Brian's Blog

Geocaching family fun with Geomate.jr

2009-10-28T13:08:00.003-05:00

Jack, Maggie, and I decided to spend our Sunday morning outdoors doing some geocaching with our newly acquired Geomate.jr kid-friendly device. I bought the Geomate.jr on a whim based on a recent Outside San Diego blog post that hailed it as the ultimate get out and go geocaching device - and after our fun this Sunday I have to say we whole heartily agree.

Geomate.jr is the first device I know of that is targeted towards kids and made specifically for geocaching as apposed to a full GPS device that can be used for many things including geocaching. It costs substantially less too, at $70 it's a fraction of the cost of a regular GPS device. The reason for this is that you are getting a single purpose device specifically made for geocaching and not a fully featured GPS topographical unit. But for us that's fine, all we wanted was to be able to go out wherever we were and start "treasure hunting" as Jack and Maggie like to call it - as it comes pre-loaded with 250,000 US geocaches the Geomate.jr is perfect!

When we bought the Geomate.jr from our local REI store last week and when we brought it home we were so excited that we wanted to give it a try immediately. We popped open the blister pack and read through the minimal instructions that pretty much just said: Go Outside, turn it on, follow the arrow and distance to your closest geocache!

The Geomate.jr takes two standard AAA batteries so we scrambled around in our kitchen drawers looking for some AAAs. We put them in and went outside. Jack was holding the unit and pressed the top button to turn it on.... it showed a welcome message, searched for GPS satellites to acquire and within 20 seconds was pointing the way to our nearest geocache! We walked around a bit to see how it responded and then familiarized ourselves with the other two (yes only two!) buttons. Unfortunately we didn't have time to go geocaching that day so we had to wait until the following weekend.

Fast forward one week... So after starring at our new little Geomate.jr for so long, we were finally ready to go outside and start treasure hunting. Armed with a pen (BYOP), a notepad and some goodies to share, Jack, Maggie, Coco and I set off in the direction of our first geocache.

GC1EF0W - Lake Park - One Degree of Separation:
We drove to Lake Park which is just five minutes from our house and parked up. I had a pretty good idea where the cache would be just by looking around, but wanted to let Jack and Maggie find it entirely by themselves using the Geomate.jr. Jack turned on the Geomate.jr, waited for it to acquire the satellites and then lead the way with Maggie at his side (constantly talking as she does, it's a girl thing), Coco and I following close behind.

We started out at just over 700 feet away and quickly narrowed in on the cache's location. The Geomate.jr has a neat little direction arrow that you can follow and watch the distance change as you go - easy for Jack to understand. It probably took us 10-15 minutes to find the cache by the time we stopped to look at colorful leaves and acorns on the ground. Here's a picture of Jack and Maggie standing just inches away from the cache that is hidden in the crook of the tree to their left.

I was amazed to see that the Geomate.jr got them to within three feet of the cache location. That's spectacular for such a small and inexpensive GPS device. Later at home I checked the online documentation only to discover that the Geomate.jr uses SiRFstarIII GPS technology. Ummm ‘so’? Well, SiRFstarIII is regarded as the best GPS technology available! Not bad for a $70 device eh?

Here's a picture of Jack being a goofball after finding his first geocache with the Geomate.jr. I could tell that after this first one he was hooked! Maggie is three and loves to follow us around outside, but she's not yet excited about finding things in the woods. Not yet...

The log file that was inside the cache container was wet and had become delicate to handle. As we had lost our pen anyway while poking around in the woods we simply put the log back inside and place the cached back carefully where we had found it.

GC1F7K0 - One Blind Mouse!:
Our second cache of the day was only a mile or two away from the first one, so we all hopped back in my truck and headed off in the general direction. Jack held on to the Geomate.jr as I drove and told me if I was getting closer or farther away - not to self, the Geomate.jr works fine in the truck.

The location of this cache was a little more overgrown than the first and we very nearly turned back because the ground was water logged. But Jack found a dry route through the head high grass and steered us in the right direction. This time it was Maggie (with help from Coco's acute sense of smell) who discovered the cache. I could see her jumping up and down yelling "daddy, over here, it's so cute come see."

It was another small cache which always disappoints Jack (he like the trinkets that are in the larger caches) but it was a fun one. Someone had hidden an old computer mouse in a small hidy-hole at the base of a tree. The mouse had little black glasses and whiskers painted on it, hence the name - One Blind Mouse!

We had planned on a third geocache but everyone agreed that we'd had enough adventure for that day and as it was starting to get cold we headed back to the truck and home.

I have to say that I was extremely impressed with the Geomate.jr. It was easy for Jack to use and was ready to go with the 250,000 preloaded geocaches right out of the box. Further more, I've just discovered that with the purchase of a small USB cable it can be synced up with the Geocaching.com database to update the device's built-in list of cache locations. I also read that you can see your longitude and latitude as well as your height above sea level and it's made in the USA.

If you're looking to get started with Geocaching and have been put off, as we were, by the complexity and selection of more expensive GPS units - give Geomate.jr a try. We were up and running in minutes and hunting down micro-caches under the direction of a five-year-old. I don't see how you could beat that!

Quick Update:
Just a few hours after posting this to my blog I noticed that Geomate.jr were following me on Twitter and re posting a link to my blog article via their Twitter account. Pretty cool and always amazing how fast things happen on the web. Thanks Geomate.jr Here's screenshot of their Twitter page.

Fixed Blade Knife Comparison

2009-10-24T23:53:00.002-05:00

I've noticed that my requirements for a fixed blade knife have changed over the years as my backpacking, hiking, and bushcraft skills have developed. I won't be getting into a debate here about fixed blade versus folding knives. I have both and love them equally for different reasons. What I will be doing is comparing my three favorite fixed blade knives and describing their good and bad points based on my usage and general observations.

The three knives I'll be looking at represent a good cross section of price, ranging from $10 to $100. They are (from top to bottom):

Let me start by saying that I am not a knife collector, for two very good reasons - I don't have the money to be, and I actually use all of my knives. The three knives shown here represent the gradual evolution of my knife skills and knowledge of knife design, as well as a more fundamental personal exploration of the true purpose of knife as a functional outdoor cutting tool.

Evolving Cutting Needs
As I said at the beginning of this review, my knife skills and usage have changed over the years as I have become more familiar with the right way to do things. The knives reviewed here represent three very significant changes in my use and understanding of a knife's purpose. For me, the most common use of a knife is for cutting wood.

