camping chat
 

Did you guys know that folks collect old camp stoves? I think our old stove is a Primus, but I'll have to look. It is pushing 20 years.

edit:Now I'm thinking Optimus stove

I always wanted to try making a Pepsi can stove for fun, but I have no experience with genuine spirit burners.

You got the "good pump", Grant. The old green one cracked easily and had a lot of seal problems. I had it bust on me while out on a weekend trip and should note that the difference between a good morning and a bad one came down to the temperature of the coffee.

Oh, if only the weather would cooperate around here! My camping stuff could finally be removed from the hurricane kit and used for something fun...

BigV,

right with you. I've pedaled too, and we carried a whitegas pressure stove - screamed like a banshee and did great for a party of four with mostly freeze dried, etc.

One of my best desserts was warm chocolate cake with frosting, out of a dutch oven, sipping VSOP cognac (weighs the same as the cheap stuff, if you're going to curse the weight, might as well be worth it) at dusk on a stony island in the middle of some nice river rapids. The CN superchief came down the valley, spotted us enjoying it and gave a appreciative blast on the airhorns as it thundered by.

Out longest portages were 2 1/2 miles. canoes weighed about 80 lbs, dressed, and I carried a 15 lb pack under it. the food packs weighed about 75 lbs (party of 4, two canoes, two food/tent packs. Party of 9, three canoes, three tent/food packs. three gear packs. we singled carried, could cover up to 25 miles on a fast day, down hill, wind at our backs, light packs)

I carry a Coleman multi-fuel now for when there's an open fire ban or I'm too tire to saw and chop.

Backpackers really have my respect, we didn't suffer at all canoeing, other than portaging the weight. One year I invited a dedicated backpacker along to fill out a party of 4. He showed up for packing the night before and asked what the large pile of stuff in the living room was. I said "our gear!", and he nearly passed out from fright. He'd snapped the handle off his new toothbrush to save weight. My 17 1/2' Kevlar canoe can freight 1600lbs with 6" of freeboard. It does just fine with two adults and two packs.

Did a lot of packing, I thought the Appalachian would be the worst, but the Ocala National Forrest and parts of the Everglades were. The humidity, heat and all the roots made it rough. The Ocala trip was 50 miles total.

Limb trees, cut kindling, split logs, 12 gage does it all. :cool:

Care to share where you went through Ocala? At 50 miles, it sounds like you did all of it! I've done the Juniper Wilderness -- the peace, quiet, and night sky would have made every footstep while hauling a pack twice as heavy worth it!

The wilderness areas, for now, are very rough going after the storms of the previous years. Campsites along the trail were very difficult to locate.

It was a long time ago, I'm pretty sure it was most of it. It was 25mi, there and back again. If I recall correctly, right up the middle.

Funny you should mention that. Here's a Google image and it's accompanying description of my stove ( which still works) transcribed. I carried it throughout my Special Forces days:

PRIMUS GRASSHOPPER STOVE
http://www.dslretorts.com/Paladin/im...per_stove_.jpg

"If you told me that this handy little stove was no longer on the market I wouldn't have believed you. But it seems that sometime in the past 30+ years it has been taken off the market. Long enough ago that eBay is not selling any (as of now anyhow) and images.google.com didn't have any images. Which makes it tough to link to an image so you can show someone what you are talking about.

It uses the long skinny 14.1 ounce Bernzomatic TX9 disposable propane fuel cylinder that is still used for the little hand held torch. The two legs fold down against the tank for a stowable package no bigger in diameter than the bare tank and half again longer.

Add the four cup percolator and you can have tea or coffee just about anywhere in a matter of a few minutes."

NOTE: the stove made the weight cut, the percolator did not (I had to settle for a canteen cup). :sniff: :lol: END NOTE.

Neat, that is a clever design.

Mine is a lot like that, except it is a two burner and uses liquid fuel. Awesome and cannot be beat!

I agree with using a saw instead of an axe, unless you are building a shelter or a very large bonfire.

If you shop at REI, here are coupons.

I have absolutely nothing to contribute to this very interesting thread, except for this tangental comment: Recently in DC I got to see numerous tomahawks from the 18th century. These were steel tomahawks presented as gifts to Native Americans (they were exhibited in the National Museum of Native Americans). The really cool thing was that many of them were very elaborate, and had elaborate etching on the heads done in England, then shipped out to the colonies.

20 years is old for a camping stove? Shit, mine's just getting a good patina. c.1976 but I think the design is unchanged since back when snakes could walk.

Svea 123! ROCK.