Yugoslavian Mess Kit Review

Review of the Yugoslavian (Serbian) mess kit. Some pluses, some minuses... Fun military surplus gear.

[@mihovildanicic5305]

You'll never get rid of the smell - the plastic elements are too old and waaaaaaay past their expiration date. Yes, they are not built to last forever, they expired, lost their properties, shrunk or deformed in some way and are not food safe. BPA/BPS was something no one knew or cared about back then, especially in communist army and economy to supply it. There's also the question of aluminium cookware - safe or not... Aluminium oxidizes, its oxide is toxic, that's why all aluminium bottles and soda cans are covered with thin plastic film on the inside, then again, this film is plastic and it has its shelf life... Cooking in it- well, I wouldn't, although a lot of people do cook in their aluminium pots and pans, so who knows.The highlight of the set is the cutlery - great stainless spoon, fork and knife. I've been using them since 1995, when my dad brought them back from the war. I've reshaped the blade ( I hate those saw teeth knifes), it cuts meat great now, it holds an edge well but nothing too special. Keep the pouch (as a dump in pouch) and the cutlery, dispose of everything else. Greetings from Croatia!

[@GaerHampton]

Great points! Yeah, I used the cutlery set just this past weekend.......and I haven't touched the rest of the kit for a few years now.

[@Inko_Inko]

Good information and points!

[@MrTam63]

It's a great bit of kit , I use mine a lot in the woods and it never let's me down . I use a small wood fire cooker with it . Better than most I've tried .

[@zoki.to974]

pouch is tested in years of usage and will survive on belt without issues at least one year of every day usage. belt loops are made for serbian belt, so other military belts vary in their sizes and can be small or large accordingly. intention of metal cup is not to make your own food in the field but rather just to warm up water and heat up mre, make coffee or tea. most of the time field kitchen supply cooked food for serbian army. that small cup is for tea/coffee/milk/juice or salad. large one used for war meals as mash potato, meats, rice... plastic is durable. aluminum cup is beefy and of course will have some weight in it. it will give good protection to the water bottle and will hold a heat of the food for a longer time. very pleasant feature during the winter time not letting your food to cool down too quickly so you will not end up eating ice cubes after few minutes. now that metal tab what keep all together and in your case is really tight can be easily adjusted and be able to be open with one finger. just bend that part on the top slightly up to lose a tension on the plastic tab on the bottom of large plastic cup. in case that someone have lose one, do opposite, bend it down just a bit. not using equipment properly for what is designed is not fault of equipment. same as if you try to use hammer as a screw driver then you complain how hammer is bad tool.... this mess kit is not perfect, but its in the top 3.

[@GaerHampton]

Yes, this mess kit definitely has several great qualities which make it very useful in different ways.

[@ivankoni2]

I've used this mess kit while I served in Yugoslav Army. It proved it's worth for weeks while we were sleeping under tents and eating from mobile garrison kitchen. It was not planned to be used for food preparation (i.e. cooking), but only for consuming food. I would receive my ration already prepared in mobile field kitchen (which was basically one small trailer, towed by truck). We would first put plastic bag in the pot, then receive our rations, so we would not need to wash it afterwards. Because, there was no running water out on the fields, washing was a luxury, indeed. Loops on the back of the pouch are durable, despite their appearance. We all wore those kits on our belts and I haven't heard anyone had a problem with teared-up loop. I guess some special forces need to have kits that enables them to prepare food, but this kit was made for a regular soldier that was always in reach of field kitchen.

[@aleksejtusevski3152]

On the top should say NE DRŽATI NA VATRI- meaning dont hold over fire

[@johnrodgers6768]

I just got one of these and one thing that I don't believe anyone has mentioned is that if you're collecting water not only can you fill up the canteen but you can use the handle connected to the top to be able to bring back both the top and the metal bottom full of water in one hand if you're short on containers.

[@GaerHampton]

Good observation.

[@angelus_solus]

I have one with my camp kit and i love it. It's light weight and has everything you need to boil water or heat up a small soup.

[@jelkel25]

I used the bottle from my kit on its own heavily for about a year and a half with no cracking or other issues. The rectangular pot is easy to make a lid for and the pouch is meant to be used as an emergency milbank bag and just to keep the kit together, not to put on a belt. It's a fairly versatile kit but as you said there are more versatile kits out there and definitely lighter ones. It's a unique design which is appreciated and I'm glad I bought it, a good addition to your outdoors gear collection.

[@GaerHampton]

I think that for a kit that is primarily intended to be used for eating prepared food, it does great. And in addition to that, you have a bombproof pot that you can cook in if need be. Defiantly a great addition to a mess kit collection! What you say about the bag makes a lot of sense.