There are many, many wood cutting tasks that get performed during an extended stay outdoors, but if I had to summarize them it would be: making feather sticks, carving tent pegs, cutting notches, batoning through thick branches, and sharpening points on sticks. These types of tasks crop up more than anything else. After wood cutting, the most common uses of my knife would be for cutting food and smaller items like rope or cord. Very rarely do I need my knife for gutting an animal or skinning a pelt - it just doesn't happen on a normal backpacking trip - at least not for me :)

The Seal Pup was my first purchase and was bought because of it's size, reputation, and price. The Pup is a well tested and reliable 'survival' knife that has earned an amazing reputation and respect from many - what could be bad? Well for me it turned out to be the serrated edge which was in exactly the wrong place for many wood carving activities. After many months of persevering I started to be on the lookout for a better knife.

My next purchase was the Fallkniven F1 - arguably one of the most well known and sought after knives in the world. Eight intensive years of research went into this knife, and resulted in it being selected as the official survival knife of the Swedish Air force - the rest is history as they say. The problem I had almost from the start with the F1 was that despite the convex grind it would get stuck or pinched tight when trying to make deep cuts in wood, making it less than ideal for heavy duty bushcraft activities. I also started to become more concerned with the knife than it's function - being overly cautious not to damage the knife because it was not cheap.

The Eriksson Mora 711 is my latest (and I hope last) acquisition. I had read so many good things about these knives that I simply had to get one to try it out. The high carbon steel, the classic bushcraft Scandi grind, the comfortable rubberized grip, all had lead me to want to see what all the hype was about. Let me tell you that despite the low price (1/10th of the F1) it has very quickly become my favorite fixed blade knife. It has a razor sharp edge that genuinely will shave the hairs on my arm, it's very comfortable to hold, and the Scandi grind seems to make every wood cutting activity a complete delight.

So let me break this down into the individual components of what I think are the most important considerations when buying or selecting a knife.

Sheaths:
To me, the main purposes of a sheath are to protect the knife, retain it securely, and to allow me to carry it with the confidence that it can't easily get separated from my person. If it can't do any one those three things then it probably has been designed properly and isn't worth considering unless you plan to make your own sheath or know that you will be getting or using one that will.

In my opinion the SOG Seal Pup has the most functional and well made sheath of these three and here's why. The sheath is made from extremely strong high-grade ballistic nylon that will take considerable abuse without showing the slightest signs of wear. The blade section of the sheath has a hard Kydex inner liner that grips the blade very securely with a solid 'snap' and that protects the nylon webbing from getting cut by the razor sharp blade. In addition to the secure grip of the sheath liner, the upper handle snap fastener is perfectly placed and just snug enough to hold the handle in place without being hard to snap closed. The SOG's sheath also has a extra front pocket for carrying a sharpening stone or some basic survival kits pieces with an oversize Velcro flap to keep everything safe inside.

A great feature that I make use of are the webbing Molle straps sewn to the back of the sheath that attach to standard 1" Molle webbing or easily allow you to wear the knife in a horizontal fashion on your belt - which is my preferred way to wear this knife.

The sheath of the Fallkniven F1, while well made, just isn't to the same highly functional standards as that of the SOG. When I purchased my F1 I chose the Zytel sheath over the leather version and somewhat regret that now. At the time I thought it would be more robust and longer lasting than leather, but I found that although the rigid Zytel bottom section of the sheath is very rugged, the top belt loop is made from rather flimsy ballistic nylon webbing that makes the whole sheath/knife wobble around on my belt - even when I use a cord through the bottom two holes to fix it to my leg.

Another downside of the floppy belt loop is that the knife handle moves very easily against my hand as I reach to my hip to grab it. There's no resistance or firmness in the sheath to keep the knife exactly where I want it. This may be perfect for some people, but for me it is a continual annoyance. I am planning to purchase a hand-made JRE leather "Cricket" sheath made specifically made for the F1 that mimics the SOG horizontal carry functionality to some extent and looks very much like the sheath that comes as standard with the Bear Grylls knife.

The Eriksson Mora has most simplistic and somewhat minimalist sheath of the three, born out of cost reduction and the demands of mass production more than anything else I'm sure. That said the Mora's sheath performs extremely well which is proof that it doesn't have to be expensive or overly complicated to work properly. The Mora's sheath is a one piece, injection-molded, thermoplastic sleeve with what looks like a very slim/narrow belt loop sticking up. In fact it's not a belt loop at all, it's actually designed to snap over a button attached to your pants and then your belt goes over the top of the plastic loop keeping the sheath securely snapped on to the button. I read a lot of complaints about the belt loop of the Mora sheaths simply because the intended purpose is misunderstood.

Another important feature of a sheath is a drainage hole, especially sheaths made of non-porous materials like the two plastic ones here. Both the Fallkniven and the Mora sheaths have large drainage holes in the bottom to let water out. This is especially important for the carbon steel blade of the Mora that can rust easily. The picture below illustrates this nicely with the Mora sheath at the top and the F1 sheath below.

The Blades:
There are some significant differences in the types blades represented by these three knives that justify a bit of a deep-dive here too. The blade of the F1 is a full-tang slab of laminated VG10 stainless steel hardened to 59 HRC. The blade length is 3.8" designed in a classic clip point style. The grind of the F1 was something of a new experience to me. Initially it looked like a full flat grind, but after closer inspection I could see that it was actually a full convex grind. (Blade grinds explained)

Full convex grinds are extraordinarily simple and inexpensive to maintain which may disappoint those with a love of blade sharpening gadgets. In fact, if a full convex ground blade is not allowed to get too dull, stropping will usually restore the edge to full sharpness and you can probably make an excellent sharpening kit out of an old mouse pad and a couple pieces of wet/dry paper.

I have to say that I was extremely impressed with the beautiful satin finish of the F1 blade as you can see for yourself in the picture above. But more than that, the convex ground blade has proven to me that it cuts better than a hollow ground blade and is much less likely to snag or pinch up in deeper cuts.

The SOG Seal Pup has a full-tang AUS-6 steel blade hardened to 57-58 HRC and finished with a 440A non-reflective powder coating. The overall blade length is 4.75" with a 1" serrated section near the handle. At first I thought the serrated part of the blade was very clever and it still may be for some people, but for me it has ruined what was very close to being a perfect knife.

