AWOL Bag

I've used a folding Pocket Cooker for a while doing all day hikes. You won't need to carry any fuel for it because you use brush,twigs or even dead grass to burn. Look it up at Backwoodsman Magazine website.

For those interested in carring small stoves in Your BOB here is a good site For DIY
wings.interfree.it...
have fun be safe

Ok AngryAmerican, I am now officially hooked on making can cookers. I am saving them in a bag until I can get some plaster of paris for a mold. I tried explaining to my wife how I am putting a BOB together, but she is silently wondering if perhaps I have finally lost it.

I cant wait to get some done.
I have been following all of these threads closely and I am most interested in learning more. Great stuff all.

Originally posted by shadow watcher
Ok AngryAmerican, I am now officially hooked on making can cookers. I am saving them in a bag until I can get some plaster of paris for a mold.

Huh? What mold? Did i miss something?

If you pour p.o.p. into an empty can and let it harden, you can make all of the cuts w/o damaging the integrity of the can. The mold it reusable for a perfect fit for every other can after that. I believe I can bang out 5 in the same amt of time as one w/o the mold. Also I have noticed that instead of relief cuts in the bottom to make it all fit together, if you use a full can's bottom to gently mold the stove's bottom, you can stretch it just enough to make a snug fit during assembly.

Here is the web page that nails it best. I work better from pictures moreso than written instructions. You can see how easy it is to make with a mold.

[edit on 30/11/06 by shadow watcher]

Wow, that's turning it into rocket science. It don't have to be that complicated, i can whip one out in 10 minutes or less with 2 cans, a knife, tape, and a thumbtack. If you're gonna be mass producing 'em i could see it being worth it, but for just making a few they're so simple that it's unnecessary.

Well I took your advice and decided to invest 10 minutes making one on the fly.
I just finished and tested it out. I stuck a wad of lint from my lintcatcher into the center as a wick and for fuel, I added about 5cc of turpentine.



This was pretty fun to do and will modify it a bit (when it cools off) to better utilize the fire ring.

That was your first attempt? Good job! IDK how good turpentine is for a fuel, but it works well with plain ol' rubbing alcohol, 99% is better but a good 70% will work also. I use HEET, get it at any auto supply, and even convenience stores sometimes carry it.




Best fuel i've found yet, and about $1 a bottle. Did you try to put a pot over it yet? With a pot an inch above it, the burner holes will really start working when the alcohol boils. If it's really cold it's a good idea to preheat your stove, put 1/4 capful of fuel in and burn it off, enough to heat the stove up a bit. Then, add your full load of fueland it'll start vaporizing quicker. The key is using fuel that vaporizes easily, you want to be burning the gas that comes out of the burner holes. If you've already got rubbing alcohol, just use that, it's a good practice fuel because it's cheap and available but it makes soot when the flame hits the pot. Heet leaves absolutely no soot period, it works better than i thought any fuel would.

Make a few more, you can get that thing down to less than an inch high, works fine and is stronger, as well as taking up less room. Aren't you glad you didn't wait to go get plaster now?

Oh, but one thing i should warn you about, the HEET bottle sucks, it'll leak in your pack. Pour the heet into a rubbing alcohol container or even a soda/gatorade bottle. If you want to make a smaller and stronger fuel bottle, start with a 20oz soda bottle, the smooth plain ones work best, and bake it on the oven for about 15 minutes at 250degrees or until the plastic around the top turns white. That's when it's done and it should shrink down to maybe 10-12oz as well as being thicker walled. Don't worry, if you don't go over 250 it won't melt, it'll just shrink, and it won't give off any plastic smoke, just a warm plastic smell. Don't touch it until it's cooled unless you want your fingerprints molded into it. Also, place the bottom in a very shallow pan of water, shallow enough that it won't float but deep enough that it's wet wherever it touches the pan. Alternately you could probably use a soaking wet rag to stand it on but i've never tried it, should work in theory. If you want to make a plastic "vase" shape, fill the bottle about 1-2" with water and follow the same procedure. The part below the waterline will remain unchanged but anything exposed to only air will shrink and increase it's wall thickness.

Yeah, I am glad I didn't wait. Do you use wicks at all? I was impressed with the duration of the burn with the lint wadding. Also, the turpentine burned with minimal smell, but was sooty. I will try the heet soon.

