Adventures with anrkst.

Very nice report. The corn then, is acceptable? I'm liking the dehydrated repack too. Great idea with the vacuumed seal. More rugged than ziplock bags. Thanks for sharing.

 

The corn has been a bugger to figure out. By breaking it down, and giving it extra cook time, I think I’ve got a handle on it. As long as you don’t mind slightly more “soupy” food you can do rice in 15 minutes. A little extra water and having a fitted lid raises the atmospheric pressure which aids the cooking process. The corn really needs to be broken up and to get the extra cooking time.
I’ve settled on 20 minutes with extra liquid which gives me good results. On the gas stove it’s more precise of course but it’s possible on other sources.
Now, let it not ever be said I wasn’t helpful. Anything I’ve done would be easier in a larger cooking vessel. I’m using a titanium canteen cup with a max capacity of 3 cups/ 24 oz. A bigger more rounded vessel that you could stir, move things, and get more liquid capacity in would make “actual cooking “ so much better. The flip side being it’s more to carry and more to clean as well.

 

Nice! I feel honored to hear my pics have inspired you You food and cast iron pics sure are an inspiration to me.
Nice that you got the titanium one, I messed up my order when I got mine and ended up with the stainless version. Weight is not much for such a small stove , it's still awesome but would have loved the ti version even more.

I'm surptised to see your alcohol stove doesn't fit between the Nanosticks. I have a similar looking titanium alcohol stove from the Tomshoo brand that fit in there just fine. Mine doesn't have a lid to lift it like you do with yours. My original Nanosticks got lost so I bend new ones from a stainless bicycle spoke. Maybe you can bend a custom shape to fit your alcohol stove.



Hope you'll like the Nano as much as I do and we will see it appear often in you tasty posts

 

Because I've had so much fun wandering around trying out new recipes in my canteen cups I decided to take a look at the stainless steel versions put out by Pathfinder. I'm usually ok with passing out gear to my "extended walk about crew" so I ordered some for a testing period.


And on the chosen day at the appointed hour..its 94F and sprinkling rain. Isn't that nice. This will probably be an inside test.


For my menu selection I chose SW Chorizo and Eggs. It's fairly easy to do but makes a nice filling meal.


I always do my tea first. It gives it time to steep properly while I continue cooking. This seemed like a good documentation moment because it's the first time the cup has ever touched the fire.


While the tea water was going I went on with prepping. Now...We cook!!


Preparation time is right about 25 minutes total. Low heat and don't be afraid to use a little oil to avoid scorching.
I give these a good rating for initial use. Sturdy, fitting on the lids is good. Very good capacity amounts. Visible internal measurement markings in the cups. Fit to the canteens is snug/no rattle. And the canteen has a large opening with an external threaded lid.

I'll be doing more testing of course but these showed a lot of positives in a reasonable priced budget package.
Thumbs up from me.

 

So here's what happened (besides being busy as ants in the summertime) I found out every time I took my rig out,even for just a few hours, I would find something I wanted to change or work differently. It lived in a constant state of flux of gear being used for months. There were a lot of undocumented experiments and tests being worked thru.
In the current configuration I found I needed an "anti-clank anti-dent" sleeve for 1.1 liter Boundless Voyage Ti canteens. The rig gets handled like airport luggage in/out of vehicles, boats, bumped into trees or over logs, and they were making an unseemly amount of noise just being in a 1000D outer pocket.

I engaged the ultimate pak-rattamus gene and used some hoarded leftover closed cell shipping foam and gorilla tape to make something up.


Its snug but the canteen is removable for boiling or cleaning ect.


It gives full coverage even having a bottom flap.

 

To complete its visual transformation into the desired "sheeple friendly" effect I put the unit in a lightweight nylon drawstring bag.


Now I get a few ounces more water capacity and it fits perfectly in the outer accessible pocket with no disturbing metallic banging when I'm using or moving it.

 

Mad skills sir
Looks good.

 

" The never ending quest for the perfect walkabout setup. "
In the category of a small food/utility knife sometimes referred to as a PSK. Its quite possible, in fact fairly easy, to reach a point of diminished returns. You can purchase or make a tiny little thing that fit in an Altoids tin no problem. Then its gets difficult to use, needs to be lashed to a handle, leading to issues keeping it sheathed, or carrying it safely. It can be done. You just need to compromise a bit..

