My grandfather left me an entire basement full of ww2,Korean era,Vietnam era and 80's era military gear and I already had alot of modern surplus gear so I'm set for life on surplus gear

The swedish kit: the two steel rings in the handle of the lid is for sticking a wood pin in to use as a long handle to use the lid as a frying pan over a camp fire. Best regards from the Swedish alps

It indeed gets really cold in the Swedish Alps

Self Reliance Outfitters just came out with their version of the Swedish mess kit all in stainless steel. Brand new it is cheaper than the Swedish kit on eBay. 😎

Everybody knows the very famous swedish alps... 🤣😂 But apart this little fault it was a very great and intersting comparsion of the different mess kits! Love this vid! My favourite is the czech or swedish one (which is smiliar with the usually german, romanian, austrian and polish ones).

I work in a military thrift store in the Netherlands and we sell those Dutch kit for just €2,50 and the German canteen with cups for just €3,50, not even close to €15 and €30

Mess kits aside, many millions of American Military ate off stamped stainless steel mess "trays" in chow halls across the globe, for many years. Indestructible they were, and easy to clean. I loved them.

just a thing from a brit, whilst over here we do use the mess tins, back in the day most of us would just buy a crusader mug, stick it on the top of the water bottle and the plastic cup on the bottom. and whenever you got chance to brew up or was time for some scran was just quicker to break out the crusader mug and base, whack a hexy block in the burner base, swear whilst burning your finger lighting it. put metal cup on crusader base, stick boil in the bag meal in the mug, top up with water, boil till food is somewhat warm, use water to make tea from brewkit that was kept in crusader mug burning base. open your bacon and beans you've been looking forward to for the last 4 miles, stick maccys spoon into said bacon and beans "PREPARE TO MOVE!" grumble until you realise everytime you stop its time to move by the time you have hot food, next time, carry meal in armpit vent of smock so its somewhat warm when you sit down next time, least then you can wolf down your stew and dumplings, and have a ciggy, and if you're lucky and get water on the boil quick, might have time for half a mug of nato standard cofftea (looks like coffee, smells like tea, its thick like hot chocolate, must be oxtail soup!) handily these days most rations from what ive seen have a FRH in them, and the venerable jetboil is available on the market and fully recommended if you're yomping round somewhere cold, as you can get a half liter/brit pint of water from almost ice cold to rolling boil in a little under 150 seconds with the big gas tank (keep backup mini gas tank inside mug with brewkit, just incase) which means usually you have time for a cuppa whenever you sit down, jus pour some cold water in after boiling to bring it down to a gulpable temperature

I have 3 of the Yugoslavian Mess Kits. The 10 bucks i payed are worth it for the Cutlery set alone. I have set 2 of the kits up with different stoves. 1 with an esbit stove and another with a gas stove and a small gas cartridge. Added a Rag and lighter. I wouldn't use the Bottles. No idea if they're safe or not, but the kit itself is great.

Gifted a US canteen kit-circa 1982 , have the Yugo kit, & use the utensils daily at home, then the nato kit (Hungarian mess w/ Swedish style stove & trianga burner.

That yugo kit was made for a mess kitchen area, you stand in line for chow with two spots for food in one hand, drink in the other. Forgot where I had seen that explained

I was issued and used that mess kit we kept a rag or socks in the kit to prevent the utensils rattling. Though honestly, most of the time in the field we used trays.

Those are the Dutch mess tins. The British versions are made of aluminium, I can spot the difference because the Dutch ones here have rolled edges, the British ones are just straight cut edges. Also they look and sound different. Used the British ones for 5 years in a previous job. Nowadays in civvy street I use the Dutch ones, so I can easily spot the difference. The Dutch Army/Marines also carry a canteen and cup the same as the US ones. Other armies like the Aussies, NZ and SA also used similar rectangular mess tins in aluminium, as far as I know they too also carried a canteen cup like the US one. However in the British Army we weren't issued canteen cups, just the mess tins, but a lot of airborne and SF were able to acquire old 44 pattern metal canteen cups. The German kit you have is just the canteen and cup, they also carry a mess kit which is basically the same as the Polish one you have, the difference being that the lid/pan isn't as deep, and there is a third shallow pan without a handle which nests into the deep pot, in a chow line the two shallow pans clip together and with the bale on the deep pot all 3 can be held in one hand.

I like the design of the Yugoslavian mess kit and the variety of stuff it offers in a neat little package at a reasonable weight. If it came with a lid and had something to hang it over a fire, it would be perfection. Also you get them in Germany for around 9 Euros, which is a steal.

