# Fun with an Altoids tin



## AlexSchira (Nov 5, 2006)

I remember months and months back, I was trying to tune up the EDC of a younger friend of mine still in high school. Some one hinted at making a survival kit in an Altoids tin. I didn't give it much thought, but just yeserday, that same kid and I found ourselves sitting around the apartment waiting for my girlfriend to bring home dinner. Ironicaly, there was an empty Altoids tin lying around on my desk, and like many members of my species, my apartment is littered with little odds and ends that make people wonder if I'm still waiting for Y2K. I'm not a paranoid, I'm just too lazy to clean up. 

By the time the food came, my young prodigy had randomly made a little EDC survival kit in that same extra-small candy tin. He just got that bored. So of course, I went and took pictures of the thing, and actually want to try expanding on the concept with the help of this board's brain trust. Give the kid some credit, not that bad an idea, with decent execution. But for now, let's tear this thing apart and rebuild it from the ground up. I refuse to be outdone by a kid who doesn't even have a drivers license yet, I'm that insecure. 







Contents of kit:

Leatherman Micra, recently replaced by P4 Squirt on my keychain
Two hospital-wrapped Tylenol from a friend slash registered nurse
Common sewing thread, bright orange
Two Rubber Bands
Safety Pin 
Tin Foil
Couple feet of duct tape, wrapped around a shortened toothpick. (...Why didn't I thiink of that?)






Packed neatly and tightly into an Altoids Smalls tin, this thing is about the size of a thin lighter, can sit in the palm of your hand easily. It's an eighth te side of the bigger tins, the lid slides up and down.






Doesn't raise an eyebrows, perfectly covert...Just don't take it through a metal detector. 

The weakest aspect is probably the flimy thread, and the fact a few more things could probably fit in there without crammming. A sewing needle is a given, maybe a folded dollar bill, maybe find a different way of storing the duct tape. Thoughts, opinions, wisecracks about what I shyould call this thing, all welcome. Thank you in advance, I'll be standing by to modify the pictures if they're too large.


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## powernoodle (Nov 5, 2006)

I like it. This (and other) mini-survival kits are neat. Makes me want to re-evaluate the contents of my Maxpedition Jumbo that lives in my SUV.

See the survivalist forum (or whever its called) at bladeforums.com, and also Doug Ritter's website (link) for more ideas on what to stash in your kit.

Edit: see also this Altoid kit .

And this cool one. 

peace


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## Illum (Nov 5, 2006)

I like it too, makes me think of
http://www.campingsurvival.com/surkit.html

I used one or two for battery holders once you line the inside with electrical tape....but the 9Vs shorts anyway

tried this http://www.aarondunlap.com/index.php?content=electronics/usba
so inefficient that the heat from the ic melted solder all over the place:thumbsdow


the survival pack is probably the best idea I can think of in terms of trash to treasure:goodjob:


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## tebore (Nov 5, 2006)

DUDE!!! You're missing the greatest multi-tool ever made. THE PAPERCLIP!

MacGuyver doesn't leave home without it, you shouldn't either. How are you going to defuse and make your own bomb without one?


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## Sharpdogs (Nov 5, 2006)

Put the rubberband on the outside and throw in a photon or Inova keychain light. I would also ad a method for fire like a mini bick or AMK Spark Lite https://edcdepot.com/merchantmanager/product_info.php?cPath=4&products_id=129 I keep an Altoids in my jacket or Maxpedition Fatboy. I have had to use it a few times but mostly for the Ammodium AD or Advil. Throw a few asprin in there. They take up very little room.


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## Omega Man (Nov 5, 2006)

powernoodle said:


> And this cool one.
> 
> peace


This was the first survival kit my friend made, after reading about them in some magazine. The guy who patented this survival Altiod tin wrote a book, and he bought it and met the guy and got his signature. A year later he finds out about County Comm:rock:
I have a Natural American Spirits cigarettes tin that's full of batteries in my bookbag, and various other little holders/tin of stuff. One is a round tin from the Republic of Tea company (http://www.republicoftea.com/), I have a bunch of birthday-cake sized candles and strike anywhere matches in it, with a strike pad. The tea tins are great!


