i keep trying to find Spam type cans that i can seal,really seal and not tape shut,for my own food items,a mix of good stuff and just not power bars.in the photo below is my old Storm Kit.i carried that for years wrapped in layers of plastic and aluminum foil along with the military food can.

i never opened either one until last summer when i pulled out the few things in the Storm kit for the first time.the cover shows what it's good for,a fire,windbreak and a hot drink.the Spam can of some sort of ration i never got into but the idea of having a can to heat food and drinks in,no matter how simple,seemed to be really necessary.i want a can that will seal so i don't get into it for "snacks" and the shape carries well in a jacket pocket.



here are three other items that went into that kit.a ResQpack,you squeeze it and inflate a small water wings type life jacket.i thought that might be handy for crossing small streams.i know--bad idea.. the foil bag is very old,one of the first made.i never unwrapped that but it's two heavy sheets held together with green tape.last is the Army gas shelter.like the can of rations i could get those at the local surplus store for less than a buck.i had a bunch and used them in Scouts to see how they would work as a rain shelter.the top bit is clear so you can see out but you would not want to spend much time in one as it's like a un-vented trash bag.

Hmmm, interesting. I'll see what the lady in charge of the cannery can come up with.

-Blast

Here's one. The plastic case that carries the First Aid Kit, Individual is Spam can size, locks, and looks to be basically water proof.

Let me know if that interests you! You know how to find me Blast!!

wildman..plastic is no good,i want something i can put over a small fire and heat water or food in.the old Storm Kit was made to do that using a tire patch can.

Canoedogs, how about something like this?

-Blast

One thing I tried and it worked, was to use one of those can openers that does not cut the metal (safety can opener/side opening can opener), but separates the seam. Once washed the lid fits nicely back on the can and it works with most cans. I have used smoked oyster tins for PSKs. I use tape, which I know you did not want to do, so you might be able to solder the lid back or if tape is a possibility consider that self-sealing silicone tape to make it water resistant.


Safet Can Opener

Safety Can Opener

Safety Can Opener


Pete

the side opener is a thought,i'll work on that over the winter,Blast i have looked a several bento and lunch box's and they have the "too big-too small" problem.i have quite a few that i bought to try out,i should post a photo to give a idea whats out there for other kit makers.

I've used the same idea that paramedicpete has with the safety can openers. After opening the can and enjoying all the meaty or soupy goodness, I just fill it with whatever survival stuff I want and use a small bead of JB Weld around the rim to reseal. It works great if you are using cans with pull top lids. Spam and Campbell's pull top soup cans are the only ones I have tried, but they seem to work well.

No affiliation to Spam, Campbell's or JB Weld. I just like to eat and stick things together.

And now Blast has to clean coffee off his computer...
That was really funny!

-Blast

boom--that's the best idea so far!..

Canoedogs...

I've seen your idea posted before and was curious. How were you intended to seal the Spam cans if you got them?

I thought maybe that solder-in-a-tube stuff, but if that is lead (I don't know), might you not have lead toxicity problems if you used it to heat water?

Sue

That almost made 2 of us. Just took a swallow of coffee and had water in my mouth.

Just wondering, where did you find that "spam" emergency ration can, do the have any more?

Sue--Diver..i was going to run the can thru one of those sealers i see on the web and Ebay.hand cranked and the sort of thing Blast will use on his #10 cans.now that i think about this more i recall going thru the Spam building at the Minnesota State Fair a few years ago and they had,along with flats of Spam,a hand cranked sealer bolted to a table.they sold lots of cute Spam stuff-hats,tee shirts,so it is something that can be done on a small scale.
Diver,the can is like the gas cape,i bought a few of each at a surplus store near Niagara Falls NY where i grew up in the mid 1960.there is/was? a big airbase there and the store was full of great stuff.another item was small cans of pemmican.i thought they would be great for winter camping and when i opened the first one on a Scout trip i was grossed out by the taste,sort of like rancid kidney fat,which was on the list of contents.one of the Scout leaders who had been in Korea said that it was great stuff and in the cold you just crave food like that.very few things from those days have made it this far..

I'm still pondering an idea to use the cut off at the top stainless steel hip flask for my PSK. It's very pocketable, the vertical design is better for boiling compared to flat cans, and it's much stronger than tin cans.

The problem is - I want to keep the flask function too. So, I'm stuck with the resealable lid design. Don't know how to make it watertight and at the same time able to withstand the high temperature of fire.

I was very interested to see a non-cutting can opener but they don't exist. They all cut metal. None uncrimp/separate the seam, its too much work.

See how double seams are formed

All the side-openers cut the outer most seam at 90 degrees, so when you lift the lid you're left with a rounded edge, put there by the double-seaming process.

I stand corrected. Thanks for the information; I always thought the safety can opener separated the seam, based upon the appearance of the lid and can.

Thanks-
Pete

The Anthony Hopkins survival movie you are thinking of is "The Edge" (1997) also starring Alec Baldwin and Bart the Bear. I thought it was a great movie!

the problem with a sardine can is that you can't really boil enough water in it, when you need it...

how about this?
http://mysigg.com/store/sigg-accessories...-box-green.html

i use this one:
http://mysigg.com/store/sigg-accessories...ge-box-red.html

its a bit big on the carry size, but it contains everything i might need, and fits into a cargo pocket.