The annoying serrated section of the blade close to the finger guard is in exactly the wrong place on the knife. It’s positioned just where a sharp plain edge is most useful for fine work. I guess the serrations help give the Seal Pup that tough ‘tactical’ look, but for me they ruin the blade so much that I'm seriously considering grinding them out. It's probably great for cutting small cord or even sawing through thick rope, but the serrations are practically useless for bushcraft purposes like cutting notches and making feather sticks, two tasks I perform frequently when outdoors. You could argue that this isn't a knife intended for bushcraft tasks and I'm sure that it true, I'm just disappointed that such a well made knife let me down because of such a minor thing.

The Mora has a .098" thick, high carbon 4" long blade hardened to 59-60 HRC. The blade has a full Scandinavian (Scandi) grind which is a wide flat bevel that runs to the edge of the blade. There is no significant secondary bevel as seen on the Pup. The angle is engineered to match the quality of the steel and intended use. The result is a keen edge, which can easily be sharpened to be razor sharp.

Another advantage of the Scandi grind is that it can be resharpened until the blade is worn away, without changing the angle of the edge. No jigs or other gadgets are required. All that is required is to lay the bevel flat on the stone, and work the entire surface of the bevel. It's significantly wide enough to forms it's own guide. The Scandinavian grind also gives excellent control in woodcarving. If you carve wood, you will probably find that the flat bevels give you better control of the cut.

Unlike the F1 and the Seal Pup, the Mora's blade isn't as well finished which can easily be seen on the back spine of the blade which is somewhat rough and shows the marks from its manufacturing. From what I see on the spine of the blade, I'd have to say these are cold pressed steel blanks. But don't let that fool you, the high carbon steel blade has a razor sharp edge from the factory and performs superbly for every task. It is a knife designed purely for function and will not let you down. As you can see from my other two knives, I have some very high quality ($$$) knives that I really do like, but this cheap ($10) little Mora has grown on me since the day I received it in the mail. Every single cutting task has become a delight when performed with this knife and the edge qualities of this blade put the other two to shame.

The only regret that I have about this knife is that it does not have a full tang blade. As you can see in the x-ray photograph below, the stick tang of the Mora's blade stops about one inch short of the full length of the handle.

However, the tang does extend through the handle to the point where your little finger is holding the handle, which is pretty much the entire length of your grip - so it's not terrible by any means. I've also put this little knife through hell and it has never failed or shown any signs of damage. I've used it to baton through 3" thick branches with no trouble at all and of the three knives shown here, the Mora continues to be the best knife for feather stick making, something I attribute to the quality of the edge and the Scandi grind.

One word of warning about high carbon blades. They are prone to rust and discoloration. You sacrifice the non-corrosion qualities of stainless steel for the superior quality edge retention of high carbon. that's fine with me because it takes less than a minute to use some slurry from a whetstone to polish up the blade like new. A regular wipe down with light oil will easily protect the blade from rust. Just be aware that it can tarnish and treat it accordingly. If you do it should last you your life time.

Below is a photograph of all three knives showing their relative blade thickness. you can easily see that the Fallkniven F1 on the left has a massively thick blade at 4mm thick. The Seal Pup in the center has a substantially thick blade that certainly feels up to any task you can think of. The Mora on the right is significantly thinner than the other two and at first glance you might think that it is too think to be effective, but it's not at all. The Mora's blade is extremely strong and doesn't show any signs of bending or movement even when being used to pry with the tip. I thought it would make for a great comparison photo at the very least.

Handles:
All three of these knives have injection-molded handles made from various materials. The F1's handle is made of a material called Thermorun. Themorun is a high performance Thermoplastic Elastomer (TPE) that's lightweight, rock-hard, protective, and weatherproof - making it ideal for use as a knife handle. The blade tang of the F1 runs through the entire handle and extents out the end to provide a hitting or smashing surface. There are no visible handle rivets, just a single lanyard hold that is finished with a nice polished tube.

The Pup's handle is made from Zytel that has been reinforced with glass fibers. The handle is injection molded around the entire blade. This provides a solid, secure feeling as well as making it nearly impossible to separate from the metal. Of the three knives, the SOG has the most comfortable and secure grip of the three. The diamond shaped checking on the handle provides truly excellent traction even with wet hands. I also liked the flared finger guard which really helped when making thrusting cuts into hard materials.

The Mora has a very wide rubberized grip handle that feels very comfortable to hold. The harder red plastic, that can be seen at the finger guard and on the pommel, runs through the entire length of the handle and is used to encase the blades stick tang. The black rubberized coating is perfect for wet or sweaty hands and thankfully doesn't leave any black residue on my hands even after prolonged use.

I've seen several handle mods for the Mora 711 many of which include grinding down the finger guard to make it less pronounced. Be warned, the finger guard is the part of the handle that snaps the knife securely into the plastic sheath, if you trim it down you'll most likely find that the knife no longer snaps in firmly - why would you run the risk of the knife coming out and being lost? Leave it alone, it's just fine the way it is :)

Weight:
For me the weight of a knife is of little consideration. Obviously I don't need or want to be lugging around a Rambo style knife, that's totally unnecessary, but as I typically carry a knife attached to me and not my pack I don't factor it into any base weight calculations for my pack. As it happens these three knives are all within a few ounces of one another so there really is little difference, but in an effort to be as complete and thorough as possible here are the weights (including their sheaths). The Fallkniven F1 weighed in at 6oz, the SOG Seal Pup weighed in at 5.4oz, and the Mora 711 weighed a mere 4.25 oz.

Price:
As I said at the beginning, these three knives represent an interesting price cross section. The Fallkniven F1 will set you back about $100 depending on where you order it. There are some fantastic deals to be had online right now with free shipping, The SOG Seal Pup typically sells for $50 - $60 and can be found at most of your local sporting or hunting stores. Mine was given to me as a gift, but I'm pretty sure it came from our local Dick's Sporting Goods store. The Mora is an exceptional deal at $10. That's right, only ten bucks! Don't let the low price of the Mora fool you though, the high carbon steel knife has a razor sharp edge and performs superbly for its price. It is a knife designed purely for function with no frills.

