Erik's B.O.A.T.

[Erik]

As far as polishing the inside goes, why not try some metal polish?

Toothpaste might be an acceptable substitute.

I tried chrome polish, but it didn't make any difference.

-Erik

[mzmadmike]

The dental floss can sub for fishing line and twine.

Though really, have you actually used and caught anything with a fishing setup like that? I know my fishing skills have always been comedic, but it may just be me.

[kaoskingnd]

You can take water purification tabs and put them in a small vial, I use old purfume sample vials, try a few different ones. Some have a silcon based plastic stopper and will keep tablets forever. Others have a cheap plastic stopper and are only good for a couple months before tabs start going bad.

I keep about 10 in one vial in my tin.

[bgnad]

Some fishermen wont eat lobster....

I have a clear and simple policy on that.

If it will eat me given the chance (which crab and lobster will do) the I am going to do my damnedest to EAT IT FIRST!!!

I'm kind of funny that way.

[JakeMcCandles]

I'd agree with the two posts that recommended adding some cash. I'd fold up a $10 or $20 and replace the quarters. Also, I'm all for scratching your credit card number on the inside of the tin. That way you have it, but it doesn't take up any space (and if someone finds the tin, are they really going to look at a long row of numbers and thing "hey, I'll bet that is a credit card"?).

Also, you really aren't using the surface on the outside of the tin for anything, so what about using some clear packing tape to laminate a map to the tin? I suppose that instead of a map you could add a list of important phone numbers, a diagram of a snare/trap, or your favorite chili recipe.

[Erik]

I like the credit card idea. Fortunately, I have my debit card number memorized.

-Erik

[Famine]

Erik, you could try polishing the inside of the tin with chocolate.

Nice kit, I might mirror it with some adjustments for my little sisters day packs.

Kevin

[11mongo11]

I need to finish mine. I know you will keep the lighter, cause you can't start a fire one handed with matches. I broke my wire saw, too. Eventually there will be a quality one out and one of us will do a review.

[Apollo-11]

There are good wire saws and cheap wire saws. Unfortunately, I don't think you can tell which one you have until you use it. So, I recommend a wire saw test. If it breaks, you have a dud. The good ones really are very good.

Recommend ditching the magnifying glass. I have tried to start a fire with a little glass like that one and was unable to do so. If you have not tried it out, it is conjecture. I would second the recommendation of a small Fresnel lens. It does not take up any room at all, and has more capture area. Try it out and learn how to use it. They are NOT easy to use unless you have prepared, very dry tinder.

The lighter is a good idea, but I am always afraid that I might need it and find out that the plunger has been held down while it was in storage, and it's depleted. A couple of those coated storm matches should be able to fit, if you get rid of the magnifying glass. Then you could have both a lighter and matches, which is a good belt-and-suspenders redundancy on an important item. The Fresnel lens could be used when you run out of other methods.

Add a couple of $20 bills and maybe two more quarters, if there is room.

Water purification tablets now come individually wrapped in foil packets. A couple of those really wouldn't take up any room at all in a corner.

I don't see the polishing thing working at all. A bottom of a Coke can is aluminum. I think Altoids containers are steel. If you must have a shiny surface, use chrome foil tape, as ninja-elbow suggests.

[Veritas]

I'm not trying to start a huge debate on the utility of magnifying glasses, including the one Eric has, but I have never had an issue with starting a fire using one. In fact, I have done so on several occasions. Granted, all these times were in the middle of an Oklahoma summer, but it is possible, even in near-dusk lighting conditions. FWIW, I was able to get a fire going using the one on those fake SAKs, so I can attest that even a small lens would work in the right conditions, which is probably what Apollo was getting at...

[Apollo-11]

Really? What were you using for tinder? I couldn't get it to work at all, even with a 3" glass lens in full summer sun. (Pacific NW on 80 degree day).

[Slugg]

i have heard wire saws are shit and just break after second use

[nyarlotep]

My suggestion for polishing the inside of the tin is, if it's anything like straight razor steel, you need to sand it perfectly smooth using progressively finer wet/dry sandpaper before using a rouge or metal polish. You have to remove all the striations that exist in the steel, then remove those sanding marks w/ the next finer grit sandpaper, then remove *its* marks with a finer grit... you get the idea. Probably more trouble than it's worth though.

[diesel5150]

I dont know about where you live, but in Michigan there is lakes and ponds everywhere. So I would leave the fishing gear. You can always tie it to a empty soda pop bottle and do some absentee fishing while you are making fire and shelter. I also agree to get rid of the p38 unless you carry a can of tuna in your pocket. You have three different ways of making fire there, Maybe it wont hurt to get rid of one in place of some of the water tabs. I guess if I was you I would play around with different setups of different material to find the best b.o.a.t. for my needs. I also think some of these other guys are right about utilizing the outside of the container for other things. Good luck and keep up the good work. Great post by the way.

[Caenus]

Get the trick candles. They're less likely to accidentally blow out.

[Kabong30]

What about a couple of water purification tabs?

That suggestion is perfectly valid if you can suggest what I should remove to make room for them.

-Erik

If you can find a way to convince someone it's not coke you could grind them up?

