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Best Free Stuff?


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Viewing 25 posts - 1 through 25 (of 146 total)
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  • #1264051
    Edward Z
    BPL Member

    @fuzz

    Locale: Sunny San Diego

    Ok, I have a few sources for condiments and goodies now that I have some more trips under my belt. So what are the places you hit up for stuff? For me it's:
    Taco Bell – Sauce packets / sporks
    Subway – Olive Oil packets / Mustard

    What are some other places with good stuff?

    #1651870
    Gary Dunckel
    BPL Member

    @zia-grill-guy

    Locale: Boulder

    I get my butter packets from KFC, sauerkraut and parmesan packets from Sam's Club deli.

    #1651961
    Eugene Smith
    BPL Member

    @eugeneius

    Locale: Nuevo Mexico

    If heading into the Gila Wilderness, it's customary for me to stop at the McDonalds in Silver City, NM and grab a coffee since it's the only place open early… I steal some sugars to go.

    #1651970
    Jarod Fleming
    Member

    @flemdawg1

    Locale: SE US

    Chic-filet: salsa, hot sauce, honey, jelly

    hotels: small inroom coffee packs (use like a tea bag)

    #1652059
    The Cossack
    Member

    @thecossack

    Locale: sedona

    arby's for barbeque sauce and horseradish sauce

    marvick gas stations for cholula packets
    and 59 cent ice cream cones

    #1652131
    Edward Z
    BPL Member

    @fuzz

    Locale: Sunny San Diego

    Oooo, butter packets…. mmmmmm

    #1652138
    Dan @ Durston Gear
    BPL Member

    @dandydan

    Locale: Canadian Rockies

    For most sauces (mayo, salsa, ketchup) I go with McDonalds since they're everywhere.

    When I forget TP and remember on the way to the trail, any large fast food chain will do. Actually, the stuff they use in those huge rolls is super thin and I bet it weighs a lot less per yard then the stuff you probably use from home. It seems a bit hard on the underside to use regularly but who knows. If you snatched one of those big rolls and took it home, you'd have a lifetime supply of ultralight toilet paper. Actually, on my first backpacking trip ever (probably 10-12 year ago) I forgot TP so I clipped one of those huge rolls to the outside of my pack. It was probably 5 lbs of TP (take that Mike C!). I balanced it out with a huge bundle of banana's clipped to the other side.

    For cutlery the cheap plastic fast food stuff works in a pinch, but it's a gamble on a longer trip since you'll likely break it. McD's McFlurry spoons or Dairy Queen spoons are your best best for lightweight and durable.

    White Spot here in Western Canada has amazing take home containers for your leftover food. They are quality, lightweight plastic containers that can easily be used as a bowl/mug. Just be sure to ask that they cram your leftovers into a small one….or just leave 2 fries on your plate and ask that they pack that up :)

    #1652144
    BlackHatGuy
    Spectator

    @sleeping

    Locale: The Cascades

    "I steal some sugars to go."

    Appropriate (verb) is a much nicer word, don't you think? ;-)

    #1652154
    Edward Z
    BPL Member

    @fuzz

    Locale: Sunny San Diego

    I'm also partial to "liberate" or "acquire" . The liberate leads one to believe that the sugars were opressed and didn't really want to be there.

    #1652230
    Bob Gross
    BPL Member

    @b-g-2-2

    Locale: Silicon Valley

    One simply _snags_ some free packets.

    –B.G.–

    #1652242
    Dan @ Durston Gear
    BPL Member

    @dandydan

    Locale: Canadian Rockies

    I like the ambiguity of 'acquire'. It leaves others guessing whether you appropriated, stole or liberated the sugar.

    #1652250
    Jeff Antig
    Member

    @antig

    Locale: Pacific Northwest

    Funny thread. In the Marines, it is referred to as STEAL. Strategic Transport of Equipment to Alternate Locations.

    #1652335
    Daniel Fosse
    Member

    @magillagorilla

    Locale: Southwest Ohio

    Panera Bread has Hellman's Mayo and Golden's spicy mustard packets. They have other brand name condiments which taste way better, in my opinion.

    #1652728
    Laurie Ann March
    Member

    @laurie_ann

    Locale: Ontario, Canada

    okay… maybe I am a bit over the top… but stealing is still stealing no matter what ambiguous name you put on it. People complain about prices being high and such yet have no problem pilfering that for which they didn't pay. Why not just use minimus.biz?

