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Your best gear hack/mod/invention/alternate use/improvisation?


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Home Forums Gear Forums Gear (General) Your best gear hack/mod/invention/alternate use/improvisation?

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Viewing 7 posts - 26 through 32 (of 32 total)
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  • #2035423
    David Thomas
    BPL Member

    @davidinkenai

    Locale: North Woods. Far North.

    Jerry: I agree wax has more BTUs/pound (kJs/mole; troyouncemass-furlongs^2-fortnight^(-2); whatever) than cardboard.

    Your egg-carton based solution is a wonderful low-price, disposable mini-cooker. Or a fire starter in really bad (wet, cold, frozen-wood) conditions. I'm going to try some out in my next round of experiments.

    My practice of scavenging waxed cardboard produce boxes is better suited to fire starting only, not cooking. But, if cost or time were an over-riding factors, dumpster-diving trumps MYOGing.

    Someday I'll try posting a zero-dollars gear list.

    #2035441
    D S
    BPL Member

    @smoke

    There's a variation out there that involves cutting strips of cardboard (width depends on depth of end container), rolling it up and stuffing it, edge up, into some type of can/metal container. Then pour melted wax to fill the spaces in the cardboard and the rest of the can. Light like a candle & use it like an alky stove.

    Lots of vids on youtube, they're called survival candles.

    #2035443
    Jerry Adams
    BPL Member

    @retiredjerry

    Locale: Oregon and Washington

    That's like Davids's and the spiral and circle stoves in that article

    In the article they perfected that a bit – cross wick – basically just two pieces of cardboard in "cross" shape – much less wick which makes it consume less wax

    You have to read the article

    #2035444
    Jerry Adams
    BPL Member

    @retiredjerry

    Locale: Oregon and Washington

    I remember making the spiral cardboard in tuna fish can version in boy scouts aeons ago. Maybe it was a product we sold to people that bought it just to be charitable?

    #2035541
    Valerie E
    Spectator

    @wildtowner

    Locale: Grand Canyon State

    David, you wrote:

    >> Someday I'll try posting a zero-dollars gear list.

    That's the BEST idea for a new thread!!! It would be unseemly for me to start it, since it's your idea — so let me be the first to HIGHLY encourage you to develop this! It would be fun, AND it could be really helpful to those who are interested in camping/backpacking but who truly have very little disposable income… (not to mention issues of ecology, etc.).

    Edited to say: Perhaps we could have one rule — no stolen stuff (scrounged is fine)?

    #2035544
    Jerry Adams
    BPL Member

    @retiredjerry

    Locale: Oregon and Washington

    thrift stores are close to zero dollars

    the roll of Tyvek left over from a construction project cost something initially, but is now zero dollars

    I like zero dollars, just for the fun of it, not so much that I couldn't buy something

    #2035573
    Dale Wambaugh
    BPL Member

    @dwambaugh

    Locale: Pacific Northwest

    Improvised gear or the fine art of "Applied Junque. " Not my ideas by any means, but the best I have used:

    Trash compactor bags for pack liners

    Report cover spines for knife edge covers

    Tyvek and window film for ground sheets

    Recycled water bottles

    Turkey roaster pans cut up for pot lids and wind screens

    Milk jug bottoms for bowls or sinks

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