Finally finished the Altoids, now what to put in the tin

R

Rich_S

Joined
Dec 3, 2005
Messages
1,391
Took me two weeks to finish a tin of mints.

Anyway, I'm thinking:

Razor blade or two
Few stormproof matches and striker
Small ferror rod
Fishing line/hooks/splitshot
Mini compass
Couple of bandaids
Maybe a signal mirror if I can find one small enough

Anything else?
 
The photo shows a bottle of iodine pills, which are no longer in my Becker sheath kit, so disregard. Not shown is a 2x2 and the duct tape that seals the box closed. Oh, and when I refreshed the meds, I added more ibuprofen and benedry, as well as a couple of Imodium AD.

beckerkit003.jpg
 
You can use it to make char cloth too. I do.
 
birthday candles
some form of cordage. (I like shoelaces, although your fishing line might do)
I would remove the mirror (use the inside of the lid)
petroleum cotton balls ( I forget what we decided to call them)
Tape (duct or cloth medical)
Aluminum foil
A few OTC meds

My thoughts on these continue to evolve and change so YMMV.
 
one thing i love to do is cut out a section of match strike from a big matchbox and tape it to the lid.

broken CD/DVD blanks work well for signal mirrors too

i think a snare or two should be included incase u need to live off squirrle and thumper
 
Here's my list:

Whistle (ACR's are flat and pack well)
LED microlight
SAK Classic
Razor blade
firesteel
mini Bic and/or matches
"no blow out" joke birthday candles
Tinder Quick tabs
Esbit fuel tab
mini compass
Small diameter line-- Spectra is best, I use braided nylong seine twine as it's cheap and I own a ton already
Katadyn Micropur tablets-- they are chlorine dioxide rather than iodine. Nice little foil packs too.
One fishing leader with snelled hook and a couple split shot
Snare wire

Signal mirrors are nice, but a tough challenge in an Altoids tin. I have one on order from County Comm to see if it is any thinner. It's surprizing how thick and heavy a mirror can be.

I've experimented with rubber banding a space blanket or a gabage sack to the outside of the tin. I get a little crazy with the sapce limitations of the Altoids tins. The concept is great-- pack as much stuff as you can in a limited space and always have it with you. I somthing like an ammo pouch on your belt has more potential-- I want just about double the space that an Altoids tin has. You could use two I guess.

One member here had some ziplock baby bottle liners for water containers. I've been waiting to end up in a store that carries them. It's a great idea if they work. One of the biggest deficiencies of the Altoids tin approach it there is no backup water carrier. I use a one liter Platypus bladder for backup. They don't weigh much (one ounce), but the lid end is bulky. It's another thing to consider wrapping around the tin and securing with a rubber band.
 
I prefer fireline for PSKs. I find that the extra memory it has holds it's shape better for snare, but braids and powerpro would work as well.
 
I'd add a small LED light. Garrity makes one that you can find in Walmart that is about the size of a stick of gum folded in half. I have one in my Altoids tin and on my key ring.
 
I took a different route. I got the Doug Ritter Adventure Medical kit from Dicks SportingGoods for my birthday. Useful stuff in there, but I added some other stuff, and supplement it with other stuff.

I had made a psk from an altoids and wrapped in nicely with ducttape, but when I was caving in Indiana water still got in and ruined some stuff.

For the fishhooks, I like to place them in a straigt line on a piece of pater, then put a piece of masking tape over them. I then cut the paper to size. Keeps them organized, and when I need a no. 8 fishhook, I simply press it out on the paper side. Learned it from Ron Hood.

Later,
Scottman
 
DaleW said:
I want just about double the space that an Altoids tin has. You could use two I guess.
Click to expand...

Have you considered a Bento box? I've had one for twenty years and it's still holding up great. But it's not as nice as these:

http://tinyurl.com/pog8a

aluboxsmallki3.jpg


Dimensions for the small size: Long 6.75" x 4.6" Wide x 2.25" Deep

Might give you the space you are looking for in an all but indestructable package.
 
For five bucks at Gander Mountain (an outfitter store chain in MI), I picked up a little black, non-stick, steel pot about 6" across and maybe 3" deep. It has a handle that folds up over the lid and fastens it shut securely with a latch. This is going to be my psk container - I think it will fit in a GI canteen cover with room to spare.
 
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