Survival tin

Kit, Clothing, Tools, etc
Beatts
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Joined: Thu Feb 18, 2016 4:02 pm

Survival tin

Post by Beatts »

I'm not trying to be derisory or anything here, i am genuinely interested, but can you seriously think of a SHTF scenario when all you are left with is your survival tin and contents in the middle of nowhere ?

How many people would actually be able to survive using the contents of the tin or is it more of a comfort blanket type of thing?

Or am I missing a trick?

Thanks
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unsure
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Location: st.helens , area 9

Re: Survival tin

Post by unsure »

i can`t see me ever needing to rely on the contents of one .

you could how ever , make your own to suit you .

maybe include things like , plasters , wipes for cuts , bit of cash , phone numbers .ect
YES i walked away mid sentence , you were boring me to death and my survival instincts kick in .
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BadgerSE
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Re: Survival tin

Post by BadgerSE »

A survival tin is not designed for you to live long term in a SHTF scenario.

It's a short term remedy to buy yourself some time to survive for a few days with only the basics to hand. If you ever got to the stage where you're relying on just your survival tin then it will only give you some extra time for you to hopefully find supplies or help (that's if you know how to use all the contents of your tin successfully, or you might as well not bother, personally).

In my personal opinion a survival tin should be part of your EDC as an additional survival resource as a fallback. Survival tins are excellent bits of kit and a must for any prepper I believe but you would find it hard to just live off just that alone.
“Tough times don't last, tough people do, remember?”

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Beatts
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Joined: Thu Feb 18, 2016 4:02 pm

Re: Survival tin

Post by Beatts »

I agree with the last comment.

Things would have to have gotten really really bad if I were left with just the survival tin to get by on. I'd probably last 24hrs!

As suggested though it will form part of my EDC, I.e my get home bag which (when I fully complete it) will contain enough to keep me going for a lot longer hopefully.
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yorkshirewolf
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Re: Survival tin

Post by yorkshirewolf »

It depends on the situation you find yourself in.

I do a lot of hill walking and there are a good few times i've taken a wrong turn, got lost, ended up being out a lot longer than i thought i would, etc, and because of the stuff i carry with me in my tin or pouch, i've never found myself in an emergency situation where i had to rely on mountain rescue!

For me, the not knowing and not being able to predict everything is part of the fun, but having a few basic things to light a fire, make water drinkable, or even remove a splinter/thorn gives me piece of mind that unless something really bad happens, i'll be able to muddle through.

In my opinion though, the kit available to you is of far less importance than the knowledge and ability to use it. i've known people be put in a bad situation and have loads of resources to hand, but then end up in an even worse situation because they failed to use them, improvise them or even check what they had!

In a SHTF scenario, it again depends on the exact circumstances, but if the bits in my tin gave a few extra days of drinking water, or the ability to make a snare, a weapon or a fire, then it's going to be worth it's weight in gold.
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Deeps
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Re: Survival tin

Post by Deeps »

I don't have a tin or anything like that but I have all sorts of stuff in my wallet or a wee pouch that I put in my pocket if I'm going more than a walking distance from home.

My 'proper' EDC is....

A pen, a Spartan SAK with a 1 AAA Maglite attached, my phone. On my keyring I have a shotgun cartridge survival kit complete with compass and rod/steel also a couple of screwdrivers but they're pretty crap and I'm going to ditch them, you can't get much of a purchase.

My wallet contains.....

An 11 in 1 'credit card' multitool, 8 mixed plasters, 4 puritabs, true utility nano light and 2 sets of spare batteries, a 32G flash drive and some paper. I also like to keep cash in the back of it for emergencies, only 20 quid at the moment but its been a good bit more in the past.

In my jacket pocket I always have a cree torch and if I'm more than that walk away I have a pouch with a folding tooth brush, spare 14500 battery and a lighter. I've a different pouch with a power bank that gives me 1.8 charges on my phone (I've broken my own rule and got a phone that has a built in battery, not an issue yet but I think I'll go back to one that I can carry spares for). Most of the stuff is in small resealable placky bags

Depending on the weather I put hats, gloves etc in jacket pockets too, this time of year they live there full time. If I'm going to be spending time away (camping etc) I'll have plenty more in my bag.

It really depends on what you think you'll need and whether you want to have a tin or whatever in your pocket. About the only thing I've not used that I carry is the puritabs. My wallet is a bit bulkier than I would like what with all the usual cards and stuff as well but I prefer that than a designated tin. The two pouches live comfortably in my jacket pockets and I'm rarely far from civilisation so not too fussed about carrying water etc. I doubt this stuff would keep me alive in the middle of nowhere but that's not what its for. When I am in the middle of nowhere (not as often as I'd like these days) I'm better equipped. This kind of thing is very much an individual thing, what works for one might not fit so well with others.
Arzosah
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Re: Survival tin

Post by Arzosah »

I don't have a survival tin, and I don't have a comfort blanket: I have a laptop-carry sized case of useful stuff that will help me take care of myself and get me back as far as possible to my present status quo.

The only tin I *do* have, contains a little sewing kit :mrgreen:

Beatts, since you opened the thread, why don't you give some feedback on your questions, that would be useful.
grenfell
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Re: Survival tin

Post by grenfell »

Back in the late 70's when I was at school the idea of a survival tin was quite common . No sign of the word prepper but the idea of the tin was there and quite a few of us school kids made one up . Normally based on a tobacco tin ( scrounged not acquired throught smoking) and containing high energy food , matches , fishing line and hooks , compass and all the other bits and pieces. To be honest none of us actually used them , except maybe eating the sweets , and I'm not even sure what became of mine or when it stopped being around. I've never replaced it with another tin although I have most of the components here and there with the probable exception of the fishing hooks and line.
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DustyDog
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Re: Survival tin

Post by DustyDog »

As Grenfell has just said, when i was in the cub scouts, they had us make a little first aid kit in a small tin, just plasters, wipes and any other bits we could think of, the word 'prepper' did not exist, anything you have is good if it help you 'get home' or anything else.
Up in the wet South Lakeland
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Deeps
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Re: Survival tin

Post by Deeps »

DustyDog wrote:As Grenfell has just said, when i was in the cub scouts, they had us make a little first aid kit in a small tin, just plasters, wipes and any other bits we could think of, the word 'prepper' did not exist, anything you have is good if it help you 'get home' or anything else.
You've just prompted me to put a couple in my wallet. :lol: Good idea but pretty soon I'm gonna need a bigger wallet. :(