Conclusion:
Choosing a knife is such a debatable topic and it really depends on the individual's preferences and needs. The majority of people reading this blog wouldn't be caught dead with something as heavy as a Fallkniven when for their needs a Swiss Army knife would do the trick. But for those of you that do want to carry something a little more robust I hope you find this helpful.

The SOG Seal Pup was the knife that I really wanted. It spoke to me and made me think I could do anything with a knife like that, and for the most part I can as long as it doesn't involve a lot of wood carving. It has a superb sheath that I still really like, but in the end the darn serrated edge killed it for me.

The Fallkniven F1 was the knife that I really liked the look of. The history and pedigree of this knife made me believe it was perfect for what I needed, and to a large extent it still is. I just wish the same blade came with a Scandi grind - then it would be amazing.

The Mora 711 is the knife that I wanted to debunk. A cheap, no frills work horse that had a loyal following in the bushcraft world. To my utter surprise I loved the knife from the minute I got it. As I've already said, don't let the cheap price tag fool you. This is an excellently made knife with a high quality carbon steel blade that holds a razor sharp edge. For my purposes it performs flawlessly and costs a fraction of the price of other knives. This has become my got to knife for backpacking trips. And if it breaks or get's lost, I'll just buy another one. For $10 I'd recommend that everyone should give a Mora a try and see what they think. Who knows, like me you may be pleasantly surprised by what you discover.

I'd love to hear about what knife, if any, you take with you when backpacking. Leave a comment or response on this post and I'll do my best to follow up. Thanks!

Karate Demo at St. Luke's

2009-10-20T21:45:00.000-05:00

A great photo taken by Mrs. Mateo during the Peaceful Warrior School's karate demonstration at St. Luke's Church Fall festival in Mint Hill, NC. In the photo you can see me throwing Mr. November to the floor as part of our self defense routine. Ouch! Sorry Mr. Nov. See more pictures here >>

Home-made Billy Can

2009-10-05T07:58:00.001-05:00

I spent the best part of my day yesterday (Sunday), hiking through out local woods with my buddy Andy, so that I could practice with and test out some of my gear and take a few photographs for some blog posts that I had in mind. As many or my regular readers know, I am a die-hard ultralighter, always looking to shave a few ounces off the weight of my pack and gear. However, yesterday instead of taking along my favorite alcohol stove and cooking kit, I thought I'd try a new approach based more on bushcraft skills than ultralight backpacking.

A few weeks ago I made Billy can out of an old Oatmeal can, a wire coat hanger, and a $1.00 wooden handle I had lying around. It's pretty crude but it seems to work just fine. I drilled two small holes on either side of the tin towards the top, then cut and bent the wire coat hanger into a handle shape and poked both ends inside the can. I bent the wire inside the can so that it couldn't pop back out. Next I drilled a small hole in the center of the lid and screwed on a small wooden handle that I had left over from another project. The result is a relatively light weight Billy can style cooking container that can be hanged above a fire as shown.

After clearing a good sized patch of ground of leaves and lighting my fire, I got to work making a stand for the Billy can. Off to one side, away from the fire, I made a simple bushcraft adjustable tripod out of three long branches and tied them at the top using a clove hitch. To make the pot holder, I cut a shorter branch with a small arm that could be used to hook over the top of the tripod and then cut a notch to hold the handle of the Billy can towards the bottom of the holder.

The result was a tripod that held my can firmly but which could be easily adjusted for heat/height by simply spreading the legs apart or pulling them together. Despite taking a few minutes longer than setting up my alcohol stove, this set up was very easy to do and boiled my 2 cups of water very efficiently in about 7 minutes. What I like about this approach is that I used materials that were readily available and only had to carry in my home-made Billy can and food.

I'm now thinking of investing in a small commercial Billy can like the Zebra Cans or Tatonka Cans that I can use just like my home-made one for cooking along the trail. Of course the downside is that in order to cook I would have to start a fire, but my fire making skills are pretty good and I can usually get one going quickly even in damp conditions. There's also the issue with soot on the outside of the can, but that's easily cleaned up - just a pain.

I'm not sure whether I'll completely abandon the alcohol stove just yet, it's more likely that I'll just swap out my GSI Soloist pot for a small Billy can and have the best of both worlds.

Quick update: Here's a few seconds of video just for fun :)

So what type of trail cooking pot do you use, and have you tried using Billy cans with open fires? I'd love to hear from you.

Rite in the Rain and a No. 2 Pencil

2009-09-28T20:03:00.001-05:00

I've carried a small notepad with me wherever I go for the longest time, usually a small lined or grid pattern Moleskine that fits into my back pocket. The main reason for doing so is to have some paper on hand the instant I think of something interesting or that I would like to get around to doing at some point in the future. You see, if I don't write it down right away it's usually gone from memory shortly thereafter. Being on the trail is no exception, in fact great ideas jump into my mind on an even more frequent basis while hiking, it must be the fresh air that provides more clarity of thought.

The trouble was that my Moleskine and other small notepads were tough enough to be carried around and abused for the most part but couldn't withstand hardly any damp at all, yet alone an accidental splash or drop in water. Like many others backpackers plagued by soggy paper woes, I solved the problem by turning to the amazing all-weather writing products from Rite in the Rain.

Since the 1920s, Rite in the Rain have been producing special all-weather paper and a wide range of notepads made specifically to shed water in any weather condition. I also like that it's made in the U.S.A. and costs no more than a regular small pocket notepad from wally world (mine was under $4.00).

Rite in the Rain offers a wide range of paper products and notepads to choose from, including spiral bound, flexible covers, copier paper, loose sheets, kits, and even index cards (hmm, heads up to all the HipsterPDA users out there!). I opted for the classic, bright yellow covered field-flex 3 1/2" x 5" pocket notepad (374-M). It's small and light weight and the bright yellow cover means that there is little to no chance of me not seeing or finding it if I drop it or put it down on the ground while I do something else. It has 112 pages (56 sheets) and weighs only 0.15 lb.

The Rite in the Rain product development team have also used their heads to provide some really useful features on the front and back inside covers of the notepads too, like small rulers in both inches and centimeters, linear and metric conversion tables, and map reading scales - pretty hand eh?

I tend to use a standard No.2 pencil (HB for my friends back in the UK) instead of an ink-based pen, not because I don't like writing with pens or that I have concerns about the ink fading or getting washed away, far from it, I just like the simplicity and way the pencil "feels" while writing on this type of special paper - it has a very smooth surface that takes pencil very nicely and doesn't smudge at all. A pencil is also easy to sharpen and works well in the wet.

