The most COMPREHENSIVE SURVIVAL KIT in a TIN I have ever built

I'm 79 years old and was a Boy Scout in my youth. The Scouting magazine called "Boys Life" (back issues found online) had an article back in the 1950s which showed how to make a shirt pocket-sized survival kit. It included waterproof matches (which were made by dipping the heads of wooden matches down half the length of the match in fingernail polish), a small compass, fish hooks and line, water purification tablets, and several other items I have forgotten over the years. Of course all boys carried a pocket knife in those days, and they were used to play games such as "split" and "mumblipeg" on the school playgrounds, fun things which are viewed with horror in this present insane world.

Smart kit! I learned a few things from your video. Additions to consider: - 10 Baby Aspirins to keep the blood thin if water is limited - 4 Imodium, in case the survival situation is distressing - 3-4 Toilet paper sized squares of blue shop towel paper towels. These hold together in the rain better than regular toilet paper. You might consider making them the length and width of your large tin, and using them to divide the layers in your tin.

I'm a big fan of foil, so I'd add some in there. You can make a cup out of it, use it to cook caught game in a foil pouch, all sorts. Cut it into strips to make reflectors even? Big fan of the stock cubes. Maybe add some salt, pepper and spices in there too. The flavor and vegetable sachets that come with instant noodles can work well.

One of the best kits I've seen so far on youtube.Well thought out and good for many different situations and environments.

1:00 immediately won me over. I built a very similar Esee mess tin kit last year and used ranger bands the exact same way & for the same utility. When building kits less than 5L in capacity we must determine/implement as many multiple uses as possible. Very much looking forward to this unpacking

I've long been a fan of these little mess tins, thanks for highlighting their use. I have two identical kits in these tins, the contents are both generic 5C's and individual specific items. I have fishing kits because I live in the Outer Hebrides and fishing both in sea and Lochs is easy. I also have alongside the kit a bright orange emergency bivvy in mylar material, they're cheap and easy to use quickly. Water purification tabs are a must too. Nice video, great kit.

My EDC survival kit is called the ‘OLOK psk’ (One Litre, One Kilo), it is desighned as a ‘stuck outside overnight in bad weather here in Montreal, Canada’, it is like an extension of your kit (+ emergency poncho, fixed blade knife, neoprene gloves, …). I like small prepping items so I would add a pre-threaded sewing needle sealed in a straw (includes mini paperclip+mini safety pins) and a stick of lip balm (many survival and first aid uses), mine is a moisturising version with SPF 15 from Nivea so can even be used as emergency sunscreen. It can even help keep you warm, cold+dry winter air will suck moisture from exposed skin, making you colder (like sweating in summer), rub some lip balm on exposed skin to reduce this. Show you love wildlife, hug a porcupine today !

Until science invents a “just add drops of water” shelter system we will forever be challenged to thermoregulate successfully utilizing under 1L of carry space. As mentioned in my first comment I built a very similar PSK last year in an Essee mess tin. At that time I faced a dragon that we all do re: shelter & thermoregulation. One line of my thinking said “bollocks I violated the whole point of the kit” whereas the more practical side said “application in the bush is all that matters” I shall describe said dragon-battle: A mylar “space blanket” is neither sufficient nor practical for staying warm or out of the rain. The corners tear away like Scotch tape when one attempts a tarpaulin and the perspiration factor when rolled up inside of one all but negates the whole Les Stroud “you sweat, you die” admonishment. Then I thought long n hard about the density & weight of the completed kit and admitted “Ill never carry this in a pocket. The damn thing is a meteor” Even in a jacket pocket it threw off the balance of my garment like a manhole cover in my pocket. I knew that if the mess tin ever sees the trail (it has since the build) it would ride in either a fanny pack (as a redundancy to my Bergen) or in the backpack itself alongside day hiking accoutrements like a lunch, binoculars etc. Similar to your brilliant idea of encasing your kit in the orange bandana I encased my kit inside a blaze yellow 7L roll down dry ditty bag. This allowed me to include the mess tin itself, two 3mil 50g contractors bags, a fleece Tuke, wool glove liners & a mosquito head net. Plus the bag serves as potential water bag, hand warming bag, gathering bag. Even a debris pillow. The shelter & warmth components are all shrink wrapped in a Food Saver machine so that each is smaller than a deck of playing cards. The blaze yellow bag/kit compresses to only a couple inches in dimensions larger than the original tin but my survivability factor, in an unplanned bivouac, overnight in freezing weather, improves vertically and more than justifies the adjustment re: cubic volume. Whether it rides as a “grab n go” in my day pack or in a lumbar style fanny pack as redundancy to a 50L+ weeklong pack my thermoregulation and stay dry capabilities are closer to civilian SAR or MILSPEC. I’ve learned the hard way that brilliant packing on youtube versus freezing alone at 3:30am are odd bedfellows, if not natural enemies. The only difference in my kit re contents? By eliminating cordage & the space blanket from inside the tin I added a Leatherman Wave (to compliment a SAK Ranger) and a Petzl headlamp w/ retractable cord in lieu of the pen light. The cordage & shelter components ride atop the tin compressed in the yellow sack. Because keeping blood sugar /energy up is so important (and so often overlooked) I add several bags of jerky, Pralines, raisins, a couple Cliff Bars to whichever conveyance pack the particular outing calls for. Or to my jacket. The primary suggestion that I hope some reading this will consider: use 3-4mil contractors bags instead of relying on the thin mylar “blankets” Whether deciding to make an ersatz rain poncho and/or worm down into a forest floor debris sleeping bag either is a massive improvement over the temperamental crinkly mylar sheets. By adding a jacket the pockets (zippered are preferable) afford not only comfort calories (and green tea caffeine tablets) but also head coverage and hands protection. Those most daring amongst us might even carry several Hot Hands. One placed on the crown of one’s head, under a Tuke, raises/maintains body core temperature beautifully. Excellent build. We are both fighting the good fight on each side of the pond. (I’m a twitter guy) God bless and happy trails.

