Post WW2 German Style Mess Kit Identification and Comparison. 

Thank you very much! Thanks for watching and commenting!

I made a video about a year ago cooking with the wz.70 mess kit, canteen, and silverware set: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-vex39x_SdpA.html If you haven't seen it yet, please check it out and let me know what you think.

Thank you for your kind comment! As you know, its hard to come up with something new in this hobby so I'm glad my idea is useful. Thanks again for watching!

Hey John just an idea - how about reviews on the Canadian Army, British Army, Dutch Army and Australian Army Mess Kits? All similar but there are differences...

That's a great idea! Maybe in the future. Right now I don't have any of those mess kits.

Dave C. Thank you for watching my video!

Thank you! I'm glad you enjoyed it. I forgot to mention about the crowns stamping and date and manufacturer markings on the other kits. I guess if I did, the video would have been much longer.

Carlos Sepulveda as a teenager, i had a swedish kit, they are taller and hold much more!!,

My space is maxed out too. My wife frowns now when a package arrives that looks mess kit/canteen sized. You have a nice collection! I haven't added anything new recently but I still have a few videos to do to cover the ones I have. That Austrian canteen still didn't make it. w=Who knows where it is now. I hope they are enjoying it. I'm not sure which one is my favorite. I would really have to think on that one. Thanks for watching another one and for your comment!

Thanks very much! I think I might have a mess kit addiction! Lol! Thanks for your comment!

Thanks for coming over and checking out my videos And I’m glad it helped out. I hope you will someday run across a cup for the inside of yours to make your kit complete. Thanks for watching and for your comment!

I'm glad you liked it! Thanks for watching another one!

Thanks for watching my video. The design of the German style kit is very practical. a great kit design. The US mess kit was primarily made for a chow line with back up use for cooking in the field. The mess kit design thought makes more sense when you pair it with the US canteen and cup. Then you have a fry pan, plate, cup, and canteen. Both the German style and US versions have their positives and negatives but both are great kits with different design thought.

Gunner Air I have that same kit too! A very awesome kit to have. That’s for watching and for your sub!

gunnerjames105 Thanks very much. I’m glad my video was some help. Enjoy your kits!

Yes you are right. I just said stick because I don't have a bayonet and never used a bayonet before. I bet that stainless one is heavy. It's built like a tank! I don't have one at this time but maybe I will someday.

John Sherwood if the postage wasn't crazy I'd send it you.unfortunately we're on opposite sides of the Atlantic.regards from Sheffield England.

hydraman5 The postage is outrageous! I was going to send something to England a few months ago and the price was shocking. Thanks for the thought.

Thank you very much!

Dominik Wolf I’m glad my video was helpful. The Austrian kit is a very nice one. I have been to Heidelberg before. A beautiful place! I enjoyed it very much. Thanks for watching my video and for commenting!

John Sherwood could it be you are in my store? When you visted Heidelberg. it's on the main street. There was a Knight out siede. And in this Shop wie sale German traditional clothing. Like Dirndl and Lederhosen. And free Guns. Like Airrifel and stuff. Maybe we met each other! ?

I was there in 2003 as part of a business award trip. I did some shopping there in some of the shops. But I don’t remember any of the shops I visited. I do remember the castle and how beautiful the town was. It was a great place to visit!

It cant be any worse than Soviet aluminum! I love the micrometer too. I teach high school automotive so its right up my alley! Thanks for watching and for your comment!

Ha Ha! I enjoy collecting these kits and canteens. It began with my US stuff and then my East German stuff. I can stop anytime I want... Lol.

Yeah, I can stop anytime...thats what I said about my ALICE stuff...lol

Thank you!

I'm glad my video was helpful. Thanks for watching and for commenting!

Thanks for letting me know. I'm glad my video was of some help. Enjoy your mess kit!

Thank you for watching and for commenting!

Even though these are not period for your time in history you are portraying, these German style kits are nice to have when you modern camp. Thanks again for watching and commenting!

Cody James I’ll see what I can do. Thanks for watching and for your comment!

Jair Nunes Thank you and thanks for watching my video!

Thank you! And thanks for watching!

Andrew Johnston Thank you for your comment! I still enjoy taking all of my Russian stuff out from time to time. I do recommend to complete your set with one of the enameled steel coffee cups and maybe one of their silverware sets. The cup does get hot with the coffee but I still enjoy using it all as a set. The cup and silverware will fit inside the kit. Thanks for watching my videos!

