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The most unusual item in a kit?
- Thread starter HM
- Start date
HM: I do believe they are talking about #1 especially since this is the first time I've ever seen #2.
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Plainsman
primitiveguy@hotmail.com
<A HREF="http://pub7.ezboard.com/bplainsmanscabin.html" TARGET=_blank>
Plainsman's Cabin Forums</A>
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Plainsman
primitiveguy@hotmail.com
<A HREF="http://pub7.ezboard.com/bplainsmanscabin.html" TARGET=_blank>
Plainsman's Cabin Forums</A>
- Joined
- Feb 23, 2000
- Messages
- 1,363
In my fishing survival kit I have various hook sizes and leaders. Also some size 14 hook pheasant tail / hares ears nymths. Weighted trout flies. Worms can be really hard to find when you need them. Ten minnoes equal one big fish.
On the problem of opening the cork without corkscrew: I am somewhat surprised that no one got the obvious solution: use your knife.
The trick is to use a blade that is narrow enough to fit the bottle and push a wet blade into the cork slowly, when it is almost through you twist the knife and pull it out at the same time. Most of the time you get the cork out, twisting is essential because sliding friction cork/bottle is most of the time smaller than static friction blade/cork.
TLM
[This message has been edited by TLM (edited 06-26-2000).]
[This message has been edited by TLM (edited 06-26-2000).]
The trick is to use a blade that is narrow enough to fit the bottle and push a wet blade into the cork slowly, when it is almost through you twist the knife and pull it out at the same time. Most of the time you get the cork out, twisting is essential because sliding friction cork/bottle is most of the time smaller than static friction blade/cork.
TLM
[This message has been edited by TLM (edited 06-26-2000).]
[This message has been edited by TLM (edited 06-26-2000).]
Plainsman, thanks for the help. Your reasoning sounds valid
I also like TLM's suggestion. That is the first time that I heard about this 'friction' method but -after all- it is never too late to learn.
Recently, I was successful with my Leatherman Wave (good stuff!). First operating with the screwdriver (broad head) then using the needle nose pliers in a merciless twisting motion. Yeah, we got some good California wine that evening (check Walt's detailed scientific analysis on the topic
). All these happened in the middle of a large green meadow when watching sunset over the Shenandoah Mountains. Hmmmmm....
HM
I also like TLM's suggestion. That is the first time that I heard about this 'friction' method but -after all- it is never too late to learn.
Recently, I was successful with my Leatherman Wave (good stuff!). First operating with the screwdriver (broad head) then using the needle nose pliers in a merciless twisting motion. Yeah, we got some good California wine that evening (check Walt's detailed scientific analysis on the topic
HM
Liqour made from honey and water.
Good stuff, if you can find the right brand. Of course, some people prefer a sweet mead, which most commercial is, and some people prefer a dry mead.
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Joshua, aka Feneris,'Destroyer of Whisky' of the Terrible Ironic Horde
But doom'd and devoted by vassal and lord.
MacGregor has still both his heart and his sword!
-MacGregor's Gathering, Sir Walter Scott
Hoodoo:
I'll eat last weeks coffee grounds before I substitute nodoze for coffee...
You can buy "singles" packets of coffee, little tea bags of coffee grounds, and these are what I pack for lightweight camping/survival. They merely exist so I can have something that is called coffee. If a few extra ounces don't bother me, I have a french press and a backpacking hand-grinder I carry. In either instance, I can eat the stuff, or just do the 'sun tea' thing, and get a reasonably tasting thing with caffeine in it.
Stryver
I'll eat last weeks coffee grounds before I substitute nodoze for coffee...
You can buy "singles" packets of coffee, little tea bags of coffee grounds, and these are what I pack for lightweight camping/survival. They merely exist so I can have something that is called coffee. If a few extra ounces don't bother me, I have a french press and a backpacking hand-grinder I carry. In either instance, I can eat the stuff, or just do the 'sun tea' thing, and get a reasonably tasting thing with caffeine in it.
Stryver
Why not make your own mead?? It's so easy it's ridiculous. You get about 12 to 14 % alcohol and you can flavor it to taste.
