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Let There Be Light
Got children who are a little spooked in the dark, especially in the outdoors? Are you looking for a lamp to read or do camp chores by and not have to worry about the batteries running out? The Krill Lamp by Kriana might be a good choice for you.
I used to carry a chemical light stick for my kids until I discovered Krill lamps. After about eight hours of use, you have to dispose of a chemical light stick however an original Krill lamp will burn for 120 hours straight on two AA batteries last for a minimum of 3000 hours of use. Krill lamps come in a variety of colors, each with their own merits where battery life expectancy and light wavelengths are considerations. I use the original green colored one because it offers the best compromise between the two.
I have never seen a Krill Lamp being sold in a store and I purchased mine online for $25 Can plus shipping. The lamp weights 26g without batteries.
Recycle Those Canisters!
This next item is not something I take on backpacking trips but it is something I use after I come home from one. I know many of you have concerns about what happens to those gas fuel canisters after you have used them. You can return the empties to some retailers however you can save yourself the bother by putting them in your own bottles and cans recycling box. The catch in both cases is that you must have a hole punched in them to insure that all the fuel is completely gone. Snow Peak sells a Can Puncher (15g) for $11.50 Can that can easily clip onto a key chain.
Unless you have a thing for brass, I suggest that it would be cheaper to pick up a simple center or prick punch from a hardware store.
Speaking of Fuel
What are you using to carry your methanol in for your alcohol stoves? I have carried my fuel in an aluminum SIGG fuel container until recently. I read somewhere that the linings in those aluminum bottles and methanol don’t mix…don’t ask my why because I don’t know!
Several months ago, I decided to try out a Brasslite Alcohol Stove Fuel Bottle and ordered (read ebay’d one for ~$10 Can) the 250mL size (enough for a weekend).
The compact PVC fuel bottle (37g) has graduated markings in oz on the side and a dispensing chamber of 0.5oz (15mL) on top. The flip top cap makes dispensing fuel into a stove convenient and spill free. This is an especially nice feature with alcohol stoves with very narrow openings into their fuel reservoirs. So far I have been quite happy with it and it’s a pleasure not to have to carry a separate device for allocating the fuel and it’s also reassuring to immediately be able to tell how much fuel I have left by just looking at the container.
Sore Feet?
I have always had tender feet no matter how much I have conditioned them or how comfortably fitting my footwear has been. After a particularly long and nasty bit of overland desert hiking last year, my hiking partner renamed me “Blister Boy”.
My first-aid kit always has a few Blister Pads by Band-Aid in them now. I find that they cover and cushion new hotspots well. Most importantly, they don’t just slide off like any of the other products I have used. I will often cover these pads with Opsite IV film or dressings to prevent any further possibilities of slippage.
Put a Spork in It!
Although they are unnecessarily heavy, I think that Ti sporks are cool. I have been using one for five years. The only thing I don’t like about my spork is the length of the handle. It’s hard to pack with the rest of my kitchen gear.
The Brunton My-Ti Folding Spork solves this problem nicely as it nests in my mug inside my small .7L Ti pot.
This spork weighs 18g and costs $15 Cdn. It can be found in the local gear stores.
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