stainless steel canteens

H

hawk3/21

Joined
Aug 6, 2014
Messages
179
I just wanted to share with you guys my latest acquisitions. Two stainless steel canteen kits from the canteen shop/pathfinder school. I had been searching for old WWII ss canteens, but ebay is dicey and it would be such an enormous chore to put the whole kit together piece by piece. Assuming that one or two pieces would have to be bought twice due to age and quality. Stove, cup, canteen, cover and a lid to boot.

I ended up getting one military style, easier to belt carry, and one cylindrical. Both about 40oz's, the cylindrical is good for day to day use, taking it in the car or throwing it in your rucksack. The cover is top notch, not only storing everything like the military system, but offering an additional section on the outside for fuel, matches etc etc. Large enough to be very useful without being too bulky.

The military style carries easier on a belt and water boils faster. The stove is also easier with its larger kidney shape. Still, having all the extras on the cylindrical kit is great backup. They were out of the covers at first, but after a few days with the cylindrical cover I decided to upgrade to a small tactical cover/bag. You can still belt carry, albeit a bit large/bulky or just use the strap and throw it over your shoulder. Nice if you just head out for a small hike/excursion when you dont want to grab you're entire duty belt. I went ahead and ordered a lid for the cup after seeing how great it worked on the other kit. Which, I out over the canteen mouth while boiling water. Not totally necessary for the cup, but it really makes decontamination of the entire canteen much faster.....oh yeah, thats why I went ss.....that and remembering how terrible our water tasted in the GI plastic. They even include a fish mouth spreader, so you can get the canteens out of the fire or suspend them over the fire w/o burning your fingers.

I never thought id spend $60++ on a canteen, but the quality is there and id probably end up with $30++ in shipping alone if I had got it one antique piece at a time. Ill probably get an old gi cover for $6 & hang it on a duty belt. Just to have that option too. Getting both really opens up a lot of options for me. Not only does my gf have her own cup to cook in, but if im alone it goes in my backpack as an extra 40oz of clean water. If im out in the field/bush I can sterilize each 40oz and have a 700ml cup going at the same time. The cylinder is better day to day, for car rides, shopping etc. When its going to stay in the car with no cover. It doesnt look.......military. Also, if I have to ditch one bag, I still have an entire cooking system (sterilization) with me. If im cut off from camp, one falls off a cliff. ..etc etc.

Ok, enough. Im tired and not lucid enough to really do justice to these two fine kits. I always have my flint and striker with me. A nice fielded blade, cotton balls soaked in vaseline. One of these will probably live in my trunk just in case (lol, ky gf's trunk) of course, as fate would have it, I no longer hike the alps. Walk the mountains paths between china and Vietnam. The chances of me needing these is the smallest theyve ever been. Still, its oiece of mind knowing theyre here. Plus I am also not as able to just muscleb through bad situations and need every advantage I can get.

I dont know how many of you ever got the chance to cook with your canteen cup, but if you have then you know the advantages this brings. With the stove, lid and canteen all nestling together in the cover.... you're covered.
 
Now the search for which water purification tabs and fuel is making me crazy. Turns out the trips and we used is carcinogenic. The new stuff/gel is foreign to me, dont know if its repeatable or if you have to use the entire contents. My cotonballs actually takes a spark really easy and butler's long enough to start a fire easily....even with damp wood. So I have to figure out what else should stay with the canteen. A fire steel for each. What else
 
Maybe a few sheets of heavy duty aluminum foil (I fold 3 sheets), about 5-10' of paracord mil-spec. A small 2oz package/tube of baking soda is also helpful to have.
 
Sleeper0311 said:
Just curious, why the baking soda?
Click to expand...

Can be used as an antiseptic, cleansing of wounds or sterilizing needles/knives/utensils, etc..., treating bee/mosquito/hornet/wasp/snake/spider stings/bites, hives, poison oak/ivy, it doesn't spoil, as long as it is kept dry. Only needs a little water, spit, urine, to activate.
 
Last edited:
I've been using a WWII stainless steel canteen for years ! As old as me.
You could go fancy with a titanium canteen $$ ,[removed]
Does anyone use Steripen UV sterilizers ??
 
Last edited by a moderator:
I've been using a WWII stainless steel canteen for years ! As old as me.
You could go fancy with a titanium canteen $$ , [removed]
Does anyone use Steripen UV sterilizers ??
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Remember never put any type of "juice" into a stainless steel container. The citric acid or other acids turn the stainless steel into a type of corrosive battery lol. No acidic juice in metal containers!
 
