Altoids kits

I don't much like them....just too small to hold a complete kit and they can be noisy.   I guess they are better than nothing.
 
Anyway, came across this link and thought I would post it in case anyone is interested:


http://www.fieldandstre...wo-more-life-saving-diy-

I think one of those cheap, plastic travel-size bath soap  containers would be better. They would be a LOT quieter if silence was the difference between surviving and perishing.

Something like this;

I admire the idea behind an altoid kit. I have made several and sold them. If your going afield for a day hunt, they make sence.  For everything else.  I make others, I perfer to use the small otter box or pelican box.

I like clear dry bags like these:

http://www.scuba.com/sc.../Innovative-Dry-Bag.html


Light weight, low cost, quiet, water proof (obviously), fits well in a cargo pocket, big enough for a decent kit and can be used to carry/purify water.

Coincidently I'm putting one together after finding an altoids tin while walking the dog. Most of the items I carry as an EDC, but I'll probably stash it in my boat or hunting pack. It will be a good compliment to my CS fixed blade knife .
I thinking they will make good Christmas presents for family to keep in vehicles. We live in an earthquake zone, so it makes sense as part of a short use get home kit.

Only those are fit to live who do not fear to die. And none are fit to die who have shrunk from the joy and duty of life. Both life and death are parts of the same great adventure."-Theodore Roosevelt.

'the strong do as they wish, and the weak suffer as they must'' the maxim of Thucydides

 I think the main thing is that people have a "kit", or multiple kits. I have plenty of "kits within kits".  It doesn't matter if it is made of tin, cloth, leather, or space age material.   Anything that works for you is all that matters. If a kit is important to people, they will find a way to carry it.

 
   We try to be ready for anything that may happen, but the only thing we know for sure that we will have with us at any given moment, is our knowledge. 

I carry one, but it is purely for first aid stuff.  The rest of my "survival kit" just finds its way into various pockets.  Personally, I wouldn't want all my survival gear centralized in one container, because if you lose that container, you're in deep feces.

I put an Altoids like tin into my Bowie Blade Bushman, see it in this thread, all contents as well.
Thread is in the link below but I guess I moved the picture... sorry about that.

What's in MY Bowie Blade Bushman's Survival Sheath

The reason I like to use the tins is they keep the more crush or breakage sensitive items safer.

I use a box like this for my kit for years...I'll send some pics later if I don't forget.

Rather judged by six than carried by four - Czech rule of self-defense
Wanna live? Get a shiv! - Chronicles of Riddic.k

SMIII Black Bear Classic, SMIII Recon Scout, SK5 Gurkha Kukri, Carbon V OSS, Desperado, Bowie Bushman, Regular Bushman, War Head, Bowie Spike, Mini Hunter, Mini-Tac Kiridashi, K-4, K-7, Chef's knife, Black Talon, Rajah II, Spartan, XL Voyager CP-PE (old type), AK-47 G10 (old type), 4" Ti-Lite (zytel), Gunsite II (old type), Scimitar Spike, Vaquero Large (old type), Pocket Bushman, Kudu, Trail Hawk, Latin machete 18", Bowie machete 12", Barong machete 12"
On the way:  Two handed kukri machete.

This is my U.S.K. ( Urban Survival Kit). It's kept in the trunk of my car. A few items not shown, ... money, cards,ect. Also note the drive stick in a plastic baggie. All our important documents and, medical info. Scanned, downloaded, updated every six months. I couldnt get the lid of the altoid tin to close. So I used this modified glad seal box $2.95 @ Wal-Mart.

Attached Image(s)

I used to carry an Altoids kit when camping as a Scout. I had a bigger kit put together in my pack but the Altoids one was always in my pocket.

"T'is better to be silent and be thought a fool, than to speak and remove all doubt."

I have an Altoids tin fishing kit in my Bug Out Bag – might make another, too.
 
What I did was measure and cut out some paper towel, doubled it up and taped it to the tin for noise reduction (be sure to cut off the excess and repeat for the lid). I then taped up some nails and laid the flat, uniform brick of them down in the bottom (might move them to the lid of the tin for the sake of quick-access), then put another piece of towel over them. I cut out a make-shift plastic, flat spool and wound a good 50 yards of line onto it. I put two elongated, pellet style bobbers to each of the sides. I then put five weights, line connectors, a lure, two synthetic worms, and several assortments of hooks and finished the kit off with another spear-like bobber to the top, diagonally.
 
It’s fully ready and capable for multiple fishing trips out in the bush, light, compact and virtually noiseless – which is what counts most.
 
Bottom line, if space management is your main concern, it is my opinion that you cannot go wrong with an Altoids tin, especially in the case of quick-grab, compact fishing kits. The best part being that you do not have to worry about plastic cracking or shattering, just rust and that is easily avoided with a sandwich-sized Zip Lock, or denting which is easily avoided and repairable.
 
P.S. I am also considering making one of these kits for sewing essentials, such as for wound management – Anti-biotic ointment packets, convex and straight needles, tweezers, fishing lines and threads, predominately.
 
P.P.S. I fully agree with NOT relying on and entrusting my life to an all-or-nothing, multi-item and category, single Altoids tin kit as that site is proposing and I would NOT trust my life to a kit such as the likes of what they show. Altoids tin kits are GREAT for fishing kits and Bug Out Bag secondary kits, but in a real and long-term survival situation would make for very poor and inefficient one-piece multi-purpose survival kits.

Here's a vid with some good ideas for an altoids kit:

Pelican or the one walmart sells around $7 bux sturdy and preety much water proof..........

I'd much rather use some sort of hard plastic box with a foam or strofoam insert to hold all the contents. Those altoids kits seem messy and unorganized, likely to loose a few things because you opened it.

I have a small altoids sized kit or two. One solid addition to the kit is 80lb test spiderwire braided nylon fishing line. It is a very versatile tool. Fishing, snares, lashing, repairing clothing and tarps. Easy to cut and darned hard to break. I wrap mine around a bobbin from from my wife's sewing machine, They hold a lot of line in a small amount of space. Another addition is a small knife I made from a hacksaw blade. cut off a blade at three inches or so and sharpen a point and the non-serrated edge. I cut a small finger hold in the blade and with patience you can make it shaving sharp. I just left the serrations on the back and created a handle with a few inches of duct tape. Took me about an hour and a half without using any power tools.

An Altoids kit is not what I would pick for a week in the woods, but having one in your pocket is way better than having nothing.

Then said He unto them, But now, he that hath a purse, let him take it, and likewise his scrip: and he that hath no sword, let him sell his garment, and buy one. [Luke 22:36]

a good vid on the Bushman with an altoids kit for the pouch: