Romanian Two Piece Mess Kit, Aluminium, Surplus

Another Teutonic no-frills aluminium mess kit, this time from Romania. The model is fairly close to the German WWII model, although not exactly the same. Used army surplus.

General info

The German pattern of making a mess tin is very smart. First of all, it's a good bowl for eating whatever grub the "chef" of your garrison has come up with. Once the soup is in the bowl, you can sprint towards shelter without spilling anything.

It also can be used as a camping kettle when cooking, and the carrying handle allows you to hang it over open fire. The lid has a handle for use as a frying pan - though you may want to insulate it with something first, or secure an ad-hoc wooden handle to it.

The material is aluminium, so it doesn't weigh much and rust won't be an issue. The carrying handle and lid handle are usually steel and might show some rust, but these aren't parts that touch your food.

When carried, the lid handle closes the package together. The inside has enough space to pack something else you might need when eating, but be sure to pack it so it doesn't rattle!

Romanian military surplus

These have been used but the inside surfaces and general shape are surprisingly good! Very often old mess kits are scratched on the inside and deformed so that the lid and base are difficult to separate. Not these! We didn't spot any manufacturing stamps so dating these is quesswork, but the very end of the '80s or thereafter should be close, because surviving communism would have left worse marks.