Make an Altoids Tin Survival Kit
Click here to buy survival kits
Sometimes it takes a tragedy to focus attention on preparedness and wilderness survival.
An Altoids tin survival kit is a valuable survival tool, but it does not have everything you need! (Pantenburg photos)
by Leon Pantenburg
Beyond the Office Door the world is a
dangerous place, and you could be stranded out in the thick of things without the slightest warning.
When safe inside your home or safe behind the standing desk in your office cubicle it’s easy to forget how fragile our lives are. The Altoids Tin Survival Kit and the supplies within could very well be the difference between life and death when you need it most.
The idea behind the Survival CommonSense.com Altoids Tin Survival kit started after two fatalities in Central Oregon in late 2006.
In November, veteran snowmobiler Roger Rouse, 53, of Bend, died of hypothermia in Deschutes National Forest, about 10 miles west of Bend. He and his son had intended to only be out for a morning ride when a fierce snowstorm overwhelmed them. (To read the complete story, click here.)
Less than a month later, in December 2006, Californian James Kim, 35, died in the Rogue River Wilderness after leaving his wife and children to get help. The family car was stuck in snow on a remote road. (To see Larry King’s coverage of the Kim tragedy, click here.)
Shortly after the Kim tragedy, the editor of The Bulletin in Bend, Oregon, asked me to put together a
practical winter survival guide.
“Talk to (Deschutes County) Search and Rescue, find out what the trends are, and what gear people need to take with them,” the editor said. “Then, come up with a practical survival kit for our readers, based on the experts’ recommendations. This is an investigative assignment. Check out all sources, and test everything.”
The Altoids tin kit is a small piece of that project, and it is by no means all you should carry for survival!!! But you need to have something in your pockets, in the event you are separated from your gear.
This keyring kit is one way to keep some of the basic survival tools with you at all times. On the keyring: LED flashlight, fingernail clippers, whistle, Boy Scout Hot Spark firemaker and Classic Swiss Army knife. The other knife rides in a pouch on my belt, wherever it is legal.
I couldn’t find a pocket-sized commercial survival kit that was worth a damn. In some, the quality of gear was pathetic. In others, unnecessary or cheap filler items were included to flesh out the list of “necessities.”
One kit, I found at the local sporting goods box store is called “The Essentials Survival Can” and retails for $4.99. The components are: one book of “waterproof” matches; three feet of duct tape, four fish hooks, a whistle, and emergency cord.
In January, 2007, I asked the late Dr. Jim Grenfell of Bend to help develop a survival kit that would fit into a standard Altoids mint tin. This pocket kit would be limited in size to an Altoids tin, and weigh about five ounces. (That’s about what an iPod weighs, or my wallet, depending on which side of payday we’re on!)
An incessant tinker, Grenfell was also an Air Force combat veteran and graduate of three Air Force wilderness survival schools. I made an Altoid kit, too, and for the next several months, we added and subtracted gear, and tested, researched and refined the final kits.
Once the kit was completed, two veteran outdoorsmen took the prototype on a backpacking trip for final testing. Their input lead to further refinement. (To read their review, click on Altoids tin survival kit test.)
The final kit is not cheap to make. It will cost between $50 to $60, depending on the quality of the materials. But I have several, and one rides in my coat or hip pocket at all times.
Carry your Altoids survival kit in a waterproof container for added security.
Here’s the list of what you need:
• Altoids tin
• Six pieces of duct tape, about 2-1/2 to 3 inches long, layered on top and bottom.
• Rubber bands cut out of bicycle tube. They can be used for firestarter, as well as keeping the Altoids tin cover shut.
