container quest

Does anybody know where I can find the sort of square metal container like the one used in the "Global Survival Kit" that's listed in the kit evaluations on the Equipped pages? Stainless steel like they used would be nice, but aluminum is okay.

I want to try to put together sort of a brew or cup of soup kit for my winter hiking/hunting fanny pack. I'm thinking that my Esbit stove would fit nicely in something like that with some room for tea bags, soup packets, etc. and the container would be the pot for boiling water in. Seems like it would make a compact module that I could toss in my fanny pack. My goal is to have the functionality with minimum bulk. Weight is not so much a concern in this application.

Any ideas?

The Global container is made by Zebra of Thailand. You should be able to locate a culinary supply that markets these. They also make a billy with handles, lid and bale which might be even better. The forum made a one time group purchase of these some time ago. I use mine as a small cooking unit also. These are in fact the last of the pre microwave japanese lunchboxes. I've steamed 1 cup of rice in mine, made a small cobbler with gathered berries and bisquick and a small rabbit stew.

something like this?




Availabe in the uk and possibly elsewhere at:
http://woodlandorganics.com/shop/misc/index.htm

Square? Sorry. I'm no help there. But round...

I haven't put one to use yet, but I bought a couple of MSR Stowaway pots with the idea of turning them into car kits. They come in various sizes, have a handle that locks the lid shut (though not waterproof) and are honest-to-gosh real pots.

http://www.msrcorp.com/cookware/stowaway_pots.asp

I don't know how big the Esbit stove is, but it might fit in a Snowpeak or Varago titanium mug.

http://www.prolitegear.com/snow_peak_titanium_trek_700_pot.html

http://www.prolitegear.com/vargo-titanium-mug.html

(These both fit over the bottom of a nalgene bottle, by the way.)

Bear

Square ? Try this one at www.actiongear.com Item #ACS 80
or search under pot. It's a Colemen Peak 1 Aluminum, 2 piece. 5x5x5 and the lid is 5x5x2.5 inches. $8.99 Also available other places, but this was easy to find. I used these in my car BOB's filled with fast cooking rice, seasonings, heat tabs, small bic, SAK, soup spoon etc. Made 1 for a buddy and he really liked his.
Dave

The Sigg aluminum food boxes that Doug reviewed 1 or 2 years ago in a SHOT show review are available (for many $) from one dealer on eBay. Do a search on Sigg box and they will show up in 2 sizes. I bought one of the large sized one from a semi-local sporting goods store (Sportsman Warehouse) and it is very very well made. I have not tried to cook in it, and that is not recommended, but it is a very well made box. I will be buying the small sized one sometime.

I have not purchased from this eBay store....yet.



http://search.stores.ebay.com/search/sea...=0&st=2

I liked those. 2 pots in one, and comes with the handle. Depending on the weight, it would be great for backpacking.

Take a look at these. I just got two in the mail and you can stuff all sorts of stuff in them. I hope to heat water in them this weekend if I get the time to mess with it. I am going to stick one in my wifes bag and one in my bag. I also got the one with the handle which is removable. And they are a lot cheaper than the SIGG containers.

http://www.moosineer.com/moosedetail.asp?ID=4700

Sorry I couldn't get the picture to post.

The Triangia mess tins that Raider502 posted are very good. Mine fits an Esbit stove, spoon, and plenty of soup, cider, and tea bags. It's too big to fit in my fanny pack, but great to have in my backpack.

www.campsaver.com also sells 3 sizes of them.

that's the ones I used to make some kits....
see thi thread

I ran across this one a while back.

Don't know about the contents, but the tin really interests me.



Best Glide is the US Distributor for BCB. ([color:"blue"]www.bestglide.com [/color])

According to their website, they "hope to have many items ready to ship by mid February."

Doug's got a review coming too. ([color:"blue"]10.10.04[/color])


--Hutch4545

Those nice-looking aluminum or SS containers with the clamps on the ends look suspiciously like bento boxes (Japanese lunch boxes). Most of what I could find online were lacquer or plastic.

However, one site said they "preferred the metal bento boxes that are sold in oriental grocery stores".

Sue

(Oh, lordy; here I go again. Mess kits. Can't...... help....... it.......)

Try a West German surplus 3-piece mess kit. Too big for a small bag, but great for your backpack. It's my main cook kit/plate/fry/pan/drinking cup. Make sure you make a windscreen for it, or you will wait a looooooooong time for water to boil. We're talking years, here. You can pack this thing with oodles of cooking/survival goodies.

And be careful - the old East German kit looks similar, but is REALLY dinky (think aluminum foil with an attitude). You can tell the difference right off because the East German one has no loops in the handle for the mess kit strap, and is usually a much lighter green. Also, the internal cup/pan has a wire handle. The West German one does not.

Hope this helps,

.....CLIFF

Susan,

I spent a couple of years wandering into Asian grocery and supply stores. Aluminum or SS lunch boxes are near impossible to find in the US.

The BCB kit box above is what I was looking for. Every Asian store I went to said....."yeah, we have not had those for years"

Fortunately some were found in Singapore by one of our members which were sent over and distributed.

If you are going shopping anyway, it is good to look, but I would not recommend going out of your way because I found these near impossible to find here.

SeaGull made the ones from Singapore. Nice Stainless boxes. SeaGull also makes the MSR stowaway pots.

The Sigg boxes are much larger than the small aluminum Bento boxes like the BCB kit is in, I think.

I bought a small sigg box for my PSK...fits in BDU pants side pockets.

Either size can be bought at:
http://www.off-centerline.com/index.htm

I only see bottles on that page, no boxes.

