Adventures with anrkst.

More testing.


I decided to repeat my earlier test of 16 ozs of water/ 2 tablespoons of fuel to see if there would be better time results.
I was happy to find that the centering and precise height changes were getting me the beginning sounds of boiling at the 6 minute mark. The water was plenty hot at this point for steeping tea.


I had a full bubbling boil at 9 minutes and again the fuel burned for right at 10 minutes.
The trade off in weight differences between the stoves for packing is worth it to me in order to get a stable cooktop.
I will take this for some field time and get back with y’all on what I think of it.

 

Looks like a SIEGE stove

 

It is the Siege. I’ve had the thing for a bit but it lived in my Jeep box for the most part. #1 it’s heavier than similar style stoves. The bugger has to be carried by my muscle power so…#2 it’s got those sharp pointy multi purpose cross members. Getting those safely ensconced in something that’s packable has been challenging.

 

small MAGPUL daka pouch......

You'll thank me.

 

I like how those are made but nowhere near puncture resistant enough for the Sieges cross support sections. Something pointy designed to be hammered thru #10 steel food cans is going to make holes in those.
I did have it in a sleeve made from a flexible cutting mat but even that was suffering damage from those points as shifting and movement occurred. The Tupperware box is temporary while I look at better options.

 

ya put the pointy bits upwards!

like this, but inside the Daka . My pointy spiky crossmembers have never even moved inside the pouch - snug compression fit plus a pouch of @5col Tinderquiks and an Exotac ferro rod fit inside , further cushioning/compressing the entire kit so nothing moves. You can put the pointy crossmembers in between two of the stove sides , if your really worried about it.






bonus is no soot in your pack / web kit

 

Daka Daka Daka!!

look how perfect it sits in a webbing pouch mesh slot - Uber organized, soot free.



in the narrow front flat pocket of the Tardigrade Tactical Recon buttpack





In fact, the Daka is so tough, I'm going to take my SIEGE/Daka setup and kick it up a forest service road all day. Just to show how Bomber it is

I like spending your money for you

 

Seems we only get 2 seasons here. You can have blinking floods, Or frikin fried crispy.
At the moment we are in the flood section. Rain that goes on for days.
Today it was just cloudy and threatening rain so..


I went out prowling on the NFS roads to try and find a place for a walk..


Creeping along at idle speed there are huge swaths of the muddy ditches 150 yards long that have been rooted up by feral hogs.


Here’s a very distinct track at a place I visited before.


Another place I stopped to see if I could park out of the lane without sinking. Fresh nose print with a track at about the 5 o’clock point.


At a slightly elevated and drained sandy place. Right beside the tire when I got out.
This was probably really early this morning sometime..

 

I continued on while slowly losing elevation as I go east..


Rounded a curve and found this. Buggers have been rooting right in the middle of the road.
Using my hat for scale.


There were also a lot of these. Nothing big that I needed to pull aside. These I just let the Jeep crawl over.


@Bushman5 and I have this ongoing debate about who has the nastiest undergrowth to have to tear thru.
Pic taken out the drivers side window with the window frame for perspective. I win.

 

Finally found a place by a fire break lane that had washed away and then been rocked back in.


Cloudy, might rain, mosquitoes hovering in battalions sucking off my bug repellent like liquid meth.
Yeah this is way better than sitting in the house!


With hog spoor all around me I opted to keep my favorite “Personal Space Definition Device “ within hand’s reach.


Every 50 yards there would be a rutted out mud slop hole. This one was big enough and deep enough to swallow my Jeep up onto the doors. The slipping sliding around trying not to fall in these or cutting out to the side in the vicious underbrush meant I actually only went a few miles in, but the time out and back was hours of nonstop leg work.
It was so muddy and uninviting that I didn’t even sit down for tea.

It will dry out soon enough…I’ll be back to feed the bloodsucking vampires real soon.

 

that's a 200KM/H AutoBahn Hwy right there...

 

We all know there are great people in here.. lemme tell you about one of em.
@Bushman5 sends me a message. “Watch this tracking #. “ No warning, no trade in progress, and no information!
Days go by and I’m watching this number hop here n there like a happy little bunny all over the US..then yesterday..



Apparently the crazy Canuck decided I needed a huge heavy chunk of stainless steel to carry around and gifted me this!! HoleeWowsers!! This bloody thing is AWESOME! It’s built like a tank! It’s heavier gauge steel than GSI and feels even thicker and sturdier than Coleman pieces I’ve had since the 1980’s.
With a simply epic gift like this of course I’m going to use it!



I quick threw a rig together. This is in Urban Friendly mode ( otherwise called the Dont panic the sheeple mode) as you don’t see my usual machete or swine murdering hardware. ,)



Also note here that I’m not using the Trangia/Volcano stove that this came with. I love the Trangia but it’s pretty limited to soups or heat n eat meals. Doesn’t have the flame or heat control I need for actual cooking.
( by way of explanation, you see my little White River SGK there? That’s going to be a regular item as I decided to just embrace the inner “Foodie” and cook because I like it. Thus I’m carrying a paring knife..of sorts. )



Another thing I’ll bring to your attention is the sizing. This thing is not as big as some of the videos make it appear to be.
It is heavy duty, more than sufficient as a portion for 2. But you know how they say camera adds 10 lbs? I think that photo effect makes this look like a 4 qt pot when it’s actually 1 1/2 qts or 48 oz. (48 oz being the “reasonable vs filled to the rim” measurement I got.) The cup/lid was 16 oz or 2 Cups.