These items go inside:
1. 12-inch square of aluminum foil
2. Bicycle tube rubber bands on outside of container
3. Two alcohol prep pads
4. Petroleum jelly: use for medical needs, and in conjunction with jute twine and flint stick for fire-making
5. Compass
6. Emergency whistle
7. Boy Scout Hot Spark wrapped in 18 inches of jute twine. Used with petroleum jelly and item 13 for fire-making
8. LED flashlight
9. Glover’s needle and 2 feet of dental floss
10. Signal mirror
11. 6 feet of seine twine
12. Pills: aspirin, Imodium, Benadryl, water purification
13. Knife — (Swiss Army Classic: contains knife and screwdriver blades, scissors, tweezers and toothpick)
14. Safety pins and nail
15. 12 feet of 19-gauge annealed wire
16. Waxed fire starter
Not intended to be the primary collection of survival gear, the Altoids tin kit is designed to be compact, and easy and convenient to carry. It was never intended to replace a complete survival kit.
For more information, click on making your own survival kits!
Naturally, different opinions abound!
I have no use for a Mylar blanket in any form or fashion. I made my signal mirror out of unbreakable mirror replacement material from the local auto shop. I don’t glue it anywhere, because it needs to be removable to be used. I would use different rubber bands, but the idea is to make a kit that is not bulky and is convenient to carry. Anything that contributes to this lack of convenience could make you want to leave the kit at home.
Those are my thoughts – thanks for your input!
Add at least one mylar reflective blanket (2 are better, one for cover and one for a tent), swap out the (breakable) mirror for 1/2 a CD glued inside the cover of the Altoids box, with a hole drilled thru both for sighting, and swap out the tire tubes for two or three 12″, thick red rubber bands and you have my kit. Good stuff, thanks.
The best bet is read, research your needs in your environment, and make your own kit. One-size-fits-all doesn’t apply to a survival kits!
For a side note I think when looking into making your kit that you need to concider the seasons as well as your personal skill. My kits also focus on fire Starting and first aid. I think if they focus on the fact that it is what will help you get survived by rescue, but needs to help you survive on your own for a matter 5-7 days is key. The big reason I mentioned earlier concider the seasons what you need in summer may not help you in winter. I say this even living near Buffalo NY where if you don’t like the weather wait 5 minutes it will change. Well in 5 minutes could be a matter of life or death dependant on the season your prepared for.
Congradulations on knowing Jim – he was a great friend and I miss him very much.
Leon, thanks for having me on your automatic mailing list. I happen to be travelling through Arctic Village in Alaska teaching the schoolkids winter survival this week, so I enjoyed reviewing some of the goodies you put in your micro kit. My kits focus on firestarter stuff, a rescue mirror, wire, knife, and space blanket. Last night we were the coldest spot in the state (-19F), so it is good practice. Jim Grenfell was a friend of mine from ’77-’81,when I was a greenhorn teenager, before I moved to Alaska, and I must say that he was instrumental in teaching me the woodskills I have today- skills that later saved my hide numerous times in the past 30 years in the north country. Glad to see you referencing him in your article- it gives it a lot of weight, in my book. Best wishes!
There is a small mirror in the tin. I don’t have a magnifying glass because I have one on my compass. Since space is at a premium, you have to think about what goes in!
how about a small mirror and a small kids magnifying glass?
any more info on how to use some of these items??
wire, bicycle tube, glover’s needle??
thanx
I actually have several of them that I have built. One that stays in my backpack, one for my car and Get Home Bag, one in my BoB as a last resort, one with my hiking gear, etc… Each one might be built slightly differently with many of the contents being the same…
The ingredients SHOULD vary, depending on a person’s skill levels in different areas. The idea is to give folks my list of items, so they can add or subtract as needed.
I carried an Altiods tin survival kit in my jacket pocket when elk hunting last month, even though I had a complete wilderness survival kit in my fanny pack. The Altoids kit only weighs 5 ounces, and that’s a pretty light life insurance policy!
I did a post pretty close to this using an altoid box but the ingrediants were a little different. I think it is an awesome idea to have one of these on hand. It never hurts to be safer than sorry.
Whitetail Woods Blog / Deer Hunting and Blackpowder Shooting at it’s best.
Sounds like a great idea! I’ll get on it!
Interior (packing) photos would be very helpful, too – sometimes the difference between what can and can’t be carried inside a tin has to do with the orientation inside – it’s like a game of tetris. Other tricks like cutting down match length or packing tinder into straws, etc. could be shared or expounded on to serve as a second section to this very useful article.