Multi-Use Items

[WA Martinez]

a tea infuser.

this works better for those that rely on I or Cl tabs, it works great for filtering dirty water into a nalgene for purification rather than the bandana you are wearing as well as takes a bit of the grit out of foraged teas and cowboy coffee.

[James Patsalides]

1. Puffa jacket as warm-up jacket and with my quilt as part of my sleep system.
2. Bivy bag as bivy bag and waterproof stuff sack for the quilt (push bivy bag into bottom of pack with open end up, stuff quilt and puffa coat into bivy bag inside pack, twist end of bivy bag as a seal – forms a nice soft, not super compressed bottom half of my pack). Is also a pack "shelf" on which to load other items.
3. Sneakers as sneakers and night time bear spray/water bottle holder – always put one shoe on either side of my tarp, left is water, right is bear spray. Keeps everything organized and easy to grab in the dark when needed.
4. Trekking pole as trekking pole, tarp pole, camera monopod and sunglasses/flashlight holder when used as a tarp pole – easy grab for mini-flashlight at night and sunglasses in the morning.

[Travis Leanna]

The pillow effect is only temporary though. Mine looses air after about 5 minutes! Though, I have a Granite Gear dry sack. Anyone have success with using these as pillows that last the night?

[Keith Selbo]

Hennessy has added a zipper to their hyperlight asym hammock tarp so it can double as a cape. I bought one and retired my beloved 8oz Equinox silnylon poncho. I still pack a 2 oz. plastic emergency poncho for use in camp when it's raining and the cape is doing duty as the tarp. So the net weight reduction is 6 oz.

That makes the effective weight of the hyperlight 20 oz. One of the most comfortable and lightest fully enclosed, double walled shelters going.

Oh, and it does duty as a pack cover too.

[Andrew Macbeth]

I have a 16-oz wide-mounthed Nalgene. I made a cozy for it from some Reflectix. I use the Nalgene as a hot-water bottle to keep my toes warm, a coffee-maker/coffee cup, and shaker/mixer to mix my instant breakfast. To make coffee with it, I simply put a #4 coffee filter in the top with coffee grounds, pour in hot water.

[Abbey Bean]

I carry two of these.

The first one:

1) Stores my aluminum alcohol stove in the pack so it doesn't get crushed.

2) Is used as a pee potty at night when I'm tenting. (The stove is stored in a ziplock bag inside the container. And I wash the container after use. No yuck factor, as far as I'm concerned. Its marked with a "P" so the containers don't don't get mixed up.)

3) Wash and rinse clothes.

The other one is used to:

1) Mix and drink protein powder drinks, electrolyte drinks and coffee.

2) As a bowl for hot food.

3) To store cooked food overnight (in the bear bag) if I can't finish it all.

4) During the day it rides near the top of my pack with that days snacks and drink powders inside. Works great to keep the Snickers bars from being crushed.

5) I've also used it to make egg or tuna salad, and to carry small amounts of fresh food that might otherwise leak into the pack.

[Abbey Bean]

Uses:

1) The obvious one.

2) Clean my glasses.

3) Clean my cooking pot. I rinse the pot with a little water, scrape off the bits, drink the water, then wipe out with a little TP. No soap, no greasy bandanna or towel. Dispose of the TP by burning or burying, occasionally have to pack it out, but not often. Give the pot a thorough washing in town. This works well for me on the AT, might not work other places where disposal is an issue.

[John Donewar]

Tim,

>>the standard size (I think they are 22" square?) don't stay on my funky shaped melon very well<<

Welcome to my 7 and 7/8ths world. :-) Follow the link below to find 27" x 27", 100% cotton bandanas at $2.50 each.

http://www.wowtheminc.com/classic-color-bandanas.html

Copy and paste the link to your address bar and it should take you right to their website and the correct page.

They have become my hat of choice, floaties strainer, brow mop, emergency bandage/sling, lifesaver (hunter orange), last resort tinder, dustmask, cooling "rag", glasses wiper, flag to gain assistance, pot grabber and oh yes as a handkerchief! :-)

Party On ! 2010

Newton

[Steofan M]

Daughter sent me a kheffiyeh from Iraq. An awesome head AND neck wrap. Used it as a towel (on me first, then on the dog), strainer for floaties in water, rolled up lunch in it and tied it around my waist. Perfect size at 48"X48". Tassles look nice too!!!

Steve M.

[Michael Meiser]

Awesome.

One key thing to add on the Ziplock screw top container.

6) finish cooking food… by adding a reflectix cozy

The reflectix cozy's fit superbly under the lip of it too.

I do love this container. Uber light. Excellent coffee mug or food bowl, lighter then any other large mouth screw top container period. Easily held with one hand especially when insulated with a reflectix cozy. The poo idea weirds me a bit, but I had never thought about washing cloathes in it.

