I doubt ETS members could be the beneficiaries, but it's nice to see someone doing something right.



Now all they have to do is send the boxes out before a disaster strikes, and we're golden.

Looks interesting. shelterboxusa.org has a better break down of what is in there.

My first grumble, and I quote:
"• One pack of 180 water purification tablets and one 5 gallon flat-pack water container (Each tablet will purify a full container of water providing 1,800 gallons of clean drinking water which should be sufficient for a family of ten for up to three months)."

I'm not worried about the 5 gallon container. It is the 1800 gallons of water for a 3 months for ten people. That is a gallon per day. Yes, it is in keeping with the drinking water requirement, but how many of us don't think it needs to be ramped up?

But I do like that they have a pocket knife. Someone who's been there and survived that must have been consulted, rather than some PR flak with Google.

I think this is a great start for anybody to have on hand, no matter there level of preparedness. A civic group, church, local org. could put a few together and keep them for needed emergencies. Donations from Box Stores could help keep the cost done and tax deductible to individuals or families.

They do? I've been unable to find it on either site. Could you link me?

Here you are: Shelterbox contents

Cool. I wonder if it's of good quality.

Not too shabby. I do question that stove that they claim will burn "...old paint..." though. If I am looking at the correct thing in that photo, the stove looks a lot like an Optimus Hiker+ , which makes no such claim. I'd like to see the stove that can burn old paint, oil based of course...

To be fair, they said the other stove is optional.

Looks like it would be better than nothing. Add another box of food and a small group should be able to survive for a while.

"...A wood burning stove, or
• A multi-fuel stove that can burn anything from diesel to old paint!..."

Still, a paint burning stove???

I doubt that I would burn old paint, but if i didn't have anything else I might try old paint. Not sure I'd want to put up with any fumes it might give off though.

I'm thinking that oil based paint is gonna be pretty thick to try to run thru any stoves I have ever seen. And "old" paint is usually even thicker...

1800 gallons of water treating capacity isn't enough?

Hmmm...that brings up an interesting question, just how long/how well should a kit like this work? Seems to me that if you haven't found a source of potable water after you've hit the 1800 gallon mark, you've got issues to deal with that virtually no "survival box" is gonna fix.

John E

Conceptually its a shelter box, kind of the first step in survival. Looking at the deployments they've made this makes alot of sense, especially the Pakistani quake where they encountered altitude, freezing temps, and little surviving shelter. Getting people inside shelter keeps them from dying of exposure, and gives them a chance at the next level of survival. It should be very much what folks prepare for on this forum, the ability to stand up new shelter when your house is kaput in a night time earthquake, its cold and raining and your kids are shivering, their coats and clothing lost in the rubble along with grandma, Fido and the cats. Open a shelter box, set up a tent, get your kids inside, get them warm, recalibrate, then go out and begin to help others.

I think the calculation is wrong. It should be 900 gallons not 1800 gallons.

I agree.

Throw a parachute on it and the Air Guard could drop these things into disaster areas.

Just make sure the lid stays on, or the knives and shovels will come raining down...

Ok, lets assume that the water treatment chemicals will only treat 900 gallons of water. I still think that's an awful lot of water for what's basically an oversized survival kit.

Just how much gear/water/food are people thinking is acceptable for something like the Survival Box? It's not meant to replace civilisation is it?

John E

Sounds a good idea, but no mention of any light sources.
Would not a few 12 hour chemical lightsticks, or a long running battery LED lantern be a useful and cheap addition?

Remember, it's for usage that will often be 3rd or lower world countries, IMHO, Better to have too much water purification, than too little.

It is a refugee kit for 10 people in an nondetermined locale. 1 gallon per day per person for 90 days sounds about reasonable to me. Overall, I think it makes a nice base bug-out-box, and it worth replicating at a smaller scale as your own personal refugee kit. A 4-person version stuffed in an Action Packer tub would be a handy thing to have to throw in the vehicle in a bug out situation. Sure, it is not complete, but it is non-perishable and a good base.

Great idea - does it have instructions?

Replace, no. But the places they are talking about using this are literally GONE. Other than a few neighborhoods and few small towns in Katrina, the US really doesn't have a recent history of that. When more than have the buildings in a community are gone or untrustworthy, it takes more than a few weeks to get back to "normal" by anyone's terms.

After reading that Shelter Boxes are being sent to Japan, I decided to bump this thread.

Here's the link to ShelterBox USA. Seems like a highly practical kit, not like some of the junk I've seen in other prepackaged kits.

BTW, I want one of those wood burning Frontier Stoves.

http://www.shelterboxusa.org/about.php?page=9

I think whoever put the blurb in about burning own paint must have misread the information from the Optimus web site (in the UK Shelterbox site, it clearly shows an Optimus stove):

• White gasoline is generally a clean and energetic fuel suitable for use in liquid fuel stoves. Availability is good in North America. In Europe and other parts of the world, availability varies. Usually, you can find white gasoline in Outdoor shops. An alternative to white gasoline is heptanes that usually can be found in paint shops, hardware stores and similar.

Not a tragic flaw IMHO, and I still like the idea.

Sounds an excellent kit.
I would expect that the small woodstove would be especialy welcome by those afflicted by the Japanese disaster.
There would appear to be ample scrap wood from destroyed buildings to use as fuel.
Liquid fuels of all sorts seem to be virtually unobtainable, and of course the wood stove heats the room or shelter to a greater extent than a camping cookstove.
It might be worth sending flexible flue pipe, so as to permit use of the wood stove indoors.
Many refugees seem to sheltering in buildings that are weathertight, but still very cold as no heating fuel is available.
The tents may be less needed ? Food, drinking water, blankets, and heat sources seem to be the main needs.