[@PreparedCamping]

Great review buddy I love military surplus stuff! These little canteens are pretty cool and the cutlery set alone is worth the price of the whole unit The canvas bag can also be used as a Milbank filter if you had to scoop water from puddles as you mention The lack of a lid is a drawback though, take care buddy Roo

[@badmeme486]

I keep a little cloth in mine, because that pot thing can get pretty dirty. Definitely worth it for £6 (including postage)

[@timothymeyer123]

The plastic lid that comes with the unit works quite well as a cover for the cooking pot. Just do not expose to direct fire

[@brianrobson3398]

Small cup good for measuring rice for cooking, one cup of rice to two cups of water.Put the large plastic pot on mess tin when rice has boiled to steam rice after removing from heat for for approximately minutes. Worked, for me after rinsing rice in cold water till water was clear .

[@gonagain]

Good job on the review.

[@huey148]

Bought one a few years ago because it was a cheap piece of decent kit. Regional cuisine in the former Yugoslavia heavily sprinkled with stewed meats and vegetables and this set up would be ideal for grabbing a laddie of stewed lamb and potatoes from your company mess cook.

[@virtualnimuzejsrbije]

Little cup is for coffie or Tea. Metal cup is for cooking. Middle cup is for salad.

[@DrunkNotIAm]

Got one of these but have not tested the metal pot over fire yet, not sure how it holds up.

[@Taisteluhamsteri]

Looks more like something that is made mostly for getting food from field kitchen, not making food in field. I have better mess kits, but i'm gona buy that one too, just beacouse i think that setup is good as a "trunk mess kit".

[@GaerHampton]

I agree, hang the bowl on the end of the handle, walk to the field kitchen, and say "Fill 'er up!" No pot lids necessary.

[@stayfrosty592]

Exactly..Field kitchen use only. But, that did not stop us to use it on fire..despite officers screaming and threathening to us. For proper use you should hold small cup with hand between big cups..

[@MrSquareZB]

Somone need to USE this kit in the right way . It is belt worn; it is mainly intended for fresh cooked meal from field kitchen . So , fileld kitchen need to fed a lot of people , fast. From that reason , you need to handle witj kit properly , or cook will give you a few extra words ! Manual: pull kit from pouch ; open the kit ; clamp plastic big cup to handle ; revmve small cup , and dump it in the any big bowl ; revmve canteen ( a bottle) and put it back in to the pouch ( canvas) Now , grab the kit handle from below , and put your small cup in the middle , to be hold with you fingers . All in all , entire 3-pice kit need to be in one hand , and in that one , where the feed line is ! Plastic bowl is for soup, metal one for main course , and small one for salat . Hand left free is to grab ( as much as possible) bread ! Once you find nice place to eat , you can take cutlery from pouch . On march, they usualy provide hot watter and some dishwash soap ( in small botlles) to alow mess wash . Latter , in 90’s sildiers use small freezer bags , instead . Once you eat meal - just throw bag away !

[@jasip1000]

@@stayfrosty592 it’s a pain in the ass with this kit if you just want a zip of water, you have to fuck around with the bowl and the lid just to get to the canteen.

[@MilicijaKrajine]

@@jasip1000 that's why you put the water bottle in your M77 bag

[@offthecouch1999]

You could use tin foil as a lid then ball it up to help clean the kit after use. Two or three little pices and youve got 3+ lids and cleaners. They fit great on the side of the pouch without the utensils

[@GaerHampton]

Great multi-use idea!

[@jamesperry5440]

If you know how to actually use it and know what the hell your taking about it works just fine. And yes you can use the plate/bowl ( not a cup) for a lid on the pot even over a fire. The cup is the small one which is perfect size for coffee instant type 2. The canteen holds 1 liter of water.

[@scoutsniper485]

It’s one of the best kits but u must modify it. Price is excellent. So u do what I did. U buy 2 kits. Keep the aluminum pots and get rid of the cups and plastic lids. One pot u have to cut down to match the plastic lid in height. Now u have 2 metal pots with handles. And a canteen. Check out my vids and see what I mean. I also have this kit in all aluminum. Very rare and hard to find. Even the cup and water bottle are aluminum. Check my videos

[@GaerHampton]

That sounds like a good modification!

[@innawoodsman]

I washed the canteen out multiple times, but when I drink out of it my head feels kinda funny. I think it's turning me into a Serbian. But in all seriousness any suggestions to make my canteen stop giving me a mild high every time I drink out of it?

[@GaerHampton]

lol... But yeah, maybe try putting some baking soda and warm water inside it and letting it soak for a few hours? I honestly wonder if that plastic may be full of BPA and therefore may not be very safe to use.

[@innawoodsman]

@@GaerHampton not a bad idea, thank you

[@zoranmilic582]

we drink coffee so this little cup is perfect for that

[@unmissable]

I think it would be a bit frustrating if you wanted a quick drink. You would have to disassemble so much stuff to get at the water bottle. May be it's best for when you are sitting at camp rather then when your on the march.

[@Viktorjedepilecaprsa]

There was another metal canteen that would be used for that and the one in the mess kit was for cooking

[@marlonparsons634]

I got one of those but it didn't come with a bag how could i get one of those??

[@GaerHampton]

You might try looking for a bag on Ebay.

[@MisterXdotcom]

I think I can get you the bag here in Serbia there's a military surplus store very close to my home (2 kilometres maybe) just after the virus locked down here.