I picked up this option from Boker. I've always liked a spey point as a decent trade between strength and acuteness.

Its Magnacut so premium performance + low maintenance.

3/32" means a good balance between slicey and rigidity. I carry a measured section of orange nylon cord that can be wrapped on or taken off for washing if it gets dirty or contaminated. The whole knife package lends itself to being easy to keep clean and hygienic for your food use.

It comes with a nice secure kydex sheath. The supplied sheath is a big part of a knives suitability.
Poor sheath= doesn't get carried.

In keeping with the thin and light theme you can easily drop this in a pocket, clipped with a util-clip, worn as a neck knife...and yet not feel like you've gotten yourself a brick to carry around.
In my humid muddy nearly jungle AO this has a lot of positive points. I'm going to try it out for a while.

 

You ever do something just because you wanted to?


This landed in my mailbox yesterday.
Back in the early/mid 1990's I read an article on Dave Beck and his work on Tracker knives.
He was a really nice guy who could present the positive possibilities of the design.
I was really interested in the idea, but in the swamps and muddy backwaters I just didn't have a real need for a big, heavy 6-7-8 inch knife. Its just a big ole chunky weight you gotta haul around. A machete is way more useful. But carrying a machete to the city park to make some soup usually doesn't go well. (Even if its completely legal to do so.)

Then a while back, some smaller versions began to appear. Some were just thick, heavy, obtuse angled grinds like their monster size ancestors. Not very useful.
This one from Dave Wenger is truly top shelf.
Its premium steel. Its properly thin. Its got high angle precision grinds. And its laser crazy unbelievably sharp.
Its the utility and minimalist design of an Izula...in a Tracker form.


Now state parks, camp sites, public piers or fishing areas, all possibilities with no concerns and still have a top tier tool available.


Disappears into a pocket. Wear as a neck carry. You wouldn't even notice it.
I think it'll be fun to try out. I'm always ready to learn something new and this is definitely different!

 

"Ever onward. Ever upwards.". Yes? The drive to perfection. Thinking, tweaking, and doing. All part of the fun.


Is there anything besides salvation you can't get from these people?!


I've had good luck with Toaks. Its lighter weight but several decades of using Ti has proven it's danged tough.


Here's some specs for the specs junkies.


These are nice. Even as a jaded Ti user the weight reduction my brain could feel was a "whoa" moment.

 

PG 2


Here's a comparison with my og 2001-2002 Snow Peak. My original 750ml is so first generation it doesn't even have the measure stamping marks that Goddess bridal unit's set has on hers from a...maybe decade later.


Her was the logic behind this upgrade. The lid/fry pan fit. On the SP it overlaps the top of the pot, which causes steam or condensation to drip outside. If you flip it over it fits poorly and doesn't seal well. Its always been that way so when an innovative solution was presented I decided to try it.


Some practical capacity measurements . The lid/pan hold a perfect 1 cup or 8 oz. I feel confident I could do 2 eggs and a sausage portion in it easy. ( my secret to "sausage portion". I buy big bulk size tubes and portion it with a meatball measure spoon, freeze on trays and transfer to 1/2 gal plastic containers.).
1 " meatball" ,cook, chop up, (which gives rendered oil in the pan) Add eggs and soft scramble. Easy peasy.

Well there you go. Hopefully I'll be seeing you guys trail side somewhere and we can do lunch or afternoon tea or something. It'll be fun.

 

A bit of practical testing to feel out the usage abilities.


(Freeze Dried) 1 tablespoon Pork Sausage, 1 Onion. 1 Spinach
1 teaspoon Garlic, Bell Pepper
1/3 cup water boiling to rehydrate, Mrs Dash, Single serve packet of Tabasco and approximately 1 tablespoon Olive oil.
2 Eggs (Fresh)
Cover with inverted pot 6-8 minutes very low flame.



I only post pics like this to troll @Jeff Randall ....because he can't cook anyway.

 

404 Error. Probably his fault too.