Australian Army Mess Kit...

[@mickmoriarty7780]

I was in the Australian Army in the mid 60s until the early 70s. That was the 'Dixies' we used (any food container in the Aussie Army is referred to as a Dixie). We used a folding hexamine stove and closed it up a bit to heat water in the Water Canteen mug. The ration packs had a curry sachet in them and we mostly mixed that with the tinned meat / whatever. When I was in the Cadets at school, we ate WW2 Bully Beef and Hard Tack Biscuits. My Dad in WW2 said that when they were on full rations in New Guinea, they were each issued a tin of Bully Beef (Salt/corned beef in a tapered tin, a tad bigger than a can of Spam) and a packet of hard tac biscuits. Three men shared this, one for brekky, one for lunch and one for the evening meal. The only cooking gear they had was a small billy for tea. In New Guinea, it was so wet they hardly never managed to light a fire so they never bothered carrying it. Da said they mostly were stripped to the waist, wore shorts and had a cotton spare ammo bandolier around their waist, a bayonet in the frog on their belt and maybe a grenade or two, their rifle and that was it. When I first joined the Army, we had the big older type dixies and if they got too hot, drops of plating would run along the metal. I could imagine the fuss if that happened today, haha. At one stage we were issued with small American petrol stoves, boy! They were flash! No one showed us how to operate them and we had a few burnt eyebrows, etc until we mastered them.. Great video, thanks.

[@Howlingdingobush]

Mick Moriarty Thanks for the input mate..

[@Somememeguy_]

Thanks so much for the extra history

[@TedMalthouse]

I was CMF. we got the same design but much taller, the Korean war transition type, they were much better than the new small Vietnam type I would never have cut mine down, most people forget that we got issued cloth ditty bags to keep them in. Kept them clean and more importantly quiet. Folded together top to bottom we kept our survival bikkies and a brew kit & KFS set inside them including the folding Tommy stove and a few hexie tablets. Unlike the regulars we never got issued a canteen with kidney cup; just the old WW2 enamel cups. Always wrapped in cloth to keep them clean and quiet. Like your videos

[@turtlewolfpack6061]

I gave one of my sisters the Canadian version of this for Christmas last year and she made a good point. She pointed out that with a bit of tin foil this style of kit makes an awesome bush oven or roaster. I usually carry the Russian VDV kit or the Czech kit myself.

[@Howlingdingobush]

Good point..

[@Magoo652]

Mess tins are good. Pack better, can store gear in them, you have a frying pan & pot. I like them & the hexi stove for motorcycle touring. Thank you for sharing 👍

[@oldigger7060]

Good video HD. I had the older (?British pattern?) kit during my time in Vietnam (and earlier in the CMF). They were somewhat larger and had the "up and over" handles. They were larger than the meals usually served in them (you'd think the baitlayers were paying for the food themselves) and the reduced size of the ones you have makes sense! However, with the up and over handles it was easy to pass one handle through the other so that both could be securely held in one hand, leaving the other free to get your brew and, as we all know, a soldier with one mess tin full of stew, the other full of pud and a brew to wash it down is a happy and spiritually refreshed soldier! The aluminium was never any problem. Keep up the good work and keep out of that rain!

[@Howlingdingobush]

Hey mate..So they must of been using up the older WW2 gear still at the time of Vietnam. I like to try that older mess kit would be good for damper.

[@oldigger7060]

Howling Dingo You may have trouble finding such a set. I haven't seen them around for years. Pity. They could be good for making damper. Never got to try it myself. We usually only used them for hot box food (field rations were just heated up in their tins).

[@Howlingdingobush]

oldigger Few on ebay but a bit pricey..

[@duncancallum]

The Aussie handle is better than the British version for sure .PS i hope your granny taught you how to make Haggis laddie.

[@FerndaleMichiganUSA]

The sound of the scrape at the end.

[@jamesaritchie2]

Most don't even know what a U.S. military mess kit is. It contains a canteen, a canteen cup and lid, a stove, and the familiar tray and plate. The tray and plate were never meant to be used as a cook kit. Here, a mess kit is not something you cook in, except in a dire emergency. It's something you go through the mess line holding, and the cook ladles already cooked food into it. For this use, it's the best in the world.

[@Howlingdingobush]

+James Ritchie I got a old US army meat tray from the 60's.

[@philzolth4710]

Australian Army didnt either, we only used the mess kit for the mess and we has US Army isuue dixie cupes for cooking this guy doesnt know what hes talking about

[@welshprepper8566]

nice little mess kit, never seen them before, thanks for sharing, cheers

[@Howlingdingobush]

Thanks mate...

[@redriverscout4404]

Nice set. I have used the Canadian version which I think is a direct copy of the British Army design with a hinged handle that folds over the top. It is a useful design because with the handle that folds over it keeps it all together and secure without rattling around in your pack.