Used to camp with 1945 canteen kit that had aluminum canteen in canteen cup. Also used my BSA mess kit which came with frying pan and deep plate and pot and drinking measuring cup. The fry pan and plate closed around the pot and cup and I kept small items inside

I like how you always do a large variety of tools/items and look at them, instead of just 1 or 2.

Hi. Great vid. The UK use the aluminium cookset,The Dutch use the Stainless Steel. All the best.👍🏾🇬🇧

That was a great review. First time I have been able to watch a comparison of different military mess kits from around the world in one short video. American stainless steel is the way to go for me personally but some of the other kits had some nice features also. Thanks for making this video, it was educational as well as entertaining.

I know I'm late to the party, great video. I haven't seen that many mess kits in 1 place being compared. I personally use the Italian kit you have there and have done so for more than a decade. The "cups" are great little frypans. I use them to cook in, eat out of and drink out of. Iv done stew in the pot before but it mostly just gets used to make hot water, rice and melt snow.

You forgot the British army BCB crusader system. Similar to the US system but designed to use a trangia stove, hexi blocks, gel or wood to heat up stuff. 🙂

The way you where starting to assemble the USGI mess kit the first time is actually the correct way - If you notice there is a shoulder on the handle where it hinges. When you insert the ring side first it will stop against the shoulder of the handle, then you will notice that the 90 deg bend on the end of the handle is positioned perfectly to snap onto the lid portion. Now the lid is held in place at both ends.

I personally wouldn’t want to carry a heavy military mess kit around, but I’m very fond of the British Bcb crusader canteen cup. Only for nostalgia reasons though.

👍👍👍 .. nice comparison. Looking at Military Mess Kits, my favourites are the SS Canteen Cup with Canteen and the British style Rectangular Mess Kit. With these two and an Esbit Burner, one can rustle up most things. Why, I used them while serving back from the late 60's into the early 80's and still have, and use, a set of each. I do have my eye on the Swiss Army Mess Kit which is modelled on the Swedish Mess Kit but is more available 2nd hand and considerably cheaper. Thanks for sharing .. take care ..

Brilliant comparison - thank you! Please allow 2 remarks - what you introduced from Germany, is the canteen. The german mess kit is like the polish one you have, but with 3 parts instead of 2. And it fits very well in the swedish stove you showed. And better than the danish mess kit, is the french one (M52) It's more durably made...

Extremely comprehensive overview thank you

Excellent overview and comparison of these kits. I like my and have a newer era German kit. These kits are functional, fun, and a bit of history. I have three canteen cups. SF

Nice display of kits. Thanks

Nice selection of mess kits,thanks.

The swedish mess kit is missing the can opener, knife, spoon and fork. The can opener is separate but the knife, spoon and fork are like the Yougo but they look more sturdy.

In the Danish army I was issued the crusader cup with canteen and the Dutch/English mess tins, they worked, but I have to give it to the Swedes, their m/40 'snuskburk' in steel beats them all, bought mine about 15 years ago and have exclusively been using that since.. Only downside is the aluminium windshield, that should have been steel too, so you can make a stick fire in there without risking it melting.. The Pathfinder School have had a clone made in all stainless steel called the PFM40, but they seem to be sold out in this part of the world, otherwise I would buy one for sure

the British version you show is called a mess tin and was usually accompanied by a hexi cooker, which used hexamine tablets as firelighters , which came in the ration pack. You can cook quite a decent meal as long as you have shelter from wind and rain. You can clean them with a steel scouring pad or even a modern synthetic kitchen pad.

I havent really found a mess kit I really like. I use a 32 oz single wall bottle with a nesting pot for it in conjuction with a cold handle steel 'cowboy' 7" frying pan. But I like your vid. I've wondered about some of those systems but I dont need a whole 'nother 35 gallon tupperware of gear to go with the dozen I have already 😂

Just found your channel great channel

I use my USGI system it's all stainless 1982 I like the simplicity of it I have an extra 2 qt plastic canteen with a camo carrier.

I got 4 of the Swedish ones many years ago, from Sportsman's Guide for $8 each. They work well and will be passed down to relatives whe I'm gone. There is a German kit just like it, too.

Cool video. There is a couple other British ones you missed that are also available surplus or new (for example: BCB Crusader Cooking System II, Stainless Steel), like a evolution of the US canteen kit. The Swedish one is cool but I'd go for the Pathfinder PFM-40 stainless steel clone which is about the same price new. I love the Zebra pots, but also recently got a Helikon-tex mess tin set which is basically a stainless steel clone of the Czechoslovakia - it's also very cheap (less than the surplus but new!).It's very heavy duty and built real tough (like the Zebra).

