BCB "Combat Survival Tin"

[BushcraftBaird112]

The Combat Survival Kit/Tin is based upon John 'Lofty' Wiseman's (ex SAS, Survival Expert) Survival Kit. It is a survival kit primarily designed for the general public and is perfect for hikers, scout associations, climbers, anyone who enjoys the outdoors and is also a great starter kit. The Combat Survival Tin's components have been compiled to allow for the individual to maintain a decent standard of survival for 48 -72 hours, while awaiting and aiding rescue.

Contents and Specs:

Water resistant tin
Vinyl tape
Button compass
Knife
Matches
Pencil
Purification tablets
Snare wire
Candle
Flint & striker
Hacksaw blade
Fishing kit
Whistle
Sewing kit
Safety pins
Wire saw
Accident evaluation form
Survival instructions

Weight: 170g (6oz)
Size: 4.5" x 3" x 1"
NATO APPROVED

Average price: £10-15


This is the one I currently own. I have made some changes but the contents are mostly similar.




For those who buy this-this is a great starter /backup kit to keep in the bottom of your rucksack, this is not supposed to subtitue your main kit, and I recommend that you do change some of its contents.

Thank you for reading

[helixpteron]

Might be a better idea to carry it on the person, because if you should become separated from your pack, you still have the kit, which is the original idea behind the tin!

If you really want to carry it in your pack, perhaps having it more easily accessible, rather than in the bottom of the pack, may also be an idea, as the pack won't then need to be emptied to reach the kit.

[wingstoo]

And John still carries his when out and about.

[rik_uk3]

From a UK point of view (not some parts of Scotland maybe) most of that list would be on you anyway, dump the fishing lines in the UK, waste of space. In the UK these little tins are not really needed, but they are a bit of fun to play with. As mentioned in some of the many, many, many posts about these tins, for UK use carry a mobile phone for one thing, the rest really should be on your belt on in your pockets.

[Mistwalker]

I like the idea of these kinds of kits for a back-up plan. I bought a couple of similar kits designed by Doug Ritter I believe, made by AMK, to keep in our vehicles. I like the fact that this tin comes with lifeboat matches and not just regular ones. I have a friend who makes little knives perfect for the little tin kits.

[Toddy]

I'm with Rik on this one ; I've seen dozens of these, usually filled with the most ingenious and seemingly practical stuff, but I don't think I know 'anyone' who has ever really used it

It seems to be one of those *good idea just in case* things, that rapidly becomes clutter.

Oh, and my pocketses is a handbag Just don't ask me to find anything quickly in it

cheers,
Toddy

[Neanderthal]

Desided not to take mine last week and could have done with the gaffa tape stuck to the bottom to repair my glasses.

You only need it when you don't have it with you.

Stu

[Humpback]

Had a LW inspired survival tin when I first became interested in 'survival' carried it religiously for five years. Never had cause to use it in anger. Then I discovered I was not into 'survival' but 'bushcraft' = living comfortably as possible in the outdoors for periods upto 1 week or so (my definition).

I still kept the tin and spent many a happy hour refining it before dispensing with it completely.

For me, in the UK, under the definition above a 'survival tin' is not required.

Alan

[John Fenna]

I used mine a couple of times...once, in the days when I smoked, when I ran out of lighter fluid....once for gaffa tape and fishing line to repair a torn daysack (do not bin the fishing kit - it does a LOT more than catch fish!) oh and once for a plaster to cover a cut....thats all, in some 1/4 century of carrying one.

[Twodogs]

I carryed one in my belt order for years in the day , when I opened it some years later it was a right mess full of melted candle wax and beef oxo ....
Twodogs

[bothyman]

Why not buy this book and make your own .

It's a lot better if you can customise your own.

The book tells you how to make one.

MickT

[Bumpy]

for UK use carry a mobile phone for one thing..