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## Yager (Nov 5, 2006)

i hear all you really need IS a paperclip. you can trade them for just about anything!


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## AlexSchira (Nov 5, 2006)

I've added a sewing needle, and a little fire starter kit I cannibalized out of a matchbook. A friend tipped me off that I could just cut out the striker stripe of the matchbook, throw in a match or two, instant makeshift fire kit. 

As for making my own, I've obtained one of the full-szied tins and have stocked with so far with the following. 
2 Band-aids
Packet of first aid cream
2 Wraped Tylenol
Allergy pill 2 Foam Earplugs
Tin foil
Several matches, match book stripe
Mini Bic
Sewing needle/thread, wrapped around lighter
A few rubber bands wrapped around objects
One Victorinox Spartan, takes up most of the case, only SAK I had on hand. 
Rescure 40 Howler Whistle, straight from the Doug Ritter supplier
Duct tape on toothpick
...One paper clip. 

Still working on the bigger kit, but the smaller one is stocked to the brim and ready to roll. Hardest part is just getting the wrapped Tylenol to stay straight, but I keep it in the sterile wrapping so I could hand them to some one who needs them, and they won't think it's a drug or poisoned. But if this were purely personal use, an extremely tiny bag for the two pills would save space enough for something else. Doubt there's room for a Photon in the smaller kit, but the larger kit would accomodate one easily if I took out the whiistle or lighter.


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## PhantomZ (Nov 5, 2006)

i say leave out the rubber bands because they will get old, crack or get kinda sticky with age. the leatherman is good but bulky (i have a micra on my keychain for over 8 years now). maybe to be able to have more items with still more room left over, maybe try replacing the leatherman with a couple sealed razers, one of those tweezers+toothpick from a swiss knife, those military can opener/pry thing (there was a long list of stuff you can use it for, including scratching as itch), couple waterproof matches. and.... iuno.. cant think of anything right now. maybe i'll add some more ideas later?


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## powernoodle (Nov 5, 2006)

This is a cool thread. You guys are sickos - I love it. Now I've started to assemble my own Altoids kit.

peace


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## oregonshooter (Nov 5, 2006)

Micro kits, cool! :runs off to experiment table..:


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## Stormstaff (Nov 6, 2006)

Very cool!!


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## ugrey (Nov 6, 2006)

Add 2 wire twist ties, 2 plastic locking cable wraps, two safety pins, a razor blade, a P38 can opener and sustitute dental floss for the thread. It is much stronger.


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## Manzerick (Nov 6, 2006)

Very good idea!

I have one tin sitting with me right now. I have some work to do to finnish...


he night is young LOL


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## Manzerick (Nov 6, 2006)

The more I think about it...I use to do this with a Tic Tac container when I was very young (maybe 7-8)


Always a button (no clue why?) a dime for a phone call, matches cut down to fit, thread and a needle..

Not real useful but I had the EDC idea as a "YOUTE"


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## soapy (Nov 6, 2006)

AlexSchira said:


> Hardest part is just getting the wrapped Tylenol to stay straight, but I keep it in the sterile wrapping so I could hand them to some one who needs them, and they won't think it's a drug or poisoned.


So if Tylenol isn't a drug, why is it in there? :lolsign: 

It's a good idea. I've got a bought one, somewhere. I don't even know where it is, though. My EDC doesn't include a lot of stuff, like bandages and the like, since I'm too urban. A plaster is as far as it goes, and that's part of the SAK Champ I EDC on my belt. Also has a compass, 2 safety pins, two lock picks, a sharpening stone and some matches. I also carry the Zipka+, moulded earplugs and a leatherman, plus a load of junk in my pockets.