Give them a call...they do carry all the colors & both sizes of Sigg Boxes !

800 253 3974
Ron Peterson
SIGG Switzerland / Off-Center
12641 N 65th Place
Scottsdale AZ 85254

I'd love to get one of those "Mini Mess Boxes" too, they are just the perfect size IMHO. Penrith Survival sells them and ships worldwide, but they are rather pricey when you add the shipping cost. <img src="/images/graemlins/frown.gif" alt="" />

Has anyone had any experience with Otter Boxes? I have thought that the small Otter Box 1000 would be a good container for my altoids tin kit.

I have a small otter box. It's got too much extra bulk for me to use for a kit container (I use a maxpedition M-2 in its place). However I often hike a particular trail that requires I cross a somewhat rapidly flowing river on rather loose rocks. I have fallen in more than once (usually when the dog gets too excited) and I find that the otter box is perfect for my digital camera when I take it in to this particular environment. <img src="/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />

I just broke down and bought one of these for my Wilderness survival kit. Ouch! After conversion to dollars it came to $20.03 for the box and $19.91 for S&H to the USA, for a total of $39.94. But it appears to be what I'm after: metal, looks to be sturdy, and can fit in the side pocket of my hunting pants along with a disposable poncho and a space blanket strapped to it. It does not claim to be "waterproof" per se, but I'll lay odds it's much more watertight than my current container.

Expensive? Yes, but dry gear could make all the difference in the world. I'll post my impressions after I get it in 11 to 14 days.

Regards, Vince

I contacted BestGlide and they say they will be stocking the BCB aluminum box in the US. Their site is not yet up, and I have no idea on the prices, but I am waiting to see.

This is going to be their site:

http://www.bcbsurvivalusa.com/

Not on-line yet though.

I've been looking for one of those

How do it's demensions compare to an SAS tin? Even a few mm more depth would give me a great deal of flexibility

It is considerably larger than the usual tobacco tin.

From the BCB site:

CN550 Mini Mess Box

A super lightweight, airtight aluminium tin with locking roller clasps. It features a rubber seal within the lid, and is useful as a storage tin for personal survival equipment.

Size: 13 x 9.5 x 3cm (5" x 3.5" x 1")
Weight: 95g (4oz)
(RRP £12.92)

http://www.bcbin.com/store/cat_human_aid.asp?idproduct=96&idCategory=27

I don't know the dimensions of the SAS tin, but this one comes out to 22.86 cubic inches (5.18" X 3.74" X 1.18"). It has quite a bit less room than my current PSK container (a huge altoids-type "arts and crafts" box from Wal-mart with over 28 cubic inches of space), but this one looks to be much more durable and waterproof also. I've been planning on removing some dated items (matches, etc) anyway, so it should work out very well.

Regards, Vince

I received the box just today. These are my first impressions along with my completely subjective, unscientific, and totally biased judgements:.

Size: Perfect for MY needs, althought the advertised size (5.12" x 3.74" x 1.18") is a tiny bit larger than the actual internal measurements of 5" x 3.1/2" x 1 1/8". Trivial to some, maybe important to others.
My grade: A-

Materials: I find it a bit more flimsy than I had expected. I don't know how to guage aluminum, but picture a can of King Oscars kipper snacks and you'll get the picture (i.e.: pretty thin stuff.) It's light though....The gasket also did not fit perfectly back into the lid after the waterproof test (see below.) It appears that is has swollen just a tiny bit, but to be fair I don't think it will compromise the water resistance.
My grade: B-

Construction: Despite the material, it is MUCH more solid than an Altoids tin or their clones, which is all I really have to compare it to. The snap-down clips that close it are riveted rather than spot-welded, and they close the box with an authoritative snap.
Grade: A+

Waterproofness: I held it under about 10" of water in my kitchen sink for about 60 seconds. No bubbles. I then squeezed it and got large bubbles. I opened it up and had 1/4" of water in it.
I think it is important to note that Penrith did not claim this box is waterproof and it's a good thing, because waterproof it ain't. But it also is much better than my current container. Bottom line: if you are planning on diving with this, forget it. But if you have to cross a swollen creek with this box riding in your BDU's, ( a much more likely scenario for me) then you are going to arrive with dry gear--as long as you don't fall down.
Grade: B+

Overall grade: B+


Other observations: I notice that there is what appears to be Japanese writing stamped into the end of the lid. This is in line with what I have heard, that these are some sort of Japanese lunchbox.
I must also compliment Penrith in the UK: I ordered it on Friday evening their time, and I got it today. That makes 5 business days. Pretty fast from overseas.

I would think long and hard before I ordered one from the UK and paid the shipping again. Other than that, it is a vast improvement over my current container (which, using the same criteria, gets a D- grade,) and if someone in the USA starts carrying them then I can see getting a few more.

Regards, Vince

Edit: The views expressed here are my own, and don't necessarily reflect those of ETS, its owners, its moderators, the Government of the United States, or Homer J. Simpson.

Thanks for the update Vince. If you get a chance to take pictures ... <img src="/images/graemlins/wink.gif" alt="" />

They are lovely boxes all right. I think they're pretty substantial, just based on feeling the thickness of the side with my fingers.

I'm thinking of using them as gift kits for my family, to carry in their cars. Only an enthusiast would carry something that big in their pockets.

I'm also using one to store my supply of strike anywhere matches. (Not the ones I carry or use, but my resupply supply.)

Bear

Excellent overview norad.

I am holding out until the US source starts selling these, but this a box I am interested in. I am somewhat surprised at the leak test, but as you say it is a definate improvement over most solutions and the clips make for easy in/out which the usual taped box does not.

Thanks again.