Thanks to my friend Brett for his advice about washing/treating (down) sleeping bags. I have now used Nikwax’s Down Wash & Down Proof products http://meaningoflite.com (sent from England in 1 litre containers via eBay – cheaper than 300ml avail locally: 150ml of each needed per sleeping bag) on my ‘worst’ Montbell Ultralight Super Stretch Down […]
We always camp in an open shelter (something like this) with an open fire out the front. So warm and cozy even on cold, wet days. This shelter is very easy to make. It consists of a square of Tyvek ‘Homewrap’ (available Bunnings in 30 metre rolls) 8’ x 8’ square. The ‘wings’ consist of
I made this last night out of some aluminium flashing. The aluminium will most likely not stand up to the intense heat of a fire for long, but as a prototype/proof of concept I am happy with it. Some .5mm (soft) stainless steel foil has arrived this morning in the mail so I will be
Of course you could just go about with your hair looking like an untidy birds’ nest but few girls especially would want to. I have carried the same old comb below (3 grams) for twenty years. I own that I could probably have found a slightly shorter, lighter one but there is some sentimental attachment.
You will have seen the Jetboil and similar devices supposed to save fuel. I suppose they do but there is something wrong with the whole concept of carrying canister stoves. This ‘device’ saves fuel on an alcohol stove. I have made one for my caldera cone which is an important component of my Cookset but
It costs nothing at all (and only a couple of minutes) to create your own safe wood burning hiking stove which will cook you up a wonderful breakfast (below) in just a few minutes without having to carry any fuel at all (or any other stove) with you into the wilderness. A big saving. You
Was once the bushman’s standy-by. It is usually abundant, enormously varied, relatively easily to take, involves little waste or preparation and is often tasty and nutritious. Of course much of it is also illegal. You will notice though that in my post about the journey to Cromarty not so long ago everyone used to take
You can repurpose many humble plumbing fittings into wonderful ultralight hiking tools. Take this cheap 19mm (3/4″) irrigation tee from Bunnings for A$1.54 (June 2020) . I have carried one to sit the sharp end of my hiking pole in so it doesn’t pierce the floor of my tent. An end joiner works well for
Sick of burning your thumb when lighting the fire or the stove with your Mini Bic? I know I am. Here’s the ultralight (1.5 gram) solution. J. Burrows’ Thimblettes from office supplies for just 64 cents each. You can store one on the end of the lighter (as shown) so it is easy to find.
First: Gear Advice I am often approached by prospective deer hunters for advice, particularly about what they need to acquire before beginning hunting. How little both in weight and dollars do you need to spend (supposing you already actually own nothing – unlikely)? I have put together here some suggestions (with relevant links to previous
Ultralight Ultracheap Deer Hunting & A Ripping Yarn or Two Read More »
