Weekend Camping Trip

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soccergod04

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Apr 24, 2006
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Went on a one night, one and a half day camping trip last night. State Park right outside of Raleigh, NC. Not very secluded, but a pretty enough area on a lake. We almost got rained on right after dinner, but it just sprinkled and flashed some lightning for a bit. Got my first ferro rod fire started. Couldn't get a figure-4 to work. Anyone have any tips? I'll work on that one during study breaks with exams coming up. Now for the pictures!

Me goofing around looking for sticks for the figure-4.




My lovely assistant filling a hydration pack.


Beans for dinner! Which Bethany didn't appreciate.


Aaaaand the requisite knife porn, since I can't share the good stuff.:D

Vic Tinkerer, Byrd Cara Cara, Schrade Pro Hunter, and a Doan Tool and Light My Fire Scout.

I was surprised by the Cara Cara, I wasn't sure how it would hold up. The Schrade made fuzz sticks like you would not believe!
 
Looks like a relaxing weekend. Not many of us have the luxury of getting a bikini model in our shots :) So which firestarter did you use - doan or scout?
 
I actually used both. I don't like the ferro rod on the Doan, so I scraped off the mag block and then used the Scout. Much easier.
 
Totally wrong footed me on that Schrade, I didn't have a clue what that was. Cool, I love seeing people using kit they like and not what fashion dictates.

The rest looks like fun too. And now I'm wondering how you kept the mosquitos off her :-)
 
Yeah, my little sister picked the Schrade up for me in a thrift shop for like 20 bucks. Great blade, takes and holds a razor edge. All I did was cord wrap the stacked leather handle with the wristloop. I do need a new sheath for it though...
 
No, I don't have any pics, unfortunately. I'm not sure about the top point of the 4 and the corner at the end away from the deadfall. I got my notches all deep enough, but it just wouldn't balance for some reason.
 
They can be very tricky with their balance. There are a lot of variables, including the size and center of gravity of the deadfall, which in turn dictates the overall size of your 4.

There was a survivorman episode where Les sat there and played with one for a long time. It just kept showing again and again the deadfall falling, and almost getting his hands. So, it does take some practice.

It is a hard to explain in words. But, about the only thing that I can say is that if your notches are holding well, and your trigger is too, it will be all about figuring out your balance. When the deadfall rests on the top part of the 4, it should be leveraging that stick in a direction that will pull the bait stick hard against the vertical stick.

Sounds overly simple, but it seems one of the harder things to get right is that tension in the right point. If the deadfall is not weighting the setup to get that leverage, there are only 2 ways to correct it (that I know of). 1) To cut a new setup of different size 2) Find a different size deadfall that will weight it properly. Neither is a quick fix, so you can see why it takes some practice.

Good luck with it, and you will get it....
 
My first time I made a Fig. 4 it took me 45mins to set up... what i did find was smaller is better, but then again depends on what you are trapping.

If only i could get my girlfriend to pose for photos... she said she will when i get rid of the tarp and get big a tent for her "gear". Guess why I still dont have photos.
 
Haha, nick-nack! I went with the opposite approach. Start with the tent and build confidence and then whittle away at the needed gear to get down to the tarp. I'll let ya know how it goes.
 
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