Neat Trick: travel size stuff

I'd like to express my opinion on "travel size" stuff: complete waist of money. There is almost always a way to make something "travel size".

When I backpack, I make a habit of packing as much stuff as I can in ziplock bags. On my last trip, I needed a toothbrush that would fit in a bag that was too small for the brush to fit in. Solution: think I'll let the picture speak for itself:

Problem solved.

Garbage to Gear: backpacker's cooler

Who loves bacon? I LOVE BACON!! If someone where to roll everything that's right in the world into a ball and magically turn it into food, it would be bacon. Not just any bacon... bacon-wrapped bacon, marinated in essence of bacon awesomesauce, sauteed in bacon grease, and served with a side of bacon.

Now that I've established that, I'm sure it's no surprise that I'm a big fan of taking bacon camping. I'm also a much bigger fan of "all natural" (not cured in phosphates and other bullshit) bacon. The dilemma: this stuff spoils faster than the cheep stuff and you have to keep it cool. 

As I was packing for my latest trip, I was brainstorming ways to keep something cool when backpacking through 90 degree heat (GA summers can be brutal). Inspiration finally struck when I pulled down a sleeping pad and noticed it had seen better days and it was time to retire it. Hmmm... sleeping pads are great insulators, and instead of just tossing it, I decided to give it new life.


I measured out the right size - big enough to accommodate a half pound of bacon plus a small cold pack, cut out 2 rectangles, attached 3 sides with a little duct tape, and WALLAH! I now had an envelope to keep my wonderful bacon cool for the hike in.

Garbage to gear: wood-burning backpacker stove

When I was in middle school, I used directions from the Boy Scout Handbook to make a camping stove out of a large coffee can. I followed the directions perfectly and it didn't work too bad. When my dad saw it, he informed me that I was "doing it all wrong". He then sat me down and taught me how to make a stove that he learned in the military... what he called a "Kragie (sp) Stove". I've searched far and wide for documentation on anything with this name to no avail. What I know about this design, is that it's origins date back to WWII and was constructed by American soldiers in German prison camps. My going theory is that it's American slur of the German word "krieg" meaning "war." "War Stove." If anyone can confirm or debunk this theory, please do.

Advantages over other backpacking stoves:
1. Lighter: This design weighs only 11.4oz compared to a Jet Boil(tm) at 20.75oz (including full fuel canister) or my current MSR white gas stove at just over 2 lbs (including full 20oz fuel bottle). By carrying this thing as opposed to my white gas stove, I've shaved 24oz (1.5lbs) off my back.
2. Environmentally friendly: White gas is NOT a clean burning fuel. As for butane/propane canister stoves, they make garbage when the canister runs out. Wood is a relatively clean burning fuel and this stove makes no trash.
3. COST: A white gas stove can run anywhere from $80 to $160 (not including fuel). Butane/propane canister stoves can run anywhere between $40 to $160 (not including fuel). Since it's made of trash, the cost of this stove is nothing. FREE!

Disadvantages:
1. Requires constant attention. If you let the fire die down on the inside, it becomes very hard to refire and, unlike just cooking over a campfire, this thing works better with flames as opposed to coals.
2. Soot. The bottoms of all of your pots and pans WILL be black (and possibly sticky) by the time you're done cooking.

To make one yourself:

Step 1: Gather tools.
-Power drill or drill press
-Small drill bit big enough to make a hole for a wire coat hanger
-Pliers or vise grips
-Churchkey

Step 2: Gather materials:
-Large Can
-Smaller can that can fit inside the bigger one with room on the sides, top and bottom.
-Wire coat hanger.








Step 3: Drill holes in the small can. Lots and lots and lots of holes. The hols should be all around the side AND in the bottom. The more holes you have, the better it works. As you put in the holes, make 4 toward the top that will be designated for running the wire through.


