Throwback Saturday/gear review (no paddlin’, swear it!)

First the the throwback. Loaded up a thumb drive for the ‘radio’ in Buffalo with a mess of stuff I pulled off my hard drive.

THIS came on

And I was filled with the emotions of my teenage years, under Reagan and the “fall of Communism”, even the naivety of thinking we would never have to worry about nuclear war EVER AGAIN,,,

ya,,,

BOY, were we innocent then,,,

OK, nuff of getting back,,, gear review.

Bought a camp stove from the Zon, one that is highly packable, for hikers, and a Chinee knock off of a Japanese top of the line unit that will run you a first born sort of exchange.(exaggerated, but hey, lets have some fun,,,,)

This one came with the adapters for multiple container types, and I chose this route because I bought the stove and the adaptors as one purchase for the cost of just ONE of the adaptors by other sources. I figured if it breaks or is crap, the adaptors would still work for the top of the line unit.

Here it is with all three of fuel types it can use , second pic shows the adaptors as well.

and hooked up running.

Thats simmer mode. It can go lower but starts to ‘gurgle’ a little bit. The Piezo igniter needed bent out a hair when I first got it, but now works every time.

and one hair lower than “Torch the Cow” mode. (this thing will shoot flames a full foot over the burner,, scary!!!!)

And I chose this design over the smaller version because I don’t like the burner attached to the tanks directly. The hose allows you to keep your tank isolated behind a windscreen away from the heat source. Safer, much safer.

I like that I am not limited to one sort of fuel, and I have ran it on all three, just to make sure things worked. I have not done a boil test to see which fuel is more efficient, but I love the fact that I can turn this one down to low range and simmer a pot. My Trangia is ‘on or off’ with almost no variable middle. There is a plate that you can add to limit the flame but I never noticed a change in heat: using the plate or not, it was really only good for boiling water at a high rolling boil. BUT, it uses alcohol and is reliable so it will go along as well because there are times where all I need is boiled water and there isn’t a whole lot of set up to get it working (open tank, set on ground, light and you’re ‘cooking with gas alcohol’).

So far, good to freakin’ go, and Oh hell, do I wish I had had one of these in the Corps,,, This little thing really does the trick and takes up very little space,

and cost?

$25. (now at $22) Bought it and some other stuff to get the free shipping, but this one: WORTH IT!!!! Definitely worth it.

(please note, I am NOT an Amazon affiliate, do NOT make a dime off anything you buy there, and I should consider otherwise, but if you buy something linked on the Zon here, it is not benefiting me in any way. I only list it because I found it to be damned good product.)

Fuel bottles are not hateful either: the shorty butane/propane mix is about $6. No idea how long they last, but I would say at least a few meals can be made on one can. The Tall butane mix is $3 (same weight or slightly more) and a pair of the propane tanks is running $7 currently. I think the propane will last longer, but only because of volume in the tanks. (prices at ChinaMart near you, and subject to change, YMMV,,,,)

It may be that you see no need for one because you NEVER go camping. I would argue you need something, because hard times are coming and there may be a day where you are camping in your living room because power is out, natgas is shut off because ‘reasons’, etc etc. At least consider it as a good back up.

And you may even be able to plant a Flowerpot over the thing and provide heat in really shitty situations, though I would be hesitant due to carbon monoxide issues. >>>NOT A SUGGESTION<<< just an outside the box thought for if things get really out of hand.

(See?!?!,,, I CAN write stuff ‘not kayaks’ and avoid the poly-ticks to!!!!)