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GENERAL CAMPING, HIKING, HUNTING TIPS


Here we discuss the outdoors tips and tricks that I have gleaned over the years along with some that have been sent in from you the readers. We review, (my favorite part) all the cool bits of gear that may not otherwise get the recognition they so richly deserve!

GENERAL TIPS & TRICKS - Things to make life on the trail easier!

GEAR YOU GOTTA GET...

 

Send me YOUR SUGGESTIONS


 

GENERAL TIPS AND TRICKS

This is just a small collection of Camping and Hiking tips that may save you time, money, and aggravation.

 

 


SNUGPAK


WATER FILTERS


MULTI-TOOLS


TYVEK AS OUTDOOR GEAR?


A GREAT LITTLE CAMP STOVE

I recently tested a great little piece of gear. It's a cook stove that works as well as the best $100+ hiking stoves out there, yet weighs next to nothing, costs about $5, and runs on alcohol (IPA, denatured, rubbing and other alcohols available at hardware and drug stores).

As a side note, I should have written this sooner, as I promised to test this a while back, but work has kept me from any real camping until recently. I purchased a small lot of these stoves, and brought them along on a campout. I gave them to everyone there, and everyone fell in love instantly.

These stoves are made from aluminum soda cans, and weigh about an ounce. I had read about these little gems here and there, and had planned on making one, but all the instructions out there seemed to involve taping the seams and other rather flimsy approaches. I don't like flimsy gear that could fail me at the wrong times!

A guy called "Mechanic Mike" has solved this. He has made dies and tooling for use in a press to effectively produce these with no tape or adhesives, These are permanently pressed together, and are quite durable when compared to anything else out there. He sells these in his Ebay store (see link below) for about $5/ea.


http://stores.ebay.com/Thru-Hikers-Closet-and-More_W0QQssPageNameZl4QQtZkm


To use the stove, you just put in a small amount of alcohol (a few ounces, or enough to cover the base). I use a small mil-spec plastic flask to carry the alcohol. Light the alcohol, which will burn with a nice blue flame. As the stove walls heat up, they begin to vaporize the alcohol internally, and within about one minute, each of the 30 or so holes at the top is sporting a nice blue flame jet. The effect is like cooking on a gas stove at home. A good size canteen cup of water will boil in minutes.

As you may have noticed, I am fond of compact, lightweight gear (SnugPak bags, bivy style tents, mult-tools etc). This piece of gear is about the nicest and cheapest piece of kit I have seen in quite some time. I don't know who invented it, but Mechanic Mike has PERFECTED IT!!


NOTE - Mechanic Mike, When are you gonna come up with a matching tin-can alcohol lantern? If you do...I WANT ONE!

 


SUBMISSIONS, SUGGESTIONS, TIPS AND ADVICE

I will be adding lots of tips and tricks to this section soon. Feel free to send me your suggestions, tips and advice via email, or submit them directly using the submission box (below). I will read through them and post those any that are valid and interesting.

 


FM 21-76 US ARMY SURVIVAL MANUAL

I will add to this page as often as I have time, but if you want the original be-all and end-all source of survival information, it is the FM 21-76 US ARMY SURVIVAL MANUAL. I have crunched it all into an MS Word Document. I abridged it only by removing the Appendixes from the end. It is 233 full size pages in all, and the overall file size is about 2.5Mb, so it is relatively easy to download. Whereas your tax dollars paid for it already, please feel free to distribute it as you see fit. Simply RIGHT CLICK HERE and select "Save As" to Download.

Don't have MS Word? They give away the viewer for free HERE


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