with canoe tripping season well behind me now i can open for a show and tell the Swiss canteen ditch kit that i carry in my PFD,the red one shown in my avatar.this kit is the only bit of real survival gear i have,with no chance of earthquakes,killer storms and so on around Minneapolis. so what i prepare for is the remote chance that i might loose my canoe and camping gear while solo canoeing in one of the wilderness parks.if i have to swim to shore or fall and injure myself on a portage and not be able to get back to the canoe and the rest of the gear i'll have to make shelter and settle in until someone comes along.yes,a PLB is on my list of thing to buy.i am very careful and in twenty five plus years of doing this have never come close to needing a PSK.i did a post a year of so ago of the kit i was using,a Swiss canteen cup filled with dry food and wrapped in foil and plastic bags.i have been looking around for a better way to do that,something i could seal.a fellow who posts as "woodsmonkey" at a wilderness survival site posted this great idea for using the Swiss canteen and cup.for todays first post i'll show you how i cut the neck off the canteen and did a fire test to see if it would work as a cooking pot.



first i cut the top off,as this is a Swiss kit i thought i would wear my Swiss camo jacket just to get into the swing of things.i put a bit of duct tape around the neck where i wanted to make the cut.a wrap of leather held the canteen in place.
the frame of the hacksaw got in the way as i was just about done but by shifting the canteen i finished the job.a few swipes with a file to take the burs off and then holes for the wire that would make the bail.



next i took a propane torch to the scrap canteen neck to see how the brownish lining would take heat.it took a lot!i had to hold the torch in one spot for minutes to have any effect.



that done i did what was more of a real world test,would it stand up to a open fire and boil water.if you look close at the edge of the canteen you can see it's fairly thick.i boiled away half the can without any problem.
next post i'll show the survival foods and other odds and ends that went inside and how the cup fits over this part to make a sealed kit.

Hey CANOEDOGS, I have been waiting for your review on this Swiss Canteen PSK Set-up, looking forward to the full review and your recomendations. Mike

Great idea, but why not just use a canteen cup? $3-10 on amazon.

Teacher.hang on,you will see--it's a size issue.