Good Tips for Smoothin' It?

W

Wolfeye

Joined
Apr 26, 2015
Messages
221
Hello, all. Was thinking about some of the finer points & wanted to ask around, maybe see if there was some extra stuff to know. I'll get the ball rolling & make the thread topic more clear:

(1) Bug Repellent- sometimes a big one (ex: Maine, Vermont, Alaska, Florida, etc) & makes a huge difference because it's an ambient problem when it is there.

(2) Work Gloves- protects your hands & is good if you're getting together firewood or using a tool with some intensity (ex: ax, shovel, etc).

(3) Extra Socks- good for layering against cold & to have something dry for the next day(s), although footwraps can be used in a way that lets the part that was previously on your foot (and is now on your leg) dry out as you walk.

(4) Extra Footwear- in case your other ones get wet & you want to put something on your feet in the meantime (maybe a pair of watershoes or boat shoes).

(5) Sunglasses- you can wind up with a glare right in your eyes & potentially can be used as safety goggles (ex: chopping wood, shooting guns, making stone tools).

(6) Duct Tape- can wrap it around a lighter for carrying & at least is good for not getting blisters (put it on the raw spot before the blister forms- although, apparently, you can lace your boots differently to keep that from happening).

(7) Small Light- just something to have in case you drop something at night or you need to go to the bathroom (ex: keychain LED, headlamp, etc).

(8) Wet Naps (or similar)- for washing your hands, mostly.

(9) Camp Towel- good for drying off & as a light blanket (the extra large McNett Camp Towel is good & is large enough to wrap around yourself like a regular towel), although a large rag might also be used & having an extra is good for a dish rag.

(10) Camp Shower (Sea to Summit Pocket Shower)- that one is also good for a general dry bag.

(11) Cutting Board- the thin disposable ones can be good, but you might just get more uses out of a solid one (ex: keeping things in your pack from digging into your back).

(12) Hobo Knife- for the spoon, mostly (you could just bend a regular one for portability).

Okay, that's a dozen from me. Anyone else have some?
 
Last edited:
Good ideas! Completely forgot about the umbrella! And the dumpster liners (will propbably keep that somehog of a secret).
 
Plastic. One of the hardest things to replicate. It’s wind proof and waterproof. Ziplocks, garbage bags and tarps. Unless it’s the middle of summer I always have at least a tarp.

To tweak your towel idea I would suggest a good micro fiber towel. I use the smallest one msr makes and I love it. When my wife and I go river swimming I roll the swim suits up in it and wring them together. Take them apart and wring out the towel on its own. Then repeat until dry. Beats hauling out wet clothes in your pack. Works for collecting dew or any other wet gear/clothes you have. It’s always with me.
 
Over the years I've kept an eye out for something satisfying to use as a bivy lantern. I'm not talking about big ole lanterns like I'd use for beach fishing, nah, the opposite end is what I'm drawn to for this niche.

I've bought a few and they have all been underwhelming. They were always too much in some way: Too big, too heavy, too complicated, or too much money for what you got. The closest thing I found to ideal was a simple Lego brick type bock that spanned the terminals of a PP3 battery. It too had issues though namely that the battery technology is old and nasty and performs really badly in the cold, and paradoxically the unit was sufficiently good to illuminate its Achilles Heal. It was hard to escape its commonalty with audio surveillance devices of yesteryear. The bug could be made really small but the battery was a disproportionate lump.

For quite a while I either knocked up a frosted reflector I could just pop on a small torch, and then more recently pinching from the ultralight movement knocked up my own LED doodad running off a couple of lithium cells and dropped into a translucent 35mm film container. That was working well 'till serendipity came along a couple of christmases back in the form of the Submersible Waterproof Mini LED Tea Light Candle. Oh happy days, These are using exactly the same batteries and emitter that I was using to make the film can things, only these are way more efficient because they have access to manufacturing that I don't. Excluding the nipple on the top you could pretty much get 3 of these units in a film canister. They are O ring sealed 'cos they are designed to be used with water. The insides is simply an emitter mounted on a board, a pair of contacts and a spring. You rotate half of it till the contact engages. It's exactly the way I would have made my film can version if I had access to facilities.

What I like: For a tiny bit over the film can sized thing I can have three of these. O rings have held up for me so far. These things are so cheap it was trivial to leave half a dozen weighted in the bottom of a bucket over night. None failed. The batteries don't suffer cold problems to anywhere near the same degree as the old tech. They weigh very little. They are so cheap that a main reason I don't treat them as disposable is my own ethical stance on waste. I'd rather replace the batteries, even though sometimes that is not cost effective. The other reason I replace the batteries is that I went for the bonus points on the shell. I epoxied wafer thin magnets to the bases of each. That isn't just so I can fix them to metals either. A pair of them sandwiching a bit of fabric or a dangling bit of string works great. I can get a couple of hours reading a night out of them all week or just run one till the sun comes up.

Now I know they exist and what I am looking for I've seen them in all sorts of colours, some with a rather cheesy imitation candle flame poking out the top. I can't testify to any particular version. Given the super low price and what they are made from I really wouldn't be surprised if one came dud in a batch and you had to unscrew it and poke. All I can say on that is if you are at all “handy” as a trait you'll know immediately what to do if that happens.

Just for illustration, mine are approximate to these - https://www.amazon.co.uk/Hrph-Subme..._rd_t=40701&psc=1&refRID=JD57WR6VA3PHSWF2N6AR

--------------------
If you play in the cold it behoves you to look up the Moulder Strip. When I first got a whaft of it my reflex was Danger Danger. I went on to dig up a bunch more reading and that eventually got me playing with some 0.5mm copper sheet and thermal probes. Revolutionary learning for me. I can get you started with https://backpackinglight.com/forums...t-to-the-test-butane-canister-use-at-21f-29c/ then you are FOFO. Youtube if you suffer from apathy.
 
Last edited:
Buff - Yes, it looks a bit effeminate on a guy - but I love my Buff. Mostly used under a hat, keeps the sun off the neck and the critters from biting. Dip it in water, along with hat, keeps you cool as well.

Chaptstick...('cause, heck if your going to wear that buff, might as well have lips to match ;)..but seriously, once you let the lips go they are hard to restore while out in the woods

Fine tweezers - for ticks and slivers
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top