It occurs to me that all these uses parrallel a ziplock freezer bag… including use with a cozy, but then it's a whole heck of a lot safer when it comes to holding fluids then a ziplock freezer bag. And a whole lot better at protecting more delicate gear from crushing then a ziploc.

Thanks for posting that!

LOLs you're not alloud to say p*op on the backpacking light forum.

[Abbey Bean]

Not P**p, Pee only. Are you allowed to say "pee"? In the tent at night if very cold, or very buggy. Confession: I have even used it in shelters a couple of times when the weather was nasty and no one was the wiser. I'm busted now.

I also use the container as a bird bath for myself. I have also used it to get water out of low water sources. Also you could use it in town if you wanted to microwave something. I am going to poach eggs next time out.

Again, if I use one to ingest something, it is the one dedicated to that use. The one with a "P" is used only to store the stove or wash clothes or myself (after the container itself is washed, of course).

I only carry one in warmer weather if I am hammocking without the stove – have to get out of the hammock to go, anyway.

Also, I tried a smaller one made by Glad and it was not watertight.

[Sandy Lewis]

I'm with you on the alternative potty arrangments (can we say potty here?). I currently carry a plastic coffee container for that purpose when in a tent, and I'm going to switch to ziplock container now. I also frequently use a hammock so I just make sure I stop drinking any liquids three hours before bedtime. Because I hate getting up in the middle of the night once I'm warm and cozy.

[Robby Donaghy]

I just use some cheap department store ankle socks. Use as socks, pot holder, pouches for little stuff in pack, mittens (easy on/off with the bunch of fabric in the heel, dries them out fast because they are in the air, and you don't need much grip for a hiking pole or while sleeping.

[Bob Gross]

Lots of folks wear a beanie for when it gets cold. It might be a knit type or it might be a down type. I had some cheap non-woven nylon fabric, and it is good for making prototypes. Using that stuff, I made myself the outer shell of a beanie, but instead of making a permanent stretchy band around the bottom, I used a simple piece of thin elastic cord. The outer shell has no insulation of its own, but that is where I store my extra socks, bandana, or other excess cloth.

–B.G.–

[Randy Martin]

Here is an excellent video on the many configurations of a Buff. Nice looking model to boot.

http://www.rei.com/rei/videos/Ooyala.jsp?embedCode=9nYmx3MTrp1asbNoiYpsEwYdIt0lvd3x&autoplay=1#ooid=9nYmx3MTrp1asbNoiYpsEwYdIt0lvd3x

[brian lowe]

i use a harness type pack system(kind of like the ula epic) and use my bivy sack as the bag portion.Another thing ive made a habit out of is using waterproof sox to keep water bladers insulated along with all the other uses mentioned above.

[Cody Croslow]

You can use one of these as an improv double boiler too. They stand up perfectly in boiling water. I actually use one of these to make my own firestarters (tea candle wax and drier lint…) I was a little apprehensive at the beginning, and worried that I would melt the container, but to my surprise, there was no melting from the boiling water OR the side of the pot it was sitting on most of the time.

just my $0.02…

Cody

[Bruce Thibeault]

My entire Heiny pot set up fits in a quart size zip lock container. I wrapped it with two layers of 1/8 inch volara foam and use it to rehydrate meals. Also great for washing dishes, bathing.

[Shane Reed]

A permanent coffee filter will also fit perfectly in the mouth and works well to filter out floaties if you are using a steripen.

[Ty Ty]

"Here is an excellent video on the many configurations of a Buff. Nice looking model to boot.

http://www.rei.com/rei/videos/Ooyala.jsp?embedCode=9nYmx3MTrp1asbNoiYpsEwYdIt0lvd3x&autoplay=1#ooid=9nYmx3MTrp1asbNoiYpsEwYdIt0lvd3x&quot;

There was a buff in that video? I hardly noticed :)

[Tim Anderson]

Hey, I was wondering if anyone could measure the ziploc quart container with the twist top you are talking about ? I have one from about 4 years ago, but now live in Europe where it isn't available, and think they've changed the design, and wanted to know if it will fit in my pot. Is it still tapered? Thanks

[Gary M]

Love My Survivor Palau official show Buff, got it years ago for $12 thought it was a lot at the time, now they go for $89. Does backing soda help heat rash.

My favorite multi use that seems a bit odd is my microfiber camp towel, I got the extra large one and didn’t cut it down so on hot nights I get it damp and use as a cooling blanket, or head wrap,on cold nights its extra blanket, or dry place to sit, it can mop up tons of condensed water in the tent, and hand it over the front of my Zpack emergency shelter for wind protection and privacy to change clothes. I know it may have to go if I ever want to get below 7lb base weight but for now I’m keeping it

[Jerry Adams]

Does that mean you’re a Survivor fan or just a Survivor buff fan? : )

[Ken Thompson]

This thread goes back to when each post had its own title if you are wondering why it reads weird.

[Alexander S]

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