My grandfather used to work for Tacoma mountain rescue seeing this has brought back wonderful memories of him.

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.

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.

Since both kits do not have a barcode, I conclude that they were made before 1984

17 seconds in and its like the weight of my day lifting off my shoulders/ Thank you.

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

How cool! I had one of those when I was a Boy Scout, many decades ago! Great memories!

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.

Tip: if you pour some hot water in the tin and lid, the wax will slide right off the surfaces it's stuck on... 😉

I like that they used to source materials in the US and that they explain so clearly how to use the items ... great review. Thanks enjoy your channel.

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.

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.

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!

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.

It’s gotta be mid 80’s because domino stopped producing salt around that time the factory is in Yonkers NY they only produce sugar since the 90’s

Farmers brother is still in business temporarily closed due to covid-19. And it's like a five minute drive from my house

Did I just find the SteveMRE1987 of survival kits? Subbed!

when i lived in washington state i remember seeing these in many of the outfitter stores, this was back in the early 80's.

I got one of these in the 80s when I was a kid. Still have it

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.

With all love from Vietnam, i'm a big fan of your youtube channel,your video was very great !

Is it just me or that whistle had a Thomas the Tank Engine sound?

i would date that to pre 1980 or mid 70’s, no barcodes. barcodes came out in 1974. just a guess.

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.

I had one of those kits , I got it at REI back in the late 80s or early 90s

The newer version that was available from REI had the addition of cordage, pencil, notepaper, space blanket, small knife and button compass,

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

Their quite easy to date, just buy them a nice drink and compliment their appearance. Hehe!

Wow how cool! Now I want one, I live in Tacoma, Washington

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

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.

In the old kit, the illustrations on the instructions look like they came out of the Air Force survival manual, probably late 50’s or early 60’s.

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 👍 👍 👍 🍻

I am both amused and fascinated by sugar cubes

I bought one of these at an REI. It was a decent kit for the money.

Great kit man.I just have to say: you make the best reviews ever ; ) Good luck man.

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.

I had one of these years ago wish I had one again.

MRESteve would make a meal from all of that. "Ok, let's get this on to a tray. Nice!"

I guess this was the 70s version of an "Altoid survival tin"

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!

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.

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!👍

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.

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.

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.

Awww ! C&H sugar! Miss that!

That is So old school cool! 😎👍

If you're ever in Ohio, Wadsworth, Oh. has a Blue Tip festival every year. The company was located there.

Orange pekoe is a tea leaf size of black tea. It has no orange

I had one of those in the 70s. 🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸

Love the videos. You light a match like a child though! :)

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.

i had one in @1976 and i still have 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.😢)

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

"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.

im thinking if that wire bread tie is mad of magnesium you got a heck of a fire start even in the rain!

I expected more from a kit made by a Mountain Rescue Organisation! Either my expectations were unreasonably high or the kit disappoints. Perhaps both!

I had one back in the 70s. As a kid.

This video proves: Mr. Kitbashed is not a dating-expert ;)

Great reviews. Just subbed 👍👊

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?

They had a book that went with it.

That was so interesting to watch.

Yeah, I had one of those back in the day. Maybe late 1980’s.

Excelente video! Nos próximos videod coloca na descrição do os itens que vem no kit . Ajuda bastante ; )

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.

Nice video.

Nice video. Thank you for sharing it. You have my support. ;))

You can buy Bovril cubes.

Cool interesting vid. Thx!

I got mine in 74' from REI . Had it for many years, don't know what happened to it

Please tell us the dimensions and shape of the plastic. To make a tiny Teepee like that its better shaped a bit more like a cone more than straight

My family that was heavy into CIV,SAR was given these exact kits. 1975-6sish. I'll see if my sis can give you more info.

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.

Subbed! 22k views w 3k subs that’s interesting.

I think i like the older whistle better... nicer high tone... the newer one seems kinda wimpy

I've never seen these. Very interesting.

Very interesting 👍👍👍

Am I the only one who thinks of Mr Roger's Neighborhood when you hear the whistle?

I just bought one from a guy it seems rare I am going to sell this but I didn’t know where to sell it and how old

Where you buy this ?

Is there a code on the bottom of the can??

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

I think this is a circa 1976

Ohio Blue Tip Matches ruled. So much better.

Hmm, no hiss......

I don't know what they cost but whatever the price was it's too much

Strike on box is a very crappy choice

Boy can you talk

You strike matches wrong.

Would you sell the Rough kit ??.

How do we use the wire tie as a bail?

9:05

Woobie in a can.....

First one is 80s in esar we did not get these ones my team had to get are own gear out 4.25hr pay and gas food duffel bag was the best place get gear and B and I just across the street made one stop