backpacking gear – Page 2

Spice box for camping

12 December 2015 / Outdoor Gear / backpacking, backpacking food, backpacking gear, camping, camping food, food, hiking food, lightweight backpacking, lightweight backpacking food, lightweight camping, outdoor gear, Photos 2015, wild camping

I bought this Light My Fire spice box in the summer in Scotland, but I only found it again this morning when I went to sort out my camping food tin.

The spice pot was in in a sale box for a pound as the packaging had been lost. There are markings on two of the sections – “S” and “P” but as I use salt and pepper packets from cafes I have put sumac, in the “S”, smoked paprika in the “P” and garam masala in the third. All of these spices are very useful when I am camping or backpacking as they are “shake over” rather than “cook in” spices so I can easily jazz up my food.

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Testing the Alpkit Kraku stove with the Alpkit MytiMug 400 @Alpkit @OctagonT

15 November 2015 / Outdoor Gear / Alpkit, Alpkit Kraku, backpacking, backpacking gear, camping, lightweight backpacking, lightweight backpacking food, lightweight camping, lightweight walking, outdoor gear, Photos 2015, walking, wild camping

Alpkit MytiMug 400

Before another busy week at Octagon Technology I thought I would get out and try out my new Alpkit MitiMug 400 mug with my trusty Alpkit Kraku stove.

The wind shield, in the photo, is homemade from heavy duty aluminium foil cut from a serving tray bought “two for a pound” from a pound shop. The wind shield is really practical as I can bend it to give maximum protection from the drafts and wind and it weighs only a few grams.

This new Alpkit MitiMug 400 mug/pot fits really well on the Alpkit Kraku burner and is very stable when in use – the stability is essential if I am going to safely use this combination in the porch of my lightweight tent. The lid is a good fit – it is much improved over the lid supplied on the original MitiMug – purchased before there were 400 or 650 models. I am really pleased the lid has changed.

Another change, for the better, with this Alpkit MitiMug 400 is that it has a flat bottom – the original MitiMug had a ridge in the base, which when I cooked in the mug always allowed food to burnt there and that also made it difficult to clean. I cooked (well reheated) baked beans in this new Alpkit MitiMug 400 and the beans did not burn. You do however have to take care when using any titanium or thin walled cooking pot on a stove like the Alpkit Kraku stove which concentrates its heat in a small spot on the pot base:

Do not turn the stove up to “flame thrower mode” keep the flame very low and heat the food slowly
Stir continuously and thoroughly, getting right into the corners
Hang onto the handles or the pot can skip off the burner
I also, continuously, gently move the pot over the flame so the heat moves around smoothing out the hot spots

Afterwards it was easy to wash up the pot – this base design is another well thought out improvement.

My thoughts:

Overall this mug/cooking pot is a great piece of gear for the solo traveller, camper or backpacker who just needs to cook for themselves.
The size saves space in anyone’s pack. Titanium saves weight.
Even if you do not plan to use the mug for cooking the lid makes the mug a useful storage container and keeps the flies out of your drinks when outdoors.
Alpkit is a great UK company producing excellent gear – we should support them.

I think the next thing to add to this mug/pot, stove set is an Alpkit SnapWire Spoon. The folding spoon, stove, tea bags and milk powder will all then pack neatly inside the Alpkit MitiMug 400, inside the supplied netting draw string bag for easy packing when travelling. I am going to add this to my Christmas list.

My lightweight gear list

Testing the Alpkit Kraku stove with the Alpkit MytiMug 400 @Alpkit @OctagonT Read More »

New Alpkit MytiMug 400 titanium mug @Alpkit

8 November 2015 / Outdoor Gear / Alpkit, backpacking, backpacking gear, camping, hiking, lightweight backpacking, outdoor gear, Photos 2015, wild camping

Jeremy has bought me a new lightweight titanium mug from Alpkit a MytiMug 400.

At last a company is supplying a “mug sized” mug with a lightweight lid for the solo camper and backpacker. When I combine this with Alpkit’s Kraku stove it will make a very compact lightweight cooking kit. I was lucky enough to have a friend who was able to make me an aluminium lid for my other titanium mug, so I had a solo pot/mug, I can now replace that with Alpkit’s lighter solo pot/mug.

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Walking to Woodhall Spa from Coningsby pt1

14 April 2012 / Backpacking, Camping, Lincolnshire, Outdoor Gear, Photography, Technology, Walking / backpacking, backpacking gear, Golite Jam 2, iPhone, iPhone camera apps, iPhone photography, lightweight camping, lightweight walking, outdoor gear, walking

This weekend I have a short walk planned with a couple of friends – it is a gear try out before we go wild camping next month.

Following the trip a couple of week ago, I spent last night making a better job of packing my rucksack and I have got my sleeping mat packed inside the Golite Jam, rather than hanging on the outside. The new compression sack and making a better job of fold/rolling my tent made this possible.

I have a new bit of gear for this weekend. Diana bought me a case to protect my iPhone from the elements as the Watatait Case failed on me whilst away in Scotland in January. I contacted Haglofs, who took the faulty case back and then quickly replaced it – however they did not have my model in stock and so supplied me with a larger pouch which does not have the transparent back panel so I cannot use the camera whilst in the case. However it is a good waterproof case and I will find a use for it in the future.

The new case is less “hi-tech” than the previous cases I have used, but it is lighter and smaller. It has a velcro roll top and a padded interior to give a little more protection to the iPhone and has that vital transparent back so I can use the camera in the rain. However, contrary to the instructions I do not think it is 100% waterproof – but 100% weather proof – I would not submerse this case but I would carry it in my pocket and use it in the rain.

I added the paracord and cord grip for security.

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Compression Sack

8 April 2012 / Backpacking, Camping, Outdoor Gear, Walking / backpacking gear, Crusader Cook Set, outdoor gear

I have got a better quality compression sack to hold both my sleeping bag and spare clothes.

I looked at several different models of compression sack but opted for this Lifeventure model as it was the lightest, but with a design that distributed the compression evenly. My Eurohike sleeping bag came with a lightweight compression bag but it only used straps rather than a cap for the compression so there were bulges in the final compressed bag so adding to the size – and I needed a smaller size.

I chose a 15l sack, when a 10l sack may have been large enough, as I was thinking ahead to the multi-day trips I have planned for the future, when I will have to pack extra clothing. On testing it still made a smaller packed size with the sleeping bag and overnight spare clothes than the original sleeping bag compression sack.

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