Altoids Tin: Water Challenge

In our last article we talked about the boiling/cooking capabilities of an Altoids Tin in a survival situation. We pretty much debunked the idea of using it for either. We then examined how well the Altoids Tin will protect your kit from water.

Why does my Personal Survival kit need to be waterproof? People find themselves in a survival situation by unforeseen events. Usually those events being bad...We do not decide or predict when and if this happens; but your Personal Survival kit is there waiting to aid you. Your gear isn't going to help you if its been destroyed.

Obviously a tin alone is not waterproof. In many discussions I've had people say they waterproof their Tin based survival kit with some sort of tape (most of the time being electrical tape). So we tested this by wrapping electrical tape around the Altoids Tin and submerging it.

I placed some paper inside the tin and let it soak for about 10 mins.

So after taking the tin out of water and removing the tape; the tin was completely filled with water. Just as if I had not added any tape at all. I'm sure the tape slowed it down but did not make the kit waterproof.

This tin rusted within a day of the test

As you can see in the picture above, Altoids Tin's are also very susceptible to rust. While this is not a deal breaker it definitely isn't cool...

So you may or may not care if your kit is waterproof. Although, I would suggest against that thought process. But if you must use a tin, at least waterproof everything in your kit that could be damaged by water. Again I'm not bashing Altoids Tin's.  But hopefully provide you guys with the best information in building your own PSK's.