If you're looking for a notepad or paper to take with you on the trail, or if you just looking for a well priced, high quality pocket-sized notepad, be sure to check out the Rite in the Rain product line. I've been a fan quite some time and know that you will be too as soon as you start using one.

Manufacturer: Rite in the Rain (http://riteintherain.com/)

Jack Karate Sparring

2009-09-08T15:07:00.000-05:00

Here are some pictures of Jack practicing his karate sparring at class on Saturday in preparation for his first karate tournament. Go Jack!

Bushcraft skills for kids

2009-08-28T12:12:00.001-05:00

Good article in today's Daily Telegraph newspaper about encouraging small kids to get outside and become more interested in nature through some fun Bushcraft skills and projects.

Make a catapult using a live Y-shaped branch, then scraping the bark off until smooth. Make a notch at the top of each V, then tie a strip of bicycle inner tube about 60cm long and 2cm wide, securing it in the notches. Use small stones as missiles, but don’t fire them at your parents.

Nalgene Duct Tape Mod

2009-08-11T13:54:00.000-05:00

Here's a photograph of my favorite Nalgene OTG bottle that as you can see I've slightly modified. I've been carrying short lengths of duct tape on my backpacking drinking bottles for a long time now, it comes in very handy in a pinch and my water bottle is typically always within easy reach unlike carrying one of those a little rolls of duct tape in with my first aid kit or goodies bag somewhere deep inside my pack.

The great thing about this simple little mod (you really just wrap duct tape around your bottle) is that the tape stays put no matter how long you leave it on your bottle and doesn't even come loose with multiple washings - which is good and bad. I typically cut the tape into different widths (see the narrow white strip at the bottom) and use multiple colors to have extra options. Great for all manner of emergencies!

Alcohol Stove Demo (Video)

2009-07-21T06:51:00.000-05:00

Here's a short video showing me lighting up one of my home-made aluminum alcohol stoves during a three-day backpacking and canoeing trip near Fontana Dam in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. The stove is ultralight and reliable, boiling two cups of water in about 5-6 minutes. Please leave any comments below.

Camping with little kids

2009-07-14T10:36:00.005-05:00

My son, Jack, turned five last month and is itching to go backpacking with his daddy for a full weekend - I'm secretly very excited about that happening too and know it's going to be a blast when he's finally ready. He seems to have genuinely inherited my love of the great outdoors and is more than happy to play around in the woods or scramble on rocks with my careful guidance of course. He's also no novice when it comes to backpacking equipment and its correct use - start 'em young I say.

The challenge right now is that he's still only five and if he's deep into the woods with me backpacking and gets the desire/urge to go home - he can't, especially if it's already dark. So I've been trying to take small steps to get him comfortable with sleeping outside in a tent and doing little day hikes.

He's just a bit too little to do and really lengthy hikes, but that okay for now and hasn't stopped us from doing some pretty interesting day hikes. I took the opportunity to sleep outside with Jack in one of my tents while we were on vacation in Michigan recently. Of course he loved it and wanted to sleep out there every night, but the rain put pay to that - thankfully :) My hope is that by gradually introducing him to the fun of being outside he'll soon be ready to spend his first overnight somewhere other than the back yard.

What steps have you taken to get your little ones ready for their first overnight backpacking adventure? Do you have any tips or advice that you can offer? If so, please leave your comments below - I'd love to hear from you.

The StickPic - Video Review

2009-07-13T13:57:00.010-05:00

A short video review of one of my favorite backpacking "gadgets" - the StickPic. If you'd like to find out more about the StickPic or what size fits your make of trekking pole, go to their website - TheStickPic.com

For some reason the audio of the video has gone all out of sync,
it looks like a cheap foreign film. Sorry, I'll try to fix it soon.

If you have any questions, be sure to leave a comment on this post.

Swiss-Made Ocean Diver case sample pictures

2009-07-12T08:56:00.015-05:00

As you may have already read on my blog, last summer the manufacturing of my Ocean Diver watch design was stopped because the quality of the watch samples that we received from the original manufacturer partner were just not up to our expectations. It was extremely disappointing and frustrating for myself, Carlos the Prometheus Watch brand owner, and all of the avid watch collectors out there that had placed pre-orders with us. As tough as it was to make that decision, it was the right one.

Swiss Made Deliciousness...
The original Ocean Diver watch line was going to be Chinese made and use the very best Chinese movements we could source, but it just didn't work out that way despite the vast improvements in the quality and reputation of Chinese watch manufacturing in the last several years. Now, almost a year since we had hoped to be in full production, we are back on track with a new Swiss manufacturer with the goal of being in full production by later this summer.

Below are some photographs of the Ocean Diver watch case that I have just received from the new manufacturer. As you can see the quality and finish of the new cases is exceptional! Below you can see that we are no longer using a display back for the Ocean Diver, we have a beautifully engraved solid case back with an Oyster style notch for opening. Each watch will be individually numbered and engraved on the case back.

New case back design (left) and front bezel - beadblasted finish

As you can see from the close-up of the case back below, the entire Ocean Diver model line (OD, GMT, and Chronograph) will have text on the back giving me full credit for my design - that's pretty cool.

Designed by Brian F. Green - nice!

The case finish has changed too. We had originally planned on using a brushed finish to the entire case, but the quality of the finish that we had seen in our original samples was very off putting. After the decision to switch to an entirely new manufacturer, we decided to step back and think again about how we would ideally like the case to be finished, and general consensus for a diver tool watch was to have a satin beadblasted finish. So the case body, bezel, lugs, case back, and crowns all have a very utilitarian flat satin finish. As you can see from the side view below, the lugs are screwed instead of spring bars. Once you have a strap of this bad boy, there is no chance that the lugs are going to fail and send you watch to the bottom of the ocean while you're diving!

Detail of the OD crowns - individually milled on a CNC machine

I was asked to design an entirely new strap for the Ocean Diver instead of sourcing existing ones. In keeping with the retro design of the dive watch itself, I chose to design a modern day version of the classic Tropic dive watch strap of the 60s - made famous by Rolex Submariner, Blancpain, Lip Nautic Ski with compressor case, and Spirotechnique. It was also popularized by the many watches worn by Jacques Cousteau. The Ocean Diver version is made from high-grade silicone instead of rubber like the originals and sports the checkered grain pattern on the front with corresponding ventilation holes. My hope was to provide a very practical and sturdy strap that was in keeping with the overall OD design. I think I've done that, and hope you'll like it as much as I do.

