- Joined
- Nov 5, 2001
- Messages
- 8,969
Greetings all,
I am not the well seasoned outdoorsmen that some of you are, but I do try... and like to practice things that I learn here from all y'all. This past Wednesday, my day off, I took my eldest daughter, dog and myself on a reasonable hike with a planned lunch while out. I brought and/or wore several bits of kit that I'd like to give my .02 about. Our hike was an easy amble through the Palos forest preserve system in Southwest suburban Chicago area. Not exactly the great wilds, but at least the visual illusion at times. We did encounter a couple horse riders, mountain bikers and stray jogger or two... but all encounters amicable and brief.
Here is a list of stuff I'll review: Cabela's Deluxe Whitetail Day Pack, Emberlit stove, minus33 lightweight top, Filson collapsable dog bowl, Egg-beaters and Ramen noodles.
Cabela's Day pack: I originally bought this for Turkey hunting as it was bigger than my current backpack, and has the added benefit of a 2 liter water reservoir. It is quite roomy at 2250 cu. in. space. There is a large main compartment, a 32oz. sized zip compartment on each side, and a smaller zip compartment that has some slots and a small zip compartment inside it. The pack more than adequately held all my equipment that I brought, which included the stove, golok, food, a few knives to test, a FAK, water x 3, folding dog bowl, spare hat. The straps were very comfortable, even for a larger sized person such as myself. The pack stayed in place and was easy on and off. The water reservoir system worked very well, but I did have an extra 32oz. Nalgene for my daughter and a USGI canteen for the dog. Although my back got a little sweaty where it contacted me, I don't see any other pack not doing the same. Over all, a very comfortable pack that will hold a TON of stuff if necessary. Also has two straps on the outside to secure a spare coat or folding turkey chair.
Emberlit stove: Did a lot of research here, and this is what I decided upon for a small portable stove. I used the extra diagonal supports for the cup I used to heat water in. This was my first attempt at using it, and I guess I will have to work on my fire building and lighting skills. I eventually got it going using various tinder sources, char cloth and fire steel. Once I had smoke going, was able to blow it into flames... which I then fed a steady diet of small twigs. Was able to maintain a decent fire with a small bundle of twigs that I had my daughter gather. I used the cup that nestles with the USGI canteen as my cooking vessel. I boiled water for both the Ramen noodles we ate, plus I experimented with Egg-beaters single serving size in a zip-lock baggie with some cheese chunks in it. Eventually cooked into a nice wad of scrambled cheesy eggs-ish dish. The set-up of the stove went OK, though I think I will take some wet-dry paper to the edges as they are a little sharp. The take down was a little difficult too with the added soot making for a bit of a mess... but to be expected. It cooled pretty rapidly too. I did dump the ashes onto the bike trail, spread them a little and doused them with water to ensure they were out. For those intending to buy the stove, GET THE EXTRA CARRYING CASE. I used the provided heavy duty zip-lock inside a Crown Royal purple velvet bag. Not ideal, but works OK.
Minus33 clothing: I cannot say enough about merino wool. I love the fabric's qualities of comfort and moisture management, not to mention it doesn't get all funky smelly. I think their underwear/boxer briefs are the best there is out there. I was also wearing the light weight T-shirt, which does very well in hot temps. I also have their mid-weight quarter zip that saw a lot of use this past psuedo-Winter we had. All in all, a great line of clothing that will see much use from me in the future.
Filson collapsable dog bowl: If you have a dog that you take out hunting, hiking, dog-parkin'... this is THE dog bowl to have. The cost is around $30, which at first seems a little high... until you see what else is out there, for only about $10-13 less. The Filson is by far much better in materials and construction. It also folds into a size that is easily packable, even in a large pocket. Fido will appreciate it!
Egg-beaters and Ramen noodles: Have to admit, I was looking for portability and ease when we hit the grocery store right before our hike. The egg-beaters came in a package of three little containers that were about the size of one of those little pudding or jello containers that your kids put in their lunch. I poured one of them into a sandwich sized zip-loc baggie and added a few chunks of cheese that we brought. Initially sealed the bag, then opened it when it ballooned alarmingly once in the boiling water. Took at least 5-6 minutes or so to cook up, but a very satisfying portion of my meal. The Ramen noodles.... have to admit, the first time trying them. It was in a styrofoam cup that was a soup on the go kind of thing. Just open the top half way, pour in boiling water to the top line, let sit 3 minutes or so and stir. Tasted pretty good, but I bet I got a week's worth of sodium with it. Ended up eating about half of the container, then dumped my cheesy eggs into it. Not bad!
Learned that this lunch resulted in quite a bit of garbage/wrappers to pack out... so having a plastic grocery bag was handy to keep everything neat. Also learned that maybe I will invest in a nice spoon/fork thing for the pack. Plastic spoons still did the job though. Also learned that fire making is a skill best learned by repetition and having multiple sources of tinder, plus making sure you have all your fuel ready to go at the start.
All in all, a nice little trip with my daughter. I hope she learned from me. She seemed impressed that I made fire with a fire steel! We will definately be doing this again on a regular basis. Will experiment more with the types of food we bring.
