Coleman Accessory Safes Still Sold on the Store Rack

Today I took my daughter to our local Army Navy surplus store, which I’ve been going to for around 10-11 years, I suppose. It has been open since 1955 and run by the same family. I happened to look over in the camping section where they keep some of the Coghlan’s brand type gear and to my surprise, they had 4 of these Coleman accessory safes still for sale on the wall peg.

Since they’ve probably been on the same shelf for over 30 years, should they really be called “new old stock?” They’ve probably remained as “current stock” for decades…

I just bought one, not wanting to be greedy.

 

It is my experience that these accessory safes never seal tight enough to keep moisture out when the lanterns are used in rain and snow.
I've seen many ruined mantles and rusty wrenches come out of these 'safes' over the years.

 

@burndout
I understand your point. However, mine was that I found it surprising to still see some for sale in a current camping section, sold as a regular product and not as a vintage one. You can also see I paid a whopping $3.95 for it.

 

My point was that it's not too surprising they're still for sale.

They never were any good. $3.95 was too much.

 

That is quite the deal right there. Regardless of the practicality of these they are a desirable to many.

 

A lucky find.

 

Well I'd have one for sure!

 

@bigredmf ,
My thoughts exactly!

 

@burndout , I kindly disagree with your assessment of value. Regardless of the common failures of these safes, it’s still a collector’s item. I’ll likely keep it in the bag and not use it. That is $3.95 well spent in my book.

 

Sounds to me like the result of a bad case of "operator malfunction".

If the operator had taken the trouble to check the safe and remove any moisture after arriving home from a camping trip, both mantles and wrenches would have been saved. After all I bet the tent got hung up to dry out properly.

 

@Henry Plews said:

Sounds to me like the result of a bad case of "operator malfunction".

If the operator had taken the trouble to check the safe and remove any moisture after arriving home from a camping trip, both mantles and wrenches would have been saved. After all I bet the tent got hung up to dry out properly."""""



If I were being launched into orbit, you'd be the kind of guy I'd want in charge of the pre-flight check-off, Henry.

But when I use lanterns outdoors in inclement weather, I keep my matches and mantles and the like where there's no chance of wetting them in the first place.

After looking at EBAY, I concede that there is interest in these safes, and at a fairly high price point.

I'll have to see if any remain in my scrap pile.

 

A sensible precaution, after all, prevention is better than cure.