I'm just wondering Rik, do you by any chance work for a mobile phone retailer?
It's just that every time any variation of this topic comes up you always mention the same thing - this absolute belief that a mobile phone is the answer if you ever get in a bit of bother whilst out "playing". I do not live in Scotland, and there are plenty of tarmac roads where I live, but I have managed to instantly kill at least one mobile phone by falling into water with it, have had them go flat on me on a regular basis and there are many many many places near where I live (including places where I play!) where I get no reception at all. Personally I'd rather have the matches, firesteel, gaffa tape, wire, knife etc... These things should be in my pockets, and they might be, but if I have the tin I have the bases covered - but good luck with your "Bushcraft mobile"
Maybe suggest it to BCB and the military - they could just issue every one with a cheap Pay as You Go mobile phone and forget the nato matches etc

[rik_uk3]

I'm just wondering Rik, do you by any chance work for a mobile phone retailer?
It's just that every time any variation of this topic comes up you always mention the same thing - this absolute belief that a mobile phone is the answer if you ever get in a bit of bother whilst out "playing". I do not live in Scotland, and there are plenty of tarmac roads where I live, but I have managed to instantly kill at least one mobile phone by falling into water with it, have had them go flat on me on a regular basis and there are many many many places near where I live (including places where I play!) where I get no reception at all. Personally I'd rather have the matches, firesteel, gaffa tape, wire, knife etc... These things should be in my pockets, and they might be, but if I have the tin I have the bases covered - but good luck with your "Bushcraft mobile"
Maybe suggest it to BCB and the military - they could just issue every one with a cheap Pay as You Go mobile phone and forget the nato matches etc

No Bumby, I'm a Nurse, and when the same question is asked I'll give the same answer.

Forget these little tins and just carry some basics in your pockets.

PS, get a waterproof case for your mobile.

[Goatboy]

I'm lucky, I don't even get a mobile signal in my house... drives the boss mad
Goatboy.

[Asa Samuel]

I'm just wondering Rik, do you by any chance work for a mobile phone retailer?
It's just that every time any variation of this topic comes up you always mention the same thing - this absolute belief that a mobile phone is the answer if you ever get in a bit of bother whilst out "playing". I do not live in Scotland, and there are plenty of tarmac roads where I live, but I have managed to instantly kill at least one mobile phone by falling into water with it, have had them go flat on me on a regular basis and there are many many many places near where I live (including places where I play!) where I get no reception at all. Personally I'd rather have the matches, firesteel, gaffa tape, wire, knife etc... These things should be in my pockets, and they might be, but if I have the tin I have the bases covered - but good luck with your "Bushcraft mobile"
Maybe suggest it to BCB and the military - they could just issue every one with a cheap Pay as You Go mobile phone and forget the nato matches etc

Sounds like you need a better phone

[bikething]

I'm lucky, I don't even get a mobile signal in my house... drives the boss mad
Goatboy.

me too

(good innit? )

[John Fenna]

Me 3!
Who needs comms at home?

[Nigel]

As Rik mentioned the survival tin is more a plaything than something to rely on to get you out of trouble. Most items within the kit are of substandard quality, although the wire saw does double as a good snare. I think you would be better off making your own kit, also adding a mobile phone would be a good idea.

[British Red]

Ifind a few of these threads frustrating. The idea of emergency survival is unlikely, but a few choice "items" that are "just in case" is common sense to me. As people have said things like gaffa tape, but also sewing kit, ouch pouch, some field line for boot laces, guy lines etc., a spare lighter, a small quality backup compass, some tinder and other choice items have probably never saved my life - but they have saved my outing. Same with first aid - stuff that means a minor mishap does not become a trip ruination makes complete sense to me.

How you carry the stuff is up to you. Mine does live in a special container. The reason is that when I get up and walk out the door I can just sling it on my belt (its a possibles pouch I keep my stuff in). I don't have to pat all my pockets going "lighter, torch ...."etc.

