This is a commercial version of a bandaid tin survival kit that was taught in common 60's and 70's survival class curriculums. This brings back a lot of memories.
I'm 59 and my childhood in the Boy Scouts cemented my love of the outdoors. I remember REI's catalogue back then. Was geared toward serious adventure, not dressing in a fashion sweater for a walk on the rail trail. I bought this kit back then and lost it somehow. Got one on Ebay a couple years ago and sits on my desk as a reminder of days gone by.
I always ask for the old fashioned "strike anywhere" matches when I am buying them in a shop, I like to be able to use any rough surface instead of relying on a special striker on the newer safety matches
Really an emergency brew kit. Which...is about all you need for an overnight inconvenience in the woods in most situations. I'd date the kit with cubes as mid 70's to very early 80's. The newer from mid 80's til very early 90's. I remember seeing these for sale at a local sporting goods store during the 80's. Never bought one though.
Another great review Eric! Looking forward to the next reviews! As an ER/Trauma Nurse, I travel nursed for a couple years, mostly in the northwest. I stopped by REI in CA and saw the storm kit on display there...almost bought a couple, but passed. Wish now I had! Decent, basic kit like you said. Thanks Eric!
Ohio Blue Tip closed in '87. So I'd date the first kit pre-87...or prior to closing in '87. The second kit post-'87 to early 90's... obviously. Diamond, who briefly owned Ohio Blue Tip in the late 40's is now pretty much the top match company in the United States. It is believed that because matches are cheaply made, companies like Ohio Blue Tip folded due to shipping costs worldwide ate the profits. However, nobody is really sure the reason for so many match companies closing shop. Shipping vs profit is the best, and most likely, guess.
Wow! This is one my favorites of your videos! As an 80's kid I always wanted one of those Tacoma Mountain Rescue kits! It's one of the coolest tins I've seen and it's hard to find anything quite like it. I have no idea the date but I think it's probably mid- to late-90s or newer. The older kits one usually finds will have strike anywhere matches but they were supplanted by strike-on-box due to regulatory changes and shipping requirements. The Ohio Blue Tip Match Company closed in the mid-80s so I expect that rough looking kit was from the 70's or older. The CH sugar makes me think the nicer looking kit is a much later vintage. Also the Herb-Ox sachette/packets are a newer style than the old cubes. On the plus side it's actually much higher quality than the cubes and dissolves more readily (and tastes more like beef). Space Blankets have largely taken over from plastic sheeting, another clue that the kit is 25+ years old. I think it's pretty optimistic to think one could fashion a bail from the bread bag ties! ;-) That's the ol' 80s can-do spirit! Personally I think the tea isn't a great addition. I love tea but with no cup or pot to prepare it in it's a bit unhandy and of course not really all that helpful in a 'survival' kit. The candle is excellent, a great aid to building a fire or to use with a Palmer Furnace. I feel the lack of cordage is an unforgivable omission; the excellent shelter depicted on the front of the tin is impossible to construct without cordage! But the whistle is great. In a way I liked the older one since it had a loop to attach a lanyard. In a survival situation you'll probably want it around your neck for convenience (you'll be sounding off regularly) and to keep from losing it. You kind of cheated us this time, Eric! ;-) I was eager to see your repack and what you would add to the kit! I think you missed a golden opportunity. Hopefully you'll consider shooting another video of you assembling a DIY kit in that wonderful old-school tin! Great video, thanks.
I Have a vivid memory of attending an international Boy Scout jamboree, US/Canada about 1974 give or take a year or so in Port Townsend, Washington state. We had a US Army Captain I think he was special forces come in on Huey helicopter and give us a short presentation on outdoor survival. He had one of these kits and as best as I recall contents & appearance were identical.
I bought a kit from REI back in early 70s. I’ve kept it in the car for decades. I recently opened it. Like yours the candle was deformed and. the bullion cubes melted. Mine has sugar cubes and were still good. Every thing was also sound. I heard they were originally called survival kits but people would be trapped out and found with the kit unopened. Ask why the didn’t use them they said they didn’t feel it was a survival situation. TMR renamed them to storm kit. Makes sense. I was going to buy another one but I found the same message as you on the REI site.
