Taking a look at three East German Army canteens that I have in my collection. Here are two of my information sources: camopedia.org/index.php?title=DDR / canteensandmesskits
I've used mine for hunting season. Both M65 and M85. I always wash mine with hot soapy water to get any surface stuff of wether its plastic or any leftovers not cleaned out. I wouldn't worry about it unless you drink out of it day in and day out. Occasional use should be ok. I recommend washing them before first use.
Spelled Blumentarn absolutely Right, Also Called Flächentarn so like Terrain Camo and there is Whole Uniform and Equipment but its even in Germany Rare and The Prices are High
Very interesting piece of history, John! I did some research and the bottle was made by Preta (as you read it). Preta is short vor VEB Preßwerk Tambach. VEB stands for people-owned enterprise, Preßwerk means stamping plant and Tambach (full name Tambach-Dietharz) is a village in the East-German state Thüringen where the VEB enterprise was located. According to the communist doctrine 99 percent of all privately owned companies in the former GDR (East Germany) were dispossessed and transferred into people-owned enterprises. Of course people-owned in reality meant government-owned and people joked that VEB stands for "Vaters ehemaliger Betrieb" (Dad's former company). The NVA canteen is very reminiscent of the German Wehrmacht canteen Feldflasche 31. Although the Feldflasche 31 was made of quality drawn aluminium the shape is very similar, the cover has snaps on the side, the cup is kind of similar and there was also an insulated version called the Kokosnussfeldflasche (Coconut Canteen) covered in brown resin-wood-mixture. Here is a link to the different versions of the Feldflasche 31 with a lot of pictures www.nachrichtentruppe.de/9-alle-kategorien/ausruestung/47-feldflasche-31 I highly doubt that the NVA plastic canteen can be considered healthy by today's standards.
SFSideburns Thank you for your informative post! That website you shared is awesome. I will have to take some time to translate it to fully absorb it. Thanks for taking the time to share this with me and of course for watching my video!
As I mentioned in the pack video I have 2 of the M85 canteens and a late model web belt , w/,a sheet metal type clasp buckle. Thanks for the identity Years of these canteens.
I have a m65 canteen but some dipshit spray painted over it and I can not scrub all of it off it is soaked into the fabric got it for 17 bucks and it’s annoying because it was extremely disregarded in kinda bad condition canteen is fine I got the paint off the cup but can’t get all of it off the cover and some of the leather so now I am stuck with spots of normal strichtarn and a greenish tan strichtarn and it is just sad I’m trying to buy a new one but sorry for taking up your time bye
Good to hear from you again John. Thank you for you dedication to providing all this fascinating info. and I too would be very wary about drinking from these old materials. Bear in mind that the bottle was only just a few degrees less valuable than the poor conscript who drank from it.
IainB Yeah. I was thinking about those poor soldiers too. I bet everyone had to serve whether they wanted to or not. I’m glad you liked my video. Thanks for watching it and for commenting!
Outstanding video! I own the M65 and the M85 canteens for my East German Army fighting load. In my opinion the East Germans were stuck in a time warp with their personal equipment. They were still trying to improve equipment that was originally designed by the Imperial German Army from the 1880s and 90s which were used in WWI through the 1980s before they were dissolved in 1990. The East German Army has kept their equipment as traditionally from their past because it has worked for them. Their equipment as of today are not as durable as NATO or especially American ALICE equipment which is extremely tough. I like collecting their equipment out of curious historical context. I use the 3 part mess kit, and eating FKS, for my road trip gear.
Never seen one before in the Bluementarn John, thanks for sharing. Never paused to think about whether the plastic is safe and I don't imagine the cup is too safe either being made from such cheap aluminum . I have several of the M65 and M85 versions of these water bottles. Cheap was definetly the top element for their design. The failed naton state of East Germany needed several million of these for the planned invasion of France, so they had to be extra affordable. I don't find much use for them due to their small size and poor construction. One thing to be wary of: because of their age and the thinness of the plastic they tend to leak easily. Avoid the temptation to crank down the cap to fix this problem. They crack very easily at the neck and I have 2 that I have rendered unusable from trying to tighten the cap. Thanks for the video, as usual I learned a few things! Look forward to your next one!
CANADIAN OUTDOOR SURVIVAL Thanks very much! Like you, I don’t find the canteens very useful but they are nice to have for my collection! I might still use one of them for a “East German themed” camp video in the future. We will see. Thanks for the heads up on over tightening the cap. I will be sure not to do that. Thanks for watching my video. I’m glad you found it useful.
I bought some of these to store meths/fuel in. If I am on a long trip these hold enough for my needs. I also placed the small cup in my Swedish trangia set to be used as a small measuring or coffee/drinking cup.
That’s a great idea with the cup. I have used it as a measuring container a couple times with other kits too. Thanks for watching and for your comment!
@@John-Sherwood-W4JFS yep! You're an inspiration to all of us.keep that Bible always in your pack. It would be nice to see you do your field cooking in the british 2 piece mess kit if you have it.thanks again!
I use my m65 and m85 all the time during hunting season or scouting and checking my trail camera 's So the bpa issue not a issue to me. My personal opinion on the bpa is like heating up soup or coffee in my aluminum mess kit.