No wick, just use an alcohol that'll burn well. Think about the design, the little notches in the bottom of the inner ring allow alcohol to pool there, and the minimum depth is at the top of the dome. When you burn the alcohol, this heats the dome and conducts under the alcohol, helping it vaporize inside the ring, so the vapor is "steaming" out of the holes and burning off. Run a few cycles and it'll burn off any residue or crap that may be in there. Once you got it working, just keep it clean and all you have to do is plunk it down, pour in some fuel, light it, and hold your cup over it. It just works as long as you have some kind of alcohol, i bet it'd even run fine on high proof liqour in a pinch.

Also, with the smaller one like mine it takes almost no time to cool off. I've got tough hands, but i can handle mine right after it goes out, toss it around a bit to get some air past it, and i can toss it back in the mess container within a minute or two of boiling water.

Those pepsi can stoves are sweet if it wasn't for the thread I would never have thought of them

It might be a matter of personal taste, but footwear can make or break the man. In my Farnham Adventures, I have discovered quite possibly the finest boot available to man:

www.army.forces.gc.ca...

The Wet Weather Boot, Black. It's comfy, warm, and waterproof to the Nth degree. One complaint- one it shares with just about every other combat boot I've put on my feet- is that 'CF issue Pimp Boot' becomes 'CF issue Ice Skate' when cold weather hits. It's like someone lathered your boots in vasoline some days. I had the same problem with Magnums and my garrison boots, so... I'm guessing it's not unique. So, people, when you're running through the woodlands in winter...or lord forbid a highway or something...watch your step.

DE

Originally posted by DeusEx
One complaint- one it shares with just about every other combat boot I've put on my feet- is that 'CF issue Pimp Boot' becomes 'CF issue Ice Skate' when cold weather hits. It's like someone lathered your boots in vasoline some days.

Hey! Welcome back DE, long time no see.

I know exactly what you're talking about with the icy wet. I think the reason is the way they construct the bottom of the soles on combat boots. Typically the very bottom of the sole of every combat boot I've run across consists of flat very shallow, thin, wedge-shaped grooves. Which work GREAT in most circumstances because it provides a nice high-friction surface that acts like thousands of little fingers grabbing the land, and works well in conjunction with the typical mesa-peg structure of the sole itself.

Unfortunately, with ice (and certain kinds of mud, actually), the grooves are so close together, and insulated against body heat, that they cake up with the ice, which removes almost all friction except that which can be had via the mesa-pegs, which isn't much.

So if you anticipate having to walk on a lot of ice, I recommend some sort of boot attachment like ice cleats (or crampons if your going to have to climb).

Thank god I really don't have to deal with that in Texas very often. Ice cleats and crampons probably don't need to be in a BOB unless you live in a place that predictably gets a lot of ice and snow, like Minnesota, yah. (edit add) And if you do pack them, I recommend putting them in something poke-proof. Otherwise they'll rip a hole in your BOB as well as poke holes in most of your other eq, and probably tangle up anything remotely resembling rope, netting, or twine.

[edit on 4/5/2007 by thelibra]

Sean Kennedy, fellow Canuck and fairly knowledgeable person, has a video about AWOL bags which is unsurprisingly good. His site is patrolling.rantmedia.ca... . While his views on certain things conflict with mine (he's a little granola) his information is fairly solid.

Part One

www.youtube.com...

Part Two

www.youtube.com...

For the record, the term 'wog' is bandied about as a term for survivalist or counterculture-type. Sean also makes a decent episode about essential bags.

DE

[edit on 6-4-2007 by DeusEx]

Great post. I will check the site out tomorrow.
I was concerned that the survival section was getting a bit sleepy.

I'm glad it has some action in it. I was tempted to bump a few threads just to inspire more interest.

wow - sean kennedy does have some good stuff - BUT he is chuffing bonkers

IMHO - he would do better - and be far better recieded if he acted more " ray mears " and less " rambo "

as classic exaple is his clip on pants . his " spec op friends " were fookin hilarious - does SAS stand for " special airsoft service " in canada ????????

I'd add to all of your lists an AK-47, a stack of playboys and segway. You never know when you are going to need a segway to help escape from the hords that chase you with their machetes.

Originally posted by ignorant_ape
as classic exaple is his clip on pants . his " spec op friends " were fookin hilarious - does SAS stand for " special airsoft service " in canada ????????

His views are, as we say "right out of 'er ".While somewhat ridiculous, some of his advice is indispensable. He is the effing man, after all. That aside, take a more healthy, less granola stance.

More importantly, DO NOT judge all Canucks in the same light, unless you adore him.

DE

www.cpgear.com...

www.cpgear.com...

Two extra little bonus items to improve your BoB. Both help maximize your BoB, in that they keep your crap dry, and compress it. compression is your friend in the field.

DE