The All Important Fire Kit – What I Carry, Why I Carry it and How it Cha...

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This is my Adaptable Fire Kit – What I Carry, Why I Carry it and How it Changes.

What's in your kit and how is it different than mine?  How does it change with each of your adventures?

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For this episode I wanted to talk about my fire kit and go over what I carry, why I carry it and how it often changes.  With my kit, there are certain items which I just about always bring with me and with each trip I will alter specifically for that trip.  For how I like to organize, my fire kit also includes my cook kit and cutlery.

Bag : Kifaru Ultralight Pullout Bag – (I have review on this kit if you search on my channel)

Pot : Toaks 750ml Titanium pot with bail handle

Cup : MSR Titan Cup

Some times : If Susie is going to be with me, I will add in an addition cup.  If I am alone, I may put my stove inside of the cup to conserve space.

Wash Cloth : Inside the pot I usually keep a wash cloth; you’ll be surprised at how often one of these will come in handy. Use it to grab a hot pot, hot cup, use it to clean up your cookware, use it to clean up yourself, and so on.  You can even use it to protect your tarp from a jagged stick in case of a rushed setup.

Paper Towel : 1 full paper towel cut in half; excellent for cleaning up, fire starter, and so on.  There are million reasons to have a full sheet and it weights virtually nothing.

Tin Foil : This is a piece of foil which I always keep with me and can be used for many purposes including a wind screen, you can cook with it, you can use it as a lid to a pot, cup, etc.

Fire : I always make sure to have two forms of starting a fire – lighter and matches; there will be times when a simple lighter may not offer you the best solution for starting your fire or getting your stove going.  For an example, lighting an alcohol stove can be a pain with a lighter but using a match can make it nice and easy.

Fire Starter : Generally I will carry with me a few of these Trioxanes just incase I want to get an easy fire going or if for some reason that I can’t use my canister stove and can heat up some water.  An example of use is this; you are out of a trip and as you are setting up your tent, it rains for twenty minutes; everything is damp but not soaked; you can use one of these and get a fire going for the evening.  Items like this are great for no fuss fires and there will be times when you simply are too tired to fool around and this makes fire possible easily

Wire : This is something that I always carry with me as I have found that it can serve many purposes; I can hang something from my pack with it, I can hang my pot over a fire or some trioxane, do a repair with it, etc. It weighs nothing at all and can potentially save your butt.

Bellows : This is a nice product to have with you especially if you live in locations that get a lot of rain; it can make the difference between having a fire and not having one and makes it nice and easy to develop lots of oxygen to your fire.

Ferro Rod : This is something that I just about always take with me on my trips- this is a back up to my backup.  If you have some extra time, it can be fun to hone your skills and also, if you have children it can keep them entertained for hours and hours.

Cutlery : This is something that changes with every trip as I carry what I need for the specific trip that I can going on.  If it is just me, there is no need for two spoons.  If I’m only heating water for meals, I don’t need the spatula.  Some times I may have a sharp food prep knife for cutting and processing.

Stoves :

WARM WEATHER : Butane stove such as the Soto G Stove ST-320 are great for warm weather use and can be pushed down to around 40ish F.  This is a great stove, very efficient, fuel is super inexpensive.  A Little heavy.

COOLER WEATHER : MSR Pocket Rocket 2 Deluxe and a small fuel canister. This version works slightly better in cooler temps  than the Pocket Rocket 2 but not substantially so.  What I really do appreciate is the integrated wind screen as it is a substantial improvement over the 2.  Butane and Propane mix is a very common fuel type and really performs poorly when approaching freezing.  You can warm a can before use but that only allows for good performance for a short period of time.  In cold conditions, you can take your hands and place them on the can and you will notice a boost in performance.  Note : I always keep the fuel in a ziplock bag just in case of spills.

COLD WEATHER : Stoves and Fuel Examples : Alcohol stove and fuel system which I may use for cold trips. The stand is from Mil-Tech, the stove itself is an Esbit spirit burner, the bottle is from Vargo and the fuel is plain Jane denatured alcohol. Alcohol is a great fuel for really cold conditions but it isn’t the most efficient of fuels and you may need a lot of it depending on the trip that you are going out on.

Therm-A-Rest ProLite Apex Sleeping Pad – Review

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Today Luke is reviewing the Therm-a-Rest ProLite Apex Sleeping Pad!

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Agenda Free Link : https://www.thermarest.com/sleeping-pads/fast-and-light/prolite-apex-sleeping-pad/prolite-apex.html?

Price : $119.95 - $139.95 (keep in mind that these are the retail prices; you can find these for a good bit less on Amazon and with outfitters.

Sizes : Regular, Regular Wide and Large

Weight of Regular : 1lb 6.4oz with stuff bag : the sleeping pad weighs 1.5lbs

Insulation Type : Open-cell Foam

R-Value : 3.8

Inflation : Self with a top off at the end.

Packed Size :
Large: 5.1 x 13 inches
Regular: 4.8 x 11 inches
Regular Wide: 5.1 x 13 inches

Pad Thickness (in.) 2 inches

Dimensions :

Large: 77 x 25 x 2 inches

Regular: 72 x 20 x 2 inches

Regular Wide: 72 x 25 x 2 inches

Fabric type : 50D Polyester on both sides - urethane foam inside

Color : It’s a redish color that Thermarest calls heat wave – it’s ok.  Not my personal preference it’s not a masculine color if that matters to you.

From the Company :
StrataCore™ Construction yields the best warmth-to-weight ratio of any self-inflating mattress, StrataCore uses a continuous layer of thermal foam nestled between alternating ridges of air and foam.