Wonderful, that's the best survival kit in such a small tin I've ever seen. Like the baby-blue tape, orange doesn't stand out as much in 'indian summer'. Only thing I would add/switch is 300-700lbs Kevlar line, which packs up much smaller than paracord. Happy New Year 2024

Hi, a great well thought out kit, no doubt tailor made to your own requirements , after covering the basic essential's, as all kits should be. My only addition would be a roll of dental floss it's super strong, ideal for lashing, sewing, and you can even floss your Teeth, whith it,lol. Another use for your securing bungees would be fastening trouser bottoms to keep crawlers out etc. Thanks for the interesting video, stay safe mate, best wishe's to you and your's, Stuart UK.

That's about the most comprehensive "survival tin" I've seen. Only changes I would make would be to change the standard size mylar "blanket" for the XXLarge 70inchx142inch 'Emergency Zone' brand (appx $6 U.S.) and toss in a few coffee sachets. ☕️ 😊 You can also get "special" 550 paracord that has amongst the strands a) fishing line b) snare wire, and c) a strand of "tinder" for fire starting.

Nice kit, love how you reinvent and revise what you have.

Really a well done and put together kit you have there. I like that idea of putting your bandana in first and everything else on top of it. One thing I always put in my kits, is a tube of Orajel with 20% benzocaine. That stuff works great for bee stings, bug bites, cuts, blisters and so forth. It takes the pain away for a while, and allows you to keep walking with a blister, or stops a kid from crying when she's running around bare foot and steps on a bee. I also carry a liquid candle. They burn longer than wax candles, and I can adjust the flame if I need more heat, by pulling the wick out a little. The oil in them is rated as nonflammable or basically the same as vegetable oil here in the states, so there's no restrictions on shipping or anything. The caps they have on them are SOLID and in 20 plus years of carrying them, I've never had a leak. I even carry a couple of the bigger ones in each vehicle for emergency heat if needed, and years of riding around in a glovebox, they've never once leaked. In my smaller tin kits like yours, I carry the 8 hour size which is like a tea light candle. Here's a link to them and sizes if you wanted to check them out, and look for them over there. I put a few extra dots in after the www and before the com or sometimes youtube will delete the post. Keep up the great work. https://www ........ 100candles ..... com/fuel_cells.htm

Very good selections, missing a sawyer mini water filter, if you’ve ever actually used purification tablets, drinking murky skanky tasting water, is no fun, sawyer you get clear fresh tasting water. Ditch most of that 550 cord, get some bank line, loads more in lot less space, you can compress the emergency blankets down to less than 50% of that size, take 2 in the same space. Ditch glo stick waste of space, lumitop edc 01 flashlight, comes with a diffuser and 3 light levels, AAA battery. One of the best kits I’ve seen, covering the bases with lots of fluff

Just my opinion that I'm sure no one cares about, but I would add a really small power bank to this. If you're in a situation where you need any of this I would want my phones battery to last as long as possible. Even if you have no service, you can walk until you find some. Getting help as quickly as possible is really the only goal. I would ditch half the length of rope and just fit an ultra thin power bank. I have the Auskang 5000mah power bank just for this kind of setup.

True enough. A fishing kit maybe. There is a making of a fishing kit though. With the line and the safety pins. But wow. That is an amazing kit. Well done. 1.5 lbs weight wasn’t it? A bit heavy for backpackers. But would be great for a bushcraft expedition. Bug out bag for sure. Love it.

GREAT JOB on your kit brother!!! I will be placing some hard candy, gum and bouillon cubes in my kit (great moral boosters). Awesome idea!!. There are a few things that I did with my kit and this may or may not be possible depending on the size of your tin. But I placed a small head lamp in mine so that I can be completely hands free. I also put in a larger (Suunto style) compass for navigation so that it's easier to see and use with a map. The very last thing that I put in my tin is an extra plastic bag (grocery store produce bag) so that I have something waterproof to store my gear when it's not in the tin. I really enjoyed your video brother. Keep them coming.

Great kit. Mines similar. Ive included a mini orange smoke flare, aluminum foil, couple of aluminium nails. Ive used codeine phosphate as a strong painkiller, obviously Prescription only, and general purpose antibiotics (Prescription also but i asked for before a camping safari in Africa),

I think a set of tweezers would be good against Ticks. 😅

Well thought out, I was thinking to do the same with the lid handle. One or 2 things I would think about a signal mirror is a must but, I think the BCB design is out dated as the are better plastic ones and good stanless steel mirrors that a well polished, maybe a range of matches could be added, or even a waterproof match case with a mirror in the lid. Thank you for this video it is a very good project for me to get on with. Keep up the good work.