Survival Tins

[dump of the stig]

goatboy love it! that is a proper discerning gentlmans survival kit!
I do still use a tin but wouldn't exactly call it a survival kit, just bits and bobs, sowing kit spare lighter
cotton balls in case I am having real trouble, asprin, Imodium, pencil im dipping in it all the time.

 

[santaman2000]

May one suggest this as a suitable alternative?

http://www.mensgear.net/2013/03/gentlemans-survival-kit.html

We definitely need a "Like" button.

 

[santaman2000]

I think it has been mentioned previously that these tins were in the SAS Survival handbook, which was a part of the instruction manual that John Wiseman wrote for the training of SAS personnel and the tin then became part of a Special forces soldiers personal kit, and would have been made up of kit useful to the soldier carrying it. The book came out after John left the Regiment and after he got permission to do so from those senior to him in the Regiment, the training manual it came from was not originally for civilian use, nor for the ordinary soldier/sailor/airman. I find it quite amusing that many on here seem to criticise the concept without, apparently, understanding the full story behind it. I am sure when I see John in the next few days he will find it amusing as well.

Do you know when that was? I first saw the "concept" of putting a survival kit together in a small tin by reading an article in Boys Life (the Boy Scouts monthly magazine) back in the mid 1960s. There was no mention in the article of the SAS and I really don't remember if they credited anyone in particular (but they weren't always faithful about crediting where the ideas came from back then)

 

[Goatboy]

May one suggest this as a suitable alternative?

http://www.mensgear.net/2013/03/gentlemans-survival-kit.html

I have found that it is missing a small humidor, snuff box and Turkish delight container, but one has to rough it in survival situations and anyway they are neatly ensconced in ones campaign desk.

 

[H2497]

Has anyone actually survived thanks to a survival tin? Would be interested to know of any real stories.

The only time I've used one of the items in anger was in Zanzibar in 2001. I had a sudden and urgent need for one of the water carriers. I still remember the puzzled look on her face as I frantically tried to tear away black gaffer tape that sealed my trusty survival tin.

 

[Tristar777]

Im sure there are thousands of people in the military that can say they survived due to the tin and /or the theory behind it as well as thousands of guides and hunters etc. One big thing that the dissenters of the tin miss it that the whole idea in survival is to be creative. Its not the tin that saves the life but the knowledge of how to use the equipment that you have put to one side in case of emergency.
So it doesn't have to be in a tin or a pouch, it can be spread around your body in your pockets or however you want to carry it.
Its the fact that you have sat down and prepared for the worst and taken responsibility for your own wellbeing.
The mountain climbers have the 10 Essentials that they modify for the trip they are making. Dave Canterbury has his 10Cs that work on a similar principle. The use of the tin and larger pouch is just another way of being prepared! (Scouts).

 

[Tristar777]

Continued from my last post.
Here is a list of my tin and pouch.
Tin.
Mirror
eye hooks needles
Anti septic wipe
Fire steel
compass
pocket knife
safety pins
wire
matches
bic
tampon
Thread
tweezers
bandaids
pencil
paper
Pouch.
Emergency Bivy bag and space blanket
Mess tin
Snap light
Waterbags
brew kit (tea/coffee etc)
Bic
Matches
bullion cubes
Pen torch.
Chocolate bar.
Stove and fuel.
spoon
High vis panel
Boiled sweets
Extra personal meds for me.
On my person I would carry SAK, Mobile phone, Fixed blade knife, Personal Meds and SOS info of medical conditions/allergies etc.
If you go through the list and check off the items that cover the 10 Essentials or the 10 Cs you will find they are all covered.
No one HAS to carry items to help themselves if there is an emergency, the hills, mountains and woods are full of people that don't. Its just I would rather take responsibility for my own life and wellbeing as much as possible befoer I ask someone else form rescue services to risk their lives to get me out!

 

[dump of the stig]

Do you know when that was? I first saw the "concept" of putting a survival kit together in a small tin by reading an article in Boys Life (the Boy Scouts monthly magazine) back in the mid 1960s. There was no mention in the article of the SAS and I really don't remember if they credited anyone in particular (but they weren't always faithful about crediting where the ideas came from back then)

thanks for that, I didn't enjoy the post you are replying too because it implied that I was talking BS
about packing them when I was a little kid. But maybe people saying the awesome lofty wiseman didn't come up with it
just shows a total lake of understanding to the point of being amusing? if I remember correctly I got it from a penguin style
book my dad picked me up from the library or maybe I imagined that too? or maybe its this guy that has the ridiculous lack
of understanding and doesn't in fact know the full story behind it? and frankly if loftys up in heaven hearing this I very much
doubt he would give a toss either way

 

[dump of the stig]

The only time I've used one of the items in anger was in Zanzibar in 2001. I had a sudden and urgent need for one of the water carriers. I still remember the puzzled look on her face as I frantically tried to tear away black gaffer tape that sealed my trusty survival tin.

