View Full Version : Don't spend £30 on a milbanks bag. RIP OFF!
RAPPLEBY2000
29-08-2006, 21:29
I was talking to someone about milbanks and how good they are and just realised how much they are getting flogged for today!
£30
what a rip off!:soapbox:
it's a very simple canvas bag, anyone can make one!
please before buyinga milbanks bag, reconsider!
buy 1 ft square of untreated tightweave canvas, sew the sides together (to make a tube), and sew along one end (to make a small bag) 6" x1ft add a loop of cord at the top and hey presto you own a milbanks bag, that's all they are! really!
the whole process will cost you (needle and thread included) in total all of a fiver! 10 at the most!
i have 2 genuine milbanks bags at home both cost me no more than £2 from army surplus, 1 used (i use for demo's), 1 brand new.
you'll be lucky to find one for that price but please they are not worth £30!!! :cussing:
Spacemonkey
29-08-2006, 22:06
Jees, next you'll say not to buy a £250 name branded knife when a £10 Mora would do? Hang on, wait a minute..... http://www.disturbingthepeace.co.uk/VB/images/smilies/outofhere.gif
ozymandias
29-08-2006, 22:12
the inside pocket of a dpm windproof smock works even better apparently, so go pick up some smock cutoffs from your local army surplus for about 50p and make one that works even better than the 30 quid one- plus its lighter, so you can carry 3 for the price of one, so to speak.
dommyracer
29-08-2006, 22:16
Who the hell is selling them for £30 ??
How about the iodine and anti iodine taste tabs? can you get them from chemists? What kind of weight of canvas seems right?
Graham_S
29-08-2006, 23:08
a millbank bag does not sterilise the water, it's just for filtering out sediment.
any close weave fabric will do it.
the sterilising comes from chemical treatment/boiling.
Who the hell is selling them for £30 ??
Just what i was wondering. I paid £10 for mine brand new only a month or so ago and that came with iodine and neutralising powder AND a cool bag to put it all in :D
wildrover
30-08-2006, 00:31
where did you get it from?
I was thinking of buying one but I have to say I don't fancy spending £30
RAPPLEBY2000
30-08-2006, 02:18
I didn't buy any i already have two! (for alot less!)
I'm just warning those that want the right gear but mabey don't know what it should cost!
Nomad are selling the Milbanks bags on thier own at £30!
They used to sell:
with iodine and neutralising powder AND a cool bag to put it all in
for £15.
a millbank bag does not sterilise the water, it's just for filtering out sediment.
any close weave fabric will do it.
the sterilising comes from chemical treatment/boiling.
yup totally! clothing, hankerchief, bandadge, grass, paper, pretty much anything close weave will filter water to some extent, but you will still ned to boil or chemically treat the water to kill microscopic bugs
someone goes and put's a milbank bag it in a book and suddenly the price goes up, what a supprise :(
RAPPLEBY2000
30-08-2006, 02:27
as for the knives, or any other unrealistically "expensive" kit...
Jees, next you'll say not to buy a £250 name branded knife
yes they're expensive (and far better than the cheap version) but a skilled craftsperson did spend time and skill perfecting the edge for something that is in one sense an art form in another it's a working tool.
on the other hand Milbanks bags are a folded and sewn piece of canvas a 20-30 second sewing job if that!
how much profit are they making on £30? :Thinkingo
must be near to....erm......£30! :eek:
i just looked at the price of canvas, un-treated plain canvas comes up at £5 per meter square.
you could make 4 milbanks bags out of that!
keep 1 :) sell the other 3 for £2 or £3 and hey you even have a profit! :D
sorry about the ranting, it just get's on my nerves when people are ripped off like this. :rolleyes:
richardnhunt
30-08-2006, 07:02
Yep - I'm convinced. Where can you buy untreated plain canvas?
Rich
Yep - I'm convinced. Where can you buy untreated plain canvas?
Rich
Loads of places
:)
Here's the first I found on Goooooogle
http://www.whaleys-bradford.ltd.uk/products.cfm?catID=3
Spacemonkey
30-08-2006, 16:34
a millbank bag does not sterilise the water, it's just for filtering out sediment.
any close weave fabric will do it.
.
Now I know what to do with all my ventile offcuts!!!:22: :naughty:
Agreed about the knives. I would pay whatever was asked for a well made sword, but for a knife that is just a tool? Any more than £30 and I would be too scared to use it!! £250 is a lot of money for an ornament, although I do understand why people would pay that money. After all, I can't go around chopping heads off with a £1500 katana, can I? :swordfigh
They did an experiment on TV here in Australia where they boiled river water then checked it out using a powerful microscope, they actually found that the boiling made the blue green algae content more 'active' (not sure the right word but basically worse).
Then they tried filtering the water through the leg of a pair of jeans tied in a knot and filled with charcoal. That removed almost all the problems, except viruses. But a second stage of boiling dealt with them.
http://health.ninemsn.com.au/article.aspx?id=118614
Blue green algae are not really algae, but a form of photosynthetic bacteria, the bacteria likes still water and warm temperatures to grow in. The toxins they give of are considered to be thermo-stable; they can stand very high temperatures, and are not destroyed by boiling the water.