Rugged, Self-inflating Foam: Expanding foam core self-inflates; top off with just a few breaths for personalized firmness on 2 inches (5 cm) of StrataCore loft.

Easily Fits In Your Pack: Packs down small to easily find a place in your pack during fast and light adventures.

WingLock™ Valve: Our intuitive and dependable valve maximizes air flow for easier inflation and quicker deflation. Wings toggle for one-way inflation to save breath.

Pros :

Lightweight

Compact

Comfortable

Weight to comfort ratio is excellent

Easy to use

Not a noisy sleeping pad which is important for light sleepers – just in case you don’t know, some sleeping pads can be and can sound like you are on a bag of potato chips.

Good temp range – Used in the summer with temps in the 60’s and during the winter with temps down to 10F

Made in the USA!

Cons :

Not the lightest sleeping pad; if you are focused specifically on the lightest then there are other sleeping pad options that you should consider.

Price is high for a sleeping pad but you do get a lot for that price

Inflation takes a long time and is only partially inflated – this is the case with any self- inflation pad – 35 minutes with my testing and you will want to give it a good final puff to get it fully inflated – that depends on how hard that you want for it to be – might be perfect for you depending on how firm you like for your matt to be Time wise, for most people, inflation time won’t be a problem though as they will setup and then come back.

Stuff bag doesn’t feature an inflation port so if you need to inflate quickly and turn in for the night, you will have to get creative or simply inflate via breath.  20is breaths and it is inflated.

No repair kit included

Summary :

Thermarest makes excellent sleeping pads; they have for a very long time and the trend continues here with the ProLite Apex.  I have ProLite Plus from 2012 – it’s 8 years old and has never given me any problems.

The 3.8 R-Value is a good range for year round camping for most people and in most locations.  In very cold situations; 15F and below, I would add a closed cell foam pad to the system which will protect you from even more radiant cold from the ground.

Are there less expensive sleeping pads out there?  Yes.  Can they be comfortable?  Yes.  Do they have a limited lifetime warranty and a track record like Thermarest; there aren’t many companies who can make such claims.

Is this the best sleeping pad in the world?  No but it is a very, very good one which has very few negatives.  The price is good.  The quality is good and with Thermarests track record it is a product that should last for many, many years and if you have a problem, the limited warranty will cover you as long as it is defect.  If you puncture a hole, they you can fix or send it in for repair.

In the end, I have no problem recommending this for just about anyone unless you are a gram counter and if you are, you are going to pay more money and go with an air mat. Otherwise, good for shoulders and car camping as well.

Modern Stealth Camping - Overnight at a Love's Truck Stop

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Luke is back with another adventure and this one involves his truck Drifter and a Truck Stop out of town.  Luke is on a mission to donate some masks and together, we shall accomplish it.

The Adventure Begins Now!

How to Block the Wind - NDuR Mini Stove Windshield – Large and Small Review

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Today Luke is reviewing both sizes of the NDuR Mini Stove Windshields; large and small!

Watch to learn what he likes and what he absolutely hates!

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Agenda Free Link Large : N/A

Agenda Free Link Small : https://www.lyonstactical.com/products/ndur-mini-stove-wind-shield-black-small

Lyons Tactical : This Agenda Free Review was made possible thanks to Lyon’s Tactical which is an online Tactical & Survival store.

Price Large : $17

Price Small : $16

Weight Large : 6.5oz

Weight Small : 3.8oz

Materials : Aluminum and Stainless

LARGE:

Folded size: 8.5 x 3.3 x 0.6in (217 x 85 x 15mm)

Unfolded size: 26 x 8. in (660 x 217mm)

SMALL:

Folded size: 5.5 x 2.8 x 0.6in (140 x 70 x 15mm)

Unfolded size: 19 x 2.8in (475 x 70mm)

The NDūR Mini Stove Windshields are a great accessory to our portable stoves or it will improve the efficiency of any stove. The lightweight shield is made from aluminum and has pegging pins for improved stability. Comes with carry bag.Improve the efficiency of any stove

Walls made from aluminum – post rods are made from stainless steel

Comes with carry bag.

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NDūR : This is a company which is owned and operated by ProForce and you may be thinking that this name sounds familiar; it’s the parent company of Snugpak!  NDūR is a survival products company and in the future I may take a further look at what they carry if you are all interested.

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Review :

Pros :

Excellent quality – no issues with repeated folding – opening and closing

Light weight

Compact and thin

Does exactly as they were designed to do; block wind so that your stove performs more efficiently.

Price? Average price for such products; there are multiple companies who make such products – some more expensive, some more so. Note : Some sites sell these for $25 such as Walmart!

Larger shield is excellent for canister stoves and larger systems.

The small size if perfect for liquid fuel stoves.

They don't absorb heat either. I can do a full 5 minute boil and it is never hot. You can turn your stove off and immediately handle it.

Cons :

The storage bags that these windshields come with are in my opinion….terrible.  The mesh material at the top makes it a real pain in the a$$ and I don’t use them.  The shields get caught pulling the shields out and putting them in.  Putting them in my fire kit works perfectly and if you need to, you can put a rubber band around them.

If you are determined to use the bags, put the shields in upside down and it will be slightly easier to get the shield into the carry bag.

Due to the cracks which are present due to the design, in strong winds, there will be some flame influence. Are their shields that work better? Yes, solid shields without folding capabilities that allow for no air to enter at all but they lack in the convenience aspect.  They are generally less stable and can be extremely sharp.

Not really a con, but the grounding stakes don’t work on hard surfaces such as rocks but there are ways to use the shield without them in those situations; bracing works perfectly.