Whats in your Altoids Tin?

B

bladeNUT82

Joined
Sep 12, 2007
Messages
122
Hello,
In the past, I carried a larger survival kit. After realizing, that even a quick lunch hike could turn bad quickly, I set out to make the ever popular altoids survival kit. A kit so small, I could always carry it with me. So, I got come cinnamon altoids and a few weeks later, they are all gone. Last night i washed the tin out with baking soda and soap (to get the smell out and get it cleaned up). I thought i had the kit planned out very well, but as it turns out, there is not all that much room in an altoids tin. So... My question is, What items can you fit inside your altoids survival kit? Here is a list I have so far.

1 Altoids Tin (polish lid to make a mirror)
4 Band-Aids
1 Mini Bic Lighter
1 BSA (hot spark) Fire Steel
1 Book of Paper Matches
1 Fresnel Lens
4 Cotton Balls (REAL cotton, NOT synthetic)
1 Reynolds Oven Bag with wire twist tie
3 Sq. Feet Aluminum Foil
50 Feet 15# Fishing Line (Wrapped around a Nail)
6 Fish Hooks (assorted sizes)
3 Small Split Shot
3 Rubber Bands
1 Hacksaw Knife Blade
3 Feet Duct Tape
1 Survival Primer Sheet (Double sided with survival kit items)

Thanks
 
At the moment... altoids. I'm working my way through two tins at this time. I'm really tired of eating them, but I spent the money so I have to.
 
Not an altoids tin but only slightly larger 10%.

Spark lite and 4 tinders
2 condoms
2 betadine swabs
1 sunto wrist compass
whistle
signal mirror
6 micropur tabs
Fresnel lense
2 square fabric bandages
2 sheets of paper
1 thin pencil
2 sewing needles
8 nato lifeboat matches
quality wire saw
scalpel blade
snare wire
small role of spyder wire
small bundle of twine
photon freedom light
2 immodium
3 painkillers
5 antibiotics

Fits in my front pocket, barely notice it. Carry it 365 days per yr. Its great to have a bigger kit but the vast majority do no carry it 365 so its of no use on the shelf home. Nor is it of much use in your coat pocket or a laptop bag. It needs to be on your person as you never know when you may need it.

When I go into the bush I have 2 more kits that expand in size using the layer principal of redundancy.

Skam
 
Dylside said:
At the moment... altoids. I'm working my way through two tins at this time. I'm really tired of eating them, but I spent the money so I have to.
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Believe it or not, these are excellent toilet bowl cleansers, better than the chlorine products.
 
In my Altoids tin I have:
Gerber breast milk bag
12" X 24" aluminum foil folded to fit
Fresnel lens
24" Duct tape
50' of fishing line, 6 hhoks, 3 split shots, 3 swivels, 1 large hook
10' of duck decoy line
Scalpel blade
3 heavy needles, 2 small needles, 4 pack of thread on a card
sparklite and 4 tinders
swiss army tweezers
blade from a Leatherman PST w/serrations
can opener from a PST
6 strike anywhere matches only about 1/4" long (basically just the head)
Small button compass
Leather piece from a slingshot
12" teflon tubing for drinking water
6 Aleve in press-and-seal wrap
6 Immodium in press-and-seal wrap
BSA firespark with handle removed
Steri-strips cut to fit
6 safety pins
Ceramic knife sharpener
Small whistle



I think I can still fit more in there but I haven't found what I am looking for. I seal the tin with electrical tape and then I can also wrap it in Paracord if I want but I actually like duck decoy line better.
 
skammer said:
Not an altoids tin but only slightly larger 10%.
Click to expand...

What manufacturer? The new Sucrets Tin? They have come back with metal containers after about 10 years or so of plastic.

2 immodium
3 painkillers
5 antibiotics
Click to expand...

You totin' Rx painkillers or Ibu, other?