Just got mine today, I wonder if there’s any newly made canteen that would fit this pouch so it’s usable but safe EDIT: I actually managed to fit the Wildo 0,7L Canteen inside of the pouch, it was a bit tight to get the buttons together, but after using water to stretch it out it finally worked! The cup fits too. So if you want a safer alternative and a BPA-free bottle I highly recommend this method :-)
Thanks for going over this information! I have some of this stuff. (not all) Mostly I have a bunch of the backpacks and shoulder straps and about forty of the striktarn pattern ones. Interestingly some of my strictarn canteen pouches have the metal hook clip that the earlier ones have. I have zero of the belts you mentioned. Is it a simple web belt? Is there any special hardware that it has to interact with the shoulder straps?
Thereal111t That’s cool that you have a strictarn canteen with clips. I wonder if they are the older ones with 4 snaps on the side? I read that you have forty packs? That’s quite an inventory! The waist belt is a polyester blend web belt with a stamped metal buckle. They had at least a couple different colors. The hooks with loops on the combat pack suspenders would go around the belt two places on the front and one in the back. It wasn’t that belt that held up the pants. This belt went around the upper waist and held the other equipment like mess kit, gas mask bag and magazine pouch. I think another pair of suspenders held up the pants.
I got an east German canteen at an antique shop The cover was of the M65, But the canteen itself of the M58. The cup looked like an M65, but it had the measuring marks. Did i get the old version of the M58 or something?
Cool looking equipment. I've always wondered why a lot of European canteens are or were only 700ml. Seems too little for practicality. Granted Europe is not as dry as parts of the US or Africa. Thanks for sharing the camopedia link. Its been a great resource.
OKBushcraft Thanks! I agree that 700ml is not enough. Especially where I live. I guess they followed the infantry with water trucks. I know with East Germany, after the war they only had a police force that also enforced the border. So I guess in the beginning they would not have been far from base. But I know later they grew to a regular army but probably just to defend their country against invasion. So I’m thinking small capacity canteens were all that was needed. But that doesn’t explain the rest of the European countries’ thinking that have small canteens. Just some of my thoughts but they are probably wrong :) Thanks for watching another video!
@@John-Sherwood-W4JFS The Belgians, French, Australians, South Africans and Rhodesians were issued at least a quart if not 2 plus larger bladders. Our troops have been issued quart canteens seems like for ever. Seems short sighted to me to use smaller ones. Looking forward to more videos.
i have a Blumentarn pack, ... and sold a combat over suit in the same camo, i found the water bottles to be on the small size, but found their great to carry trangia fuel in,
neil castell That pack you have is a good collector. I almost got one on eBay but I was outbid. Great idea on the water bottles. You could carry plenty of fuel with just one bottle. Thanks for watching and for your comment!
John Sherwood I used to collect, but generally just sell surplus on eBay and Facebook these days, As far as the bottles go, I think their safe but can’t really say for sure.
I bought one and did some research, i read somewhere that they may have been made of polyethylene (which is BPA Free) however theres no solid information to confirm it.
Branden 9532 Thank you for sharing. I occasionally use mine when I’m in the mood and I haven’t noted any problems. I don’t think we will ever know for sure. Thanks for commenting and for watching my video!
wally man Probably so. I still use mine occasionally. There is a lot of people out there scared to death about it. I also use aluminum cookware and canteens occasionally too. Thanks for watching and for your comment!
MurcielagoAI I would use a mixture of about 1/4 cup of distilled vinegar (helps with odor) to the rest water inside and let it sit for two or three days with the cap on. Every time you walk past it on the counter, pick it up and gave it a shake. After that, rinse it out and then carefully pour boiling water (sanitizes) in it while the canteen is in the sink. After it cools off, give it another rinse or two with cold water and then turn it upside down in a dish drainer and let it dry for a couple of days. If your air conditioner is on in your house, that will help it dry good. Then store it with the lid off inside your house until use. After all that it should be good to drink from but there will still be a little taste to the water from the plastic. I don’t think you will ever get rid of that totally. Even my plastic US canteens have a after taste to the water. This is how I do it. It may not necessarily be the best way. Thanks for watching and for your question.
This design of water bottle and carrier is not easily accessible. Is that deliberate ? I've read that some armies had a 'procedure' where things such as drinking could only be done when ordered etc. or it's to stop soldiers taking a drink when they should be paying attention to their surroundings etc. Or maybe it's just bad design ! It's going to bounce about a lot and make a lot of noise as well ! Adrian: UK/England
josephd27 what you saw in the video is 90% of what I have. Not pictured is another mess kit, gas mask bag, and more of the grenade and AK47 mag pouches. Thanks for watching my video and for your question.
SuperKennycz well, let me first say that I’m not sure these East German are safe to drink out of long term because of possible BPA in the plastic. But if I was to clean it, I would pour boiling water in it to kill the germs. To get rid of smell, I use a little white distilled vinegar inside with water and let it soak with the cap on for a couple days. The rinse it out well with water and recheck it for smell. If it’s still there, I would repeat with the vinegar.
Layne Foley Hello Layne. I hope all is going good for you. Thanks for watching my video! When you come back in town, be sure to stop by and see us. See you next time.
I find it to be somewhat pointless. The cup is too small for a decent brew. My cousin who served in the NVA n the 70s and 80s said they drank coffee from the mess tin; the cup was rarely bothered with. I have one with a clear plastic bottle.