 

Yes, there’s more.


Fellas I’m here to tell ya, you don’t have to always eat a Ramen or something freeze dried that’s only marginally good.
With a little thought you can make something that’s more like real food. I walked to the corner store for a a couple of things and grabbed a few more from the refrigerator.
The fact is we get limited time outdoors. Usually it’s only a few hours so this “weight” won’t be riding around on your back for days n days and subsequently that freeze dried nightmare won’t be riding around in your innards for days n days either.


Rough chopped and all in. No staging. Oil in the bottom (about 1/2 ounce or 1 tablespoon) and spice blend on top.
I use a Hikers cutting board I got from Campmor years ago. It’s about 4”x 6” and the “write on / wipe off” laminated map under it is a great way to collect cut up portions and or scraps and trim from the prep. This biodegradable stuff can be buried or bagged if you’re in a public area like a park. ( I never throw food scraps in the trash. In the wild I’ll disperse it in the woods for animals to eat and in the park I’ll bag it to bring back. Putting it in public trash cans invites animals to investigate and raccoons, possums, skunks, ect can be trapped in the bottom of these barrel bins.)
Would you want to trapped in there? No? Me neither.


First I’m going to make my tea. So it has time to steep while I’m cooking. I have a regular or normal looking cup in all my kits. The top cup/lid is usually what I use for measuring and it would be hard to do that if I had it full of tea or coffee. Makes sense huh?


Cooking off the vegetables takes only a few minutes at medium heat. Then adding the chicken. I like these retort packs but you can get tins similar to tuna can size if you want. I think the meat quality and texture is better from the cans but it’s a larger portion too. Your choice….


Then it’s just follow the packet instructions. Water in (measured in the top cup/lid), rice mix in, bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer. Easy as can be.
This kind of relaxation is hard to beat.

 

Thought and thing’s learned…



I think for future use I am going to either, Use the Volcano sleeve stove this came with, or look into getting a small 3”x 3” or so wire backpackers grill screen. Even with the decent size bottom surface this thing is not super stable up on the fold out “fingers” you see on these stoves. I had a cloth to hold it for stirring or adding ingredients but it would be awfully easy to have catastrophic spill. It would be way less likely on a flatter grill surface and near impossible in the oem sleeve type stove.



I know I know. I’m preaching to the choir here. But please don’t be a litterbug. Be an a*hole, be loud, be obnoxious, be rude, be a lousy tipper. But just don’t leave trash behind. I’m so so tired of everywhere being covered in trash…



When my rig is rolled up, I want to leave no trace behind. I might be the a*hole but I I can live with that.

 

You didn’t find it stable like this?



I found it pretty solid .

or do you mean on the canister stove ?

 

avtually , you were supposed to get a giant 20 person sheep river floaty

 

The oem sleeve is very stable. If I had an MSR type that feeds a burner from a tube n bottle it might work. I think it will also work with the micro stove and the 100 gram cells, just not the 250 cells because they are too big. More experiments are in order.

Just what I need ya crank. To be stranded all alone on the reservoir on my 20 person sheep floaty…because I don’t have 2 friends to ride along much less 20!

 

Man on man you and bushman are having fun with the PF mess kit. I need to get in on the fun

 

“Grey man”


Just an old dude with grey in the beard and crocs on, going down the path to the city park.
( I got this thing for free and I can walk thru the park without looking like I’m carrying a Warhammer 40k battle rig.)


I thought we might do something fun, but this time I brought an ice chest!
(I’m using a dinosaur size Peak 1 I got on a road trip 2 decades ago. I didn’t actually have to backpack it and it provides a very stable platform for my cook set.)


I hate using 1 time use plastic bags. Sometimes you gotta but these reusable options are so much better.


This is another idea I like to use.
( 1pork chop, bone in. Onions, garlic, mushrooms, celery, carrot, 1/4 cup of corn from the frozen supply, 1/4 cup brown rice, and a packet of soup mix.

 

People are side eyeing as they go by….


Cooking for 1. Needs a whole bulb of garlic.
( The pork bone. That delicious rich flavor you associate with good soups? It’s the collagen and marrow from bone stock.
With proper leverage and impact you can break that bone into 2-3 pieces and get that goodness into your mess kit menu)


Meat is mostly in the bottom. Im going to cook really really low for about 5 minutes stirring once or twice.
Sets just a tiny bit of sear on the meat, renders a little fat and forms some fond in the bottom.

I’ve been experimenting with accordion folded sections of cardboard and binder clips for windshields.
This aluminum upgrade was an add on at less than 11$ to get free shipping on something else.


I then add the rice, soup mix, and most of a quart of water. Heat to a good rolling simmer, reduce the heat and lid on for 15 minutes or so.
I like to just let it sit while I make a cup of tea and do a couple other things. Then it’s eating time.


As always friends, be good stewards…..


Leave nothing behind you but wonderful smells and excellent memories.