Last time I cleared them out, I found a USB thumbdrive, several spent shell casing, tap washers, 10mm coach bolts, tissues and towelette things from KFC (very handy) and some very sticky sweets. Can you guess which of those prompted the clear-out?


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## pathalogical (Nov 6, 2006)

ugrey said:


> Add 2 wire twist ties, 2 plastic locking cable wraps, two safety pins, a razor blade, a P38 can opener and sustitute dental floss for the thread. It is much stronger.


Speaking of twist ties...has anyone noticed how kids toys are packaged ? They have several pieces of plastic coated wire holding the toy securely in the box. Depending on the size of the toy, the more wire you might get. This definitely should replace the thin-wire-wrapped-in-paper twist ties, that usually pricks your finger like a syringe.


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## IanJ (Nov 15, 2006)

I did something conceptually similar, but a bit bigger. I went out and got myself one of those cheap mini-Pelican cases, the 1010, and filled it with first-aid stuff. It's not really complete, but this is what I've got in there so far:

* ibuprofen (brown pills)
* Tylenol (white pills)
* diphenhydramine allergy tablets
* Tums
* 3 2x2" compresses
* 2 knuckle bandages
* 2 fingertip bandages
* 7 large bandages (1x3")
* 4 medium bandages (.75x3")
* 4 neosporin packets
* 2 wet ones wipes

It really needs some tape, some safety pins, and probably other stuff. I carry scissors, flashlight and knife on my belt, so they're not necessary to the kit. If I was making it more general purpose, such as I might hand off to someone else to use, it would include little tweezers (it could use those anyway), small folding scissors, a small knife, and a little flashlight, like an Arc AAA.

There's still space in the box, but if I add much more stuff, opening and closing it will become a real adventure. I made up the kit because I realized I had a bunch of supplies left over from making a motorcycle first aid kit, and it'd be nice to have a little kit with me. So far, I've made use of it exactly once, yesterday, to bandage a hangnail that started bleeding. (I'm such a wuss )


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## pathalogical (Nov 15, 2006)

Alex,
An improvement for your duct tape on a toothpick could be a Classic Bic pen cut to size slightly longer than the width of the tape. If you cap both ends (one end is already capped with a blue thingy) you could keep needle/pins in the hollow portion of the pen, or what ever else may fit in. 

An alternate to the Altoids tin could be the math geometry set box readily available at the office supply store. Larger in size, about 7" x 3" x 1" thick would be ideal for knapsacks. I used one to make a guitar repair kit with some small tools in it.


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## HEY HEY ITS HENDO (Nov 15, 2006)

Great thread guys!!  neat idea IanJ .. you`ve prompted me to assemble something similar with first aid kit in ....




AlexSchira said:


> my apartment is littered with little odds and ends that make people wonder if I'm still waiting for Y2K. I'm not a paranoid, I'm just too lazy to clean up


Alex, join the club mate!! when my brother called in one time he said "My garage is tidier than this house"...of course i won`t own up to being lazy it`s just that there are a zillion things more interesting to do instead :laughing:


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## BillCurnow (Nov 16, 2006)

IanJ said:


> I went out and got myself one of those cheap mini-Pelican cases, the 1010, and filled it with first-aid stuff.


Mind my asking where you sources the vials and the individual packets of Wet Ones?


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## dw51 (Jan 14, 2007)

What a great thread.

One thing I haven't seen listed yet is latex gloves. Probably not for the altoid tin kit, but anything larger should have a pair. If you are rendering first aid to anyone but yourself or close family member, you should have some. I'm sure we can find many other uses as well.....


Something else for the kit is dryer lint. This can be very compact and an excellent firestarter.


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## justmyluck (Jan 14, 2007)

DW...I am so happy to hear you say that! I had the idea that dryer lint might make a good firestarter, but hadn't seen it said anywhere. I've been saving some in a zip lock for a month now, and just hadn't gotten a chance to try it out.

