Survival Tools

For the benefit of the youngsters in the crowd, back when photographs required actual film, rather than bytes of digital media, the film came in virtually bomb proof and actually waterproof little plastic film cans (or cannisters), with pop-off lids. Anyone who shot pictures had dozens of them, more often than not. And if you're older than dinosaur teeth (call it late 1960s back to the 1930s or so), they came in aluminum film cans, with screw-on lids.

What good are they?

Watertight leakproof storage for:
treasure maps
*important ID or papers
*stash of paper currency, coins, gold, silver, gemstones, etc.
a buriable cache (pronounced cash, not cashay , unless you're a Common Core moron) of any kind
*tinder
*fuel tabs or firestarter
*matches
*spices (Coghlans still makes snap on spice shaker lids for plastic cans)
*a mini-survival fishing kit (hooks, line, weights)
anything else you can think of.

None of that requires the film cans, and seldom seen film doesn't matter.
You can buy 10-12 of the cans, empty, new, for $5 on Amazon.

And really, it's not just film cans, it's any sealed waterproof container.
Film cans just used to be as ubiquitous as phone booths. Unfortunately, they still are now.
But while phone booths and film cans have gone out of style, the utility of the latter remains unsurpassed, and for prices from free, to cheap as dirt, brand new.

You can also go to The Container Store website, and find a yuuuuuge selection of other cans and containers of food-safe waterproof sealable plastic cans, tubes, etc. for similar purposes.
And you should.

I found a flatter round one the perfect size for medical tape, to keep it from drying into a ball of congealed unusable goo in a car first aid kit.
A longer thinner one that holds IV and chest decompression needles visible, without letting them poke holes in everything, or lose sterility.
GoToobs hold all sorts of things without burping the contents all over your gear, from Betadine to sunscreen, and everything in between.

All of the above are highly recommended. Dropped in water, they'll usually float.
Buried for months to years, they remain intact, with no metal parts to rust and fail.

Take advantage of the multitude of uses to store items safely, and have them as fresh and useful when you need them as they were the day you loaded them up.



*The Sergeant Major notes "You will see this material again."