The ABs, you cut down the sealed area of a Z-Pack or carrying something else? Actually a Z-Pack is 6, but who's counting? :)

Fits in my front pocket, barely notice it. Carry it 365 days per yr. Its great to have a bigger kit but the vast majority do no carry it 365 so its of no use on the shelf home. Nor is it of much use in your coat pocket or a laptop bag. It needs to be on your person as you never know when you may need it.
Click to expand...

That's no joke and I've been guilty of it myself from time to time.
 
Don Rearic said:
What manufacturer? The new Sucrets Tin? They have come back with metal containers after about 10 years or so of plastic.

You totin' Rx painkillers or Ibu, other?

The ABs, you cut down the sealed area of a Z-Pack or carrying something else? Actually a Z-Pack is 6, but who's counting? :)
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Its actually a small plastic fly fishing kit by Plano. Has a latched lid and the edges are rounded. Bout $8 at Walmart in the fishing section.

Rx painkillers. For the type of pain that would slow me down Ibu wont cut it.

You are correct Don it is 6 in the z-pack:thumbup:. I removed them all from their packs and re vaccum sealed all the drugs to save space.

Skam
 
Why use a tin? Wouldn't a small one quart ziploc be more flexible and maybe hold a bit more useful stuff? Or the little pouches that Ritter's PSK's come in?
 
CSG said:
Why use a tin? Wouldn't a small one quart ziploc be more flexible and maybe hold a bit more useful stuff? Or the little pouches that Ritter's PSK's come in?
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Some of the items would poke through a plastic bag after a time. Walking creates reptitive stresses on containers (packs, feet, . . .). Also, a rigid container protects some of the items from become an unidentified powder or intermixed goo.
 
Thomas Linton said:
Some of the items would poke through a plastic bag after a time. Walking creates reptitive stresses on containers (packs, feet, . . .). Also, a rigid container protects some of the items from become an unidentified powder or intermixed goo.
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Exactly, EDC'ing a pocket kit, it had better be tough and secure. Ritters kit didnt come hard sided to keep the cost down.

Skam
 
OK, I see. I keep my stuff in a little fanny pack in a few ziplocs and it holds up well but there are all sorts of little goodies in there that keeps things protected (light North Face raingear, couple garbage bags, bandanna, etc.). I guess it's partly where and how you carry your gear. FWIW, some of the gear in my fanny pack has been carried that way for a decade or more. Living in rural Idaho requires one to be fairly self-reliant. I guess I was more curious if making a kit in a little tin was more for the fun of DIY or there was a practical aspect I hadn't realized. I guess it's a little of both. ;)
 
CSG said:
OK, I see. I keep my stuff in a little fanny pack in a few ziplocs and it holds up well but there are all sorts of little goodies in there that keeps things protected (light North Face raingear, couple garbage bags, bandanna, etc.). I guess it's partly where and how you carry your gear. FWIW, some of the gear in my fanny pack has been carried that way for a decade or more. Living in rural Idaho requires one to be fairly self-reliant. I guess I was more curious if making a kit in a little tin was more for the fun of DIY or there was a practical aspect I hadn't realized. I guess it's a little of both. ;)
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The tin idea is to carry it in your front pocket all the time thus you have something when you least expect the stuff to hit the fan. It needs to be durable as it gets knocked around over time.

Skam
 
skammer said:
The tin idea is to carry it in your front pocket all the time thus you have something when you least expect the stuff to hit the fan. It needs to be durable as it gets knocked around over time.

Skam
Click to expand...

I see what you're getting at but it seems like that would be a bit uncomfortable at least in the jeans I usually wear. Maybe I'm being a bit thick-headed as you guys have obviously used this method but I would think a well and tightly packed kit in a flatter, watertight container would be more comfortable to carry, especially in a buttoned shirt pocket. Guess it all depends what you're used to. I keep two packs: a daypack which is quite well equipped and always with me if I'm leaving home to go on a hike and the smaller fanny pack which is under the seat of my truck for those impromptu outings.

I might have to make one up though, if for no other reason than the fun of it. :thumbup:
 
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