Swiss Army PSK--part two

first let me play some catch-up.below is the kit i was using.
a Swiss canteen filled with food and some other small items and wrapped in two zip lock bags and sealed,i hoped,with duct tape.
outside and on top of the kit i had a fire making kit that i could get at without digging around through anything else.



inside the canteen and wrapped in foil to protect and compress items like tea bags i had about a weeks worth of food,mainly blocks of pea soup.



the other pocket of the PFD has the shelter making gear and some other odds and ends.the photo is from the old kit and has been upgraded by taking out the foil "sleeping bag" and replacing it with a small Heatsheet bag.



now the issue with the food side was trying to find a container that i could cook in and seal and keep sealed during the rough and tumble of a wilderness canoe trip.i have a foot locker filled with every sort of pot,pan,Scout and Army mess kit,ours,French,British,Czechoslovakia,a major heap lets say.
i even tried candy and cookie tins but they could not take the heat of a open fire.
below are a few of the ones that almost worked. a lunch box from China,a Svea cookkit,the pot from a Svea camp stove with a lid from a Trangia tea pot,a MSR cooking pot with a snap down bail and a Sierra cup.i used the cup on one trip with a foil cover in a zip lock but it did not hold much.



so this is what i came up with.the photo below shows the cut bottle of canteen fitting into the cup with a few items that fit inside if you want to make a PSK for general hiking.the parts pull far enough apart to fit a lot more in than i have in the photo,i did that just to show how much room there is inside.the two fit together so tight that even that far apart they is no play when you try and wiggle them around.a good seal with tape and i'm sure it would be water proof.



next post i'll show you how i put the food side of my ditch kit together and the items in it.in that kit the two parts compress as tight as they will go so the finished product will fit into the zip pocket of my PFD

"I used the cup on one trip with a foil cover in a zip lock but it did not hold much."

Oddly enough, I, too, had been trying to use a sierra cup for the same purpose, getting enough in to brew up a cup of tea. I could sneak in a cube of Esbit, a small wing stove, tea bags and sugar, and enough aluminum foil for an improvised wind screen. I tried to come up with a lid for the cup (a plastic lid from a margarine bowl is precisely the right size, but doesn't stay attached). I ended up putting the whole mess in a zip lock, which at least keeps everything together, but doesn't form a very good package.

How would one go about fabricating an aluminum lid which would affix to the sierra cup so that the whole unit would be self contained? This calls for more mechanical aptitude than I can summon.....

Good Set-up CANOEDOGS, I ordered my 6 Swiss Canteen/Cup sets from Sportsmans Guide last night seen here .

Were you ever able to remove the plastic type liner from the inside of the canteen? If so was it removed using the propane torch, campfire or other means? I was wondering if paint stripper or oven cleaner would desolve it, then burn out the residue?

Mike

hikermor.. would either of the following work?
1. cut circular lid of aluminum sheet slightly larger than diameter of lip... 3 tabs located at 90/180/270 degrees from each other, with a "J" lip(opening outward) formed... slide lid on, and hold in place with small bungee designed for affixing tarps or long small diameter coil spring

2. more secure...circular lid of aluminum sheet, 3 tabs 90/180/270 from each other with "J" lip (opening inward) that can catch the rim....4th tab is separate piece with a slotted hole to fit over a small bolt at the 360 degree location...snugged to the rim and locked in place with a wing nut

I Like that! Home Made, Triumphs Again!Now Watch,In a few week's,Chinese versions are gonna' start popping up!:)

Mike..i don't think it's necessary to remove the lining inside the bottle.i have a feeling the Swiss thought this through very well,like most things they do,and made bottle with a coating that soldiers could heat without any ill effects.whatever that stuff is it will not come off in boiling water.even the torch had little effect on it,i had to hold the flame in one spot for minutes to get any results.the boil test over the backyard burner was also long,i boiled away half of the water and the parts both in and out of the hot water showed no change in color and the coating could not be scraped off with a knife point after being in the hot water.after the bottle was cut there was no way to peel the coating off by getting a knife point between the aluminum and the lining,it's bonded right on.

Hike..there are several sizes of those cups.i have three of them,the old Sierra,one about the same size made from titanium and a larger one sold by REI and others as a "jumbo".just using the cup as it was intended,a "do all" cup/cooker,the zip lock in a pocket or shoulder bag is the way to go for boil-ups.for a survival kit that you want to keep sealed and put away in a boat or car what i would do is fill which ever one you prefer,i would use the jumbo,and seal it with one of those high end vacuum sealer,the ones with the electric pump and not the hand gizmoz.you could compress quite a bit of stuff in and it would be air and water tight until you really needed it.well that,s a winter project i just made for myself!!!

May i ask what you didnt like about th MSR Pot?

Frisket..super nice camping gear but it would not fit into the PFD pocket,finding a container that would squeeze into the zip pouch of the PFD has been a major hassle.the Swiss canteen bottle and cup fits right in and holds a fair amount of compressed food.if i were to do this over again....and this is the kicker...i would get the best container and find a PFD with the right size pocket rather than the other way around! this PFD is only seven or eight years old and in great shape and i don't want to spent another $45 or so for another one just to get the right size pocket and dump my red one.

Hi Canoedogs - I've REALLY been interested in your postings on this Swiss canteen PSK - I think this looks like a great idea.

I never used to be a fan of pea soup, but lately I've changed my mind (my mom always says your tastebuds change every seven years).

What's your source for those blocks of pea soup? Any other, similar selections?

Thanks!

Dave

Dave T..the pea soup blocks can be had at Repo Rations Inc
http://reprorations.com/
they sell it as part of the WW One Germany iron ration but have a small supply without the army wrapper.it's Knorr brand soup called Erbswurst and not sold in the US as far as i know.i have cooked it up as a lunch on canoe trips when i wanted a good filling meal on a cold day.one block of that stuff will make a heavy,thick and good tasting meal.as a survival ration i plan on using it as a base for any wild game i can come up with,fish,turtles,frogs..or that rat stew i mention in some of my posts------

i believe there's a similar thing sold stateside in "higher end" grocers like Publix. same brand even(i have a few packs of their hollandaise sauce in the cabinet). it comes in powdered form in flat packets. i've never tried the pea soup, but i'll be doing so soon.