[SurvivalGearDepot]

You may be aware of this, but at wally mart in the craft area you can get 100 or so tiny ziplocks for a buck. They work great for items like the water tabs.

This looks like something that would be a great project to do with a kid. Not just to assemble the stuff, but to learn to use each piece of it.

Also go into any smoke shop and they have various sizes of small ziplocs.

Drug dealers use them, but theres no reason they cant be put to use in a BOB either.

[bltjr1951]

great thread BTW, I'm thinking of making a boat myself now. Now, how much ammo do you guys think I can fit in an altoids tin?

If you read the other B.O.A.T. thread you'll get more info. It's also in other threads as PSK.
It depends on what ammo you're using. 100 22s sound right?
BTW, a P38 can be used as a screwdriver without altering it.
Plus, per the airport nazis, a P38 is a weapon.

[bltjr1951]

Erik, you could try polishing the inside of the tin with chocolate.
Kevin

What's with all the chocolate??
The only reason someone used chocolate to polish something, they asked how would you make fire with a coke can and a bar of chocolate.
After an hour of polishing bottom of can with chocolate they were able to use can bottom with sun to start fire. "Jeweller's rouge will get the bottom of the can to a mirror finish in a few minutes."

http://www.wildwoodsurvival.com/surviva ... colatebar/

People use newspapers to shine up chrome bumpers. Chrome is already shiny to start with.

[bltjr1951]

Really? What were you using for tinder? I couldn't get it to work at all, even with a 3" glass lens in full summer sun. (Pacific NW on 80 degree day).

You've never used a lens to burn ants?? Melt plastic army men?? Brand/write your name on a piece of wood?? The smaller the dot of "light" is the more it will burn. Golly gee!
Heck, people have used ice and condoms to start fires!

[FanaticalModerate]

On the water purification tablets, I recall that the iodine water purification tablets have a relatively short shelf life, and that's when they're carefully sealed inside a brown-glass bottle. I think one of the reasons is the way iodine reacts to light and air. If I've remembered that correctly, the individual tablets in small ziplocks (whether whole or ground up to save space) may not work well for you.
I gnawed on this for awhile and gave up. I then bought some of the (too expensive) Katadyn Micropur tablets because they are individually sealed in foil wrappers. I can trim off 3-4 tablets and fit them inside various narrow spaces.

[elkhills]

I like the Altoids survival kit idea, and yours looks awesome! Once I actually put one together though, I realized it just wasn't gonna work for me.
I ended up building a bigger, more complete kit and a wallet/keychain based carry system. The big one goes with me when I'm dirtbiking, hunting, camping, etc. The wallet and keychain stuff in on my person all the time.
No keychain pic but it's got a lighter, tweezers, pry bar, photon light and a swisskey.
Here's the wallet stuff:

Here's the bigger kit:
[IMG=http://img207.imageshack.us/img207/153/lootl.png][/img]]

[Electricity]

Erik, why not drop the lead weights for more room. You can tie any old rock or something heavy (a bullet!) to your line, you don't need weights. That would give you plenty of room for water purification.
Also, someone had a great idea for a boat type item. A well made metal pencil sharpener. Durrable, and you can use it to sharpen sticks for hunting, or just using the shavings as tinder!

[thegrinninfin]

Just a couple ideas: Strip the Bandaids out of their paper. I don't think you're going to be that concerned about sterilization if you're using a Bandaid that large, and by that point it's probably filled with dirt.

+1 to all the comments regarding the mag glass, water purification tabs and money. +2 on the Saws. I teach a Survival Instructor Course for Air Cadets every summer, and every year we have kids who bring and immediately break them. This is one of the cases where I'd rather not have it, then have it, break it, and get demoralized/angry. (Side track: we had 1 kid cut his hands to shit trying to use it to cut through a log. How? He broke it, then attempt to continue to saw while hold the broken wire in one of his hands. The kid would alternate hands back and forth, so as a reward he got a tetanus shot.)

Fishing line is hit or miss, but it probably comes down to personal preference. You could probably drop a couple of the weights.

About the mirror idea, I think there's a better way: I had some guys come and do duct work in the house, and to fix a tricky spot, they used something that I can only describe as metallic duct tape. Shiny stuff. Why not wrap it around the outside of the tin? Would that be shiny enough?

For the credit card number idea, it's awesome, but as an extra deterent, swap the first half and second half of the numbers before you write it down. Reverse could work too, but if someone was creative enough, they'd probably try that. Split numbers might be less likely.

Depending on how crazy you're planning on going, you could try putting a crack filling amount of vaseline in the corners of the tin and lid. Enough that you could scrape it out with the knife, but not enough so it got on everything. If you're going to do that, you might as well put vaseline around the edge to water-resist it as well. If you're in a really crappy situation, it might help.

For the light that you're putting in there, does it have a switch on it? I found two different princeton tec lights, the pulsar and pulsarII, and the II has a switch. Makes it thicker, but much easier to use (also easier to turn on accidentally, too).

For the compass, you could replace it with the sewing needle. There's a trick you can use to magnetive the needle temporarily, and then put it on something that floats to allow it to move freely. I figure someone's already put that on here.