I have the older one that was given to me as a gift in 1978. never been opened and kept in my car so the candle is probably melted also I would not hesitate to use the tea or bullion in a survival situation
I really like this kit it is pretty easy to operate even for non trained people and quite helpful in case of emergency also it is tsa friendly and that's a great plus, if i was stranded somewhere not in extreme conditions i could probably survive one night
One suggestion for nailing down the production period would be to find out when "strike on box matches" replaced "strike anywhere" matches. At some point it became expensive to ship "strike anywhere" matches because of the chemicals that were used in their construction or because they were prone to ignite and were a higher insurance risk, I've read about it but can't remember the reason. I recently bought the old fashion, honest to God, "strike anywhere" matches with the red heads and white tip and they are very expensive and I could only find them in the small size, not the kitchen math size. The green "strike anywhere" matches are actually more like "TRY to strike anywhere you dupe" matches.
Strike anywhere matches have been illegal in Australia since forever, but when I was a kid in the 70s, we watched a lot of westerns back then of course and we used to glue the side of a match box on the sole of our shoe so we could strike a match on our boot cowboy style. I still remember getting yelled at for cutting the side of the matchbox out and leaving all the matches loose in the kitchen drawer
It's great to see a proper candle in a survival kit. I'm from the UK, and if these kits were British, I'd say the older looking kit was mid to late 70s and the newer kit mid to late 80s. Anyway, great video, I've been having a binge-fest of your survival kits, it's making me think I'd better clean mine up a bit. Cheers, all the best to you and yours 👍 👍 👍 🍻
Love your reviews Eric, keep up the good work! My guess on the more beat up kit is late 60’s to early 70’s based on the construction of the whistle, reminds me of the ones I had as a child. The other kit, again based on the whistle makes me think early to mid 90’s.
Best way of time stamping these 2 that I see... When did it become p.c. to stop production of strike anywhere matches ? . . . Can't have those pesky mice running off with your matches & burning your house down, inside the walls.
When they started doing tutorials on how to use strike anywhere matches to recycle 22 rimfire cases. Can't have people making stuff we don't want them to buy.
Bought mine from REI late 80s I think, had it in hunting kit. Tin is almost perfect size, thought the newer larger size tin was to much. Saw some old kits on Ebay looks like 1st versions were made from a Napa Auto tin.
Hi , Thanks for this video. I looked up the Tacoma mountain rescue kit after I caught site of it in a drawer in Fox Mulder's family lake cabin in episode 3:24 of the X files - Talitha Cumi. I just watched last night. Now I think I'm inspired to put together my own kit. Strike anywhere matches are illegal here but I think for this kit windproof/waterproof matches would be a good idea.
Heheh, you know you're someone who doesn't drink tea when you think Orange Pekoe is an orange flavoured tea. (Just teasing heh!) Great video, I've been binging your stuff for the last few days, so awesome, love your videos man.
Wow! 👀For what it's worth Herb-Ox still comes in a Green & Red Instant Pack That Looks pretty close to that one for 20+ years. They have them in the drink stations at the hospitals maternity wards! Well I guess I did survive that place 3x! 😆 There Pretty Good & they help with breast feeding! Survival of the Fittest!👍
The older whistle looks much like the "Captain Crunch" whistle from cereal boxes back in the day. A famed hacker tool since it could be used to get free long-distance phone calls until the phone company caught on. Dime not included. These days you need a cell phone, but you don't need a phone booth!
Ohio Blue Tip Strike Anywhere Matches date your first kit as made earlier than the one containing Diamond Strike on Box Matches. Ohio Blue Tip Strike Anywhere Matches were the gold standard until U.N. regulations changed things. Decent "Strike anywhere" matches disappeared by the late 70's. They were replaced with newer versions that are almost worthless without a striker. Essentially if you try to light them "anywhere" they probably won't light; hence the box containing them having a striker. In the early 70's us kids would buy boxes of Ohio Blue Tip Strike Anywhere Matches at a local store. They had the familiar blue tip with a bit of white on them. You could light them on a zipper, your denim jeans, and most everything but in dirt and water. We used to throw them at the concrete sidewalks or against a wall to light them. Some older guys would light them with their fingernails. FYI: Probably the best "Strike anywhere matches" you can buy in the USA now are the UCO branded ones. They'll light off of a lot of surfaces, but I wouldn't depend on it. If your life depends on it, you need options. In this case the "option" is to have a striker with you. Oh, and there's no replacement for a good ferro rod and a "carbide" striker. Wet or not, the ferro rod will get you going.
The version with the knife is more boxy than round, and contains: Matches, Candle, Sugar, Salt, Tea, Bouillon, Wire, Whistle, Paper, Pencil, Compass, Foil, Knife, Cord, Poly Bag, Signal Mirror, Plastic Tube Tarp and Survival Brochure. I admit to opening mine once about a decade ago to see what mysteries it contained, but it's been in my closet the entire time I've owned it.