    #1652731
    Bob Gross
    BPL Member

    @b-g-2-2

    Locale: Silicon Valley

    Let's analyze this. If I walk into McDonalds, buy a cup of coffee, then walk over to their condiments counter and take a packet of sugar for the coffee, there is no problem. Right?

    Now, if I walk in, buy the same cup of coffee, then take 250 packets of sugar for the coffee, that is probably wrong.

    What is ethical and what is not?

    –B.G.–

    #1652738
    larry savage
    Spectator

    @pyeyo

    Locale: pacific northwest

    I believe Panda Express has little packets of red pepper flakes. Mickey Dee's strawberry jam packs have found their wayinto my pack.

    #1652744
    Anonymous
    Inactive

    "What is ethical and what is not?"

    Seems fairly simple to me; if you take more than you use in that cup of coffee it's technically unethical. Not to say I have always been a paragon of virtue, but I like to think that as we age we evolve in the direction of being more ethical, just as we evolve in the direction of pounding a few less beers than we did in our youth. Another way to look at it: If too many people abuse the privilege of taking as much as they want from the condiment stand, MacDonalds will eventually move the condiments behind the counter and distribute them in a controlled manner. Then we will have lost another little bit of our freedom for lack of ability to exercise our freedom with restraint. :(

    #1652761
    EndoftheTrail
    BPL Member

    @ben2world-2

    Where does one draw the line? There is no magic line that always delineates clearly between innocence and guilt. Ethics and judgment go hand in hand.

    My own guideline? Don't do to others what you wouldn't want done unto you. In this case, if I own a small diner or fast food restaurant… would I care if my patrons take a few extra packets of sugar with them? Meh. But I would want them to be reasonable and considerate.

    #1652764
    Bob Gross
    BPL Member

    @b-g-2-2

    Locale: Silicon Valley

    So, Benjamin, if you were the restaurant owner, you wouldn't care if your coffee customer grabbed two or three packets of sugar. How about five or ten? But, surely not 250 packets.

    Where do you draw the line?

    If it is a repeat customer, you allow so many, but if it is a first-timer, you allow less?

    –B.G.–

    #1652767
    EndoftheTrail
    BPL Member

    @ben2world-2

    Bob — as a restaurant owner, I wouldn't care at all if my patrons snag a few extra packets of sugar.

    As stated above, there is no line. Just exercise consideration and good judgment. Hey, we're all adults, right?

    #1652778
    Eugene Smith
    BPL Member

    @eugeneius

    Locale: Nuevo Mexico

    Man…how did this gravitate so quickly into the realm of ethics? Grab a sugar or two and go about your way, no harm no foul… that's how I view the matter. Ok…my apologies, perhaps the use of the word steal wasn't very tactful on my behalf. When an old lady leaves a bowl of pastel mints out on her coffee table then dammit I'm going to grab me a pastel or 2!!!

    #1652779
    Jeffs Eleven
    BPL Member

    @woodenwizard

    Locale: NePo

    OK OK don't let this turn into another 'rei return policy ethics' thread:)

    Dairy Queen- long Blizzard spoons! perfect for BIB meals

    #1652793
    Dale Wambaugh
    BPL Member

    @dwambaugh

    Locale: Pacific Northwest

    Fast food and ethics? Please.

    Yeah, it's wrong to steal. A few sugars, what the heck.

    You CAN buy stuff like that. http://www.minimus.biz is a hiker's treasure trove.

    #1652802
    Tohru Ohnuki
    Member

    @erdferkel

    Locale: S. California

    Not to justify taking handfuls of condiments from a fast food outlet for camping, but at least they will be used.

    How many times have you been to a place and seen other people grab a fistful of napkins, ten packs of various condiments hit the salsa bar and then use a fraction of it and trash the rest? I'm appalled by the waste and try to take only what i need…

    #1652805
    Steofan M
    BPL Member

    @simaulius

    Locale: Bohemian Alps

    There is nothing new about this thread.
    "It's wrong" turned into "it's O.K. if I just…" right around the end of the Sixth Dynasty in Egypt. Here in the 21st Century we just call it "Shrinkage" and add the loss of income onto the selling price. We don't even have "thieves" anymore. No one "steals" anything. We have "shoplifters" and "loss". I'd better stop, this is beginning to sound like a George Carlin routine and someone may be offended.

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