I'll bet the container won't melt if it contains water. Is the aluminum alloy in these containers vastly different from that in most aluminum cook sets? Maybe it is, I really don't know.

Of course, I will generously offer to experiment with someone else's stuff...

Sort off tangent but, I wanted to seal my own "sardine can" psk.

Gray..i think you have the right idea.most sardine can kits have useless odds and ends so they can claim that they have everything you need,when what you really need in a small kit is food and fire.

I also liked the idea of having quality PSK items sealed in a solid, water proof, w/o perishable items like meds or food, could last decades. Just have to make sure to glue a p-38 can opener on it as a back to the pop lid. Made be a plastic cover if you do open it? Oh by the by bought a AMK SOL-3 kit it blew chunks, what a waste of $50. The original Ritter PSK kit is tons better. Would anyone like see to a review of that SOL3?

Gray..i see your new here so i'll repeat what i said about kits being sealed until you need them.no going into the PSK for a power bar snack,that's what a possibles bag is for.the new pull top cans are just right for this project and a Spam can has the "fits the pocket" shape that a soup can does not.

I tend toward the other strategy. My PSK items are integrated into my EDC (I am clearly a victim of EAS*).

When things start to go sideways, I want to use tools with which I am familiar and in which I have confidence. The last thing I want to do, when stressed out, is dealing with anything unfamiliar. I do make an exception for things like fire making kits, which I can duplicate easily and cheaply with familiar items.

This does of course mean that I need to stay organized and systematic. Lets just say there is room for improvement.

*Excessive Acronym Syndrome

No your not.

So your PSK isn't really an SK at all, but components of your EDC. That is great under normal conditions, but I like to keep a PSK and a FAK in my bag just in case TSHTF- in an emergency, I might not have time to grab my pants, or I might lose them or items in my pockets. So if i grab my basic LBE or GHB/EDC bag, I've got my true PSK and my FAK, along with a MT and SAK (and C/UK if it is my LBE) as a redundancy to my on body EDC. Of course, if it is serious situation but not yet TEOTWAWKI, I'm reaching for 96HR BOB who also has some redundant items while my hunting LBE transitions in role (not actual equipment, just a shift in TOE) to a 24HR ditch kit so that if jumped by RMZH while in my BOL, even if I have BOB apart I can still grab my LBE and E&E and not be SOL.

Unfortunately, due to ongoing R&D, my BOB is almost never ready to roll, so I'll be humping a tote of stuff down to my SUV with an empty ruck and filling it if needed- I'm basically in REDCON3 if not bugging in. Which is a weakness in my SOP, but without the external funding to go to 2x BOBs it just won't work. Now, if I do go to a MetHaz posture similar to HURCON3, then yes, BOB is loaded and I will BO ASAP to BOL1 due to a lack of P&W at my normal location should there be a compromise to the distribution network, but even at that point I'm still bringing supplimental items including my big FAK, a tote with 180HRs of consumables (other than H20), a couple of 5gallon H20 containers, my PC and EHDDs so I don't have dataloss nor worry about INFOCON at BOL1 assuming that power is running.

Now, if there is an EMP event, I will of course have to abandon the SUV and move out on foot using BOB as my lifeline. I'm still looking for a good carting system that I can put the 180HR box, a water tote and some less ruckable shelter items and push/pull it with me. However, most such carts limit my E&E routes to main traffic points, and along with RMZHs, I'll expect NatGaurd, VSP and CSO checkpoints, where I may have to use manditory evac methods which would force me to AIP everything but my LBE and BOB, assuming I'm not considered a POI due to my C/UK and PDW and be detained. And the bulk does become a liability if there are bridges out, so I might have not only AIP the cart but have a means to quickly DIP to discourage RMZHs.

But if it is a true TEOTWAWKI situation, I think we'll all be SOL because TEOTWAWKI it is something beyond normal comprehension. We'll miss something despite all our FeildExes- my money is on GI tract infections combined with malnutrition and WBPs, although as PPE is expended or dies on the shelf, BBPs become a risk if the patients outlive the PPE. And it just costs too much to have a CBR protection plan that is anything more than smoke and mirrors for most people, so while a WMD might not be TEOTWAWKI it would leave those in the AO DOA and it could have long term effects outside of a localized area including DPs and the resulting social and logistic strains they bring.

You can plan and stock and train for decades and never be 100% ETS. Sooner or later, it will be worse than you planned or there will be a SNAFU, and you will be SOL. Or a series of events, coming under the collective heading of BOHICA, could do it.

(C/UK- combat/utility knife, the origional designation of the MkII 'Ka-BAR" utility knife RMZH - random mutant zombie hordes
MetThreat- metorological hazards, aka big storms
P&W- power and water
VSP- VT State Police
CSO- County Sherrif's Office
AIP- abandoned in place
POI- person of interest
DIP- destroy in place
WBP- waterborne pathogens
BBP- bloodborne pathogens
AO- area of operations
DPs- displaced persons)

So... do I win? *giggles* I hope the prize is tylenol or some other OTC pain killer, that gave me a headache.

I read your posts and thought I could offer to help. If you decide to make up a custom sk, I could seal it for you in sardine cans. I run the last can sealer in the nation and do custom projects like this all the time.

I make the LifePac SK as a standard item but I can customize your contents or mine. You can get more info at www.SardineCanGiftware.com. Feel free to let me know if I can help you out. BTW, lively posts by an easy going bunch, nice forum!