John Sherwood thanks I'll try that. I have one of the British enamel mugs at home.looks like it may fit too

BushcraftWoodsDevil Never seem one with a rubbery coating before. I have seen them with a smooth painted finish or a textured painted finish. Maybe the one you had had been modified by a previous owner.

Thank you very much! I hope you enjoy my channel!

Yeah, a lot of sellers make that mistake of listing it wrong. Unfortunately, some do it on purpose to drive sales. I hope my video helps people know the difference between the kits. Thanks for watching and for commenting!

Lol! It is addictive! I keep telling myself that I have enough and then a different kit I don't have comes into my radar. I didn't review the older Swedish kit because I don't know much about it right now. It will be a future video! Good luck on your future Soviet/Russian kit. There is a lot of them out there now so you should be able to find a nice deal. One day I would like to find a good older Polish wz 23/31 kit to sit beside my wz 70 Polish kit that was in the video. The addiction continues!

Scott Butts Thanks very much!

Guy de Vries You’re welcome!

Deep South Experience I’m glad you found it helpful. The only place I have seen any East German kits lately is eBay. Just study the pictures carefully to make sure it’s listed correctly. Good luck on your hunt! Thanks for watching my video!

Ken Yates Sorry for the delayed reply. I have a playlist with my Scout collection videos. I hope you enjoy it: ru-vid.com/group/PLBXZMNeFA86uOEJjejKfLecZA1RuWCSE7

Mark Hager In my opinion, no. But don’t get me wrong, they are nice kits but I wouldn’t pay that much for one. The one I have is the aluminum version and it’s good enough for me. The kit in this video that gets the most use from me is the East German one. I like it because it has the extra cup with handle inside. The thing I liked the most of the Swedish kit was the stove and windscreen setup. So I bought a separate windscreen and modified it to fit my East German kit. That same modified windscreen setup fits all the other German style mess kits I own too. This is just my opinion and what works for me. I hope it helps.

You have a nice collection of mess kits. I try to rotate mine and use each one from time to time. I can't confirm this for you about the Polish kit. But maybe someone that reads this and knows can help. Thanks for watching and for commenting!

Yes. I have both of my shemaghs in the video. The second one is the table cloth. I have a Yugo kit too but I hardly ever use it. My canteen in the set has a really bad smell in it that I can't get rid of. So I don't use it and its just part of my collection. Thanks for the pot measurements. People reading this might find it useful. Thanks for watching and for your comment!

That's unfortunate about the smell in your canteen. I washed mine out vigorously with soapy water a few times when I first got it just to be sure but it never had any off smells. The one complaint about the Yugo mess kit is there was no metal lid for the pot to make a quicker job of boiling water. There is a video on youtube of a guy who makes a lid for his pot out of a scrap piece of sheet aluminum so I took his idea and did the same thing. Used a scrap aluminum cake mold from Goodwill and formed a lid. The lid is shallow enough that it will fit in the kit's canvas bag along with everything else. I personally think the mess kits that have the inner cup have a huge advantage over the ones that don't. You can put water in the lower pot, put some food to cook in the inner cup, then put the top cup back on to contain the heat. Then you have a steam cooked meal AND boiling water for oatmeal or something from the same cooking cycle. Major plus over the two piece kits. And the East German kit having a handle on the inner cup makes it the best kit of all (the East German and the Yugo are the two mess kits that I own). Thanks for the reply and take care!

I have read your description of your mess kit a few times and judging by that, I think you might have a Hungarian mess kit. Here is a link to a picture of one: webbingbabel.blogspot.com/2013/08/hungarian-army-mess-kit-mh-csajka.html I have a 1953 Hungarian kit in my collection that I acquired after I made this video. It has a tiny stamp on the cup and on the pot that has 3 boxes on top of one another. The first box has a 6, the second a HR and the third has 953. Does your kit look like the one in the picture? Thanks for your comment and for watching!

John Sherwood That is exactly my mess kit. According to eBay it traveled to me from Poland, but it must be Hungarian. I will look for the stamps but so far I haven't found any. I would appreciate any other information on it. Do you know if the Hungarian knife fork spoon set is designed to fit in this mess kit?

