Flash Reviews No. 3

Ryan, any chance we will get a follow up review on the MLD Trailstar that you started?

Thanks for the Reviews.

Looking forward to the Craft Coffee article!

2.8oz , and just to hold a filter …

there's Got to be a cooler way to do this.
—
for 2.8 oz i could have a tiny little stove that i can run inside the tent, and have my coffee .. in bed !
i could just drop a screen into the cup to contain the grounds (mostly)
can't we all just wake up and have a snort of kahlua ?

great reviews !
i like this " shorter and more of them " format.

v.

The plastic Melita 2 cup plastic cone that you get at the supermarket is 2.1oz

MSR Mugmate .6oz

Don't want to wait for Ryan's article? This should hold you over.

http://www.backpackinglight.com/cgi-bin/backpackinglight/coffee_beautiful_cup.html#.VFGPor5g5nE

And how about a video!

http://www.backpackinglight.com/cgi-bin/backpackinglight/cowboy_coffee.html#.VFGP-b5g5nE

Pour yourself a cup and enjoy.

"You're going to hear a lot more about my approach to coffee, as a lifestyle choice, in my forthcoming article Craft Coffee for Wilderness Travel." Coffee as a lifestyle choice. lol.. Spending too much time with those corporate clients.

"Too bad a robust nylon isn't available that has a black outer face and a bright yellow inner coating."

Xpac fabrics can be had with a black outer face and a light grey inner nylon. So this would be waterproof plus provide the desired contrast for locating a lens cap.

@FamilyGuy — We have scheduled the TrailStar's long term review for February 3 – we are reviewing both sil and Cuben versions and we'll tie both long term reviews up then!

@KenThompson – re: corporate clients – hey so maybe we should do a GG for rare Cuben cigars and titanium cufflinks so you can really get a feel for who my clients are ;)

Has anyone come across the Soto Helix mentioned here?

http://velo-orange.blogspot.com/2014/10/soto-coffee-filter.html

Collapsible and 45 g = 1.6 oz. $20 from V-O.

This should be an easy DIY from a spool of stainless wire, and probably even lighter, if not as pretty.

This may be worth a look: http://brewwrightsupplyanddemand.com/collections/brewing-supplies/products/filter-travel-style

I've been using their cloth filter at home. Cotton filters lead to a very pleasant oily but not as oily/gritty as a french press coffee. Since this is just a filter + some wire I can't imagine it would be very heavy, and it's durable/flexible/packable.

The other plus side is you rinse/reuse it, so you're not packing paper filters

"We have scheduled the TrailStar's long term review for February 3 – we are reviewing both sil and Cuben versions and we'll tie both long term reviews up then!"

That's great. Looking forward to it.

Nice find, Vladimir.

Another option is http://www.montbell.us/products/disp.php?p_id=1124510

> Sili-Dripper Coffee Brewer
> Weight: 2.8 oz (80 g)

I used to take freeze dried coffee for breakfast and drink it from my 61g handless titanium cookpot boiled with water from my 54g litemax stove. For while I used to wonder why I was so sleepy mid-morning while walking, then I realised it was the caffeine dependency. I switched to decaf to wean myself off it, couldn't tell the difference and still enjoyed it in the morning. Eventually resulted in no sleepiness, but also found I had no interest in coffee left, of any sort.

Even in the feverish depths of my addiction an 80 gram filter holder might have given me pause.

>I find it useful to compare this pack to what I consider a few standards in this category (ultralight panel loaders of 35-40L volume)

ZPacks now has a panel loading version of their Arc, it just missed coming out the last time I wanted one for a travel trip, but next time it's top of the (very short) list.

Zpacks can do a variety of belt and shoulder strap bags in any colour cuben you like.

I use two of their shoulder pouches to hold a 1 litre PET water bottle in each. This counter balances the pack by 2kg – better posture – and you can see how much water you have left. Need to loosely loop string over the bottle ends and tie them to the pouch to stop the bottles falling out when boulder hopping though.

I have two belt pouches one for my GPS and PLB the other for my Zpacks cuben waterproofs – tops and bottoms combined screw up into a ball about the size of a tennis ball, I store them in the pouch with my tiny bird-watching binoculars. I always seem to need to get to both my binoculars and my waterproofs in a rush.

I also use a GSI Ultralight Java Drip coffee filter – has little legs to clip onto the top of my pot/cup – weighs about 12 grams (< 0.5 ounces) costs $10 – $15 on Ebay.