Quote Originally Posted by Tobus View Post
Actually, tampons are incredibly useful for many different things. There's a case to be made for keeping them in your vehicle, survival pack or hiking gear, first aid kit, etc.

Hmm... other 'off label' uses for things? Well, here's an interesting discussion I had recently with a friend about using soda cans or tuna/catfood cans to make an alcohol stove for camping. Of course, the usefulness of a small, cheap, homemade stove doesn't end with camping.

Ideas like these really excite me as an engineer, finding new and creative ways to retrofit or repurpose common items for completely different uses. This is a bit of a lost art these days. My grandparent's generation and those before them, who had to live frugally, and didn't live in an age where everything was disposable, knew how to reuse things and make common products serve multiple functions.
I picked up one of those pop can stoves on ebay. Works like a dream and comes in a denture case to keep it from being crushed in a pack. http://stores.ebay.com/Thru-Hikers-C...eNameZl4QQtZkm