another overnighter: jalapeno spam flambe.

[JV3]

i just came back from another overnighter with the usual suspects: manofsteel, mountainmistwanderer, tom and his dog buster...c-bone, one of my mountain biking buddies decided to join us...the forecast called for freezing...perfect timing to field my new kifaru supertarp with annex.

...still working on pitching it tight when it started to drizzle.

c-bone's hammock/tarp setup...once it started to drizzle he gave up finding a suitable spot to hang and went on the ground instead...we called it the how-not-to-do-it-shelter

manofsteel's new 12'x10' bcusa tarp...a quadrant started leaking right off the bat during the light drizzle

tom and buster's shelter.

mountainmistwanderer decided to skip a tarp and sleeping pad altogether and just used a bivy on a pile of leaves.

 

[JV3]

no safe queen here! my sprint run para-military 2 gets kitchen duty as usual...printer paper = ultralight cutting board

tom demonstrating a little finesse.

...and intimidation tenderizes the meat perfectly.

the sensei watching the grasshopper closely.

mountainmistwanderer built us a cooking grill.

 

[JV3]

what i do best - kicking back with maker's mark...yes, that's real glass

...and watch a magic show.

maofsteel going for some style points.

...sensei gives a nod of approval.

i nearly stepped on this hairy caterpillar.

spiders - making grown men squirm like little girls

...he had to flex his muscles to stop us from making fun of him too much

 

[JV3]

best i could do to catch the flying embers using my knee as a base...maker's mark did not help

manofsteel and tom are new mora converts

next day...the supertarp kept the howling winds at bay perfectly.

my new kifaru 0° f slick bag fielded for the first time as well.

hole for the wood stove's chimney...manofsteel said it's the glory hole...he was looking for a hiker to kidnap to test it

norseman and his dog decided to drop by for breakfast.

spam & eggs with fried rice for breakfast.

i was too busy eating and taking pics of others that i didn't get a chance to take a pic on me...thanks marriedthemedic for the awesome beanie!

 

[JV3]

big thanks to manofsteel and tom for the awesome food...and thanks to mountainmistwanderer for this gift that he picked up from smokey c's during his alabama/sipsey backpacking trip recently

contents: seasoning, firesteel, jute twine/tinder, brass snare wire, fish hooks, fishing line and ranger band on the outside of the tin.

 

[mewolf1]

Looks like a nice trip.:thumbup:

Something I found last week for the feller with the leaky tarp.

[video=youtube;-UTZPllgqSc]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-UTZPllgqSc[/video]

 

[spoolup]

As always great looking outing man. And great shelter too! It was my first Kifaru shelter, still a great setup and LIGHT weight. Keeping working on the pitching, you will get it. Just to be sure, rear staked out TIGHT, like stretch it tight. Adjust front pole using side cordage... If using the annex, cup the hard spots but let the door just hang in the front, then pull out the front line tight again. The take the either side of the front and pull it out, not too tight but enough for the pole to lean just a bit, but pull that corner as far forward and tight as you can to get the base started. Then repeat the other front peg, it should just straighten the front pole and the body will be surprisingly taunt already. Measure rear pole again using side cordage and install, then stake out the side, alternating sides and just pulling taunt. Finish the door, by tying off the ends to the front stakes or set others just behind it. Then pull the middle tight. The stake the right side where the jack is, I leave the left open to get good access into the shelter. Done!

As for the other BCUSA tarp, sorry to hear, just not working out for your team. As always the pounds upon pounds of dead animal muscle looks GOOD! Keep up the great posts.

 

[lightleak]

Thanks for the pictures, looks like my kind of outdoor trips. That super tarp looks magnificent, have you used it with a stove yet? Looking for something like that at the moment.

 

[crossada]

I agree the Super Tarp looks amazing. Hope to see one of your great reviews on it.

Thanks for the trip review as always.

 

[JV3]

Looks like a nice trip.:thumbup:

Something I found last week for the feller with the leaky tarp.

[video=youtube;-UTZPllgqSc]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-UTZPllgqSc[/video]

thanks! that video is interesting - good way to refurbish a well used tarp instead of buying a new one :thumbup:

as for my friend's leaky tarp, bcusa is replacing it no problem and he opted to go with the silnylon for the replacement.

As always great looking outing man. And great shelter too! It was my first Kifaru shelter, still a great setup and LIGHT weight. Keeping working on the pitching, you will get it. Just to be sure, rear staked out TIGHT, like stretch it tight. Adjust front pole using side cordage... If using the annex, cup the hard spots but let the door just hang in the front, then pull out the front line tight again. The take the either side of the front and pull it out, not too tight but enough for the pole to lean just a bit, but pull that corner as far forward and tight as you can to get the base started. Then repeat the other front peg, it should just straighten the front pole and the body will be surprisingly taunt already. Measure rear pole again using side cordage and install, then stake out the side, alternating sides and just pulling taunt. Finish the door, by tying off the ends to the front stakes or set others just behind it. Then pull the middle tight. The stake the right side where the jack is, I leave the left open to get good access into the shelter. Done!

As for the other BCUSA tarp, sorry to hear, just not working out for your team. As always the pounds upon pounds of dead animal muscle looks GOOD! Keep up the great posts.

thanks, spoolup! excellent tips on pitching the supertarp...for my first time it definitely went up a lot faster than i expected. i gotta say out of all the kifaru stuff i've shown my friends the shelter was by far the most impressive to them

Thanks for the pictures, looks like my kind of outdoor trips. That super tarp looks magnificent, have you used it with a stove yet? Looking for something like that at the moment.

thanks! i'm still debating whether to get the stove or not since most of the time we have a camp fire when going in a group or i'm just using my emberlit when going solo. as far as shelter/sleep setup, that enclosed shelter with the kifaru 0° slick bag and exped downmat 9 (r-value of 8) is already more than enough down into the teens.

if i do end up buying a stove though it'll be the titanium small oval stove with short wall based on my research. here's a pic i saved awhile back with the warming tray:

ed t stove to show the available space:

I agree the Super Tarp looks amazing. Hope to see one of your great reviews on it.

Thanks for the trip review as always.

thanks! i'm very happy with the supertarp and it's everything i expected with one exception: the paracord cordage on the main ridgeline/front pole. the way it comes from kifaru is the length is pre-set and it ends in a loop. the first spot i set it up on there was a rock underneath and there was no way i could peg it so i relocated the whole tarp...then once i've set it up on the new location it started to drizzle and the paracord started to stretch after it got wet so i had to re-peg it farther out to compensate for the stretch.

easy solution though: i can just replace the paracord with a longer one and use a tautline hitch so i don't have to re-peg to re-tighten it or use something like the pmi 3 mm utility cord (which i'm already using on my other normal tarps) since it doesn't stretch even when wet and i find that it holds knots better too.