The Reason for why, they didn’t put a Blade inside; before the Nineties, Everyone carried a Pocket-Knife. I’m born in ‘72. I’ve been carrying a Swiss Army Knife, since 1977. It’s a Valuable Tool. Not a Weapon. My Opinion, ‘bout it. Yeat another good Video, Sir. Thank You!😀👍 I’ll keep watching Your’s Videos, to I’ll Watched it All. Keep on, with Your’s Good Work! (And Again, please Excuse My bad English, and all the Failures of Spellings, and Lacks of the Grammatics. Sorry ‘bout THAT.😢)
Yeah, I've had a knife since I was 6 years old(a mid 50s Mora w/ orange plastic handle).. I'm 70 now and a knife has ridden in my pocket since that first knife. What the hell is wrong with people today ? My knife is a tool which I use numerous times daily. As knife maker,.Pat Crawford told me at a knife show that the best knife for protection is a 9mm. If someone pulled a knife on me I'd run.
@@willyfarr People today, are’nt able able to Think by themselves. People’s talking ‘bout «Zombee-Apocalypse». They’re talking ‘bout themselves. ‘Cause, they’re not able to keep up up own Minds. Instead, they’re Controlled by the Poiticians, and somewhat called, «Politic Correct Government». «Zombies», does’nt Exist. But «Dumb People», does. The same People, that is «Closing Down», the «Nuclear-Reactors», so We have to burn more Coal, to get Electric Energy. Power Plants runned by Coal, increases the Outlets of CO2. Nuclear Reactors, does’nt.
Sorry, ‘bout My bad English, and Grammatics. I’ve never had to Learn English, nor Data, in My Work, to put down Pipelines for Water and Septic, into the Ground. Driving Excavators, Graders, to maintain Roads, or driving Heavy Trucks,(or Tip-Trucks), to get the Soil, «Away».
Date of the package is approximately 19 late 1960s early seventies and I can tell you that based on certain things in the package the way it's written and the leaflet itself and yes that tells you just how ancient I must be LOL my kids would beg to differ because I'm not as old as this must sound.
Hope your weren't relying on that first kit, you just died of hypothermia. There will be loads of people with one of these kits they have had for 20years rolling about in the back of their car, waiting for the day they get stranded in snow or a forrest. And they go to use the matches and it is impossible to start a fire to dry out. You should replace things like matches, tea bags, sugar etc every 3 years
Are there any area codes. zip codes or postal zones or even numbers with a now invalid area code? I'm sure you have checked all that stuff out, but I was trying to see the markings on packages you showed but no luck. Great vid.
"A few years ago when they were forced to abandon their original slim tin for a much larger one, [Tacoma Mountain Rescue Unit] went from having a largish mini-kit to having a bulky personal survival kit. . . ." -- Doug Ritter, April 12, 2003, www.equipped.com/tmr_kit.htm For Doug to say, in 2003, that the Tacoma Mountain Rescue Unit abandoned their original slim tin a few years prior, what you have would have been assembled in 2000 or earlier.
Hi, Jeanette_Isabelle! I should've thought about that- Doug has forgotten more about survival kits than most folks even know! He's been in the game for many years as well.
Mors Kochanski, RIP, always said that when you pack a kit you have to make two questions: 1 - How does this kit help me to sleep? 2 - How does this kit help me make a fire?
Bullion is going to go bad in just a few years because it contains oils. Properly sealed white sugar, salt, and tea is not going to go bad in your lifetime.
And just to show you how dated things are they just copied the older version and put it in the and you can tell that the only thing is they changed between the older version and the newer version was maybe the pictures. Because it mentions sugar cubes...lol.
THOSE ARE ,, STRIKE ANYWHERE ,, MATCHES , THEY ARE NO LONGER MADE , STRIKE ANYWHERE MATCHES COULD STRIKE WHILE IN THE BOX IN YOUR POCKET , YOU COULD ALSO STRIKE THEM ON YOUR JEANS OR FINGER NAIL
What’s the obsession with the age of the kit? It’s not a valuable antique! That lid is not a viable signal mirror. We’re there holes already at the top edge of the tin? Otherwise how would the soft wire make a bail?
OH FORGOT , , , WRAP THE WIRE JUST UNDER THE INDENT IN THE TOP OF THE TIN , PLACE THE LID LIGHTLY ON TOP ( DON'T PUSH IT ON TIGHT ) TO INCREASE BOIL TIME
@@madeucedancinclub2452 Not secure. And, not easy to use a knife to puncture 2 potholes. Can easily hurt oneself. Generic tin can improvised cook vessels are mostly not practical.
