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KIT - Soft Case vs. Hard Case

G

go2ndAmend

Joined
Mar 8, 2008
Messages
636
I'm going to make a couple of dedicated fire kits in the near future and was wondering what others are using. Soft case of leather, nylon, ziplocks etc or a hard case like a pelican or military surplus. I want them big enough to hold a good amount of tinder as well as a lighter, matches and ferro rod. What are all your thoughts?
 
Here's my firestarting kit, of which I consider my hatchet an important asset. I'm a Pelican fan , so thats what I use. The white film can is full of jelly cotton. The sand paper an alternate match striker.

DSCN0117.jpg
 
I like hard cases for dedicated fire kits but I actually prefer metal tins, since this can give you and emergency cook pot.

In a tin you can fit fatwood some tinder straws, a mini bic and a ferro rod, throw in 8 waterproofed matches and a striker and you are good to go. If waterproofing is a concern cut a piece of inner tube to serve as a gasket under the lid, and wrap another around the whole kit. It can also be burned if need be.

Pellican cases are really nice but they are bulky, and What in your fire kit needs that level of waterproofing, if its that sensitive to the elements it probably cant be relied on in the feild. IE non waterproof matches, Non water resistant tinder.
 
I use a lock'n'lock container for my PSK/FAK contents. I also found a little cell phone pocket attached to one of my computer bags that has a nice little snap style belt loop. So I now use that as my user fire-kit and just hang the pocket off the molle webbing on my side. Not all that water proof, but the things sensitve, like the bic lighter can be tucked into a little baggy.

Of course, this kit is probably the most susceptible to getting lost or torn off the bag, but then thats why I have redundancy for the items in my PSK.

One thing I notice on your kit is that you don't have any thicker stuff to sustain your flame apart from the PJCBs. I put a hunk of fatwood in there or if you have none in your area, one of the coghlan's firesticks. They will burn for 5-10 minutes and can be enough fuel sustain a small fire for warming yourself if you require it.
 
I use an altoids sized tin for my fire kit. Carry a mini bic, jute, fatwood, ferro rod blank w/ hacksaw striker, and PJ cotton. 2 ranger bands on outside of tin. Works great!! I also have a K&M Matchsafe loaded up with PJ cotton in my Lunada.
 
I'm not a big fan of hard cases. My kit usually ends up along with everything else in a waterproof liner inside a backpack. I like to pack as light and compactly as possible. A hard case is full of wasted space, useless corners, as well as being much thicker/heavier than a simple bag alternative. I'm not saying there aren't situations where a hard case would be advantageous, I'm just saying they aren't for me.
 
I have a couple of fire kits. I basically use an altoids tin. I also use a soft camera case attached to my belt for a psk which includes a fire kit of a ferro rod, mini bic, char cloth and fat wood.
 
Okay, I'll probably tweak some noses here, especially after several people I respect have already posted their preference for these cases. I mean no disrespect.

Exactly what items in your fire kit require it to be crushproof and waterproof? Will choosing a rigid container increase the liklihood that the kit will be left behind on "fast & light" dayhikes and such? I think these cases are more appropriately suited for delicate electronics. If your fire kit components are so delicate and vulnerable to the elements, perhaps they aren't the best choices for the field.

I don't carry a dedicated fire kit, but prefer a small nylon pouch that I don't overfill for my PSK. I appreciate the bombproof nature of a lot of rigid containers, and seem to have an obsessive urge to collect them, but I generally can't justify the added weight and rigidity.

Lately I've been really focused on having the "essentials" on my person, rather than stuffed in my pack. As such, I've been paring my PSK down. (That doesn't me an that there isn't additional stuff in my pack!) There is no way I want a rigid case in my cargo pocket!

-- FLIX
 
FLIX said:
I don't carry a dedicated fire kit, but prefer a small nylon pouch that I don't overfill for my PSK. I appreciate the bombproof nature of a lot of rigid containers, and seem to have an obsessive urge to collect them, but I generally can't justify the added weight and rigidity.
Click to expand...

Those are good points and really get to the heart at PSK function and use patterns. The whole purpose of an altoids tin is that they are small, compact and let you take the essentials in your pocket so you always have them with you. Whether or not you need to carry a fire kit on your way to work is a debatable but important in some circumstances (e.g. car failure in the winter on your commute).

Do you have all bases covered with a kit in your car, in your pack, in a bug-o-bag next to your front door etc. etc. etc. In my mind, you can't cover all basis with a single kit so that usually necessitates having multiple mission-specialized kits. It also might involve redundancy on your person. For example, you might have an urban altoids tin that gets replaced with a woodsy altoids tin. Or maybe you just always keep the urban on one hand but grab your favorite EDC pack that has a more woodsy specific PSK inside of it.

This is basically my approach. I have a dedicated fire kit that is intended to be used while outdoors. Its in a little nylon pouch that hangs on the outside of my back. I am constantly replacing its contents because I'm always using it. I can easily pop off the kit and stick it in my pocket or on my water bottle holder if I grab that in liu of the pack. At the same time, my pack has a bigger PSK with FAK contents, shelter, water and some fire redundancy. Thats stowed in the Pack, but the lock'n'lock can be easily removed and put into whatever bag I happen to carry. Unfortunately its too big for the pocket.

