Updating survival kit container

dartanyon

dartanyon

Joined
May 10, 2002
Messages
705
After following some recent threads on kits I started thinking about making yet another kit ... possibly a mental illness but we do what we do ... anyway I saw a container I liked which was the otter box but when I found one in the shops and actually handled it I found that the single clasp in the middle caused the container to warp and therefore making it not waterfproof :(
The store sales dude told me about the pelican box which had two clasps ,, worth thinking about.
I used to use small vials inside my kits although they caused little voids from putting something round into something square though I try to fill them. I keep working on the principle of reducing unused air space within the kit.
I'm yet again on the container hunt ... almost painfull yet strangely rewarding. I even found a small cigarette case that had two layers (one on each side of the hinge ) and that has become one of my kits clamped onto a fixed blade sheath with a length of innertube and the container sealed shut with silicone and duck tape wrapped around it. Has an obvious fault ,, break seal ...
Wanna help ??
 
Otterbox is made right here in my hometown and i haven't had any problems with the smaller box that i use. I also have a larger Pelican that spent a few minutes in the Poudre river and my crackberry and other items were bone dry. Bonus to most newer pelicans is the release valve. The nice thing is both companies guarantee their products. Bummer to hear about the otter warping. They are a great company.
 
gander ... I like it, tough and waterfroof. Transparent would be nice. I have searched here in Australia but can't find it.

burddog ... yea I liked the otterbox, but it wasn't the transparent one I looked at and maybe the transparent plastic is harder?

Has anyone tested the otterbox for waterproof?
 
I had a little Otterbox that was not waterproof to 1'. I took it back to REI and got a Pelican. I use it to put my wallet in when I canoe.
 
Gruntinhusaybah ... I got the idea from your kit and liked the setup. Unfortunately the only three otterboxes I saw suffered the same problem although they were the yellow ones. Definately diddn't seal on the ends as I could squeeze the ends with my fingers and gap at end was double or triple than middle. Maybe they've fixed it?

The pelican one is called the micro case and lots of camera suppliers have them. The irony is that another popular container was the old film containers.
 
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Lock & Lock containers are a take-off on Japanese Bento boxes and make excellent PSK containers. (http://www.organize.com/squarecuplock.html). They come all kinds of shapes and sizes.

I have used Pelican and Otter boxes for photo gear and I think the cost and fragility justifies the weight and space taken by these boxes. The only thing in my PSK that isn't already in a waterproof package is a mini Bic lighter and I would trust the Lock & Lock seal for that -- I carry a firesteel and waterproof match case anyway. I could carry twice as much stuff in a lighter container and equal the weight of an Otterbox.

One of my favorite PSK containers is the Sigg snack box (http://www.reusablebags.com/store/sigg-snack-boxes-aluminum-midi-small-p-230.html). It has a good seal and I think it could be used for cooking. Sigg warns that it shouldn't be used for cooking, and I assume that is due to the rubber bumpers on the lock tabs. I wouldn't cook with the lid so the rubber seal there isn't a concern.

I think the simplest waterproof PSK container is a one liter Nalgene. It is large enough for a decent kit and provides a backup water container. There are a couple brands of pots that will fit the bottom.
 
Not really for me Dale ... my prerequisite is to be as streamlined as possible, tough enough to be dropped or sat on and around the size of a lozenger tin (small pack of smokes). Avoid sharp edges and corners. My smallest kit is the size of a pack of chewing gum and my largest kit is about the size of the second container you linked to (has barley sugar and tea in it just to name a couple of non essential extras) and that kit doesn't do much travelling due to its size.
 
I've been using a little yellow Otterbox to hold my items that are susceptible to water damage (wallet) or could sink (keys) while open-top kayaking for some 5+ years now, where it always gets wet. It has taken many many a dunking and never so much as a drop has gotten inside.

I'm very surprised to hear of your experience with yours. Perhaps the particular box that you handled was defective.
 
I can't speak for the other containers but the docon box is definately a good option. We used to use them as soap containers when I was in the Corps. The are the perfect size to hold a bar of soap and the ones we had had a little clip on them so they could be attached to about anything. I also saw some guys use them as containers for cigarette packs so I'm guessing they were pretty waterproof.

