Archive for March 2007

Jetboil PCS – stability, packing etc.

Posted by on March 28th 2007 in My reviews
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The Jetboil PCS. Either you're a fan or you're not. I'm not about to try to sway your preference for stoves, this is just a bit of info about stability and the like, as I've experienced it.

The standard setup is fairly stable with a bigger gas canister (e.g. a Coleman 250), but not so much with a smaller one (e.g. a Coleman 100). Never mind, things can always be improved.

Jetboil make a set of legs that fit into the system and pack away neatly, but Vaude/Markill market legs which fit on a Coleman 100 a bit better, IMO:

 

Vaude/Markill legs folded (above), unfolded (below)

OK, now it's a lot more stable with the legs attached. But let's not stop there. How about the widget on the right in the piccy below? It's a blowtorch canister stand:

 

 

It fits onto a blowtorch canister and it can be pegged to the ground for great stability, as shown below:

 

 

 

 

It can be held down and supported by small rocks (above) or you can ditch the widget and dig a small pit for the canister as shown below:

 

 

You've just got to be careful that you don't clout the top bit too forcefully, as there's a slight risk that the setup will part company at the weak-spot (where the canister is screwed in). You have been warned!

Anyway, back to the Coleman 100 canisters. One of them can be stored in the Jetboil mug, beneath the burner unit. But what about when there's two of you and you need more gas? Well, two more will fit snugly upside-down in an Alpkit Mytimug:

 

 

Conveniently, the Jetboil and the gas-filled mug stack rather neatly into a drawstring bag that used to hold an Outwell pillow. There's room at the sides for a couple of long-handled spoons (or similar), the folding feet and a few bags of dehydrated food. Neat and versatile, I reckon, and just for good measure, this package fits perfectly into the external crampon pocket on my Lowe Alpine pack (the Alpine Attack 40), where it's handy to get at for a quick brew without the hassle of having to dig it out of the main compartment of the pack.

 

 

All that, and I didn't even rave about how good the stove is. I must be slipping in my old age 🙂

LATE EDIT:

Mike "The Doctor" Bell has come up with a lightweight, cheap and simple method of using pans on the Jetboil.

Patience is a virtue

Posted by on March 27th 2007 in Shiny new kit

At last, the long wait is over. My GoLite Tarp2 has arrived. There's a bit of a boring story behind this, but what the hell, I'll tell you anyway, you don't have to read it!

Back in November of 2006 , James at OneOutdoors was having a sale. Tarp2s were going cheap but try as I might, the website wouldn't let me order one, then the site showed zero stock as they all sold out, so I thought I was going to miss out on a bargain. Undeterred, I emailed James, telling him of my plight, and he kindly set up a special order for me so that I could reserve a Tarp2 at the discounted price.

Well, things didn't go according to plan for James. He had ongoing problems getting tarps from his source. Much to his credit, James kept me informed at every turn in the proceedings, and gave me options to either cancel or wait on several occasions. You just can't fault that for good customer service, can you?

Anyway, I got an email from James on Friday last week, telling me that he had received some tarps, yesterday he emailed that one had been dispatched, and the tarp arrived this morning, so I'm a happy bunny, it was worth the long wait.

So, top marks for James (and Nicky, who put a sweet message on the invoice), who achieved triumph in the face of adversity.

BTW, you might like to know that there's a clearance sale of GoLite kit at OneOutdoors right now.

New kip-mat

Posted by on March 26th 2007 in Shiny new kit

A new Insul-Mat Max Thermo Long has just been delivered here (ordered on the 22nd March from Sierra Trading Post in the US - top marks to them and to UPS for the quick delivery). Being a saddo, I've already weighed it... Claimed weight 709g Actual weight without stuffsac 709g Stuffsac 22g Repair kit 10g

Miscellaneous pics

Posted by on March 24th 2007 in Bloggers' Meet, Great Escapes

First up is a shot of the UKOBs at the N.E.C..

Just an ordinary piccy at first glance, but after a beer or two, there is more to be seen...
Why is Dave M wearing a placard on his head?
John H seems to have had George G's head grafted onto his shoulder in a similar manner to Zaphod Beeblebrox...
Darren C appears to be sporting a crest and a wattle like some sort of Cassowary / human hybrid...
Is the woman on the right the elusive "Big Agnes"?

 

 

And then there's this hairy old git, snapped by my daughter during our most recent trip to the Lake District. I would avoid him at all costs, he looks a bit dodgy:

Mountain Safety Man blogs!

Posted by on March 20th 2007 in Rambling on...

Well, last night we watched Wainwright's Walks 4/4 Scafell Pike on BBC4. The web blurb is as follows: In the last in the series exploring the work of Britain's most famous fell-walker, Alfred Wainwright, Julia Bradbury attempts to climb England's highest peak.

JB did the walk from Seathwaite, starting out at what seemed to be an average time in the morning after having a chat with Joss Naylor. The route took her over Stockley Bridge, up the Gill, a scenic detour around Sprinkling Tarn, back up to the true Esk Hause then via Calf Cove and the Ill Crag / Broad Crag massif to Broad Crag col and then the final pull up to the summit. A fine route, and, as she says, a long route.

Now, she was atop Scafell Pike quite late, after walking for over ten hours, so she said. The sun was lowering and the sky was turning a hazy reddish colour. Let's assume that she left Seathwaite at approx 8:00 a.m., that would put her at the summit at 6:00 p.m. Then bear in mind that she says that she's not a very experienced walker - according to her, Haystacks (programme 1/4) was her first Wainwright.

Doesn't leave much time for the return, especially with a camera crew in tow, does it? And it's not as if you can get back to Seathwaite easily without either retracing the route or dropping down to the Corridor Route - there's no short-cut back to base on any map that I've ever seen.

I'm more than a little bit concerned that armchair/novice walkers will be inspired by JB to tackle this route, arrive at the top knackered in the late afternoon, think that it's OK because they saw it on the telly, start back and then get benighted before ending up as MRT statistics.

Overall, the series has been excellent - varied routes and objectives, good scenic shots, and chats with notable characters such as Joss Naylor. The trouble is, it's all a bit misleading and it could tempt the unwary into more trouble than they can cope with.

Discuss.

Another weekend slips by

Posted by on March 11th 2007 in Great Escapes, Rambling on...

Well, what with all this slide-scanning and Six Nations going on, and with intensive periods of decorating and gardening slotted in between, this weekend passed by as usual - no proper outdoors activities.

On the plus side, the scanning is progressing well - I've done all of the ones I took in the Faeroe Islands (Note - the link is to a .pdf file that I found online). The finished quality isn't brilliant, but that's down to the slides, not the scanner. My pics will be uploaded to my photohost within the next few days, when I've found the correct spellings for the captions (not as easy as it seems on a UK laptop keyboard!).

 

 

Oh, and we booked a Family Activity holiday at Okehampton YHA, so the kids are quite excited. Not sure whether I want to do a rock-climbing & gorge-scrambling day, or do the climbing wall and then kayaking. Decisions, decisions...
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