Hope you enjoyed my recounting...
Mongo
I am not the well seasoned outdoorsmen that some of you are, but I do try... and like to practice things that I learn here from all y'all. This past Wednesday, my day off, I took my eldest daughter, dog and myself on a reasonable hike with a planned lunch while out. I brought and/or wore several bits of kit that I'd like to give my .02 about. Our hike was an easy amble through the Palos forest preserve system in Southwest suburban Chicago area. Not exactly the great wilds, but at least the visual illusion at times. We did encounter a couple horse riders, mountain bikers and stray jogger or two... but all encounters amicable and brief.
Here is a list of stuff I'll review: Cabela's Deluxe Whitetail Day Pack, Emberlit stove, minus33 lightweight top, Filson collapsable dog bowl, Egg-beaters and Ramen noodles.
Cabela's Day pack: I originally bought this for Turkey hunting as it was bigger than my current backpack, and has the added benefit of a 2 liter water reservoir. It is quite roomy at 2250 cu. in. space. There is a large main compartment, a 32oz. sized zip compartment on each side, and a smaller zip compartment that has some slots and a small zip compartment inside it. The pack more than adequately held all my equipment that I brought, which included the stove, golok, food, a few knives to test, a FAK, water x 3, folding dog bowl, spare hat. The straps were very comfortable, even for a larger sized person such as myself. The pack stayed in place and was easy on and off. The water reservoir system worked very well, but I did have an extra 32oz. Nalgene for my daughter and a USGI canteen for the dog. Although my back got a little sweaty where it contacted me, I don't see any other pack not doing the same. Over all, a very comfortable pack that will hold a TON of stuff if necessary. Also has two straps on the outside to secure a spare coat or folding turkey chair.
Emberlit stove: Did a lot of research here, and this is what I decided upon for a small portable stove. I used the extra diagonal supports for the cup I used to heat water in. This was my first attempt at using it, and I guess I will have to work on my fire building and lighting skills. I eventually got it going using various tinder sources, char cloth and fire steel. Once I had smoke going, was able to blow it into flames... which I then fed a steady diet of small twigs. Was able to maintain a decent fire with a small bundle of twigs that I had my daughter gather. I used the cup that nestles with the USGI canteen as my cooking vessel. I boiled water for both the Ramen noodles we ate, plus I experimented with Egg-beaters single serving size in a zip-lock baggie with some cheese chunks in it. Eventually cooked into a nice wad of scrambled cheesy eggs-ish dish. The set-up of the stove went OK, though I think I will take some wet-dry paper to the edges as they are a little sharp. The take down was a little difficult too with the added soot making for a bit of a mess... but to be expected. It cooled pretty rapidly too. I did dump the ashes onto the bike trail, spread them a little and doused them with water to ensure they were out. For those intending to buy the stove, GET THE EXTRA CARRYING CASE. I used the provided heavy duty zip-lock inside a Crown Royal purple velvet bag. Not ideal, but works OK.
Minus33 clothing: I cannot say enough about merino wool. I love the fabric's qualities of comfort and moisture management, not to mention it doesn't get all funky smelly. I think their underwear/boxer briefs are the best there is out there. I was also wearing the light weight T-shirt, which does very well in hot temps. I also have their mid-weight quarter zip that saw a lot of use this past psuedo-Winter we had. All in all, a great line of clothing that will see much use from me in the future.
Filson collapsable dog bowl: If you have a dog that you take out hunting, hiking, dog-parkin'... this is THE dog bowl to have. The cost is around $30, which at first seems a little high... until you see what else is out there, for only about $10-13 less. The Filson is by far much better in materials and construction. It also folds into a size that is easily packable, even in a large pocket. Fido will appreciate it!
Egg-beaters and Ramen noodles: Have to admit, I was looking for portability and ease when we hit the grocery store right before our hike. The egg-beaters came in a package of three little containers that were about the size of one of those little pudding or jello containers that your kids put in their lunch. I poured one of them into a sandwich sized zip-loc baggie and added a few chunks of cheese that we brought. Initially sealed the bag, then opened it when it ballooned alarmingly once in the boiling water. Took at least 5-6 minutes or so to cook up, but a very satisfying portion of my meal. The Ramen noodles.... have to admit, the first time trying them. It was in a styrofoam cup that was a soup on the go kind of thing. Just open the top half way, pour in boiling water to the top line, let sit 3 minutes or so and stir. Tasted pretty good, but I bet I got a week's worth of sodium with it. Ended up eating about half of the container, then dumped my cheesy eggs into it. Not bad!
Learned that this lunch resulted in quite a bit of garbage/wrappers to pack out... so having a plastic grocery bag was handy to keep everything neat. Also learned that maybe I will invest in a nice spoon/fork thing for the pack. Plastic spoons still did the job though. Also learned that fire making is a skill best learned by repetition and having multiple sources of tinder, plus making sure you have all your fuel ready to go at the start.
All in all, a nice little trip with my daughter. I hope she learned from me. She seemed impressed that I made fire with a fire steel! We will definately be doing this again on a regular basis. Will experiment more with the types of food we bring.
Hope you enjoyed my recounting...
Mongo