All you need is water, honey, regular baking yeast, and various spices. Get a really big pot, fill it up with 5 to 8 times as much water as honey, add your spices and boil it down to about half. Let it cool to body temp and put in the finely divided yeast and stir til it's all dissolved. Put into a bottle with some saran wrap over the top with a couple of holes punched in it to allow it to breathe. Let stand in a dark place until it stops bubbling and then either add some pure alcohol to kill off the yeast and add some kick or bring the mead to a quick boil. If you use the alcohol way you will get a higher alcohol content. You can use a good vodka for this purpose. After you have killed of the yeast, filter it and keep on filtering it until you have a clear golden liquid. This will take some time
Once you have filtered it completely, pour into a clean bottle and cork it. Then put it in a cool, dark place and leave it there for a long time. The longer, the better. I would suggest a minimum of one month before you drink it. The taste will improve significantly with time.
As for the coffee and tea debate. You should count on having to drink atleast two cups of water for every cup of coffee or tea you drink. Both tea and coffee contains tannins that will work as a diuretic as well as caffeine. If you want to avoid the diuretic fucntion, go with herbal teas as most of those do not contain the same tannins and caffeine. Both tea and Coffee can kill you in a survival situation if water is not abundant. Water purification tablets are all well and good, but I would greatly prefer an MSR water filter. A much better solution and you won't have to carry so many damn tablets.
In a desert situation I am still waiting for some genius to invent the still-suit...
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Regards
Joshua "Kage" Calvert
"Move like Water, strike like Thunder..."
All you need is water, honey, regular baking yeast, and various spices. Get a really big pot, fill it up with 5 to 8 times as much water as honey, add your spices and boil it down to about half. Let it cool to body temp and put in the finely divided yeast and stir til it's all dissolved. Put into a bottle with some saran wrap over the top with a couple of holes punched in it to allow it to breathe. Let stand in a dark place until it stops bubbling and then either add some pure alcohol to kill off the yeast and add some kick or bring the mead to a quick boil. If you use the alcohol way you will get a higher alcohol content. You can use a good vodka for this purpose. After you have killed of the yeast, filter it and keep on filtering it until you have a clear golden liquid. This will take some time
Once you have filtered it completely, pour into a clean bottle and cork it. Then put it in a cool, dark place and leave it there for a long time. The longer, the better. I would suggest a minimum of one month before you drink it. The taste will improve significantly with time.
As for the coffee and tea debate. You should count on having to drink atleast two cups of water for every cup of coffee or tea you drink. Both tea and coffee contains tannins that will work as a diuretic as well as caffeine. If you want to avoid the diuretic fucntion, go with herbal teas as most of those do not contain the same tannins and caffeine. Both tea and Coffee can kill you in a survival situation if water is not abundant. Water purification tablets are all well and good, but I would greatly prefer an MSR water filter. A much better solution and you won't have to carry so many damn tablets.
In a desert situation I am still waiting for some genius to invent the still-suit...
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Regards
Joshua "Kage" Calvert
"Move like Water, strike like Thunder..."
One problem with your recipe. Cooking honey for that long cooks of some of the chemicals and messes up the taste of the honey. You should bring the water up to tempature and then dump the honey in to kill the yeast.
Also, there's no need to kill of the yeat after fermentation. Once the alcohol reaches a 14.5%(depending on the yeast strain) it will kill the yeast.
Clarification, filtration, and aging are mandantory, though.
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Joshua, aka Feneris,'Destroyer of Whisky' of the Terrible Ironic Horde
But doom'd and devoted by vassal and lord.
MacGregor has still both his heart and his sword!
-MacGregor's Gathering, Sir Walter Scott
Also, there's no need to kill of the yeat after fermentation. Once the alcohol reaches a 14.5%(depending on the yeast strain) it will kill the yeast.
Clarification, filtration, and aging are mandantory, though.
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Joshua, aka Feneris,'Destroyer of Whisky' of the Terrible Ironic Horde
But doom'd and devoted by vassal and lord.
MacGregor has still both his heart and his sword!