Custom made silicone "tropic" strap

It's very exciting to finally see this project going to serious production. For a very long time I've dreamed of having my watch designs made into real examples and had toyed with the idea of funding it myself on a limited basis, but I never imagined that I would get the opportunity that I now have to see the design and the subsequent variations (Ocean Diver GMT, Ocean Diver Chronograph) go into full-scale production - and best of all, be manufactured by a highly recognizable Swiss company that also produces watches for many of the top Swiss brands in the business and using genuine Swiss Made ETA movements.

It really is a dream come true for me and words can't adequately express my thanks to Carlos for giving me this fabulous opportunity.

Simple pack weight reductions

2009-06-13T06:54:00.000-05:00

Reducing the weight of your pack doesn't have to happen quickly or be a drastic overnight change. It can happen over the course of several months by making incremental reductions to what you pack as you become more aware of what you are carrying and what you really need or use.

However, reducing the number of items you carry is only one method of pack weight reduction and something that you can take only so far - after all there's only so much you can not take! Another very effective form of reducing your pack weight is to pay particular attention to the things that you have decided you must take with you, to see if there are ways to trim a little excess weight off of them but still have them be fully functional.

A simple but sometimes overlooked method, is to use smaller containers for things that you usually carry. Sounds obvious right? But you can easily miss these types of weight saving opportunities. Below is a picture of a common backpacking item and one that I ~~carry~~ used to carry, liquid Camp Soap (5.5oz). This is a very handy thing to carry and is good for all manner or uses while out on the trail, but the original container is quite large and requires you to carry a lot of soap which is heavy and would be far more than you would ever need for even a multi-day trip.

So, to shave off some weight from this item that I still need to carry, I filled up an old Visine eye drop bottle with liquid Camp Soap (0.75oz) and saved 4.75oz in the process. The Visine bottle holds more than enough soap for a multi-day hike and has the perfect little nozzle for squirting a small amount at a time. Now I can carry my soap but I've made a significant (at least I think so) reduction in weight for just one item.

This can be applied to many other things with a little creative thinking. Here's another quick example. I wouldn't dream of not carrying a toothbrush with me, but the small travel-style toothbrushes are just horrible IMHO. So I bought one of my favorite brands of everyday toothbrushes (0.625oz) and cut it down in size to save some weight. The end result is a fully functional "normal" toothbrush with a sawed-off handle (0.25oz) = weight saving of 0.375oz (or 3/8oz) on this one item.

So, I hope that these two easy examples help to demonstrate that reducing you pack weight can be done by not only removing whole items that you never use or don't need, but also by looking carefully at what you do need and seeing if there is a way to shave a little of the weight off of individual items without sacrificing their functionality.

If you have examples of how you reduce your pack weight, please leave a comment on this post.

Wired.com picks up my blog post

2009-06-08T14:07:00.000-05:00

Thought this was worth a mention. Wired Gadget Labs just picked up my blog post about the home-made camera tripod that I made using parts from my local hardware store. I spotted the Wired referrals while reviewing my blog site stats and saw a lot of hits coming from Wired. Pretty cool, even if they do put a bit of a shaky spin on it.

Flip UltraHD Goodness

2009-06-07T13:19:00.002-05:00

I'm loving the simplicity and awesome HD quality of my new Flip UltraHD camcorder. All you have to do is click a button to begin recording, click again to stop and you have HD digital video. The built in Flipshare editing tools are also very simple and intuitive to use for editing and putting together movies.

One thing I have learned, and this very odd, if I upload my video directly to YouTube via the Flipshare tool (one of the cool options) the quality is deliberately reduced to speed up the upload process resulting in non-HD quality. That just seems pointless. The work around is to do all of the editing in the Flipshare tool and save the finished file to my PC then upload via the YouTube interface as normal.

Fractured Ribs

2009-05-27T20:44:00.000-05:00

I've been having pain in my ribs for the past two weeks due to an accidental kick during karate sparring one evening at class. The pain had been subsiding, but this past Sunday it took a sudden turn for the worst and I decide I should go get it looked at.

With the holiday weekend and not wanting to bother ER, I waited until Tuesday to see my own doctor and have him check me out. The pain had subsided once more to the point where it is still hurting but no longer severe. As my doctor was checking my ribs it was clear that all of his pushing and probing wasn't causing me any major discomfort, so imagine my shock when the "routine" x-rays come back showing that I have four fractured ribs (#7, 8, 9, 10) and even more scary - four old broken ribs that I didn't even know I had done and definitely didn't get any medical attention for!

I had a karate tournament coming up in two weeks that I was excited about sparring in, but my doctor made it clear that I really shouldn't participate in the tournament and should take it easy for next few weeks. I'm such a mess.

Ultralight Platypus Dog Chews

2009-05-22T13:10:00.001-05:00

Platypus hydration bags are relatively indestructible and are definitely known to last a long time even with heavy abuse. However, leave one where your 85lb Lab can get to it and it becomes just another dog chew, albeit a rather expensive one.

Lesson learned, one half of my ultralight water gravity filter (my clean bag) is now a rather useless piece of plastic thanks to my dog! Actually, now the neck is ruined I have something I can make from it - a water scooper for my gravity filter system.

Trail Food: Uncle Ben's Microwave Ready Rice

2009-05-18T14:37:00.001-05:00

Like many of you I'm always on the lookout for new foods that I can take with me when I go backpacking. I've tried many of the Mountain House dehydrated food packages and for the most part they taste great and are easy to prepare on the trail, but the portions are typically for two people and the amount of sodium/salt in them is outrageous!

I'm a big fan of freezer bag cooking in general and like to pre-package my own ingredients that I can easily rehydrate with hot water and let sit in my bag cozy. In fact I highly recommend that you check out the Trail Cooking website (formerly freezerbagcooking.com) for much more information and hundreds of recipie ideas.

