My "Ultimate" Altoids Tin Version 2.1! NEW and IMPROVED!

[ODA 226]

After the Bail-Out Bag contest, I starting thinking of ways to improve my Altoids Bugout Tin. I looked for things that were clearly lacking in my tin and concluded that I had a lack of cordage, meaning NO 550 Cord and an ABSOLUTE LACK OF SHELTER! These were the two major deficiencies that I identified immediately and another I discovered later was the lack of a fire-initiating system, but there was NO WAY to fit shelter, 550 cord and vaseline soaked cotton balls in my Altoids tin.

So I JB Welded a second Altoids Tin to the back of my original and came up with this handy little "Ultimate" Altoids Tin! I painted the tins, packed them, wrapped them in 15 feet of 550 Cord and the final product looks like this:



Here is another angle. It's a little fat, but still fits comfortably in your pocket:



Here are the contents of the shelter/blanket module when opened:



Here are the contents of the water/fire/tools module when opened:



Here is everything contained on display:



Contents List:
Survival Blanket
6ea Rubber Bands
4ea Twist Ties
1ea Small Plastic Bag
3ea Vaseline Soaked Cotton Balls
1 ea Match Striker
2ea Altoid Tins
4ea Water Purification Tablets
15 Feet 550 Cord
1ea Water Bag
80 Feet Fishing Line
6ea Fishing Hooks
2ea Fishing Sinkers
3ea Safety Pins
1ea Log Firestarter
3ea Waterproof Matches
1ea Ranger Band
1ea Red Lense Flashlight w/ Flash Beacon
1ea Hack Saw Blade
3ea Razor blades
4ea Finishing Nails
1ea Leatherman Tool
2ea Eyescrews
1ea Bic Lighter
1ea P-38 Can Opener
1ea Button Compass
10 feet Brass Snare Wire
10 Feet Waxed Cordage
1ea Alcohol Prep Pad
1ea Personal Cleaning Wipe
4ea Band Aids
18 Inches of 100 MPH Tape
1ea Room Key to the Hotel Panama

(Note: I've since managed to fit some Asperins and Benadril in these tins.)

Anyway, I hope you like my tin!
Cheers!
Craig

[oldsoldier]

I ran into this issue a couple of years ago too. As this was a "oh shit, I lost EVERYTHING" kit, I kept it to a minimum. Then, I thought about it. What if I really DO lose everything (be it in a kayak, you roll & lose your gear, you went out for a walk and something happened, etc)-I wanted to go with something a little "beefier", but still fits in a cargo pocket. I picked up one of the British mess tins. I fit enough in there for an unplanned overnight, with the exception of shelter-but, I have shelter making materials. I suppose I could always put a lawn & leaf bag in between the case & the 550 cord-that would solve the shelter issue.

[t0mills]

I really like that Altoids can setup! Very clever indeed.


One question, how do you tie up the 550 cord so that it doesn't come undone in your pocket or wherever you have it stored? I don't have much experience with wrapping, or all the different knots that could be used, so that peaks my interest.

Mind sharing how you did that?


Tim

[BigDaddyJG]

I like the idea but I thought the idea of the BOAT was so you could EDC it. Small enough to fit in your pocket. There are many other cases that can hold that much stuff if not more and even make it water proof if you don't intend to carry it in your pocket. Just my $.02

I may use this idea thought for one of my projects. Thanks for posting.

[........]

I like this! The reason I never built an altoids tin was because I thought they were too small but I may just clone this, well with my own adjustments.

What I would do:
1. *Try* to fit some quick clot in there (not sure if this is possible) at the expense of minor first aid gear. I am a hunter and a gunshot will kill me. A minor cut on the finger won't.

2. Wrap the fishing line and hooks around the matches in a match book. Hook is safe and secure and you have a back up fire starter. (Credit to Field and Stream for that one).

[Icemancometh]

Awesome idea of "welding" the tins together. I hadn't thought of that. As far as that goes I hadn't even thought of just wrapping 2 together with the paracord. I did consider getting a small otter box, but hated the extra wieght. I will have to use your idea as I always wanted some more room in my tin. Thx for the tip.

[oldsoldier]

A quick note on the Altoids "oh shit" tins-for me, and I took this advice from someone else-there really isnt a need for a FAK in there-if you must, keep 2 of them-one as a survival kit, another as a small FAK. Me, I have no medical stuff in mine at all-I didnt build it for that. Its strictly for survival. Is this taking a chance? Perhaps-but, if I am in that dire need of medical treatment, I likely cannot fix it with a couple of band aids. But, thats my personal preference-YMMV.

[Shep45]

A quick note on the Altoids "oh shit" tins-for me, and I took this advice from someone else-there really isnt a need for a FAK in there-if you must, keep 2 of them-one as a survival kit, another as a small FAK. Me, I have no medical stuff in mine at all-I didnt build it for that. Its strictly for survival. Is this taking a chance? Perhaps-but, if I am in that dire need of medical treatment, I likely cannot fix it with a couple of band aids. But, thats my personal preference-YMMV.

I think I may have to agree with you on the FAK. I had not thought of it before, but you may be right about that. I am going to give this some more thought.

[Electricity]

A quick note on the Altoids "oh shit" tins-for me, and I took this advice from someone else-there really isnt a need for a FAK in there-if you must, keep 2 of them-one as a survival kit, another as a small FAK. Me, I have no medical stuff in mine at all-I didnt build it for that. Its strictly for survival. Is this taking a chance? Perhaps-but, if I am in that dire need of medical treatment, I likely cannot fix it with a couple of band aids. But, thats my personal preference-YMMV.