You should review the Finnish mess kit. Very similar to the ones you tried out, but the build quality and metal quality is the best I've ever seen. The handle on the cup bends all the way over so it can be used in a patrol situation without the big pot being carried. No inner cup either. Very difficult to obtain , and very fireworn and dented when you get them. But the best of this type of mess kit in my opinion.

Monica Jones The Italian mess kit (not in this video) with two cups started in 1954 and was used into the 1970s. Here is a video I made on it. It has the capacity and weight. Then I make some lunch with it. ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-3MNM29ByH4w.html. Skip to 4:35 on the video to see the kit only.

@@John-Sherwood-W4JFS Thank you. I ordered one and when it arrived it was not in usable condition. I was broken hearted. One cup was frozen on main pot and could not be removed. Neither handle was long enough to go over the little bolt for it. I had to return it. From sportsmans guide web site. I hope I get my money back

I'm not sure if Mil-Tec or China ever copied the E. German kit. To my knowledge I have never seen one. They were cheaper made than a lot of other mess kits I have seen. But they are still one of my favorites. The darker kit of the two on my video is my everyday carry and it has seen a lot of use. It stays with me in my vehicle. Thanks for watching! I'm glad you enjoyed it.

cheesepuff781 I’m sorry but I don’t have a Swiss kit in my collection yet. I hope to have one someday. Congrats on your purchase!

Most of the German style kits should fit with a little modification. Some that should fit are the Russian, Hungarian, older Polish, Romanian, East German, West German, and the Austrian one. I personally use the East German one with my Swedish windscreen. I had to modify the screen to fit it and it works really good. If you could find a East or West German (Bundeswehr) kit or even the remake, you would have a three container kit. The Austrian one is three container too but they are hard to find. I hope this helps!

@@John-Sherwood-W4JFS It does!! Thanks. I ordered a FINNISH one (with the three containers) a week ago. It's a brand new but at the time I did not realize that it was a Chinese copy!!! The horror!!! Well, we will see if its any good when it gets here... Its coming from Finland. But being brand new it might be very nice which is why I ordered it. And if it doesn't fit my Swedish wind screen, I can still put it to good use with some other screen and pot holding method. Again Thanks. BUT PLEASE CONSIDER MAKING A VIDEO TRYING OUT ALL OF YOUR DIFFERENT MESS KITS on that Swedish wind screen!!!!!! You are the only person I know who has them all!!!!! That would be so helpful to lots of us!!!! Honest!!!! Again thanks and best wishes from Texas my friend!!! Gene.

johnny sixguns Had similar grease on the VDV version. Lots of hot water and washing detergent , repeat until smell has gone. Worked for me.

My kit came wrapped in brown paper with that preservative oil and grease all over it. I did just like harnamhandi and washed it in hot soapy water a few times. Also, I boiled water in the pot and cup on my kitchen stove to help release the oil film from the metal. I took it off the stove and let it settle for a couple of minutes and then the oil film would rise to the top. Pour off the water and repeat. After that, you could sauté some onions in both to "season" it. That's what seemed to work for me.

a lot of paper towels, gasoline, degreaser. Then wash the dishes. respect from Siberia.

Thank you for your reply! Greetings from the US.

boil water in it about 7-10 times and wash with dish washer liquid after each boiling, that would be healthier than degreaser

Filip actually that would be hard. Most of my collection is vacuum packed in bags and in storage. Plus, the video would be too long. Thanks for the suggestion though and thanks for watching my videos!

I don't know of anyplace they are available except on the actual surplus kits. You could make your own.

@@John-Sherwood-W4JFS I have a mill teck swiss kit and it did not come with hook. I went to hardware store and purchased a chain and hook with a clasp. I just attached it to the handle. It comes off If I need it to. It works well.

@@monicajones8450 Very cool. The Mil-Tec Swedish kit seems to be a nice one. I saw one once at my local surplus store. I have seen some bad remakes of different kits from different manufacturers but this one is good. I hope you enjoy using it!

They have been hard to find recently. They used to have them on Swisslink.com but they look to be out. Keep looking because they come available at times on ebay. Thanks for your comment and good luck on your search!

Not yet. Thanks for watching!

This video does not have one. This one was only about post WWII German style mess kits.

Thank you for the information. Sounds like that would work good. Thanks for watching and commenting!