If anyone here has never snapped a bootlace, had a lighter fail or needed a plaster, then they need to get out more! Nothing that requires a mobile phone - which should always be a measure of last resort...but s little sensible planning that saves an annoyance becoming a trip ruiner.

Red

[John Fenna]

I have to agree (yet again) with Mr Red.
Although I have not had to use much from my Survival Tin it still earns its place as an "insurance policy"!
As to mobile phones - I would prefer the means of self rescue than calling out the emergency services due to something I could have fixed if I had been carrying a small emergency kit.
For big emergencies then yes the phone is ideal!

[RAPPLEBY2000]

I still have an origional BCB "Lofty" survival tin! though the orange label is so ripped it's barely visible.

Ive had it since my 16th birthday it think, so it's 20 years old...

I've used it only a few times, once to boil water in (basically My friend was meant to bring a mess tin to heat water...he didn't) it's a very tricky thing to do, and you are very likely to spill the water in your fire.

I've taken it on a climbing holiday to Spain in my pocket whilst on an airplane as you are told to do in the "SAS survival handbook"(long before 911) the security guard had a good rummage in it and saw it was harmless.

I used the electric tape to fix a tent pole, used the food items I'd added (sugar, salt)
and fixed a button but nothing much else

I've taken it all over the place but sadly never really tested it.
(or should that be thankfully i haven't tested it).

It's now just a "survival curiosity" in my cupboard.

[smoggy]

I think some people are missing the point(s) here..........

No you don't need a survival kit in the UK......but it's only a survival kit if that's what needed, in the UK it's a possibles tin/boy scouts pocket/emergency stock....what ever name you choose to use! The point is it's a collection of usefull items which is always ready and available and should be easy to locate, should you need it......
I would never buy a piece of kit like this.....but I do have various versions.....be they tins/bags/film canisters/cigar tubes etc....they are secreted about the caravan/both cars/rucksack/tent bag/and my pocket. I don't even have to think about them untill I need them, they all contain different bits and pieces depending on their invisaged useage, and are often added too as and when. Which is the fun part, putting them together in the first place, and many a time I've given one away to people I've met along the way out camping/fishing/cycling/walking when they have been a little unprepaired!

As for mobile phones....I often go to areas where there is no or sparodic coverage, ie Kielder forrest, or village come to that! However I always take my phones, (yes two long story) why not? They're not heavy and work most of the time.....you may be pefectly capable of not getting into trouble or getting yourself out of it....but what about the fool you meet along the way who need medical treatment immediately?

The problem with keeping these bits and pieces in yout pocket.....you have to put them in before you go, and hope you remember everything and don't lose one item as you take another one out!

It's a wise man who knows when he will or will not require a piece of string or a safety pin....it's a wiser man who knows where he can get it if needs be!

Smoggy

[Toddy]

Yeah, but it's hardly a "Survival" tin then is it?
It's a bag of usefuls .............like my handbag, or my pockets.

I do agree that when 'out' out, and carrying a pack then I have F.A.Kit, Whistle, compass, firelighting, Knife, saw, etvc., etc., but not one of these wee jokey bits of clutter.

I don't fish, I don't strangle rabbits with wee bits of wire, I don't do the wire saw stuff and button compasses are notoriously unreliable. The candle melts, and the purification tablets go minging.

I'll stick with my assorted bits and pieces knowing that they get redd out and refreshed frequently.

cheers,
Toddy

[John Fenna]

I dont fish either but I have used the fishing line as a repair for a bag....the snare can also be used in many different scenarios and the candle can be used to ease a saw through damp wood etc- although I agree that the puritabs go off and are pretty useless after a couple of years!
I have "fine tuned" the kit(s) I carry and see them not as "wee jokey bits of clutter" but as compact collections of multi-use "possibles" held in a convenient storage tin.
The kits I have (so far) carried on forign expeds have been more useful than the ones I carry in GB.
Not being a handbag user I need somewhere to carry all those little bits and pieces of "might be useful" stuff....
Oh yeah - I have used a survival tins contents to get me through a weekend, but only as an experiment (playing) - not in a real emergency.
I went out with my tin, a Survival Aids emergency ration pack and a vacuum packed survival bag and suffered the w/e away.
The good news is - I survived!
I can see why some folk decry the survival tin, but I find it a comfort to have along on wilderness trips and as a supply of "useful bits" in normal activities.