I think I may have to agree with you on the FAK. I had not thought of it before, but you may be right about that. I am going to give this some more thought.

I'd keep the hygiene wipe for, well wiping, but replace the rest with a small tube of super glue.

[........]

1. *Try* to fit some quick clot in there (not sure if this is possible) at the expense of minor first aid gear. I am a hunter and a gunshot will kill me. A minor cut on the finger won't.

A quick note on the Altoids "oh shit" tins-for me, and I took this advice from someone else-there really isnt a need for a FAK in there-if you must, keep 2 of them-one as a survival kit, another as a small FAK. Me, I have no medical stuff in mine at all-I didnt build it for that. Its strictly for survival. Is this taking a chance? Perhaps-but, if I am in that dire need of medical treatment, I likely cannot fix it with a couple of band aids. But, thats my personal preference-YMMV.

I think I may have to agree with you on the FAK. I had not thought of it before, but you may be right about that. I am going to give this some more thought.

Do I see some agreement here? A new train of EDC thought? Perhaps even BOB theory? Skip the bandaids and put in better stuff? I'm going to call this Bane theory. Cover what will kill you. Not the paper cuts.

I'd keep the hygiene wipe for, well wiping, but replace the rest with a small tube of super glue.

Why super glue?

[ODA 226]

I really like that Altoids can setup! Very clever indeed.


One question, how do you tie up the 550 cord so that it doesn't come undone in your pocket or wherever you have it stored? I don't have much experience with wrapping, or all the different knots that could be used, so that peaks my interest.

Mind sharing how you did that?


Tim

1. Make a bite in your cord and place it on your Altoid tin.




2. Take the running end of your cord and wrap from the bottom to the top.



3. Put the running end of the cord through the top loop.



4. Pull the bottom of the standing end of the loop.



5. Tuck your tails in and....Voila!



Hope that helps!
Cheers!
Craig

[ODA 226]

1. *Try* to fit some quick clot in there (not sure if this is possible) at the expense of minor first aid gear. I am a hunter and a gunshot will kill me. A minor cut on the finger won't.

A quick note on the Altoids "oh shit" tins-for me, and I took this advice from someone else-there really isnt a need for a FAK in there-if you must, keep 2 of them-one as a survival kit, another as a small FAK. Me, I have no medical stuff in mine at all-I didnt build it for that. Its strictly for survival. Is this taking a chance? Perhaps-but, if I am in that dire need of medical treatment, I likely cannot fix it with a couple of band aids. But, thats my personal preference-YMMV.

I think I may have to agree with you on the FAK. I had not thought of it before, but you may be right about that. I am going to give this some more thought.

Do I see some agreement here? A new train of EDC thought? Perhaps even BOB theory? Skip the bandaids and put in better stuff? I'm going to call this Bane theory. Cover what will kill you. Not the paper cuts.

I'd keep the hygiene wipe for, well wiping, but replace the rest with a small tube of super glue.

Why super glue?

Super glue can be used to close superficial cuts and deep gashes.

[Dogan]

As usual, ODA, this thread of yours is full of win. Well done, sir.

[ODA 226]

Thank you Quackfiend!

[11b20]

that is tits im going to shamelessly steal most of your packing list

[ODA 226]

that is tits im going to shamelessly steal most of your packing list

No worries! Feel free to copy any and all of it and if you can find room for improvement, please post it here.
Cheers!
Craig

[ODA 226]

What I would do:

2. Wrap the fishing line and hooks around the matches in a match book. Hook is safe and secure and you have a back up fire starter. (Credit to Field and Stream for that one).

I wrapped 80 feet of fishing line around my Hotel Panama key card and wrapped my fishing hooks in 100 MPH tape to make sure I didn't get hooked.

[t0mills]

I really like that Altoids can setup! Very clever indeed.


One question, how do you tie up the 550 cord so that it doesn't come undone in your pocket or wherever you have it stored? I don't have much experience with wrapping, or all the different knots that could be used, so that peaks my interest.

Mind sharing how you did that?


Tim

1. Make a bite in your cord and place it on your Altoid tin.


2. Take the running end of your cord and wrap from the bottom to the top.


3. Put the running end of the cord through the top loop.


4. Pull the bottom of the standing end of the loop.


5. Tuck your tails in and....Voila!



Hope that helps!
Cheers!
Craig

Awesome!! Thanks a bunch, that really helps out!

Tim

[2now]

An improvement I can see, is if you have that much container, can you use something different that you could boil water in?
For example, what does a British mess tin look like?

Does anyone know how many ounces this setup displaces?

[ODA 226]

I have another Altoids tin and I'll try to boil some water in it tonight and report back here.

[oldsoldier]

I wont hijack ODA's thread, but I will post pics of mine up tonight. You couldnt really boil water in mine either-hence the purification tabs

[ODA 226]

I wont hijack ODA's thread, but I will post pics of mine up tonight. You couldnt really boil water in mine either-hence the purification tabs

I've never tried to boil water in an Altoids tin either...hence the water-tabs.

[suhsjake]

One word, epic.

This kit is going to be on my new edc bag.

[ODA 226]

It is possible to boil water in an Altoids tin without the tin failing. I did it last night over an open grill flame. Be careful because that little sucker gets hot and boils water FAST! This is the only advantage I see in using an Altoids tin vs. an Otter 1000 case, but I intend on purchasing an Otter 1000 and experiment with it also. It may be a while, but I'll post it when complete.