Although it is much bigger than the minimalist Altoids container, another thing to consider is a 1 liter polycarbonate wide mouth drinking bottle. Almost indestructable, easy to get things into and out of, and plenty of space. Wish I could say I thought of it, but I didn't...just can't remember where I read it. I've been putting a couple together for the two cars we have.

Great Thread!

Eric


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## Double_A (Jan 14, 2007)

A good source for packaged single portion medicines, wipes etc is a gas station convience store.

They are expensive compared to you 750 count Motrin at Costco, however they are just the ticket for this type of kit.

Asprin, tylonol, advil, caffine, peptobismol, anti-diarreal, vitamins, wet wipes can all be had this way in my local gas station


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## TXArsonCop (Jan 14, 2007)

IanJ said:


> * diphenhydramine allergy tablets



A better idea would be benadryl. These could be taken normally in case of contact with a typical allergen or chewed in the case of an anaphylactic reaction. For that reason I would suggest double the normal adult dosage which, IIRC is 2 tablets, for a total of 4.

Obviously, if you know you're susceptible to anaphylactic reactions and carry an auto-injector with you at all times then the benadryl wouldn't be quite so important. But if you're out and about or just live somewhere where EMS may take a bit longer to get to you benadryl can make the difference.

Just a little advice from one of the forum's firefighter/emts who also happens to specialize in vertical, cave rescue and search & rescue.


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## powernoodle (Jan 14, 2007)

Benedryl is diphenhydramine.


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## TXArsonCop (Jan 14, 2007)

But of course! If I'd taken a bit longer to think about that I might have saved myself the embarrassment!

We tend to refer to drugs by the trade names that are most easily recognizable to the general public so we tend to forget their actual names. 


I assure you sir/ma'am, we haven't dropped a patient.... today!


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## 65535 (Jan 14, 2007)

nice kit I may consider using my Otter 1000 case for such a thing but right now it has batteries...too bad SF has my U2 (damn selector ring). I like to have my surge on me at all times a zippo a phone a wallet and a light. Usually (and I am allergic to very few things (asprin is about the worst thing) I find little need for most things like anti hystamines. Plus I don't do much outdoorsie stuff and there really aren't woods around here.


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## Monocrom (Jan 14, 2007)

Nice kit. But if you took out the Micra, you'd have even more room. If you carry a Micra or Squirt on your keyring, you're likely to always have it on you.


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## jds009 (Jan 15, 2007)

all you need is some paracord, a sewing kit (can bend the needle to make fishing hook), & a multi tool, all of which can be found on me at all times. 
Sewing kit in my wallet, paracord on a bracelet or fob, & my multi. but i do like the little roll of duct tape idea! thanks


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## thermal guy (Mar 3, 2020)

Thought I’d post my little kit as I’m getting ready to repack it. Probably a big mistake, chances of me getting all that back in is slim😁. I plan on making one for just light. I can fit 6 AA” easily in one as well as ONE OF DATILED Fantastic 1.5 volt battery drainer. That’s well over a month of light.


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## 5S8Zh5 (Mar 4, 2020)

They make great portable headphone amps that'll drive tsa up the wall lol. Shown with 9v removed.


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## aginthelaw (Mar 4, 2020)

I have an i love lucy tin, sponge bob, heart shaped altoids tin, republic of tea tins, mini tins, and almost all of them i turned into survival tins. The kids lost interest in their tins so I upgraded those and kept them. I do acquire my wife’s hair pins occasionally since handcuff keys break sometimes. They’re great in a pinch. I backed up a tactical officer that broke his key off in a pair of cuffs. I pulled the hair pin out of my shirt and showed him the mechanics of using it. It even works with the broken part in there. Next thing I know it’s part of my curriculum as a training officer. It beats calling the fire department to cut it of with a mini saw



You just have to pick the tips off. They were also shown how not to miss it during a search


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## thermal guy (Mar 5, 2020)

So they really are that easy to pick? No wonder you guys have to do a good search before you put them in back😁


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## Cobra 6 Actual (Nov 3, 2020)

So far you’ve listed Altoids tins being used for first aid kits, survival kits, and portable headphone amps. Here are a couple of other uses: melt a candle into one and put the wick in the middle (hey, this here is the Candlepowerforums, right?), a mini fishing tackle box, a way to make and carry char cloth. Other ideas?

