so very cool.
8m or paracord and thehook fit in to a tiny molle pouch
I agree to the cool factor however I am not sure what I would use them for that I cannot do with a monkey's fist.
 

Minotaur

Native
Apr 27, 2005
1,624
246
Birmingham
But the question is is it worth it to spend 6x the price for a piece of cloth for your head?

Indeed my concern regarding false economy ( inexpensive ) would be if the items are serviceable for task when needed.
I've had too many bad experiences with poor quality metal work.

I keep typing this quote however Adam Savage of Mythbuster fame in his book and on his channel says buy cheap and replace expensive. The point being if the concept works replace it with a quality item.

I am actually going to try and make my own clothing because I want certain things like extra pockets. Also it would be nice to get a pair of trousers that are not 2 inches to long all the time. It is also about the cost differences because sometimes you do not get what you pay for or the brand changes hands so the quality goes (I am looking at you Karrimor).
 

Minotaur

Native
Apr 27, 2005
1,624
246
Birmingham
Thing is though, they're all full of fish hooks, and I will never, ever use a fish hook (I'm allergic to fish, and I'm vegetarian).
I must admit that I do not have fishing kit in any of my kits. I am going to add it back however want to think about what I would actually use ie Long Line or Gill nets seem to be the things to think about.
 

neoaliphant

Settler
Aug 24, 2009
781
244
Somerset
buy cheap and replace expensive

Yep, i agree, the first item is a trial to see whether you really use it and get on with , then upgrade the ones you do...

ive had an esbit stove for 38 years, never needed to upgrade it. find i quite like hexamine, works well with cardboard/wax in tealight cup.
got a cheap alocs alcahol stove, found didnt like alcahol. Trangia stove would be so expensive for what it does. however coleman feather was great .
sometimes a cheap version does just what you need.

highly recommend trangia billy tin as a mini billy...
 
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neoaliphant

Settler
Aug 24, 2009
781
244
Somerset
These look usefull too

Heres the cache belt i got
and the kit that fits isnide

Theres some very upto date mini survival tin gear there
 
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Tengu

Full Member
Jan 10, 2006
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Wiltshire
No, you need the best you can afford.

Those card thingys look interesting but I am not sure they are for me.

nor grappling hooks...I have avoided getting one sooo many times.

Do you think I need a grappling hook?
 
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Woody girl

Full Member
Mar 31, 2018
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Exmoor
I've never needed a grappling hook in my life and I'm wondering how one would fit inside a survival tin??????
If I've needed to get a rope say into a tree, tie to a log, then throw over the branch. Used that all the time when I did tree climbing as part of my woodland reclamation work. No grappling hook needed.
Out of genuine interest,
When have you ever realy needed one enough to justify having one in your kit?
 
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neoaliphant

Settler
Aug 24, 2009
781
244
Somerset
I think that is fair advice but not for an emergency kit.

Depends on budget
for some people if they had a £100 budget
spending £90 on a knife and having not much else wont help
when there is a £12 more that ticks all the boxes

with clients, if I said they ahd to spend £700 to get a smartphone, most wouldnt botehr, but £150 for a motoG8 power, which is an excellent phone, then its a much better option
so its not always worth it to spend a lot more when the item is many times better, as long as its doing its job For example most new smartphones that are less than £60 wouldnt be good for much...
so their is a balance

Cost efficient doesnt always mean the cheapest, but if it means someone will have all the items they need instead of only 1 expensive item because they ran out of budget and in the years taken to save up for otehr items they ahve nothing, if you get good value at the start, then at least you have some kit in the mean time.

In the above example of phpnes, years ago i splashed out on £600 for a samsung note4 and really regreted it as i think could afford to swop for quite a while.

to end the ramble, bushcraft kit isnt neccesarily as important to have bombproof as emergency kit i do agree.
 
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neoaliphant

Settler
Aug 24, 2009
781
244
Somerset
I've never needed a grappling hook in my life and I'm wondering how one would fit inside a survival tin??????
If I've needed to get a rope say into a tree, tie to a log, then throw over the branch. Used that all the time when I did tree climbing as part of my woodland reclamation work. No grappling hook needed.
Out of genuine interest,
When have you ever realy needed one enough to justify having one in your kit?

ive used my varipus ones numerous times
the main reason for me to get is because they are cool

i used one a month or so back doing networking cables in an attic to grab cables the other side of an attic that wasnt boarded out. On the same site, a builder had dropped a tool down the roof in to a gulley thing that couldnt be walked to because roof to unsafe so i was able to pull it back up ( as my kit was in the car at the time)

years ago when doing conservation we used my hook to drag shopping trolleys froma public pond.

for bushcraft use, less usefull
although years ago i slipped down a very steep train embankment and could have really done with one to get back up teh slope which was really steep
i think wolfpack survival has done some videos where he uses them for that
the titaner hook is quite strong...60kg i think it takes
its about the size of shotgun shell as spikes fit inside it.

my otehr ones are much larger.
 

Minotaur

Native
Apr 27, 2005
1,624
246
Birmingham
I think that is fair advice but not for an emergency kit.

No, you need the best you can afford.
I think you are missing the point, it about deciding what you want to buy and what works for you.
Then buy the best you can afford or maybe save longer for something else. Sometimes it about completely rethinking the way you plan to do things.
The problem with an emergency or survival kit is that I have found I need 2 of the item because one lives in the kit and another to actually use and practice with.
 

TeeDee

Full Member
Nov 6, 2008
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Exeter
Y'know, I thought the ethos of bushcraft was to carry less by knowing more......
Is Bushcraft relevant to Survival Tins??

Not wishing to grind an axe but I thought the general consensus was that bushcraft per se didn't really have any hard defintions? Broad church and all that.
 

Toddy

Mod
Mod
Jan 21, 2005
39,133
4,810
S. Lanarkshire
Survival tins ?
Define survival ?
I mean it really matters if I don't have a needle and thread and spare button to stop my skirt falling down....or do I really need a grapnel, or perhaps the knowledge of how to make such from natural materials ?

I think it's a mindset, I really do :)

There's always another way, another something that can be made, used, devised.

I think though that the delight in gadgets is sort of hardwired into humanity. The most creative gadget and tool makers from natural materials appear to be the Inuit.
Necessity is the mother of invention and all that :)

M
 

Bishop

Full Member
Jan 25, 2014
1,720
696
Pencader
True any competent Bushcraft enthusiast could make cordage, thorn fishooks, stone tools, build a debris shelter and get a fire going by friction with locally sourced materials but and it's a big but...

it takes time, both hands and fairly good weather conditions.

So it sort of makes sense to carry some ready made items that never leave your person to skew the odds of survival in ones favour in the event of being irrecoverably separated from a backpack or vehicle. or Toddy's handbag :)
 
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