Metallic container for boiling and cooking

S

SkunkWerX

Joined
Jul 27, 2006
Messages
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DocCanada and I were discussing the need for something with which to boil water as part of any survival kit. In the small minimalist kits, this need is no joke, either. the challenge, in the small kits, is, what do you use?

Heavy duty Aluminum foil is probably the least desireable, but better than nothing. It gets high marks on compactability, but lower marks on durability.

So I've been pondering.... for a small kit, what do you take with you that would allow for a little water boiling, possible cooking, but wouldn't succumb to it's first or second exposure to an open fire?

It must be be small and compact.

I came up with the aluminum foil mini-loaf pans.
They can be folded flat, and are much thicker than HD aluminum foil.
I think they would survive the "magical" 72 hours, that we strive for in any kit.
Looks like they will hold 12 ozs. of so of liquid.
http://www.kitchendance.com/oneposialfol.html

Anyone have any other ideas? Keep in mind the small kit size.
I was even thinking about an aluminum container that doubled as the kit container. It would need to be compact, though.

Let's here it? ideas.
 
I agree that this is probably one of the more difficult problems to solve and one that I've been thinking about lately - right now I just use a stainless steel cup that fits over the bottom of a Nalgene bottle but it's neither light or compact and doesn't really fit within the parameters of a small PSK.

So this is the product I've been considering lately - the entire PSK could fit inside and the container, given it's rectangular shape, could also be strapped to the sheath of a chopping blade:

http://www.campsaver.com/product.php?pid=327567p
 
Last Christmas my wife gave my son and I a prepacked survival kit from Eddie Bauer. It was packed into their branded nalgene type bottle. Add a canteen cup and a pouch and you have a reasonable size kit for many uses. Maybe not small enough for body carry but good for any vehicle.

same idea,sorry
 
I just did the cm/inch conversion, roughly, it's 6.5" x 3.5" x 3"
Not bad. thanks akennedy.

I even thought about something like an aluminum "Fuel" bottle, but cut the top off, and use it like a tall cylindrical pot. Store the survival items inside of it.

Still not ultimately what I had in mind. Hmmm... Well at least I am seeing that there are others in the same place.

edit: hey 2 dogs, thanks, my medium kit is much larger, like a ruck, can carry cups, and such.
It's that personal carry size that is presenting the problem.
My only solution for drinking water in that size is the "straw".
 
There is really little call for pots in the field unless you want to make a stew.
To boil water, if all else fails;
1. find an old beer can
2. cut the top out with your SAK can opener.
3. Rinse out
4 fill with water
5. boil

To roast; just cover the critter with a layer of mud and put it into the coals; Or broil using the traditional critter-on-a-stick next to the fire.

I use the GI canteen cup, in the field, to boil water/heat chili etc. but it doesn't fit within the stated constraints.
Enjoy!
 
Bulgron, that is like my medium/day kit.
And by the way, that Maxpedition is very nice!

I've got an old $4.99 surplus gas-mask bag for my medium sized kit.

The difference I see between the "minimalist" kit and Medium kit, is that the Medium Kit is taken along, when you know you will be in the woods, and your intent is to be in the woods.
The minimalist kit is more something that you always have with you, and is the ultimate in back-up or fallback gear.

This is over dramatic, but, your camping equipment gets swept downstream, but you have your small minimalist kit on your belt, always with you. You leave camp to go forage for food, or firewood, your minimalist kit is with you. You want to go check your traps, 1/2 mile into the woods, your minimalist kit is with you....It is a "just in case" kit, but, it also very important as it is your last line of defense.

On a tangent note: A guy I work with is a private pilot, I'm getting ready to work with him on a small lightweight "pilots" survival bag. Should be fun.
 
Not exactly a small kit thing, but I have a quarat Nalgene bottle with a nesting cup and over the cup I have a stove made from a 1# coffee can. I use an alcohol stove (from Swedish mess kit) and have found it works really well.
Bob
 
I would think even if your gear was swept down stream you would have your canteen on a belt on the side. USGI cup fits inside the USGI canteen pouch.

Karsten
 
SkunkWerX said:
Bulgron, that is like my medium/day kit.
And by the way, that Maxpedition is very nice!
Click to expand...

I see. I guess the difference is that if I'm in the woods, my minimalist kit is what you consider the medium/day kit. :) Either I'm more cautious than you, or I'm not as skilled.

I've been building up a minimalist kit, like what people call PSKs around here, around this maxpedition pouch:

http://www.maxpedition.com/product/product_h2.htm

I'm still playing with it, but it's pretty clear that I can't quite get everything in there that I want as part of my "minimalist" gear. In addition to what I can put in the pouch (I put a flashlight in the sheath), I add a small (4") fixed-blade to my belt and in the pocket of my BDUs I put a compass, whistle, and bandana.

What I haven't quite figured out yet is water. I purchased this:

http://www.maxpedition.com/product/product_rollypoly_mini.htm

Which is just a fantastic pouch. It easily holds a 1 liter nalgene bottle. Unfortunately, I can't boil water in a nalgene bottle, so I've been looking for metal alternatives. I've been eyeing these:

http://www.swissknifeshop.com/Products/Drinking-Bottles-1-0-Liter

but the product description talks about an internal coating on the bottles, which are extruded aluminum. That worries me because I don't know what the coating would do if I heated the bottle in a fire. Plus, these have a small neck, which is okay if all I want to do is heat water against giardia, but not so great for other cooking requirements.

shrug Water, I'm finding, is hard to accomodate in a minimalist PSK, which is why I'm now gravitating towards the maxpedition M-4 waistpack and army-surplus canteens (usually plastic these days) and canteen cups for my "minimal" gear.


