Introduction: Waterproof Duct Tape Survival Box


A few basic items can mean the difference between life and death if you are lost in the wilderness. My idea with my Waterproof Duct Tape Survival Box is to have access to basic items  that can be kept dry but would still have access to them within a few seconds.


Step 1: Batteries Not Included.


These are the items in my survival box. You are free to add or remove some of the item to suit your needs.

This is my kit.

- Aluminum plate 100mx150mm(Can be traded for cardboard but the plate can be used as part of the kit.)
- Energy Sweet
- 1/3 of a candle
- Cheap pocket knife
- Small Compass
- Pen
- Small Mirror
- 1m of duct tape
- 1m of galvanized steel wire
- 7m of string
- 5m of fishing line
- 4m of thin nylon rope
- Box of matches(windproof lighter or waterproof matches may be a better option.)
- Headache tablets
- 4 x Band-aids (not shown)
- 2 x 1kg freezer bags
- Superglue
- Small compass

Tools
 Yes, there are tools necessary for this build but luckely the are everyday

- Fine tip marker or a computer, printer and simple cad program like Allycad.
- Ruler
- Strong scissors
- Hacksaw








Step 2: The 3 Sided Box.


By using aluminum plate for outer of box, will make it harder for some of the items to be squashed and the plate can be useful. Cardboard can also be used but since it's not waterproof the whole box will then need to be taped

The plate I am using can be brought at a hardware store since it is used in the construction of roofs. It's only 0.6mm thick and can easily be cut with scissors.

Using Allycad to draw and print a simple shape of the back front and bottom of the box will save a lot of time and effort. My box was sized 100mm x 100mm x 50mm, so logic will tell that template will be 150mm x 100mm with the 50mm of the bottom of the box in the middle. I also added rounded corners on box.

Since I have a roll of the plate for a very long time, it had to clean with steel wool.

A neat tick if you are approaching the printer cad method is to wet the paper and just to stick it on the plate. The wet paper will hold on the plate without any glue.

Use the scissors then to cut the shape out neatly by staying on the lines. Once done the back and front can be folded by using the ruler as a edge.    

Step 3: Like a Glove


Some of the item are just to large to fit strait into the box.

The pen
- To shorten the pen, I used the hacksaw to shorten the barrel of the pen. Once the barrel was shortened, I used a lighter to melt the plastic at the back so that the ink cartridge wouldn't fall out . The ink cartridge will also need to be shortened  but you need to use a cartridge where the ink had been used up past where you need to cut it off.

The duct tape
- Real simple, I just wrapped about a 1m worth of duct tape around the back of the pen, sticky side in.

The galvanized steel wire
- Would would need the whole roll of wire, just cut yourself a piece a 1m long.

The headache tablets
- I decided only to add 3 of them and to keep them together and dry, I made a pocket out of duct tape to keep the tablets dry and paper to avoid the pills sticking to the duct tape.

The plastic bags
-  The bags where just roll up and folded into neat little squares


Step 4: Tear Tape in Case of Emergency


The whole idea behind my survival box is that every thing will be dry and easily accessible.
Also I went with a sealed approach to the whole box since it would be no use if half of the item are missing or the box have been left open.

Knowing the side of my box are 100mm x 100mm and 50mm wide. This meant that I need piece of tape 350mm long and wide than the box. There also needed to be a weak point to the tape where it can be torn easily. This can be done by taping 3 pieces together with 2 pieces next to each other and a third piece sticky side to sticky down the middle.

Now it is time to repack everything into the box. The next step is to tape it close by folding the exposed tape down on the plate of the box. If the are any exposed spots where water can enter just tape over them as long as you don't tape over the weak spot line.

 

Step 5: Testing Testing

In this step I am only testing that my idea works by opening my box.

To open the box all I had to do was grab the edge on the top of the box and lightly running my finger nail in the weak spot to tear the box open.

Pro Tip - If you are forgetful, make a small list of the items that are included in the box and tape it on the outside of the box in a waterproof manner with clear tape. It will save you time if you want to know the contents.