[rik_uk3]

As said, just have stuff on you for the UK anyway. If your off to the rainforest etc you need more gear.

As to a mobile phone being a last resort? Utter tosh, its the first thing after some emergency first aid you would use if T**** and you or a member of your group were injured or indeed if you are lost and can get a signal its a very fast way of getting help (unless your the gung ho type who will soldier on regardless and perhaps hurt yourself or group member even more, perhaps cause a death). Often getting a signal is a matter of moving just a few metres; in my house where I'm sitting now I get full reception, move to the back room three metres away and nothing, walk two metres out the back door and again full signal.

For those going to this years moot where there is "NO signal" , well there is, go by the toilet blocks, the O2 network at least works there.

[Calculon]

I dont carry one since the time I sliced my finger open trying to get the fishook out of my elbow after rolling about on the floor trying to put myself out after using the bloody matches.

Lucky my missus had her phone....

[British Red]

As to a mobile phone being a last resort? Utter tosh, its the first thing after some emergency first aid you would use if T**** and you or a member of your group were injured or indeed if you are lost and can get a signal its a very fast way of getting help........ (

As I said - as a last resort (in an emergency) its a useful tool. If you really want to use a mobile phone to resolve "getting lost" well, in my book, there are some better ways to deal with getting lost - now if you meant an emergency AND being lost I concur. But a mobile phone in the UK as a method to resolve being lost (which the statement OR being lost implies) - rather than learning some decent navigation skills and carrying the proper equipment, places the burden of personal irresponsibility on emergency and volunteer services. I'm sure Dartmoor rescue and the like have better things to do with their time than deal with phone calls from the "I can't find my car" brigade

Red

[Goatboy]

me too

(good innit? )

Absolutely fantastic Bikething... especially when you unplug the landline too

[Goatboy]

I agree the tin can be seen as window dressing, and as Toddy and others say they wouldn't have a use for some of the items within. But it's like a rather plush biker mate of mine. He doesn't take a suitcase on holiday, it's a toothbrush and a credit card.
I always carry a pocket knife, though most folk don't... but I use it at least a couple of times a day. I also always have a loupe, a lighter ( as well as my fire steel ... it's an aquarian thing) and often wear braces as well as a belt. It's how we live our lives and how we drop those "tools" into them. Someone who lives in a desert may not need wellies, but if you live in a marshy area they're kinda good to have. Also many of the folks here think in different ways to the vanilla non-bushcrafty types and use items in ways they're not designed for. Think of the fisherman who pops his "dreaded" mobile phone into a condom before going fishing so that it doesn't get wet. If you can justify carrying it to yourself then why not? Hey I use cigarette rolling papers as post-a-notes to myself. There's no perfect kit list, just what you can use or apply to a situation.
Goatboy.

[rik_uk3]

As I said - as a last resort (in an emergency) its a useful tool. If you really want to use a mobile phone to resolve "getting lost" well, in my book, there are some better ways to deal with getting lost - now if you meant an emergency AND being lost I concur. But a mobile phone in the UK as a method to resolve being lost (which the statement OR being lost implies) - rather than learning some decent navigation skills and carrying the proper equipment, places the burden of personal irresponsibility on emergency and volunteer services. I'm sure Dartmoor rescue and the like have better things to do with their time than deal with phone calls from the "I can't find my car" brigade

Red

We will have to agree to differ on this one Red. Our priorities differ.