Dating from the 1970s this flask carrier tells two interesting stories; one of extreme cold and another of improvements in technology. It was part of the Arctic warfare equipment issued to the Royal Marine Commandos for deployment in North Norway as part of the NATO plan to defend Norway should the Russian hordes attack Europe during the ‘Cold War’.

Vacuum flasks at that time had a very fragile, glass inner so these carriers helped protect the flask from impact damage as well as being an extra layer of insulation since they are lined with closed cell foam. Modern flasks are certainly more robust, though it is debatable whether or not they keep things any warmer. Founder member of our Heritage Collection, Mick Tighe, was an Arctic Warfare Instructor in the Marines back in those ‘good old days’ and collected this carrier somewhere along the way and just as we write this we’ve managed to locate an excellent 1970s Thermos flask to compliment the carrier.