[@duncancallum]

That is the one i had when i was in the British Army 1958-60.

[@Reaper4367]

The set used in the vid do not rattle once you slightly bend the handles ;). 9 yrs ARA

[@czechmate9591]

Great video Al, I use mine all the time also it's a great kit. Great explanation on the history behind it

[@Howlingdingobush]

Thanks mate..Need to bake some damper in one!

[@wattshappenin]

great stuff Howling Dingo I love that you know and share the stories behind the kit that you use. Thanks for another great vid.

[@evillabrador1]

I watched a film called The Odd Angry Shot. About Australian SAS in Vietnam and they used the same hit.

[@Howlingdingobush]

EvilLabrador1 Yes good film..

[@ascendedfashy9632]

EvilLabrador1 that's what they used

[@myday805]

I loved that movie as a kid. Came out in the late 60's,early 70's I think. Even in the 90's you could still get genuine army surplus stuff from ww1 right up to the first gulf war. Australia actually had real army surplus stores then and that's where'd you go to get top quality real army surplus. Avoiding the camping shops. Now they're all camping shops selling brand new stuff. No real army surplus and they have a hide to call themselves army surplus stores.

[@Reaper4367]

G'day cobber. To stop the handles swinging, slightly compress the handle receivers... with a hammer. lol. Just not too hard or the alloy may crack. I carried a set of these for 9yrs. Still have em in the shed. great video mate, cheers.

[@jimjones9323]

I used to bush walk with these and a billy. I found them to be very good. These days what I cook in the field has changed form heating and reconstituting to cooking meals. Also compared to titanium pots, dixies are very heavy and not the best for 20 or so minute cook times.

[@Howlingdingobush]

Thanks for your input..

[@DebOxy]

not seen one of them for a long time, thanks AA

[@johnmelb9793]

Interesting, just a opinion, I never carried the mess tins (Dixies) out bush, and I've never seen them used to boil water. I carried two canteen cups for short trips, three on longer visits to the scrub. In my time most carried the Auspack, which was normally covered in extra basic pouches and water bottle carriers. And yes, hexamine stoves were standard issue, although many blokes privately purchased small gas cookers, and used them while the gas lasted.

[@Howlingdingobush]

Not the best bit of kit for boiling water for sure...Canteen cup is a great bit of kit to have in the bush

[@briargoatkilla]

Very nice design. Thanks for the history lesson.

[@Howlingdingobush]

Thanks for the feedback bro....

[@TarHeelBrit]

Nice video and thanks for showing the Australian mess tine. I like the way the handles work on them as opposed to my British mess tins. With yours at least you can pour out into another container, the British ones you have to watch the angles as the tin might fold up on you dumping it's contents everywhere. My wife and I still use the British tins on out bimbles round the woods and lanes locally. If I'm solo I'll take my VDV kit instead.

[@Howlingdingobush]

Thanks for the feedback bro..

[@suemcfarlane4199]

I've used this stove with hexamine blocks for years and I've used a trangia with mentholated spirits and I much prefer this one with heximine

[@biggles1024]

This brings back memories. Do you know if they're still issued? When I was at OCS around 1980, we were issued a second cups, canteen. One for washing and shaving and one for cooking and drinking out of. Our dixies stayed in the lines. Officer Cadets were often used as guinea pigs for minor changes to kit. I'm now wondering if two canteen cups eventually replaced the old mess kit. Cheers, b.

[@Howlingdingobush]

Not sure I know one guy in the army who uses a jetboil,lol !!

[@oldigger7060]

biggles1024 That hurts!

[@philzolth4710]

I was a chocho grunt in 1989 and we had this mess kit, to use in the mess but we had 2 dixie cups and we cooked in 1 and shaved and so forth in the other

[@robertpennington5247]

Was in the reserves in the late eighties and was issued with these. My nephew transfered from the navy to the army and when I asked him about them he did not know what they were he was only issued the cup canteen

[@robertpennington5247]

When I was in the Australian army reserves infantry back in the late eighties we would carry these wrapped in a tea towel and carried in a ammo bag and we would have it in a pouch in our pack as we would get a supply of fresh food once a week and would use them for that as the cup canteen was used for cold flavored milk kr hot coffee

[@ascendedfashy9632]

Where'd you get new ones? All the Australian surplus stores have only the British ones

[@sosteve9113]

they look very similar like they use int the belgium army,only the bail is different atb steve

[@Howlingdingobush]

+so steve Many versions of the same basic design ..Was like almost the NATO stranded after the war

[@sosteve9113]

yes thats true

[@maritimespook]

Very Cool Kit !!

