Neat trick: fun with rope part 1 - the bowline

To anyone who goes into the woods, plays/works on a boat, plays/works in high places, plays in caves or any other activity that may require rescuing or the general use of ropes, this is 1 skill you really need to know: learn to tie a bowline!

The bowline is the quintessential survival knot. It's a loop knot that will never slip. I know a bunch of climbers are going to read this and say "why not just learn the figure 8?"

Don't get me wrong, the figure 8 is a really strong knot... but let me pose a situation for you: you're on a long hike. You slip and fall into a ravine. You slide about 30 feet and manage to catch yourself. You have 1 free hand, the other is keeping you from falling to certain death. Someone lowers you a rope. What do you tie around you and how do you tie it? Unless you have ninja skills, you will not be able to tie a figure 8 with 1 hand. You can, however, tie a 1-handed bowline.

With a little practice, you can tie this thing pretty quickly too. In a survival situation, speed can mean the difference between life and death. With a little practice, you can tie 1 of these things 1-handed faster than any experienced climber can tie a figure 8 using both hands.

Here's how:



Video courtesy of YouTube. I thought about making my own but my camera has been acting a little funny lately.

Garbage to gear: fire starters

Before I start this instructable, please let me rant for a minute:

I've been an active member of the Atlanta Outdoor Club for over a year now. As I've been camping with these folks, I've noticed that there are a lot of VERY environmentally conscious people in the club. I've also noticed what many of them use as a means of starting their fires: dryer lint soaked in kerosene.

Something that most people are aware of, is that it is a horrible thing to put a plastic bottle in a fire. It's terrible for the air we breathe. Something that most experienced campers are aware of is NOT to wear cotton, and that synthetic fibers are the cloth of choice for most outdoor enthusiasts. What many people are either not aware of or not making a connection to is:
a. most synthetic fibers (ie nylon, polyester, etc.) are in fact types of plastics
b. your dryer lint is made of the same stuff as your clothes
c. burning kerosene is just as bad for the environment as burning gasoline

This entry is here to offer an alternative to everyone who normally does this.

Below are the firestarters we used to always make back in my Scouting days. When you light these, the wax will slow down the burn of the paper and the carton. When candles burn, it's mostly the wax that is burning as opposed to the wick. The wick soaks in the wax as it burns. The same principal applies here. Essentially, you've made small, slow-burning candles out of some trash and a small amount of wax.

This same principal can be applied to any number of designs of fire starters. Essentially, all you need is any absorbent, safe-to-burn material. Coat it wax and you have a firestarter. Other things you can use: a cut up old cotton t-shirt, dryer lint after a load of cotton towels, anything made of compressed wood pulp and cardboard.

To make old-school starters:

Step #1: Gather materials
cardboard egg carton
newspaper (or in this case, a brown paper bag)
paraffin wax (leftovers from a burned down candle works wonderfully)

Step #2: Melt wax.
DANGER WILL ROBINSON: Do not use a normal pot for wax melting. You will never be able to get all the wax out and your pot will be ruined. A can is what I prefer to use.

Step #3: Rip up the paper and make little balls about the size of an egg. Fill the egg carton with these.

Step #4: Pour the wax over the carton thoroughly.

Side note: if you're making these things indoors, be sure to put everything on some wax paper or aluminum foil as to not screw up the counter tops in your kitchen.

You now have 12 fire starters.

Neat trick: inprovised vestibule

When I was looking to buy a backpacking tent, I searched far and wide for the best deal. After sifting over numerous reviews, prices and designs, I settled for 1. It's the size of a coffin that I can sit up in. I'm a little on the tall side and the tent I ended up going with has just enough room for me and only me (no gear). Until this weekend, I always just left my pack and shoes exposed to the elements. Mistake.

Most high-end tents you buy these days have a vestibule. It's an extension to your tent for storage of dirty boots, gear and if you have a small stove, you can usually cook in it.

This past weekend, I went backpacking in the Slickrock Wilderness. Starting about 3:00am, it started to rain like hell. I thought it might get a little wet that night, so I really wanted a way to keep my stuff dry. As I'm setting up my camp for the night, I'm dwelling on the fact that my tent doesn't have a vestibule and brainstorming something that I can do to compensate. Luckily, I hike with poles and with an external frame (something I'll be discussing in a later entry). Here's what I came up with on the fly:

It's pretty much a lean-to using my poles as supports and a pack cover as a water barrier. It didn't work too bad. It kept my shoes dry as well as a few other things that I was too drunk to put away before bed. If I had a smaller stove, I could have cooked under it, but I wasn't about to risk lighting my pack on fire.

This is getting my brain cooking on how to make one that is a little more in depth that I can add to my tent, but this will do for now.

DIY project: canoe dolly

My dad has a canoe being stored at his house that he uses time to time and decided that he didn't like carrying it from 1 place to another. After a little design work and a little time in his wood shop, he came up with a way to temporarily add wheels to his canoe to make for easier portages and to make those far off put-ins a little more accessible.

You can buy these things for anywhere between $50 to $200 or you can make your own. I'm sure dad didn't spend more than about $20 on this.

Tools required:
-Saw
-Drill and bits for pilot holes

Materials:
-All lumber 2X4
-Foam pipe insulation
-Hardware as noted
-ratchet type straps
-Wheels- whatever you can find, old bicycle, wheel barrow, high wheel lawn mower, etc. at least 12" in diameter, but not much more. Too large and it is hard to get the dolly under the canoe. Too small and one end drags the ground when you pick the other end up.

Border Collie and step mother approved

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.