Tuesday 3 February 2009

FRED

Crikey, haven't seen a P-38 in years. I found this by accident when looking up the mandoline.

The FRED is a scream though - "Fucking Ridiculous Eating Device".

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

The Australian army version was a little ripper. Who needed a heavy KFS set and dixies to lug around when you could have one of these beauties? Once you'd scoffed the tucker out of the tin, you'd simply lick the opener clean and stick it back in your shirt pocket (water's for drinking, not for washing).

As for heating food - simply dent the can, stick it on the hexy stove, listen for the dent to pop out and voila, a pressure-cooked feast fit for a king (believe me, anything edible tastes great when you're starving).

Boy on a bike said...

I disdained the K and F and simply carried a spoon, along with the P38 to open the cans.

I can't think of an Army food that can't be eaten without a spoon. They even turn the steak to mush so you don't need a knife to cut it.

Some might say, "Ah, but what about using it for spreading jam on biscuits?", to which I would reply, "Real men suck the jam straight out of the tube, then take a bite from a biscuit".

Problem solved.

1735099 said...

Amazing. Haven't seen or used one of these things in thirty-eight years.
What always intrigued me about the difference between US and Oz rations in SVN was the over-supply of toilet paper in the Yank packs. The old stagers used to put that down to the effect the American rations had on the typical digger's digestive system.

Anonymous said...

I introduced my wife to them way back and now that's all she has in the drawer. True! She ignores the electrical opener I bought her and the flash new modern mechanical devices.

She's pretty fast with it as well.

I have young friends who keep me supplied with the real ones. Don't be mislead by the foreign devils offered in surplus and camping stores - they bend on the first twist.

Anonymous said...

I have a drawer full of P-38's and FREDs, enough to last me until Hell freezes over. Saved up for donkey's years as a hedge against the "End of the World as We Know It".

Having played the ultimate survivalist pack rat, I now find that most food tins have those bloody ring pulls, thus rendering my apocalyptic currency totally useless. Damned conspiracy, I reckon.

No matter, I will upend these modern ringpull tins and open them the way God intended i.e. with a FRED.

.22 ammo will be the next "end of the world" currency, I have several thousand. Hahahahaha.