I noticed that too. The Optimus stove in question is supposedly dual-fuel (gas/kerosene). And some of the kerosene available in the third world (for example) is said to be really terrible, low-grade stuff.

A kerosene stove could likely handle paint thinner (even used and filtered).

And I've noticed that old oil paint will separate into pigment and a clear, oily liquid. If you could filter this stuff and maybe thin it out somewhat, it might work.

dougwalkabout,

Those Frontier stoves are available from camping solutions here:

http://www.campingsolutions.co.uk/gallery/


They also make the Nomad stove which is probably the stove shown on the UK site. In the past I have seen the "paint" comment concerning these stoves - but I don't know if it is from camping solutions or some other place.

Would be great (if VERY expensive) if they would import to the US. There are however several portable wood stoves available in the US. The best was the WWII field wood/coal/oil/diesel unit. I used one for several winters, but the fellow who owned it would NOT part with it.

Respectfully,

Jerry

The Hunter SHA Arctic Space Heater is available here for $170 (which replaced the US mil Yukon M1950).

http://www.gr8gear.com/catalog/Camping-O...sue-Hunter-SHA/


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-GoXJiTuVHI

This thing is really cool. I'm glad someone finally came up with something simple like this. It looks almost identical to my 'GTFO' totes.

I'll probably write a blog post this weekend on it but for now I'll summarize in that I go by a theory of expanding options based on time/availability.

1 minute to get out - Grab BOB(s) and run.
5 Mins to get out - Grab BOB(s) and "base camp" bag (almost identical to this kit, except it's in a large cargo bag)
20 mins to get out - Grab BOB(s), "base camp" bag, and 3 large rubbermaid totes filled with approx 80lbs of food each. Place in "bug out vehicle" and get out. Grab the two 25 gal water drums (approx 130lbs ea) and load into vehicle. Yes, I've tested this, it's a tight fit but it does work even with the wife and kid .


1 Hr or more - Do the stuff for 20 mins, then sit down, have a beer, joke about how everyone is going nuts. :P

EDIT: clarification on my "GTFO" totes - I don't sell them (yet) but I use them in my own house and recommend others do so too

I'm always leery about buying, recommending, depending on commercially prepared kits. I have yet to find a kit I even marginally agree with on every choice. A kit that is good now can slide when the manufacturers cut costs. Month to month quality can vary widely. There is also the fact that a kit is designed around a situation. If my emergency situation differs from the needs the kit was designed to address you are going to end up with excesses and holes.

There is also the question of cost. Many companies that assemble kits are small. Some may only sell a few hundred kits a year. Because of this they buy the gear and supplies retail. Often not much cheaper than what you or I could get from local stores. Which is okay but the company has overhead, expenses, and a desire for some profit. If you buy retail and then sell it you are going to mark it up to, typically twice or three times, what you got it for. Which explains why so often survival kits have stuff you could buy at the local big-box for $100 selling for $200 or more.

I've found I can pretty easily assemble a better kit, one fitted to my disposition and situation, for much less.

That said I think the Shelterbox offering is not a bad selection of gear. The stove is certainly interesting. I'm not sure where I could buy one. Any ideas?

The weakness is in the price. Wow. That's, what ... better than $700 in USD?

I think that's the donation price (actually something like $1000 suggested donation IIRC). That provides the stuff/hardware, support for an organization that's ready to deploy at once, and transport to the place it's needed. When you break all that down, I guess the price makes a bit more sense.

Also, I believe they customize the kit based on what's needed. Perfectly reasonable approach, I think.

Not that I have any first-hand experience with the stuff in the kit. The list seems right, and if the quality is good, I'd love to take it for a test drive (I'd pay shipping). More seriously, though, maybe they should ship one to Mr. D.R. for a close, unbiased look.

...I would suggest an addition of a $45 Sawyer Filter, .1 micron 5gal adapter kit, and a 5gal bucket and you would have an outstanding kit

"The stove is certainly interesting. I'm not sure where I could buy one. Any ideas?"


The stove is very similar to those used in elk camps. Cabela's has one they call the 'Wall Tent Barrel Stove' on sale for around $230 (sorry, I can't seem to get the picture or link to post).

The Shelter Box is a really cool idea.. Glad to see someone thinking.. even if it is inside the Box..

@art

For the stove (wood) I'd recommend:
http://www.sportsmansguide.com/net/cb/cb.aspx?a=645055

For the other stove (multifuel) I'd recommend:
The MSR dragonfly - personal choice but in fairness I should say I'm not completely unbiased as I do sell them


Further disclosure: I'm a private customer of, but have no business relationship to sportsmansguide. I wish I could sell those stoves at all, let alone at that price.

Thanks [garland] for the camp stove listing at Sportsman's Guide. Seems like a nice little stove that might provide a central gathering point for a small camp, or group of survivors. Much safer and more practical than a campfire IMHO.

Less chance of the fire running away or people getting burned by rolling or falling into it. More efficient in fuel use I suspect. The smoke emerging up high, reads like the cap is roughly 5'6" when set up, is better for people who may have breathing issues. More convenient and practical, no need for a heavy grate or tripod irons, when heating a pot of coffee, boiling water, or doing light cooking.

Gathering wood, and tending the fire gives kids some light work you can assign them to so they feel more in useful and in control. Put some kids on gathering wood, someone tending the fire, and a third to keep the hot drinks coming and do light cooking and you have an active and productive core. Set up a wind block near the stove, ideally something that will reflect the heat back, and you have a small warming station.

It is a small unit with limited heat output so you can't effectively cluster too many people around it but it looks like it might work for four, maybe six, adults and two or three kids.

$70 doesn't sound unreasonable. The steel is likely thin so if you get a week or ten days of constant use it will likely be mulched but I like it for a survival situation.