-MacGregor's Gathering, Sir Walter Scott
Trust me, Feneris...The recipe works...Although it isn't straight from the vikings, the recipe stems from the 13th century. The boiling of the honey doesn't seem to have any bad effect on the taste. And I'm usually very picky about my honey. I have had good results using Akacia honey, and clover honey. The less processed the honey is the better. You're right about the alcohol killing of the yeast, but the thing is that the final alcohol content isn't always predictable and you really don't want even a few yeast cells to survive. They will give you one really bad hangover and a bad case of gas! That's why you either add alcohol or bring it to a quick boil and then the second it starts boiling, you take it off the heat.
Dumping the honey in to kill the yeast is definitely not gonna work. The Yeast actually lives of the sugar in the honey, so adding honey isn't gonna do didley to the yeast except make it produce alcohol.
The most important thing about making mead is to get very high quality honey, and clean water. Don't use the tap stuff as it's usually full of chlorine and other nasties. If you have it, use spring water (expensive) or get a good quality water filter. The spices you choose are ofcourse also important. I actually had good results using herbal teas from Celestial Seasonings. Try the Roastaroma variant. Great stuff
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Regards
Joshua "Kage" Calvert
"Move like Water, strike like Thunder..."
Dumping the honey in to kill the yeast is definitely not gonna work. The Yeast actually lives of the sugar in the honey, so adding honey isn't gonna do didley to the yeast except make it produce alcohol.
The most important thing about making mead is to get very high quality honey, and clean water. Don't use the tap stuff as it's usually full of chlorine and other nasties. If you have it, use spring water (expensive) or get a good quality water filter. The spices you choose are ofcourse also important. I actually had good results using herbal teas from Celestial Seasonings. Try the Roastaroma variant. Great stuff
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Regards
Joshua "Kage" Calvert
"Move like Water, strike like Thunder..."
Have you tried the recipes that don't expose the honey to so much heat?
The primary purpose of cooking the honey is to kill of the wild yeast so you can control which strains of yeast will cause the fermentation, and make the taste more consistant. If you don't like the taste you can change yeast to see if that helps.
I found a site that has the chemistry of honey and the importance of the various steps. I'll try to find it again.
Water is very important. Not only does clorine affect the tastse but it seems to me that it would kill of some of the yeast. Not enough to make a differnce in breadmaking, but maybe enough to make a difference in mead making.
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Joshua, aka Feneris,'Destroyer of Whisky' of the Terrible Ironic Horde
But doom'd and devoted by vassal and lord.
MacGregor has still both his heart and his sword!
-MacGregor's Gathering, Sir Walter Scott
The primary purpose of cooking the honey is to kill of the wild yeast so you can control which strains of yeast will cause the fermentation, and make the taste more consistant. If you don't like the taste you can change yeast to see if that helps.
I found a site that has the chemistry of honey and the importance of the various steps. I'll try to find it again.
Water is very important. Not only does clorine affect the tastse but it seems to me that it would kill of some of the yeast. Not enough to make a differnce in breadmaking, but maybe enough to make a difference in mead making.
------------------
Joshua, aka Feneris,'Destroyer of Whisky' of the Terrible Ironic Horde
But doom'd and devoted by vassal and lord.
MacGregor has still both his heart and his sword!
-MacGregor's Gathering, Sir Walter Scott
mewolf1
Gold Member
- Joined
- Oct 24, 2005
- Messages
- 12,993
I bring a high quality old fashioned dog bell. It rings well. The original idea was to wear it on my pack in active bear areas so I didn't walk up on a bear, but its use evolved into an alarm for my pack and food sack.
Sometimes I bring an umbrella as a walking stick on dayhikes or critter watching. It makes a good instant blind and windbreak.
Two fancy wine glasses. In case somebody brings mead.
Sometimes I bring an umbrella as a walking stick on dayhikes or critter watching. It makes a good instant blind and windbreak.
Two fancy wine glasses. In case somebody brings mead.
- Joined
- Dec 3, 2005
- Messages
- 405
A small tube. bottle of super glue. Obvious reasons: fixing gear, zippers, ect. Also emergency first aid for injuries needing sutures. I never would of thought of that. My addition-a small roll of 100MPH tape available from Brigade Quartermaster or Duluth Trading or that kind of source.