Thanks, I had forgotten about the acidic juice problem. Had heard about it & poof the years to it back. Ive heard about the alum foil, but why. I can cook fish over the fire (first wife was Puerto Rican). But otherwise????. Paracord, check. Need a new fire steel and a Altair tin to put the cotton balls in. Currently in an old rx bottle. Good forr the rucksack, but a bad shape for this smaller pocket. ...cant believe ive already forgotten the manufacturer of the bag...oilcloth? Just so you can see the shape, size ? I cant believe the firesteels are so much $$. I have an old cheesy fake antler with magnesium & a thin ferro rod. Ugly, but it has never failed me. Need 2 more, one for each bag. Saw some in an aluminum tube, but $28 & no telling the size of the rods, no magnesium. Never needed it so far, with the vaseline/cotton ball = understandable.

So, Neosporin/or generic. Maybe some bandaid or superglue. How about chloride tabs, anyone have a good brand they trust?
 
hawk3/21 said:
Thanks, I had forgotten about the acidic juice problem. Had heard about it & poof the years to it back. Ive heard about the alum foil, but why. I can cook fish over the fire (first wife was Puerto Rican). But otherwise????. Paracord, check. Need a new fire steel and a Altair tin to put the cotton balls in. Currently in an old rx bottle. Good forr the rucksack, but a bad shape for this smaller pocket. ...cant believe ive already forgotten the manufacturer of the bag...oilcloth? Just so you can see the shape, size ? I cant believe the firesteels are so much $$. I have an old cheesy fake antler with magnesium & a thin ferro rod. Ugly, but it has never failed me. Need 2 more, one for each bag. Saw some in an aluminum tube, but $28 & no telling the size of the rods, no magnesium. Never needed it so far, with the vaseline/cotton ball = understandable.

So, Neosporin/or generic. Maybe some bandaid or superglue. How about chloride tabs, anyone have a good brand they trust?
Click to expand...

Neosporin has an expiration date, Baking Soda doesn't. Instead of bandaids, I carry 8 x 8 gauze pads, and porous medical tape, more versatile. Aluminum foil, for cooking without fire (solar stove), emergency signaling, heat deflector, insulator, etc... Superglue is good, but rubber cement is more versatile. I carry a firestarter of magnesium from Doan Machine and Equipment co, inc. Plain old chlorine tabs are good, or a carbon filter to strain water through is good as well, they don't expire either.
 
Pallet wrap has got to be my favorite. Ive never heard of anyone using it but its in my BOB! It can be used for so many things. For fire starter-easiest way is to dig a hole and lay it over the hole then pee in it. gather up the edges and twist away until it stretches smooth and round. Makes a great magnifying glass. You can pack a crapload of it in a very small space. You can also (before you pee into it) wrap food, carry water, make a solar still, catch dew, keep tinder dry. Endless uses. Im supposing you could even purify water in it over fire if your careful not to heat it to fast.
Cul im with ya on the Al foil. Great as well and packs tight. I do like the cerro rods too. They are expensive but last forever. Fire piston is my favorite and bow drill is my next (if you already have cordage). Cordage is a pain to make from scratch fibers and takes hours. Cool thread Hawk! I had several of them aluminum kits but the aluminum got so soft after so many heatings that rendered the handles useless. I did a lot of desert hiking in West Texas summers near Terlingua Big Bend Natl park and you couldnt even use a canteen. It got so hot (120+) you would burn your lips trying to take a drink from it. Some would wrap metal canteens in wool which helped but still was hotter than hades. I used a flax water bag made from natural flax fibers hanging from a shoulder strap. You have to soak it overnight so the fibers would swell up before it would hold water and you had to hang it on a stick tripod so the ground wouldnt wick it dry by morning. The wasps sure like it but it always kept your water cool from the evaporation. Good times! Ready to do it again!
 
ndoghouse said:
Pallet wrap has got to be my favorite.
Click to expand...

You mean "shrink wrap?" If so, I got a bunch of that crap in the garage! It's that useful? Sure sounds like it, I'm gonna have to pack some away in my BOBs.
 
cul4u01 said:
You mean "shrink wrap?" If so, I got a bunch of that crap in the garage! It's that useful? Sure sounds like it, I'm gonna have to pack some away in my BOBs.
Click to expand...
yep. "shrink wrap" requires heat to shrink but the stuff im talking about is stretch wrap. Its clear plastic but stretches considerably. When you stack a bunch of boxes on a pallet and need to secure them you wrap this stuff around the whole pallet stack to secure all the boxes from falling off during shipment etc. You can stretch it ten times its length before it breaks and is annoyingly strong. You can buy it at big box hardware stores in smaller rolls like 12" wide.
I should do a video! well censored of course;) You wont believe how easy it is to spark off a cedar bark nest.
 