PMSL! :You_Rock_

 

[Goatboy]

I think Mr Wisemans still alive and Wingstoo has alluded to the fact that he's off to see him. Does it matter where it came from I think "Lofty" just popularised the tins in his manual. Bit like Ray didn't invent eating all the tucker and Bear didn't invent being a pillock - just took it to a new level. okenest:

I will apologise now and be honest and say I'm kidding on the last two. Both have their place and I have huge amounts of respect for one of them.

TTFN
GB.

 

[Elen Sentier]

I think Mr Wisemans still alive and Wingstoo has alluded to the fact that he's off to see him. Does it matter where it came from I think "Lofty" just popularised the tins in his manual. Bit like Ray didn't invent eating all the tucker and Bear didn't invent being a pillock - just took it to a new level. okenest:

I will apologise now and be honest and say I'm kidding on the last two. Both have their place and I have huge amounts of respect for one of them.

TTFN
GB.

Lofty is at the Bushcraft show I think - hope to hear him there. I'm sure Bear has a PhD in pillockry, if not a chair at Oxford ...

 

[dump of the stig]

arrr bear is worth it for the amusement factor, skinning a snake and using the skin too carry
his urine round with him hung round his neck is a personel fave

 

[wingstoo]

Aye, I replied with much the same comment to Santaman, no doubt there have been "survival containers" since containers were invented, whether it be a bag or a barrel it was used to store useful items that could be used when in trouble.

It has become a "popular" item over the past 30 years mainly due to the book that Lofty wrote... Maybe I'll persuade him to give it a mention at the bushcraft show, so make sure you are paying attention

 

[Kernowek Scouser]

With the turn in tone this thread is taking, when you next see Lofty, maybe you should ask him to show you how to pack a survival handbag. I am sure you can figure out how to swing it on your own

Speaking of name dropping, I saw Dean Gaffney in town today, which was rather random. Sadly, Wellard was not with him

 

[dump of the stig]

I liked Lofty a real character! its true tho guys like Lofty don't die, they just go to hell too re-group
now wellard defo popped his clogs, I think pat butcher ran him over!

 

[Tristar777]

With the turn in tone this thread is taking, when you next see Lofty, maybe you should ask him to show you how to pack a survival handbag. I am sure you can figure out how to swing it on your own

Speaking of name dropping, I saw Dean Gaffney in town today, which was rather random. Sadly, Wellard was not with him

Whos that then?

 

[Kernowek Scouser]

I liked Lofty a real character! its true tho guys like Lofty don't die, they just go to hell too re-group
now wellard defo popped his clogs, I think pat butcher ran him over!

Proof it it were needed, that you should never trust a woman with earrings as big as her head.

 

[rik_uk3]

Lofty said that the tin was just a handy way of carrying stuff that should be in a soldiers pockets anyway. I don't see the point of them as such in the UK, you should have essentials like mobile phone, torch, knife and sweets on you anyway so why go packing stuff like snares and fishing lines given that nobody has starved to death in the UK before rescue in many a year. Fill the tin with baccy if you must smoke or some nice sweets (Murry mints are in favour with me just now).

 

[dump of the stig]

I think its safe to say its just a bit of fun, like you have mentioned that's the sort of crap that gose in my tin
nice big chunk of duck tape too which is awesome for everything, just handy bits.
good fun packing when your a kid tho. having it all sealed ready for judgement day is a bit pointless
I like my tin of crap taylor made for each environment, duck tape, sweets, bit of kindling whatever.
accidents by there nature are not foreseeable, I firmly believe your better off knowing how too
strip a car of its wire, water and fuel ect for example than carrying a tin, knowledge weighs nothing .
A good exercise in finding multiple uses for everything and gets you thinking and experimenting,
improvisation plays a major role in keeping your bottom alive in those dire situations I believe.

 

[rik_uk3]

If your in the UK, look at your needs. If your up on the Beacons, Snowdonia, the Munroe's etc your will be wearing kit that should see you through. Fall in a stream/river/lake in these places in cooler/cold conditions then your survival kit will be as much use as trying to make a brew in a chocolate teapot; by the time you light a fire (if indeed you can find tinder and wood) your pretty much stuffed, you need immediate help by using other kit like dry clothes, sleeping bag, bivvy bag etc. In real terms a UK based survival kit, certainly for cold weather would be based on dry bags full of kit and some easy to eat high energy rations for you to use while you wait for help to arrive. The little survival tin may have more viable use in other countries, but I'd add a satellite phone to it.