[@Howlingdingobush]

Thanks bro

[@maritimespook]

@@Howlingdingobush no worries bro gonna check out more of your vids !

[@Yougz-Music]

Aluminium or stainless steel ?

[@ctuaeu-daniels7953]

Yo dude you forgotten New Zealand as well.

[@Howlingdingobush]

CHRIS DANIELS lol..

[@Reaper4367]

Go the 'ANZAC's'! ;)

[@MTwoodsrunner]

good review amigo! have you tried the french mess kits?...woods

[@Howlingdingobush]

No but looks like it be worth a got....

[@JohnDoe-ee6qs]

Are these still on issue to the Australian army?

[@Howlingdingobush]

John Doe Not any more as far as know....

[@JohnDoe-ee6qs]

Howling Dingo the latest date wise I've seen was 2002

[@ascendedfashy9632]

John Doe yes

[@dubiousdoublechin6363]

John Doe I know it’s a late reply. Army bloke here and no, we don’t. As far as mess kits go now, we get a cups canteen, a stand for it, and a KFS.

[@OUTDOORMEDIC72]

Great video. I would respectfully disagree with your assessment of the US mess kit. I have used mine for frying, warming/cooking soups and even baking. I would love to get a set like you have to try it out. I have a slight addiction to mess kits and canteens. was there any other parts to the kit?

[@Howlingdingobush]

The US kit is a maybe a better "mess"kit but not so good to cook on..The only other bit of the kit would of been the Hex stove carried inside ..

[@leestephenson4952]

Large paper clip or something similar to keep handles together. 🤷‍♂️ thanks

[@Howlingdingobush]

Could work

[@preettavadia7461]

Is the New Zealand and Australian mess kit the same ?

[@Howlingdingobush]

+Preet Tavadia Never seen one but I think it would be much the same kind of thing.NZ troops would of use the British style mess kits in WW1 and WW2 after that not sure

[@mattmatty4670]

Cool thanks mate

[@jelkel25]

Canadia!! Have you been talking to Tony Abbott??

[@Howlingdingobush]

jelkel25 Opps..;)

[@JohnDoe-ee6qs]

very similar to the old south african army Dixie

[@Howlingdingobush]

John Doe Thanks bro...

[@philzolth4710]

thats a mess kit, out bush we cooked in our dixie cups

[@Howlingdingobush]

Phil Holtz Yip

[@ScottishWanderer]

i do like my mess tins i like the french mess kit my self

[@Howlingdingobush]

Same kind of rig..

[@ScottishWanderer]

kind of the same

[@razzorbladz]

you are missing the cup canteen out of this review without the cup canteen you cant do a full review because that is essentially your saucepan for boiling water making soup making a ect ect and it's in the background

[@Howlingdingobush]

Did not miss the cup by mistake in the video I was looking the mess kit and it's pro and cons. That is a other bit of gear a other review..

[@razzorbladz]

@@Howlingdingobush I think you miss the point I'm a Australian dude and the cup canteen is the main part of the cooking kit its our cook pot,kettle and coffee cup many of the things in our ration packs just go into the cup canteen and onto a fire for a boil if there was a fire available or on our hexi stoves if there was no fire or we were on the move especially now they have removed canned food and gone to dehydrated meals to save on weight they need a good boil in a pot to re-hydrate and you just use the dixie's for dinner plates

[@Howlingdingobush]

@@razzorbladz I not showing how the Australian army used this mess kit, I am showing how I use it. You can bake bread with it or fry a egg with it ,all sort of stuff that maybe not how it was or is done it the army. They are cheap easy to find and a useful bit of kit to take it the bush..That the kind of point of the video not reenactment of military life.

[@simonh6371]

@@razzorbladz Yep you diggers had it better than us pommies, we had 2 similar mess tins (just the handles were a different design and they were slightly smaller and deeper) but the cup on the water bottle was plastic. Also it sat on top of the bottle rather than the bottle nestling in it so you had to take out the cup unneccessarily just to get a swig of water. Completely pointless which is why even 30 plus years ago companies manufactured cups in alu or steel and guys purchased them but the prices were exorbitant back then, and now the British Army issue these cups in anodised alu but bizarrely still with the old big black plastic cup, plus I think they've stopped issuing the mess tins. Nowadays I too have the best of both worlds except all in stainless for bushcrafting and camping, I use a Dutch stainless canteen cup and stainless mess tins, same as the Brit design and find this works perfectly, but if I had to choose one of the two it would have to be the cup every time, and the cup comes with me even on day trips as it doesn't take up any space and is perfect for knocking up a quick brew or snack.

[@Breacher141]

did you just say Can-A-Dia? like...Canada? lmao

[@Howlingdingobush]

Dustin Jaehnig Yip brain fart moment

[@Breacher141]

was hilarious