I'd stick with the wraps made from polyethlyene and avoid the PVC wraps. Too much potential for toxic stuff coming out of PVC, especially if it burns.
 
hawk3/21 said:
Now the search for which water purification tabs and fuel is making me crazy. Turns out the trips and we used is carcinogenic. The new stuff/gel is foreign to me, dont know if its repeatable or if you have to use the entire contents. My cotonballs actually takes a spark really easy and butler's long enough to start a fire easily....even with damp wood. So I have to figure out what else should stay with the canteen. A fire steel for each. What else
Click to expand...

I favor Katadyn’s Micropur MP1. It comes on a card with individual bubble wraps, so you can use one and leave the rest sealed. A card of pills is small and light. Doesn’t have much aftertaste. One pill is calibrated for 32 ounces/1 liter.

Start with clean water. Strain through a bandanna. Clear, room temperature water is safe to drink in half an hour.

Using cold, cloudy, dirty water with leaves in it? That’s when you’re supposed to allow the Katadyn four hours. In the real world that’s when you strain and filter the water.
 
for the tabs use potable aqua brand. 6 bucks for 50 tablets.i always carry two canteens, 1 for drinking and one for first aid. they are the standard GI canteens.
for firesteels i reccommend UST strikeforce, or sparkforce depending on size wanted. BOTh work very well. and they can both be used with your kukris spine if needed:), i did it with my 16" balance knife,lol. for fuel i reccommend esbit 12g tablets. they can be ignighted with a ferro rod.
 
Thanks guys, alot of great info. I am excited to finally have two great ss canteens,, both hold about 40oz & the cup is another 700ml. Ill order some of those tabs for the water and get some paracord in them. Fortunately ive been making lanyards & different handle wraps (stuff I can do on the couch on bad days). So ive got plenty of 550 around. Dont know why my brain didnt make the connection, but ill see about wrapping the handle, & making somen lanyard for the zipper handles. Im good with the fuel, these cotton balls are amazing. Plus you've always got some vaseline for chapped lips or wind burn on your face. I l over that is non toxic and it lights from a spark of the ferro rod in one try, two at the most and burns for 2 minutes.ive got to study your posts, too much great info for me to remember off hand. Check out the canteen shop website under water kits I like having the two different shapes. The 40oz cylinder is better for taking in the car or throwing in my backpack. Im
 
So, when I order the chlor tabs (not sure which ones yet) I need to buy a belt to attach the canteen cove to. Maybe with the shoulder straps. No Alice clips anymore, everything is molle. Have they improved since 1991 or should I look for our old military surplus belts. Id like to set it up, knife, water and holster (detachable) so its always ready. Just add the canteen and go. Ill need a good kydex sheath made for my 15" kukuri. I think that will stay on the belt and be my dedicated knife for the belt. Keep coming with the great ideas, ill make a list when I get home. Typing once again from the VA hospital cafeteria, waiting for next appt. Wish you guys lived nearby and I could just look at some of your kits and just copy them.

Anyway, im excited and happy to be so far along. Just a few more pieces and final bits. I want both canteen kits to have the fire kits, backup for my main backpack. Just in case I leave with just the water over a shoulder, dont wantb to have to rely on getting pieces out of one to take with.
 
hawk3/21 said:
So, when I order the chlor tabs (not sure which ones yet) I need to buy a belt to attach the canteen cove to. Maybe with the shoulder straps. No Alice clips anymore, everything is molle. Have they improved since 1991 or should I look for our old military surplus belts. Id like to set it up, knife, water and holster (detachable) so its always ready. Just add the canteen and go. Ill need a good kydex sheath made for my 15" kukuri. I think that will stay on the belt and be my dedicated knife for the belt. Keep coming with the great ideas, ill make a list when I get home. Typing once again from the VA hospital cafeteria, waiting for next appt. Wish you guys lived nearby and I could just look at some of your kits and just copy them.

Anyway, im excited and happy to be so far along. Just a few more pieces and final bits. I want both canteen kits to have the fire kits, backup for my main backpack. Just in case I leave with just the water over a shoulder, dont wantb to have to rely on getting pieces out of one to take with.
Click to expand...


Condor makes great gear at a reasonable price. Its a lot cheaper than the 5.11 stuff. I have a full molle assault vest set up. The vest itself is a 5.11 but al the mag pouches, dump pouch, camel back, flashlight holder, inverted knife sheath are all Condor. I recommend them for their value.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top