British Red
31-08-2006, 01:22
Now I know what to do with all my ventile offcuts!!!:22: :naughty:
Agreed about the knives. I would pay whatever was asked for a well made sword, but for a knife that is just a tool? Any more than £30 and I would be too scared to use it!! £250 is a lot of money for an ornament, although I do understand why people would pay that money. After all, I can't go around chopping heads off with a £1500 katana, can I? :swordfigh
Well no..its generally considered a faux pas in polite society. Especially if they bleed on the rugs old boy :D
Some people seem to enjoy essays in the art of knife making that never get used for fear of runing their collector status. Bit like wine you don't drink in my book, but each to his own say I. Far be it from me to criticise someone else's interests. :)
Red
RAPPLEBY2000
31-08-2006, 01:24
oh!....
something else to worry about!
i guess make an indian well, filter the stuff like crazy, iodine it, boil it and hope for the best!
or just don't collect water from there! :confused:
the next stage would be condensing it......let's not go there! :(
Spikey DaPikey
31-08-2006, 01:30
you mean as in making a still ?! ;) :D
British Red
31-08-2006, 01:33
Evening Mr Da'P. Not sleeping again we see - glass of "something like a tonic wine - full of herbs and fruits"?
Spikey DaPikey
31-08-2006, 01:34
Evening Mr Da'P. Not sleeping again we see - glass of "something like a tonic wine - full of herbs and fruits"?
Thank you kind Sir, as long as it's been filter'd 1st :D
Got to be up in 6 1/2 hours as well :eek:
British Red
31-08-2006, 01:43
Wish I did - stil sick...twice filtered?...its organic...practically fruit and veg...you only need 4 portions tomorrow :D
wanderinstar
05-09-2006, 19:52
Spacemonkey,
I thought Ventile was waterproof? :)
Pffffft milbank bags.....heh - A sock and T-Shirt is good enough for me!
I spose you could always do it with something that you gathered in the woods. Then it would be free ;)
Well there always is a jypsie well. But there quite difficult to construct - for me.
Harmonica
05-09-2006, 20:26
How about the iodine and anti iodine taste tabs? can you get them from chemists? What kind of weight of canvas seems right?
I heard a good tip on a Woodsmoke course. Iodine neatralising tablets are made of ascorbic acid which is more commonly called vitamin C so get yourself a big tube of vit C tablets from the chemists for a lot less money than your small amount of neutrauising tablets at the outdoor shop!
Disolve a quarter tablet to a litre of treated water, makes sense as 4 litres is a good daily intake if your sweating - the tablets come in fruity flavours too :D
Lidl's do a tube of effervescent Vit C tablests for 99p they're about the size of a pound coin. They're impressive in a glass :eek: I reckon you could just use a little bit of them to clear the taste of the sterilising solutiopn.
Cheers,
Toddy
Spacemonkey
05-09-2006, 23:05
Spacemonkey,
I thought Ventile was waterproof? :)
No, really??? :Wow: (where's the sarcastic smiley when you need it??) :p
wildrover
06-09-2006, 01:13
Just what i was wondering. I paid £10 for mine brand new only a month or so ago and that came with iodine and neutralising powder AND a cool bag to put it all in :D
Where did you get it from?
I can't find it this cheaply.
Here's an Idea!
I wonder if the canvas money bags that you get from the bank would work? they are dead easy to get hold of and we could call them Lloydsbank instead of millbank :lmao: (sorry! i'd better wind neck in now)
Nick
Spacemonkey
06-09-2006, 18:11
Here's an Idea!
I wonder if the canvas money bags that you get from the bank would work? they are dead easy to get hold of ...
...all you need is a sawn off shotgun and a fast Cortina! Don't forget to empty the paper stuff from inside first as this will clog the bag up. Could be useful as tinder though??
Surveyor
06-09-2006, 19:04
UK Kit Monster have Millbank Bags advertised for £9.00
Millbank Bag (http://www.ukkitmonster.com/product_info.php?cPath=44&products_id=379)
Or more with the iodine and Neutralizer.
Millbank Bag with Iodine & neutralizier (http://www.ukkitmonster.com/product_info.php?cPath=44&products_id=221)
I have no involvement with this company, I just noticed the deal and remembered this thread.
Jed
...all you need is a sawn off shotgun and a fast Cortina!
Hi Space monkey.
You sound like a die hard sweeney fan :D
wildrover
07-09-2006, 16:56
[QUOTE=Surveyor]UK Kit Monster have Millbank Bags advertised for £9.00
Millbank Bag (http://www.ukkitmonster.com/product_info.php?cPath=44&products_id=379)
Thanks Jed that i'll do for me :)
Jees, next you'll say not to buy a £250 name branded knife when a £10 Mora would do? Hang on, wait a minute..... http://www.disturbingthepeace.co.uk/VB/images/smilies/outofhere.gif
No what he is saying is the same can be got for way less, like one of the top notch makers on BB will make you a one off custom knife better than the £250 branded for under a ton!