 Step 4: With the churchkey, put holes in the side of the big can toward the top and bottom. The stove needs to be able to pull ample air out of the bottom to feed the fire and there needs to be a place for smoke to get out toward the top. For mine, I put 8 along the bottom and 4 along the top.



Step 5: Locate suspension holes. The smaller can needs to be suspended inside of the bigger one. Place the smaller can next to the bigger one so that the space from the 2 bottom rims are about the same as the space between the 2 top rims. With a marker, put a mark on the big can level with the holes on the smaller can that are designated for the coat hanger. Drill 4 holes equally spaced around the big can.


Step 6: Assembly. Run the wire coat hanger through 1 of the holes in the larger can and into the smaller can. Exit the smaller can through the hole next to it, and out of the big can through the nearest hole. Cut the coat hanger so there is about an inch or so sticking out of the bigger can from either hole. Bend the wire down to lock into place. Repeat for the other side. The smaller can should now be suspended via coat hanger inside the bigger can.

Step 7: Most pots and pans for backpacking are smaller than the opening of a large coffee can, so you'll need a way to hold it on the top. For this, I used the rest of the coat hanger and cut 2 pieces long enough to cross the top of the can. Drilled 4 more holes as close to the top as possible and spaced apart barely wider than the width of the smaller can as to not interfere with the ability to put wood in it.









Ready for testing:
Burning dry wood is easy and almost guaranteed, so for the first test run, I soaked the wood in water for a few days to see if it would burn wet. It took me 1/2 of a starter stick to get the fire going, but have to admit, there was a bunch of smoke. The resulting steam soaking the bottom of the pot was also probably 1 reason why the bottoms of my pots were so black and sticky afterward.

With my bucket of saturated wood, I had enough to do 3 test trials:

1. Small ultralight backpacker pot typically used to just boil water. It took about 5 minutes to get the fire going really good before putting the pot on there. Had a little trouble keeping the fire going good and hot. It took about 5 minutes to get a light boil.

2. Bacon in the Bugaboo cookset. This worked rather well. For this test, I started over, dumped everything out and started a new fire. The wood had dried out a bit by this time, so it was much easier to start the fire. Also, since the frying pan completely covered the top of the can, I was able to retain much more heat. From the time the fire was started, the wonderful, delicious bacon was sizzling in about 4 minutes.



3. Water in the Bugaboo cookset. Once again, since the frying pan completely covered the top of the can, I was able to retain much more heat. The water had a light boil in under 2 minutes.














Well,  that concludes this little instructable. Now that the word is out, I hope to see many more of these things on the trail.

Introduction/disclaimer

Hi All!

Thanks for reading my blog.

First, let me tell you a little about me: I'm currently working as a mechanical engineer. I LOVE camping, hiking, climbing and all kinds of outdoorsy shit. I am one of the cheapest people you will ever meet. I was too young to remember my first camping trip and spent much of my youth as a Boy Scout. I spent much of my 20's as an alcoholic bar rat and in the past couple years, have rediscovered my passion for the outdoors.

I'm an avid reader of another blog, called SE Adventure Women. After camping and hiking with a few of these lovely ladies a few times, I've been, well, inspired. One of my personal mottos is that if something interests you, try to learn more and if you know a lot, spread the knowledge. There isn't much I know about over-the-counter gear, mainly because I haven't bought much. Once again: cheap-ass bastard writing this.

What I do know: in my career in combination with my experience in Boy Scouts, I've learned how to make things, build things, and in some cases improvise using the materials available to me at the time. This goes with camping gear more than anything else I know.

The purpose of this blog is to inform the masses that you don't need to spend hundreds of dollars on gear to hang out in the woods for a few nights... maybe even weeks or months. The purpose of this blog is to inform everyone that with a little motivation and a minimal amount of tools and materials, you can have great gear for cheap and still have just as much fun.

Disclaimer:
I in no way assume responsibility if the construction or usage of any of the projects in this blog result in injury or death. BUILD AND USE AT YOUR OWN RISK!