Altoids Survival Kit

Take an empty Altoid tin and jam-pack it full of survival tools!!!! This kit is designed to save your life in an unfortunate outdoor situation. Hopefully you won't have to use it but it is always a nice feeling having it in your pocket while camping, hiking, or backpacking. Also please be sure to check out the new video!

Step 1 Supplies

For this instructable you'll need:

1 Altoids Tin (empty)-this will be used to store all the items in the kit
1 Large Trash Bag-this have many uses including a poncho, shelter, or whatever else you can think of
5 Rubber Bands-3 will be used to wrap around the trash bag, 1 for the fishing line, and 1 for the cord
4 Fish Hooks and 20 Ft. of fishing line- these can be used to make a fishing rod, with which you can catch fish to eat
10 Ft. of Cord- this can be used to help make a shelter, keep food out of reach of bears, or whatever else you might need it for
1 BSA Hot Spark-this is flint and steel combination that serves as a fire starter if your matches won't lite
5 Matches-used to start fires
1 Match Striker Piece-used to strike matches on
1 Birthday Candle-this can be used to coat the cotton balls in wax to make them waterproof or as a temporary light source
2 Cotton Balls-great for starting fires especially in coated with wax or petroleum jelly

Lets get started!

Comments

[bikibikes]

try putting in duck tape that is wraped around itself

[hossweightlifter]

the only thing is ur probs gunna need a knife

[hossweightlifter]

aright guys i am just annoyed how many people make these things and so many if them will never use them because they are nerds who never leave their computers but this one wasnt that bad it actually had some good ideas

[Knot71]

Can you buy the Altoids tins in the UK?

[chicken12175]

yes you can, you just have to look around:
http://www.instructables.com/answers/Buying-Altoids-in-the-UK/

[taluntain]

some cough drops come in the same type of tin

[Du7raz]

actually any tin that size would work :D

[60to1]

Looks good! 2 quick things:

I use a "trick" birthday candle in mine, as they relight if they are blown out.

Also, I replaced the striker for my hot spark with a P38 can opener.

[airsoft+offbeat+everything=logan!!]

why do you need matches if you have flint

[taluntain]

because you are suppose to have more than one way to start a fire just in case one way doesn't work it just a precaution so you won't be S.O.L

[pyro man]

great survival kit! im a boy scout and i can protest that the hot sparks are great. they just take a little bit of practice to get just right.

[Nicholas G.]

I just started a BSA Group. Do you want to join? the url is: http://www.instructables.com/groups/BSA

[the gizmoman]

Boyscouts is such an alsome program it teaches unique and very useful skills and is really fun with the camping and backpacking trips I'm an eagle scout by the way

[bears0]

my dad is retired air force so i can go on the base and get all kinds of survival stuff

[killer dragon]

It would sort of be better if you put the cord inside of the tin because if you need the matches or something inside the tin you have to take the rubber band and cord off, take out what you want and than put it all back on.

[joey99]

it seames very inconveavyant haveing to unwrap and wrap the cord to get to your stuff 

[cloudchaos]

one other thing if you can fit it all in a good size chunk of steel wool and a 9v battery (just make sure you insulate the battery ends to prevent fire and battery drain) very good for starting fires if you can't use a mag block or BSA HotSpark

[SnuffyDaPenguin]

steel wool lights much easier than cotton balls or even a big clump of lint. I carry some around in my firekit when I go camping or where ever. It lights with even one spark from a flint, and then catches a hot flame. No need for a 9 volt, which runs the risk of explosion or catching the wool while in the tin.

[chadcad]

The steel wool idea is a very solid one. One thing that I do is to take a small piece of it, flatten it out and wrap a piece of wax paper around it. I end up with a 3/4" x 3/4" square that's about a 1/16" thick. It fits pretty easily in just about any cell phone battery compartment. You ever need a fire just touch the steel wool to the terminals of your cell phone battery. The wax paper works pretty well as kindling too.

[star folder]

The battery from a Polaroid film pack will work with a small piece of steel wool, too.  It's flat and easy to keep packed.

[locofocos]

I though steel wool only burned in pure oxygen...

[thepelton]

No, I discovered that when I tried to clean posts on my car battery with steel wool.

[n0ukf]

FYI, it's not the steel that's burning, but the carbon in the steel. It's the same with flint and steel striking, it's not the flint that sparks, you're shaving steel off and the heat of friction is igniting the carbon in the steel.

[thepelton]

Actually, the carbon starts first, but the iron will burn once the carbon has started. Solid pieces of iron don't burn because they are too massive: It would be like dropping a match on a log over a foot in diameter.

[Shadowfury]

Well, that, and the cerium and lanthanum mixture that they put in it.

@locofocos, N=awesome.

[cloudchaos]

I will make a video tonight on how to start a fire with steel wool and post it.

[cloudchaos]

[temp]

i can't really tell but it looks as if you left the steel wool packed pretty close together. It would work much better if you fluff it up.

[thepelton]

It ignited for me accidentally in that car battery incident even though it wasn't fluffed up.

[temp]

It will still work but if you fluff it up it's easier and you can use less.

[thepelton]

I suppose you're right, but the original idea when I applied it to the car battery was to clean the posts to improve the electrical flow. If I intentionally do it to start a fire, yes, I will fluff it up.

[temp]

Oh. That must of been funny to see.

[thepelton]

I suppose, but not to experience.

[AznPanda]

Heh i member this trick for like i think it is Lifetv or something it was on YouTube is where i learned it

[J@50n]

me too!

[jamesccostello]

I don't mean to dis everyone's creative means of starting a fire, but I don't understand the needs for such creative fire-starting. I've found the most effective, waterproof, reliable, and easy method of starting a fire is to use a cheap pocket-sized lighter. It takes up about the room of several matches. Is a lighter for some reason not an acceptable means of starting a fire? Maybe I'm missing something.

[Aero9]

It is true a lighter is a handy and effective tool for fire building, however I myself have always found satisfaction in a good old unorthodox fashion in which to ignite tinder. I do carry a Zippo with me, but flint and steel, steel wool, two rocks, two stick, magnifying glasses and other such means of fire starting always gave me a strong sense of accomplishment. Also when train hopping I don't really find myself carrying large amounts of cash that can be waisted on lighters when I can make a fire from the tools in my pack.

[Shadowfury]

Well, the difference between lighters and matches and flints, fire pistons, strikers, etc, is that lighters and matches last only so long. Things like fire pistons and flints can be used indefinitely, or until you break them. Strikers wear extremely slowly, and are very effective fire starters. So it's really up to you, if you're in a survival situation for say, a week or two, then yes, a butane lighter would be great. But, you never know, you could be out there for months, in which case, a lighter would be the worst fire-starting instrument you could possibly have. (next to matches, of course)

[jillg]

but, as someone said earlier, you could ude the sriking part of the lighter to light fires with the igniter for a while longer.

[Shadowfury]

Yes, but the striker in the lighter is tiny. It is about 1/4cm long, and 1/8cm wide. It will last for a while, but ultimately wear until it is completely gone. It is also very difficult to start a fire using this method. You can use some tissue paper and cotton, but it is not always successful. I estimate a 50% success rate for that method, from experience, of course. In short, yes, you can use a fuel-less lighter to start a fire, however, you're just going to have to be patient to get a flame.