In the case of my lock'n'lock, I don't view the waterproofness as essential to the item. I like it better than a nylon pouch, which is what I used to use, because I can remove the full cover and access the items a bit easier. This lets me pack in more stuff. In a pouch, over-packing necessitates you remove all the items to access anything you need. Also, the lock'n'lock can serve as a container for water (albeit not for cooking). I think you can find advantages and disadvantages of each. An empty lock'n'lock takes up extra room.
 
Soft case or hard case to me is not the issue, it is... is the case waterproof... there fore I went with pelican 1000 & 2000. Pelican 1000 is my Fire kit only in pocket of my pack. THe 2K is in leather holder on belt with PSK items.
 
FLIX said:
Lately I've been really focused on having the "essentials" on my person, rather than stuffed in my pack. As such, I've been paring my PSK down. (That doesn't me an that there isn't additional stuff in my pack!) There is no way I want a rigid case in my cargo pocket!

-- FLIX
Click to expand...

I have been as well :), the thread "what if your pack got dunked into the river" got me thinking, what if it got dunked in the river and not recovered (or several other scenarios that separate you from your pack)

I'm near completing my pared down "on person" item- some redundancy naturally, but I tried to reduce it somewhat.

I'll post up a new thread on that subject as I think it's worthy for everyone to consider.

Mike
 
I use a combo of hard and soft: tins in aloksaks. Offers rigidity with decent waterproofing if you remember to check your aloksaks for wear and tear and replace when needed. This is my PSK:

IMG_4814.jpg


With the firemaking tin contents:

IMG_4909.jpg

(took out the hacksaw blade, at the time I was comparing it to the new LMF strikers. The new LMF strikers are AWESOME!)

The tins go in my back pockets; they get annoying in cargo pockets.


Things in my pack that need to stay dry are in aloksaks as well. Larger items get dry sacks if needed, but usually I just double bag in ziplocs.
 
FLIX said:
Okay, I'll probably tweak some noses here, especially after several people I respect have already posted their preference for these cases. I mean no disrespect.

Exactly what items in your fire kit require it to be crushproof and waterproof? Will choosing a rigid container increase the liklihood that the kit will be left behind on "fast & light" dayhikes and such? I think these cases are more appropriately suited for delicate electronics. If your fire kit components are so delicate and vulnerable to the elements, perhaps they aren't the best choices for the field.

I don't carry a dedicated fire kit, but prefer a small nylon pouch that I don't overfill for my PSK. I appreciate the bombproof nature of a lot of rigid containers, and seem to have an obsessive urge to collect them, but I generally can't justify the added weight and rigidity.

Lately I've been really focused on having the "essentials" on my person, rather than stuffed in my pack. As such, I've been paring my PSK down. (That doesn't me an that there isn't additional stuff in my pack!) There is no way I want a rigid case in my cargo pocket!

-- FLIX
Click to expand...

:D me nose got tweaked! :D

why do i need waterproof? well, there's an old saying from the civil war: "keep yer powder dry men"! I live in one of the wettest areas of Canada, its not uncommon to have pack or pocket contents soaked from rain or river crossings. Having it in a Pelican 1010 case guarantees it will stay dry. Especially my esbit tabs (for heating my cuppa tea). Put an esbit tab in water or get it damp and see how useless it becomes very quickly. See how useless PJCB comes when exposed to vancouver rain. see how useless fatwood shavings get when exposed to vancouver rain. see how useless cattail fluff becomes when exposed to vancouver rain......etc etc etc etc. Keep yer tinder dry! keep your matches dry! keep your esbit dry!

as for crushproof, thats just a bonus of the case. I just like bombproof gear. It also floats and will not sink........try sending your leather pouches down a river and see how long they stay on the surface or how well they last or stay dry (if you ever find them again) . My 1010 case will bob around and float ON the surface, and will NOT get impacted or damaged by rapids or contact with boulders - plus the bright yellow color is easy to spot. Does this kind of event happen often? no, but i'm prepared for it if it does. I have tried the Aloksaks but my experience with Aloksaks has NOT been positive. They are great for FAK kits but after several openings and closings they start leaking at the seal. Bend them or fold them and they weaken quickly. Add in firesteels and scrapers and the materal gets compromised quickly. (my experience - YMMV). I prefer a hardcase. I use Peli cases for everything, jobsite tools, truck kit, FAK, tool kit, camp kithcen kit, gear transport, gear storage. Love em. Its also easy to color code things. Hey joe, grab the yellow box, hey joe grab the clear box, hey joe grab the black box...etc etc. Drop your leather or nylon pouch in the woods and try and find it........ a hard case in bright safety yellow or orage or blue stands out like a beacon. The Peli 101 case also fits PERFECTLY in many of my gear bags small pockets, or in my SAS smock radio pocket or in the cargo pocket, i dont even notice it. It can be used as a throw line weight, I can tuck a letter into it and tie it to a tree, guaranteeing it will stay dry for the recieving person to find and read. Many uses.

as for "fast and light", i have a Micro Peli "clone" case the size of a half pack of smokes, slips into a pocket, dont even notice it. I'm also in the process of developing a wearable vest, based on the Delta5 platform with integrated water unit, that will have 4 Pelican 1030 cases Attached to the PALS rails. Hardshell gear. Pop open a case, grab gear, shut case.

again, my experience, ymmv.
 
If you like the Pelican or Otterbox hard cases, check out Knives Ship Free. They have the leather belt holders for them that texastonydobbs spoke of.
 
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