It is easy to make an ultralight alcohol stove which will boil water (instructions here and here – and in the comments below) but a bit more difficult to make one which will simmer. Many of my recipes require that the food simmers for 10 minutes or so (usually to soften lentils etc). I guess […]
I recently modified my Waratah Quilt and Zpacks Quilt so that they would better fit me, would be easier to enter and exit, and in the case of the Waratah be fractionally lighter as well. I found Kam Snaps to be just the trick for these mods. As I said in that post I will
(or, A Further Use for Toilet Trowels) Disaster will sometimes happen upon you in the wilderness. The important thing is to survive it – as less experienced folk frequently don’t! For months I have been ‘stir crazy’ what with slow recovery from my back operation and (seeming to) need a new knee, but I have
While we are on the topic of sleeping (which we are), I have also really ‘lashed out’ and added an excellent $2 pillow to my sleeping arrangements from Aliexpress. I should add that I have modified my Waratah Quilt so it is a little lighter and easier to enter and exit. It is already delightfully
So, as you know I bit the bullet and bought myself a new Thermarest XTherm at 440 grams for its standard 6′ model. Though I definitely did not ‘need’ a new pad I wanted to see whether I could reduce size/volume in my pack – and I was just curious whether the improvement in the
The Pad Pal weighs only 9 grams, costs a mere US$48 (July 2024) and will pump your pad up in a little over 30 seconds. This tiny device will revolutionise how you inflate your sleeping pad. Eat your heart out Flextail – which otherwise I was going to buy some day, but at nearly 100
Ponchos, Umbrellas or Raincoats? That is the question. What’s the best way to stay dry in the rain and enjoy yourself in the outdoors while doing so? I have been soaking wet, all over, every ‘warm’ layer down to my skin, more times than I can count. Mostly of course it was when I was
As a deer hunter I have failed to follow my own advice on this one more than once to my regret as you can read in my account of my recent Dusky walk below. Trust your nose, Somewhere upwind possibly just in sight is something important you need to pay attention to. More about New
Most of the ‘great’ walking tracks (like the Alps’ for example) head along the tops where I admit the views outward and downwards can be truly awe inspiring. They do lack for water (and fish) however, are often windy and/or with very changeable weather that can be a challenge for tents and even survival. Often
A 1970s US army survival guide used to claim that you lost up to 50% of your body’s heat from your head. As the surface area of your head is only 10% of your body (though your brain uses a lot of your blood supply) this is almost certainly not true. However, not very much