But wait, back up, you said microwave rice, right? I sure did. Last week, my wife came home from the grocery store with a multipack (6) of Uncle Ben's Ready Rice Whole Grain Medley that she picked up for next to nothing using some manufacturer coupons. We've had Ready Rice before and found that it's a convenient way to whip up some rice in the microwave when we're in a time pinch, but I've never thought of using it for hiking - after all, who carries a microwave? However, my wife noticed that as well as being able to be prepared in the microwave in 90 seconds, the Ready Rice packages had directions for being heated in a skillet by adding two tablespoons of water and heating until warm, usually under 2 minutes!

I had given up on rice as part of my freezer bag meals because the normal quick-rice options are kinda bland. The Ready Rice Medley collection however, is perfectly seasoned and comes mixed with other ingredients like vegetables or different rices to make it much, much tastier. Combined with some tuna or even chicken and you have a delicious, quick and easy hot meal for the trail. Each package is two portions, so I have to open them and divide the contents which is no big deal, but it beats couscous any day of the week. In fact I've eaten enough couscous to be done for life. I definitely recommend that you check it out, it may not be the most light weight food option but it sure is a tasty one.

Hulu, 24, Chloe & Janice

2009-05-16T23:30:00.002-05:00

I'm a huge 24 geek, so watching the full length episodes on Hulu and finding the behind the scenes specials is just too fraking cool. Here's a short clip about the rivalry that's brewing between Chloe and Janice.

By the way if you haven't checked out Hulu yet, you should. Sarah Connor Chronicles, 24, BSG, Fringe, Dollhouse, Firefly, to name a few :)

The Ocean Diver Watch Collection

2009-05-11T15:07:00.000-05:00

Those of you who follow my blog will know that as well as being passionate about everything to do with hiking and backpacking, I am a huge watch geek. I have been into watches for as long as I can remember and my personal collection is pretty significant :) I'm also an art major specializing in usability and have for the longest time wanted to see my own watch designs put into production.

That almost happened last year with my winning watch design going through the engineering process and being turned into a prototype with the intention of going into full production late last year. Unfortunately it never worked out, for various reasons that I won't go into the original plan of having the watch manufactured in China using Chinese movements didn't work. We were so close...

Fast forward to today, and the announcement that the Prometheus Watch Company will be releasing not one but three of my watch designs into full production and they will all be Swiss Made using Swiss movements. All three watches will be based on the original winning Ocean Diver design but with the two additional model options of a GMT movement with second time zone and a Chronograph version with sub-dials and tachymeter. I'm extremely excited to unveil the three new designs shown below as 3-D renderings. These should be available to purchase in November of this year and pre-orders will begin to be accepted soon.

Ocean Diver Collection

Ocean Diver (with ETA 2836-2 movement)
Ocean Diver GMT (with Prometheus GMT movement Swiss made and based on ETA 2836-2)
Ocean Diver Chronograph (with ETA 7750 movement)

Specifications:

Sandblasted matte finish
316L Stainless steel
Water resistant 300 meters
Swiss Made automatic movements
Diameter: 42 mm
Length: 51 mm
Lugs: 22mm
Super luminous
2 year warranty
Sapphire crystal
Rubber or leather strap (TBD)

Ocean Diver:

Ocean Diver GMT:

Ocean Diver Chronograph:

GSI Dualist on sale at REI

2009-05-04T16:19:00.004-05:00

Worth a mention, the GSI Dualist is currently on sale at REI for $34.99 (regularly $49.99). This is a great pot set and at a fantastic price. I use the Soloist version of this set, but I'm seriously considering buying one of these just to have a backup especially at this price. Snap one up!

Home-made Camera Tripods

2009-05-04T14:13:00.002-05:00

A long time ago I came across a website that showed how to make a really nifty little Pepsi bottle top camera tripod out of a few inexpensive nuts and bolts, but I lost it and the idea slipped from my mind. Recently I came across what I think is the same posting and got excited about playing with this concept to come up with a cheap tripod system for my own purposes.

To the right is a picture of the pieces I used to make a very simple camera tripod setup. I was particularly interested in making a tripod for my mountain bike that I could install on my handle bars or seat post for video recording parts of my rides. So, in addition to the parts shown on the right and listed below I needed to find a way to attach the tripod rig to my bike.

Parts list for basic tripod rig:

1/4-20 Bar Knob
1/4-20 x 1 1/2-inch stainless steel machine screw
1/4-20 stainless steel nut (or lock nut)
1/4-inch split washer
1/4-inch Stainless steel washer

To solve the problem of attaching the tripod rig to my bike I looked to see what was already on my bike to see if I could reuse something rather than start from scratch. That's when I noticed the front and rear reflectors. Now this is probably not a great idea, but I always removed the reflectors off of my bikes. I know I'm not going out at night and if I do my Cateye bicycle lights and the reflective tape on my frame will do a more than sufficient job of making me visible.

So, I removed the two reflectors and the arms that were holding them to my handle bars and seat post and noticed that when I removed the actual reflector from the arm there was a perfect 1/4 inch hole where the screw went, exactly the right size for my home-made tripod rig.

Below is a photo of the basic tripod rig attached to the bike reflector arm that was attached to my seat post (red reflector). All that I had left to do was to reattach the arm to my seat post with the new tripod on it and TA-DA I had a custom-made mountain bike rear facing camera tripod attachment. Total cost for part listed above from Lowes Home Improvement was $3, beat that!

I did the same for the front of my bike making a handle bar tripod using the reflector arm that was originally attached. Now I can attach my digital camera to the front or back of my bike depending on the view I want to record. It will probably result in very shaky footage because of all the wobbling around, but I'm sure a rubber bushing or two will improve that.

I hope this was interesting and encourages you to come up with some camera tripod ideas of your own. As I said I had found the bottle top tripod post a long time ago, but my appetite was recently rekindled by the use of my Stickpic. Have fun!

Alcohol Stove Mass Production?

2009-05-02T11:21:00.001-05:00

I've had lots of inquiries about my alcohol stoves asking if I would be interested in selling them. I hadn't thought that much about making them to sell and to be honest I really didn't want the hassle of dealing with everything that goes along with selling - shipping, payments, e-mails, and definitely don't want to compete or steal sales from the original developers.

However, it seems that there is continued interest from the ultralight backpacking crowd to purchase my stoves - remember I'm not the original inventor or manufacturer of any of these but I do take care in the work I do and pride myself on high quality. I'm being quite honest at the fact that I have made these stoves based on the instructions and designs made available online - I'll even link to the original manufacturers site's below.