David
 
dartanyon- I tell you what, I'm gonna dig mine and give here a test, I'll submerse it in water for a half an hour with some kleenex isnide and see if it gets wet, I'll get back to you later today with some photos for evidence
 
dartanyon said:
Not really for me Dale ... my prerequisite is to be as streamlined as possible, tough enough to be dropped or sat on and around the size of a lozenger tin (small pack of smokes). Avoid sharp edges and corners. My smallest kit is the size of a pack of chewing gum and my largest kit is about the size of the second container you linked to (has barley sugar and tea in it just to name a couple of non essential extras) and that kit doesn't do much travelling due to its size.
Click to expand...

Aloksaks are good ways to get a small kit waterproof, or at least increase the chances of it staying waterproof. Using an Aloksak inside another container suits me. Adventure Medical has done that with some of their first aid kits.

The challenge with small kits is getting a stout container that isn't so much larger and heavier than the kit itself. There are the promo-style flip-top waterproof containers like the one below, but I'm reluctant to trust my life to one.

51cHLYLNbaL._SS400_.jpg


GSI makes some on the same order:

1028820.jpg


I use a one liter roll-top silnylon waterproof stuff sack for my hiking PSK. Roll top bags aren't 100% waterproof, nor is silnylon, but they will keep things dry unless fully submerged for a time. There are all kinds of dry bags that will do the same. My point is that a soft-sided bag is lighter and easier to live with in a pack or pocket. My matches are in a K&M case and 99% of my other gear can take a soaking.

A Seal-a-Meal bag will work great for one-time waterproofing of a kit, with or without a container-- provided there are no sharp edges. Take something on the order of a bandaid box or the famous Altoids tin, seal it in the Seal-a-Meal bag and it will store very well until you need it.

For really tiny kits, a pill bottle works great.

I've been entertaining building some PSK's using short threaded plastic pipe nipples with caps. One end could be a glued cap, so you could cut one in half and make two containers, with one end threaded and the other glued. They would be tough enough, but you would fight the problem of weight and bulk vs the actual storage capacity. PET bottle preforms suffer from the same-- thick and tough, but they don't hold much.
 
Raskolnikov ... yea I'm hoping it was isolated to just the ones I saw.

Echo ... maybe not so easy for me to get one of those.

Nodh ... I have one of those made out of stainless,, the catches make not suitable although a neat container.

Gruntinhusaybah ... cool :) look forward to the results.
 
Dale those look a lot more feasable ... especially the second one! I put the kit contents inside clipseal bags so I can open my kits up in bad weather or the contents can fall out without too much damage. I also like the kits hinged down the side so I can access different sections without pulling the whole lot out. I've gotten into the habbit of drawing a little picture of the layout and listing contents inside lid. This whole process is a bit of an art and makes me research alternatives regularly. I have to store kits in hard containers due to me falling off bikes and getting in all sorts of difficult situations. I have squashed a couple of kits.
 
dartanyon said:
I have to store kits in hard containers due to me falling off bikes and getting in all sorts of difficult situations. I have squashed a couple of kits.
Click to expand...

That changes the picture and I would have to agree in that case the Pelican or Otterbox containers would be a good choice. You want the container to survive and you don't want to be impaled. Still, I couldn't imagine breaking a Nalgene without breaking your body first.

You could try staying on your bike :rolleyes:
 
Dale ... Yep staying upright would be a good idea and most of the time I do ... since my body seems to complain a lot more these days ;) Coming off the bike seems to happen when stopped or almost stopped and I need to stop being soo yahoo and stop going where I shouldn't. We're not allowed to do tricks anymore and trails restricted due to un-necessary damage to the bikes.
Anyhoo ... I'm checking out these containers.
 
dartanyon-the otterbox 1000 I have my fire kit in is most definately waterproof, and it has the gaps around the outside you are describing. I kept it submerged for 30 minutes and do have a couple pictures if you want hard cold evidence, let me know
 
Gruntinhusaybah ... Cheers mate i appreciate what you've done and will keep the otterbox as an option. It comes down to what I can get my hands on. So far I'll get the shop to order in a clear one and go from there. I'll stay posted :thumbup:
 
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