SkunkWerX said:
The minimalist kit is more something that you always have with you, and is the ultimate in back-up or fallback gear.
Click to expand...

I've come to the conclusion that without the ability to carry and treat water, all the other gear that I could carry is more-or-less meaningless. I'm just not going to get very far without water, so my minimalist gear for out in the woods must include a good method for water management. Hence the idea of the M-4 waistpack or the mini-rollypolly with some kind of a metal bottle hanging off my belt, always, whenever I'm away from the pavement.

Heck, I don't even like walking around town without the ability to carry water on me. I live in a very hot and dry climate, so water is a big priority for me.
 
SkunkWerX said:
The minimalist kit is more something that you always have with you, and is the ultimate in back-up or fallback gear.
Click to expand...

The minimalist kit "that you always have with you" goes way way back in history. Oetzi the Iceman had his sewn into his belt:

http://www.archaeologiemuseum.it/p2250_uk.html

It's funny, you say:

SkunkWerX said:
This is over dramatic, but, your camping equipment gets swept downstream, but you have your small minimalist kit on your belt, always with you.
Click to expand...

That's probably exactly the scenario Oetzi was considering when he created his PSK sewn into his belt over 5,000 years ago. Sometimes the more things change, the more they stay the same. ;)
 
Don't carry anything to cook in on my belt kit, but if I've got a small pack, I carry an old GI issue (Korean era, IIRC) canteen cup that's stainless steel. Inside it I place a Katydin filter, the small one and it fits either in my bag or an outside pocket depending which bag I carry.
I also just picked up the Swedish military alchohol stove/cookset for a light easily carried longterm storage BOB bag...plus there's enough room in it for a firekit and someother odds'n'ends...
 
Why not a small cup, like
E104.jpg
this?
I`ve read about the use of aluminum foil to boil water in and stuff, but what if you`re really tired, worn out, cold, etc.. And manage to make a small tear in it? You`re pretty much... Yeah.
It would take some considerable amount of time, to boil any significant amount of water with a cup this small, but i suppose you could transfer the then boiled and sterilized water into a canteen or other appropriate vessel, aye?
Just my two cents worth..
 
Thanks guys, all good points.

Here's a link to M40's knife based survival kit.
This give's a little more view of a small, minimalist, or PSK.

http://www.m4040.com/Survival/Survival Kit.htm

edit: my wife came hom from the grocery store with small loaf pans, Heavy aluminum foil type, per my request.
[4] for $1.67
They fold up easy, I now have one in my "minimalist" kit. It appears it can be folded and unfolded a dozen times or so, before stress
makes it start coming apart. Better than nothing, and a good step up from plain old aluminum foil.
Since I have 4 of them i will stress the first one by bending it a lot, and I'll put it on a fire to see how it holds up.
 
Regular traditional stainless version: 4.5 oz. wt., 8 oz. capacity, $3.99
http://www.campmor.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ProductDisplay?productId=13762&memberId=12500226

Large traditional stainless version: 6 oz. wt., 12 oz. capacity, $4.99


Jumbo traditional stainless version: 2 cup capacity, $4.25
http://www.scoutgear.com/cg8556.html

Titanium version: 1.5 oz.weight (Same weight as 5 quarters + 4 dimes + 2 pennies), 11 fl. oz capacity, $15.00
http://store.everestgear.com/327622.html

There isn't much you can't cook with a sierra cup and a small billy pot. I've used one since the '60's, and the Aussies here know what they are.

Codger
 
why not try stainless heat treating foil... it becomes brittle after heat treating but that is near 2000 degrees. It should handle normal fire well I would think
 
It would never work for a minimalist PSK, but I've been eyeing these snowpeak Titanium Trek mugs for a while now:

http://www.rei.com/online/store/Pro...14&parent_category_rn=5760756&vcat=REI_SEARCH

.7 liter capacity (24 oz), weighs 4.25 ounces, comes with a lid, the handles fold flat against the body, $29.95. The thing of it is, I've just about decided to go the US army canteen cup route so I probably won't go this way, but that mug sure is interesting to me.
 
bulgron, I checked into that Maxpedition you posted, that is smaller than i thought.
if it wasn't almost $40 it could definitely serve as a minimalist pack.

When I was at the surplus store, I was trying to stay sub-$10, Survival isn't contingent on how much we spend. But, Maxpedition is certainly great stuff.
 
I probably wouldn't put the cut in half can over the fire to heat liquid, I would heat small stones in the fire then put them in the half can, the water would heat up quickly and the container wouldn't be exposed to direct heat from the fire.
 
SkunkWerX said:
bulgron, I checked into that Maxpedition you posted, that is smaller than i thought.
if it wasn't almost $40 it could definitely serve as a minimalist pack.

When I was at the surplus store, I was trying to stay sub-$10, Survival isn't contingent on how much we spend. But, Maxpedition is certainly great stuff.
Click to expand...

Do you know of a sub-$10 belt pouch that you think will work, especially when you think about carrying or heating water? I suppose you could always go with a US military 1 qt canteen cover, but then it has no additional carrying capacity beyond the canteen itself.

As for myself, I'm all for not spending a lot of money. Trouble is, most of the stuff that I think will work costs rather more than bargain-basement prices. This is one of the reasons why I'm moving so slowly in putting this kit together. I've already made some mistakes, a few of them a little costly. I'm trying to avoid any other such mistakes.

If I want to put together a PSK, sans water and heating options, then I already have all the pouch options that I need. It's carrying and heating the water that's giving me trouble....
 
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