It’s a pity you couldn’t find the British Crusader system, metal mug (Mk. 1 steel, Mk. 2 aluminium) burner base and 1 litre bottle, plus a plastic mug.

Tried every mess kit you have there over the years except the Italian one and my Czech one was a stainless steel copy (good kit). It's really down to what you are using it for and personal preference. I've known people swear by the American kit as a frying pan, the German/Swedish kidney shaped one's have good bail handles and the British ones are pretty compact. I really like the American canteen cups and a regular billy can these day's, simple but they do the job.

I was in the Marine Corps, too. 1987-1991 3M 3B. I brought home my k-Bar, my canteens, web belt, 1985 M12 holster. My first aid kit. I lost my lid and my cooker to. We're can I find a lid for my cup and my BBQ cooker! Great show Marine.

Outstanding review. I’m a new subscriber

I have all of those kits and a few more. All cool. Good vid 👍

I recommend modern day civilian style cook kits just because they are more streamlined/lightweight and have good features. These old military ones are cool if your into that sort of the thing. (nostalgia or just military fan I guess)

the bottom of the swedish kit is good for kindling fire in wet and windy conditions. flip it upside down so it looks like a little igloo. drop the stand-off legs and stack damp small/medium kindling so its suspended off the ground. put your fluff and featherings in front of the opening so once a spark catches you can slide the wind screen toward yourself. keep putting dry kindling in the bottom and add larger chunks or small logs that need drying from the top (at an angle so they catch on one of the stand-offs and stay suspended above the small fire and coals)

I have three sets of JNA(Yugoslavia) mess kits, one worn with a faint trench art, slightly used with NOS utensils, a modern serbian one with metal canteen. I really like the design amd integration with the JNA kit but I do wish there are copies that improves the design on them because I think it's such a compact kit. I do know people have modded Trangia's rectangle mess tin to fit the entire JNA mess kit to have an additional metal pan

now I gotta go and enlist

on that czech mess kit you can actualy put that plate in handle of the biggest pot. you can see that in old military films (from 60s) when soldiers with their mess kits are going to field kitchen and they have plate on that handle of main pot. basicaly the pot was for soup and plate for bread or things like that. and that middle pot can be used as coffee pot because czechosolovakian army does not have like mug pot that you can stack on field bottle, so i gues the middle pot was used for drinks.

I got a Chinese SS canteen cook set with a canteen , cup, lid , twig stove and carrying case , extra storage , and I recommend it ,

Dig the Italian - 2 frying pans n a pot. Thanks mate

Great job！got one from Boundless Voyage

The canteen is m59 module and the colour is olive green.

Very nice! I have a Swiss mess kit. Looks like they used a Swedish design.

Hopefully by now you've added the British Military BCB Crusader Mark 1 kit to your collection. If not, you should. You won't be disappointed.

Excellent UKposts! Thank you for taking the time to produce this comprehensive UKposts.

I have a few of those

Self-reliance outfitters made a stainless swedish m40 kit which is nice.

Lol all that kinda good stuff. Cheers thanks mate

I use the aluminum USGI because I'm a UL Backpacker, wish they made one in Titanium or teflon coated, but I am looking to anodize it.

Titanium is the Best. Its Light. Strong. Doesnt Rust. And its the safest metal to Cook in as it doesnt leach chemicals into your food when Heated.

11:05 The Swedish Snuskburken is M40 model 1940 in stainless steel. This one is hopeless to get hold of. M44 which is made of aluminum is also hard to find.

Sweden has the Alps?

Pick the one that will nest in a stainless utensil holder you can use for a 'stove'.

Nice video! No useless babbling. Lots of information without the mindless talk!

Did you know there are companies in China still making accurate functional copies of the 60s West German 3 piece mess kit and selling them as rice cookers

Usa, yugo my top two Picks

I have the us kit/ kits, I use to love the canteen set-up but prefer civilian versions now, the pan/plate combo with cutlery is hard to beat. My only change to it would be to thicken the bottom for better heat retention and spread, no hot spots/ cold spots- burnt and raw at the same time. I speak from experience.

I’m looking to do bushcraft and camping, have been looking at different military surplus styles, which ones did you like the most or think would be the best for that?

I agree about the canteen cup set. The only thing that might be a nice add would be some kind of spork. The USGI mess kit is too noisy when in the hands of the average "Snuffy."

I remember being in training and rucking into an area there was always one guy that would gingle down the road until being noticed by the training team... punishment would soon follow 😂

У автора видео нет советского набора образца 1957 года ( котелок,сковорода,фляжка)...довольно интересный набор.🤔

There's no Alps in Sweden :-) They are Swiss, or Italian, thereabouts.