[@donnytekkaz7065]

just bought one of these today, and on my bag it has the initials B.D

[@twistedgamer238]

МФ or MF on mine

[@cookeatadventure5538]

Good friend

[@ŠpanićDenis2]

I have it and the mask

[@deeps2761]

I keep that mess kit in my 'Get home bag', partly for the space and hopefully minimal (or ideally zero) usage but it gives me the capability to heat up food or boil water. I keep a couple bits of tin foil stuck in the bag to act as a lid if needed. There's enough room in the pouch for a few bits and bobs like a Scotchbrite and a piss sample bottle of washing up liquid. As you say, its not going to be my first choice mess kit (I've never used it) but its a covers a lot of bases for its size. Oh, having a 1L water container is also useful because that's what puritabs work with. Nice review mate, mine cost me about seven quid a few years back, probably about 10 dollars at the time, what's not to love for that price.

[@angelus_solus]

Unless you live more than 15 miles from home, a stove or mess kit has no use in a get home bagt. Considering that 3:4 people commute to work an average of 15 miles from home and 1:2 travel 10 miles (according to the national bureau of transportation), when an emergency happens they'll either be at work or shopping and since the average walking speed is a 20 minute mile, they'll be looking at anywhere between a three to six hour walk through an urban/subburban environment. The majority won't be tramping through the backwoods on a long distance hike home. So unless a person one of the minority who do live 30+ miles from home, the logic most preppers use for their get home bag is flawed. the get home bag is something to give you basic supplies while you walk home, that's it. It's to help you "get home". In a standard shoulder bag/small backpack you can easily carry: 2 x 40 oz stainless bottles of water, half a dozen energy bars, compact poncho if it starts raining, hand torch or head lamp if it gets dark, extra socks, seasonal clothing, small 1st aid kit, watch cap if it gets cold, sunglasses and optional personal protection. That's about it! The other things like axes, saws, pry bars, lock picks, hand cuffs, tents, sleeping bags, lanterns; any of what you'd find in a bugout bag are simply useless for the majority. Your looking at getting to your house. Your not out there to do any camping or making a citizens arrest or risking your life and others pretending to be search and rescue personnel or doing any criminal trespassing.

[@sirogojno2563]

Ave Serbia☺

[@tarikmerdic9762]

Serbian mades ar whit camo pouch thet is yugo

[@joekurtz8303]

The cutlery set is the best part of kit, use this the most daily. Be sure to clean all parts before use , belt loops small, not bad surplus for the $ spent. Get used to a metric diet.

[@GaerHampton]

Yeah, I often will take the cutlery set with me and leave the rest of the kit at home, good little set!

[@MisterXdotcom]

I have that set in my tools somewhere and it came from my father, he was reserve army officer at the time and I have uniform and whole 9 yards except for boots and some bags I believe.

[@Andrewsully1717]

I wonder if these things are BPA free

[@GaerHampton]

I wonder the same thing! I have a feeling that they are not, but then again I'm not a plastics chemist.

[@Andrewsully1717]

@@GaerHampton Yeah id assume they arent considering where they are made... The all metal ones seem to be becoming more readily available though.

[@davidcooper6704]

That water bottle is plastic? When you tapped on it it sounds like aluminium to me. The best items in the whole kit are the pouch (useful for carrying/storing stuff) and the cutlery set. Makes you wonder what goes through the designer's mind when they come up with items. I'll stick with my Stanley Adventure cook set.

[@GaerHampton]

Yeah, it's plastic, believe it or not! A really hard plastic. I kinda wonder if it's brittle or not. I also wonder if it might be full of BPA, as it seemed like the harder plastics 15+ years ago seemed to be the ones with BPA. Yeah, I wonder if some company just designs a kit and takes it to a military buyer, or if the military has certain needs in mind and then looks for designs that fit those needs for the right price? Those Stanley sets look pretty handy. I'm kinda surprised that I don't already have one yet ;)

[@Gubavach]

How and for what it is used: kzbin.info/www/bejne/qHbWmZmKmb2tgJI

[@henryanna555]

Would be a better kit if it had a fry pan

[@timothymeyer123]

Have used one for about five years now, and preferable to most I have seen

[@milostufegdzic4033]

You can put that plastik on the top :D it ' s ok

[@aleksejtusevski3152]

No it says to not do that on the top

[@Sgunner88]

I did a review of this mess kit too. It's my favorite! kzbin.info/www/bejne/janGhWVqqseZkJI

[@pinokio6149]

Jeo iz ovog sranja...Nije napravljena da vojnik u njoj nesto sprema...kuva...Napravljena da pridjes kuvaru i skuvanom jelu i da ti on sipa hranu...Pozzzz

[@williamedgarperrigo9813]

too loud, the kit. rattles like a cow with a bell coming down the road.

[@jimjohns6046]

Another Yugoslavian bad ideas couldn't issue the mess kit to members of their mlitary so they put it on open market remember the Yugo cars how did that work for them? USGI mess kit with canteen, canteen cup, by chance you have a steal helmet make nice oven.