Trangia mess tins for PSK boxes

DaleW

DaleW

Joined
Dec 22, 2006
Messages
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A while back I started a thread on using Trangia (Swedish) mess tins for a PSK box. I had found *one* in a local mom-pop hiking store and didn't find any more. I was surfing around today and landed on this: http://www.greatoutdoorsdepot.com/trangia-mess-tins.html. They have two sizes, with and without handles. Add a ranger band to the handless one and you have a nice box to hold your kit and you can still cook in it. You could pre-drill bail holes and use some of your wire stash in the kit to make a bail (you DO carry a little wire, RIGHT?) Trangia makes great alcohol stoves and mess kits to go with the stove.This version is more on the military side.

greatoutdoorsdepot_1987_34219869


greatoutdoorsdepot_1987_34204662
 
I made a kit with one last summer, probably off of your original suggestion. I had been looking for something similar, and someone pointed that Trangia out to me. It was probably you, so thanks. :)

The tin works great. The handle actually holds the tin closed pretty well, and I keep the tin in a lightweight dry sack to keep it waterproof. One of these days I'll take pics and post about it.

Btw, I got mine from campsaver.com. They don't appear to have them in stock at the moment, but they have a ton of other Trangia, so I bet that they would order some for you if you shot them an email. I originally ordered from everestgear.com, but that whole order was a mess and I never got the tins, so I would avoid them.
 
i have wanted to get one of those ones with the handles, for a long time now... i think that they're the perfect little PSK tins....:thumbup: not too not too small.... and you can boil water in them...:)
 
These guys had the small ones without the handle for $6 and change. As I don't plan to use it unless I'm in trouble, the handle is extra weight and cost. A good wrap of duct tape wouldn't be bad and you could use it for tinder too. I would still at least put it in a ziplock or other water proof bag for CYA. If you could find the right one, you would have a water bag and PSK waterproof container all in one. Platypus made a one liter "Big Zip", but it looks like they are discontinued.
 
I have used one of those handled ones for PSK a while ago. Now it stays in my go bag with an MR-8 and a box of esbit fuel tabs in it. I might get the smaller one and make a real PSK.

My current PSK is a Lock n Lock box full with stuff. Mostly three of everything.
 
It's a shame they don't make them in stainless, I'm a little concerned nowdays about cooking stuff in aluminum !
 
First off, why not get it with the handles? Why have to mess with wiring or rigging something up when in a survival situation? The handles can't weigh much more than an ounce or so.

Second, I built my PSK around the smaller pot in a French WWII Mess kit http://www.surplusandadventure.com/shopscr1732.html

The pot is roughly 4.5" x 6.5" x 2.5". I haven't measured how much water it will hold both cold and boiling but plan to do that soon.

We sell them where I work (shooting sports wholesaler) so I got it for less than $4.00. So far it's been really great.

This is a pic of my PSK before some changes in content (yes, I did drop the snake bite kit).

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PSKsmall.jpg


I really like the idea of using the pot to both protect my kit and to provide a very good way to cook/boil water. It doesn't weigh much and gives me a finite amount of room so I have to be selective in my equipment and don't get out of control and try to carry the kitchen sink.

Charlie
 
pitdog said:
It's a shame they don't make them in stainless, I'm a little concerned nowdays about cooking stuff in aluminum !
Click to expand...

There were some concerns about aluminum years ago, but that proved to be inaccurate. It is one of the most plentiful elements in the universe. The exposure you would get while in a survival situation would be minimal anyway.

I would worry more about the purity of cheap metals of any kind-- the trace stuff like selenium, lead, etc are more of a concern to me.
 
Dale,

Thanks for the info!

I have one of the Midi-SIGG-Alu boxes and it proved to be too big for my Maxpedition (original) Fatboy but these look like a much cheaper alternative for the Wife and Son as well as myself for other uses...like for a mess tin. :)
 
CShepherd said:
The pot is roughly 4.5" x 6.5" x 2.5". I haven't measured how much water it will hold both cold and boiling but plan to do that soon.
Click to expand...

IIRC, There are 231 cubic inches in a gallon, so given those dimensions, you'd have ~73 ci or 1.27 qt. If you actually utilize, say, 80% of the total volume, the pot should come out to a useful volume of a hair over 1 qt. Since alot of boxes that could be considered for a PSK are in about this size range, I thought it might be useful to several people to run the numbers.
 
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