The german one is post ww2 bundeswher because I have the same one bought for 10 pound.

The Swedish one should come with,spoon,fork,knife and canopener like the otherone.

I am not sure if Sweden has Alps to get cold in… 9:09

The German one isn't ww2 its much later than that the German ww2 one is similar to the swedish/Austrian one, the water bottle was separate, but apart from that the vid was fun to see other canteens/ mess tins i haven't gotten yet 😀

You spread the Swedish pot stand wings all the way open in the wind screen. 100s of you tube vids show this. Dave Canterbury is making a clone of the Swedish mess kit. I don't think you would see the Bundeswehr Canteen in any WW2 movie.

What material is the nesting cup for the Yugoslav kit made out of?

Where did you find a lid that actually fits your US canteen cup?

Next do ww2 mess kits

If your really "in the field" you don't have any thing that makes noises. For me that ment caned food in K rations. MRE are even more, silent.

Alps in Sweden?

My favorite mess kit is the USA word war 1 mess kit

16:27 its czsechoslovak army "eshus" ...try to put lid into handle of big pot...😉

FYI; The Alps aren't in Sweden.

Does anyone make a stainless steel bottle that you can transport and boil your water in???

There's 2 versions of the fantastic over engineered Swedish mess kit, the older heavy stainless and a later aluminum set, the stainless is the better of the 2 especially if you car camp. Way too heavy for backpack use. 15 yrs ago they were less than $10. I believe they are now making cheap Chinese clones so buyer beware. The Polish mess kit is a copy of the WW1/WW2 German mess kit, almost every army in the world copied it with minor differences and even the Japanese used it. The Germans had a folding spork (Gofel) that fit inside the upper tray.

Love it when someone says they just gonna survive with a knife 🥴

Oh how we miss the Swedish Alps?

Ever COOK in the GI mess kit? Forget it -- that oval pan has to be the worst frying pan ever -- hot spots, horrible heat distribution, floppy handle. Canteen cup cookery? Again, exceptionally poor heat distribution. Boil water? Fine. Heat watery soups? Not too bad. Heat up pasta? Horrible choice -- burn spots, cold spots, hard to clean. UK/Dutch? Only suitable for the short term transport of prepared foods, and heating shave water. German canteen: Love the wide mouth, Good for storing cooking oil. Can heat water in it directly. Swedish kit the only one large enough to prepare a typical pasta or freeze-dried food packet. Cleaning aluminum a challenge. Heat modulation a concern. You're not going to fry anything with any of these kits.

Где российский набор,например ВДВ?

insane, the yugoslavian design is great, but plastic is the worst material.

Sweden is NOT Switzerland, hence there are no Alps in Sweden. Moutains, yes, coldness, yes, but definetely no Alps 😉

I have the yugoslavian mess kit and the only thing I like about it is the pouch and utensils. The rest of the kit is crap! I wouldn't recommend it! The other mess kits you showed are far superior to the yugoslavian one! It reminds me of the junk Cars that they made in the 80s ( the YUGO ) it was junk also!

Swiss Alps ! Not Swedish Alps

Military mess kits suck (for campers and hikers), they always have - They were designed around the limited space inside a GI's rucksack and were never made for doing anything other than boiling some water to make coffee or tea, or at most, to heat a can of beans. They're next to impossible to properly clean without a running water supply if you cooked saucy foods in them, and they took ages to cool down before you could safely put them back in your rucksack, a major problem if you suddenly needed to move on from your position. If you're on the trail without a running water supply such as a tap or river nearby, you will rue the day you took one of these aluminium (or even stainless steel) mess kits along with you... The only way to have a small cooking vessel that doesn't require copious amounts of water and/or paper towel to clean is to have a hard-anodized aluminium non-stick pot from a company like GSI or similar, such as their 'Pinnacle Soloist'... You can easily fit a Trangia spirit burner and its stand, plus a rolled up 3F-UL windshield inside the pot and right there, you have a way of cooking without all the frustration associated with these old military mess kits...

Terrible review

The US kit was never designed to cook in. It was designed solely to eat food from that was served out of mermites or CKs

6:51 leave it to the Germans to make simple intricate.

I bought a brand new version of the first one you showed, except the canteen was stainless as well, and it was a little bit bigger overall. It was around $30.00, which I thought was ok, given the build quality of it. I've only used it once, I still need to get used to it. I have a version of the 2nd one ( I think it was a Canadian Army surplus version ), but being aluminum, I've been a bit hesitant to use it. If you want to see how to really use the Swedish kit you have, go to www.youtube.com/@RedswedeOutdoors - that guy really knows how to use it, he makes everything in it. Good video. Thanks.