And there are several companies selling nylon or kydex pouches to hold that Altoids tin.


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## Poppy (Feb 23, 2021)

*Altoids Tin Survival*

Cutting edge (Utility knife Blade)

Water purification

Fire - Flashlight - Compass

Cordage... (Wire and Dental floss)


Missing a whistle, and mylar/space
blanket 


*Fire:

Cut down Magnesium bar with flint bar
and hacksaw blade striker

Small Bic lighter

Three sealed plastic straws of
vaselined cotton balls mixed with Mg dust.


Water:
coffee filter (to be used as a prefilter) (SHTF dust mask)
folded aluminum 16-24oz. container (made from aluminum (approximately 7"x9") cut from throw-away aluminum roasting pan)
folded 2 qt mylar bag marked at 16 and 24 oz.
2 spring clips to hold bag over fire
22 ga wire wrapped around lighter
12 iodine tablets in 3 sealed straws

instructions for pasteurize temp and iodine use

candle to melt at 145F and 160F as a pasturization thermometer

gumball size plumber's putty to repair alum container (I unfolded one that I made and found that the corner developed a hole in it)

Additional items

Utility knife blade taped to cover

12 lumin 4 button cell Browning bore-scope flashlight 8 hours runtime

compass

six feet minted dental floss.
six feet 22 guage wire wrapped around lighter
<HR> __________________________________________________ _____________________</hr>

The standard magnesium bar with mesh metal flint glued to the side takes up WAY too much room. I cut off about 80% of it and put some of the shavings into a straw with the vaseline coated cotton balls. I left some of the Magnesium to give the mesh metal support, it would be a bad situation if it snapped on me. That though would give you a lot more room in your's.

*


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## xxo (Feb 23, 2021)

My altoids kit:


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## Poppy (Feb 23, 2021)

xxo,
I like your kit!

Is that a home made knife, two blade saw? Very cool.

I put some of my stuff into straws. I held the ends together with needle nose plyers, and melted them together over a flame. Iodine degrades with air/moisture, and corrodes everything in the tin,


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## xxo (Feb 23, 2021)

Poppy said:


> xxo,
> I like your kit!
> 
> Is that a home made knife, two blade saw? Very cool.
> ...




It's a derma safe razor knife that I drilled a hole for jig saw blades, one for wood and one for metal.

I used to use the fat slurpee straws for sealing stuff in, usually mineral oil/cotton balls for fire starting. The slurpee straws are much better for this than thinner straws.

BTW, There is also a P38 can opener that goes in the kit.


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## Poppy (Feb 23, 2021)

I love the deep woods towels. Whenever I see an episode of "naked and afraid" and see them all bitten up, I think... screw the knife! Give me insect repellant!

I never considered a P38. What are the chances I'll be out in the wild, and come across a can of beans?
Two things that are severely lacking in my kit is a whistle, and a mylar emergency blanket.
Actually if I am out on a hike, where I'll be carrying the altoids kit, it'll be in a fanny pack with additional gear, and a bottle of water, or a one liter stainless bottle. FAK and mylar blanket will be included, along with a pump bottle of deet.
hmmm,. I can't find a dump out picture of it.

My EDC includes a cooyoo keychain flashlight and gerber EAB


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## Booga (Oct 10, 2021)

Interesting thread. As a kid I started putting together a kit in an old tobacco tin based on the suggestions in this book:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_SAS_Survival_Handbook
I probably still have it somewhere.

These days I have a slimmed down kit for overnight camping trips which stays in my hiking bag.


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