I Finnaly managed to "complete" my Previous survival kit your all so familiar about so I got bored and decided to make a secondary more basic kit for winter.







So as you can see its in a coffee can and is pretty basic with big bulky items.

It incluuuuuuudes so far,

6 Coleman Campfire starter sticks
About 18 Cotton Balls
Medium Jar of Vaseline
Tin Of Vapo Rub
Burts bees Wax Lip Balm
Box matches
Lighter
2 Cigars
1 Hankie
Small Knife
Firesteel pup
And soon a hand fulla Halls cough Drops


Would love feedback

Also Does anyone know what the best way to remove the Spray in liner would be?

2 cigars? I would replace with a Clif or Tanka bar and a tea bag or two. Personal preference, I guess.

Would bring water to a rolling boil deal with the lining?

Why Vapo Rub?

Would a Heatsheets or something similar make sense? And a small flashlight?

Vapo Rub is one of them "cure alls" that I like the tin is small enough and cheap enough. Any form of space blanket takes up way to much space in the small can and I believe during the winter I would Keep a Heatsheetz in my pocket where I know it would constantly be with me survival kit or not. And yes I just added a little Solar powerd keychain light to the kit.




As with the Space blanket any form of food bars or such are to big and would increase the size restraints for most the needed items. And I do not think Boiling water would melt off the liner.

There is some room left in the can which Fits maybe say a tightly folded up full size bandana. Im planning on getting some jute twine to add to the kit.

Remove the liner with fire. Light a small charcoal fire and surround the empty can with the hot coals. It's worked for me in the past. What kind of can are you using?

Maybe I missed it but where are you located Frisket? A Florida winter kit looks a little different than a Montana kit.

I always found extra white gas, a good stove like a MSR XGK and a large pot for melting snow and ice to be mandatory. A light mounteering snow shovel as well. Of course if you live in a place like FLorida, your needs will vary.

Perhaps it would help if you explained why you chose some of these items. Some items (lip balm, matches, lighter, knife and cough drops) don't need an explanation. Are the cotton-balls multipurpose items or are they strictly used as tinder? If strictly used as tender, why not replace them with Tinder-Quick?

Jeanette Isabelle

A winter kit?! At least you have lots of time to tweak it!

Something (a ziplock maybe?) to put everything inside the can in when you want to use the can?

You can buy a small can of Goof-Off,that should take off the lining,though that stuff smells like Napalm,I would wash the can afterwards,& Then burn it clean,Good Luck!

I live in NY.

Cotton Balls cost almost nothing for survival kits when bought in large bulk packs and tho while bulky they can still be split up to create more smaller ones. 18 can easily make 36 still decent sized tinder's.


Imma have to look into that I Do have a big can of denatured alcohol going to waste i wonder if that would melt out the liner.

One thing you might consider adding is an "Original Buff". If you haven't seen one, it's a lightweight, compact-folding tube of microfiber fabric you can wear as a neck gator, headband, beanie, pirate's cap, face mask or balaclava. They're available in sport goods stores (I got mine at REI).

I got one last summer because they are great at wicking-away sweat (I sweat a lot). Then I saw a few people snow boarding with them on and decided to try it out myself. Of course I happened to pick the coldest day of the year: 4*F, 20MPH winds, 12"+ powder snow on the ground with about 1-2" crust on top (though it eventually warmed-up to about 18*F).

I was off-roading with my Jeep club all day, spending about 1/2 the time outside the rig watching/waiting for others to attempt obstacles, helping friends get unstuck, changing a few tires and eating lunch. Wore the Buff as a balaclava and it was enough to keep my head, face and ears warm without the suffocating thickness of a fleece balaclava.

The only downside was I only had a red paisley design Buff with me, and everyone was making fun of my "babushka."

I removed the plastic liner, and the rust started real soon thereafter. I like the concept of using cans for cooksets, but the leakage starts fast when I actually use them.

I made a similar kit in a thrift shop saucepan.

I really like the idea of making your winter PSK around the pot - kudos to you

In winter, your primary PSK is your clothing - both on your person and the extra layer in your pack. Then hydration, then calories. (Yes, you can survive without food - but you'll freeze to death or permanent damage much quicker when hungry). So remember that what you're wearing and what's in your pack (besides your PSK) will be more important than the actual PSK.

I'd ditch the cigars and some of the cotton for the AMK bivy bag ($20 or so?). Or at the very least a heavy duty thrash bag.

Put the vaseline and cotton balls in the freezer for an hour. Take it out and try to make vaseline cotton balls. Tell us how it works (don't ask me, never tried making any in less than room temperature - but I would be surprised if the cotton would wick vaseline at low temperatures).

Personally - even if the above experiment turns out in your favor - I'd pre-make the vaseline-cotton tinder balls and leave the jar at home. That should leave room for some calorie rich snacks.

Unless you like to hike holding that pot in your hand, your kit doesn't need to be limited to your pot. That pot goes into something - a bag? A stuff sack? A day pack? If you can't fit the bivy bag/thrash bag IN the pot you can wrap it AROUND the pot before stuffing it into whatever you're using.



I use a wool buff. Cotton is great for wicking away excess moisture and breathing, so great when your moving about. Not so great for keeping you warm when you're not sweating, but freezing.

Hi,
Just my two cents...
The idea of building the kit around a pot is great. I suggest a "corn boiler" type, though. These can be found at a number of reenacting sutlers. They can be expensive, so shop around.
I agree with MostlyHarmless regarding the Vaseline jar. Use that space for high calorie food, as your body requires extra calories as furnace fuel.
If the cigars are a psych-support item, or a nicotine addiction supplement then keep them. Otherwise discard as nicotine is a vaso-constrictor and will hinder your efforts at keeping warm.
Warm, dry & hydrated are the priorities of winter preparedness, but everyone here knows that.

Please forgive my ignorance but what's a corn boiler?

I think these?

http://westminsterforge.com/nestingsets.html

I Do not get nicotine From cigars nor am I "Addicted" to them for that reason, I Smoke them for their flavor and fragrance. But Yes they are there for morale as I love smoking cigars during the winter specially in heavy snow storms.

Corn boilers... Just saw a new one listed somewhere, but I'll use the stand-by. Very pricey!
http://jas-townsend.com/product_info.php?cPath=21_57&products_id=102

I used to enjoy cigars once upon a misspent youth...

Autumn has returned here in Ontario, Frisket. The days range from hot and wet to increasingly cooler and wet. I've got winterizing in mind again too. Thanks for the ideas.
I keep a kit similar to this in both vehicles, but include more shelter (+ heatsheet), heat (+tealights, butane light) and calories (+trail mix, chocolate) in mine than yours seems to have and No vaseline or vicks. Would a snack-sized bag of trail mix fit in yours?

Thank you!