So I'll leave it up to you all to decide if you want me to make my stoves available to purchase online. If I get enough responses via e-mail (see my profile) or comments to this post I'll set up a Paypal e-commerce site and some pages specifically for purchasing my stoves and go from there.

As you can see in the photo below, I have been cranking out stoves for a while mostly to perfect the process but largely because they're fun to make despite being able to only use one at a time :)

I've been playing with three different stove models, all of which function perfectly but weight and style comes down to personal taste and the individual.

Classic soda can stove but with no tape or glued seems - very light and quick to prime
A two-piece aluminum beer bottle stove based on the classic Whitebox Stove design, but without rivets and with no need to create a rolled top edge - very strong and super easy to use
My version of the Minibull BIOS stove. Made from aluminum beer bottles and created from a single piece by inverting the walls. Almost indistructible and extremely reliable and easy to use

Below is a photo of my garage work bench showing my one-ton arbor press and a Bud-Lite stove about to be formed using the mold. There's really no other easy way to make these unless you have a very powerful press. It's been a little trial and error perfecting this process, but I am able to consistently make very high quality and perfectly functional one-piece alcohol stove this way. I currently carry one of these with me when I go backpacking.

Here is a close-up of the press with a Bud-Lite stove blank ready to be pressed with the smaller mould on the top. It takes only seconds to make one of these once the blank has been cut. Note that I place a small square piece of thick metal plate on top of the stove before I actually press it into shape, but it's been removed in this photo - it's actually hiding on the left side of the press :)

My Alcohol Stove & Trail Cooking System

2009-04-20T16:15:00.001-05:00

Several people have sent me e-mails asking about my backpacking cooking system and what I use or take with me. There also seems to be general level of interest among us to know more about what others carry and why. Fair enough.

Like all of you, my cooking system has evolved over time and through trial and error to the system and set-up that I currently have. I like what I have now and it seems to suit my needs perfectly which for the most part is boiling water to rehydrate food (freezer bag cooking) or making hot drinks of coffee, tea, cocoa. Below is a picture of my current cooking "system".

The whole cooking system above weighs 12.375oz - let's break it down piece by piece:

This is a pot cozy that I made using Reflectix insulation wrap and foil tape. It weighs a mere 0.75oz but helps the pot maintain heat for a really long time after a boil without the need to keep my alcohol stove running. Great for those cold mornings when I make hot granola and coffee
My trusty GSI Soloist pot and Lexan lid. This isn't the lightest of cook pots but it certainly is a great one for the price. The Soloist kit comes with the cup/bowl (item #7) and a carry bag that I rarely use. The combined weight for pot and lid only is 7.625oz (pot = 6.75oz, lid = 0.875oz). I love the solid snapping handle on this pot that has never come loose on me and serves as a great lid holder when the whole kit is stacked back together
Home-made aluminum wind shield. I sacrifice a little weight here in order to have a heavier gauge aluminum material and some additional length to make sure I can wrap it around my pot and stove when cooking. Weight is 0.125oz
My home-made single piece aluminum beer bottle alcohol stove that weighs 0.875oz. This is one that I made using the manual method shown by Tinny at MiniBullDesigns as part of his two-part BIOS video demo. Nothing new here, just my version of his design, made at home with some basic machining tools and a one-tonne press that I have. There is a more detailed picture of this stove below. This thing is rock solid, I can stand on it and it won't deform. It's also ultra reliable needing just 2oz of fuel and a flame to work every time. I can boil two cups of cold water on this stove in under 5 minutes, and the stove is consistently primed and plumed in 15-20 seconds
A small plastic measuring cup (0.0625oz) that I use to ration out my denatured alcohol. Not a necessity but very handy to keep burn times consistent. Alternatively I could make marks on the inside of my stove to corrospond to the levels of fuel I need - just have never got round to doing that
A quarter of a Scotchbrite scrubbing sponge 0.125oz. This is used with a little campsoap to clean my cooking utensils when necessary - very handy!
The GSI Soloist cup/bowl that comes with #2. Separately it weighs 1.5oz including the heat protective cozy that is wrapped around it. The Lexan pot lid will snap into this upside down and make a spill-proof container or strainer
Trail Designs Prime-Lite aluminum alcohol stove primer pan, 0.25oz. I used to carry a leftover piece of one of the aluminum beer bottles flattened out as a primer pan. That worked perfectly, but this cool little primer pan from Trail Designs is really nicely made. It has a ridged ring in the center that keeps most alcohol stoves (the one I show here and most soda can stoves) neatly in place. It also has an outer ridge to contain a small amount of fuel to prime the stove and three small dimpled feet that raise the pan off the ground slightly. Simple but very effective

Here is a much larger picture of my single-piece aluminum beer bottle alcohol stove. It's made by taking one of the new style aluminum beer bottles, cutting off the bottom three and half inches and using a one-ton press and mold to invert the walls and make a double walled stove. It sounds complicated, but it's not. However it is especially difficult without a strong machine press. Tinny at MiniBullDesigns who created this design (called a BIOS) has a great video on YouTube that shows exactly how it's done. That's how I did it. The flame ring holes are drilled using a 1/16th bit taking care that you don't go all the way through both walls. Two small inner pressure release holes are drilled to help equalize the pressure when the pot is placed on top. As you can see it sits perfectly in the Prime-Lite primer pan.

And below is the whole cooking system closed up inside the GSI Soloist pot with the handles snapped over to keep the lid on top and everything in place. The pot is then slotted down inside the Reflectix pot cozy to make a neat single cooking package.

I love my StickPic!

2009-04-20T13:45:00.002-05:00

I took my StickPic with me on the last backpacking trip I went on to deliberately take some photos and video using it on the end of my REI trekking poles. I've had it for quite some time and have forgotten to carry it with me, or on several occassions that I have taken it I've ended up not taking my poles - crazy I know.

Well the stars (and my memory) seem to have been in alignment for my last trip because I took the StickPic, my poles, and actually used both to take some very interesting looking videos.

For those of you that are not familiar with the StickPic I suggest you check it out. You'll wish you could have come up with such a simple yet ingenious idea as this. It's beautifully designed and just works! The idea is it screws to the tripod holes on your camera and then slides onto the end of your trekking pole with a snug friction fit. You then hold the pole out in front of you and use you timer setting or video option to take pictures from a perspective that puts you directly in the shot. It's a lot of fun. Here's a clip that was taken on my last trip using the StickPic.