Gear reviews
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Why budget knives rock
I reviewed a bunch of budget knives over the years, and they are my go to when it comes to day to day tasks and hiking. In this blog post I wanted to share about the differences between expensive or “grail” knives, and budget knives. With many things in life I consider myself a collector, knives is something I am passionate about since I got my first knife at 6 from my parents. And have been a collector ever since. I have used pretty much every type of knife, machete, or axe out there. Except for butterfly, auto, or gravity knives, which are banned in the Netherlands. Knives I use…
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How much Knife do you need for hiking?
Many first time hikers will know that a knife would be handy for random tasks when on a hiking trip, but how much knife do you really need and use during (ultra)light hiking? Every book or guide you can read about hiking and backpacking will give the advice to take a (pocket) knife with you, if you’re anything like me, you have a couple of knives to choose from. I always take a knife with me on any hiking, backpacking, or camping trip. But what kind and size depends highly on where I am going to be and what I am expecting on that specific trip. In Europe, where most…
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Loosening a stuck Opinel knife
Opinel knives can become hard to open or completely stuck and impossible to get out of the handle. This is a common problem and can be resolved easily, without ripping apart your fingernails. Stuck or hard to open Opinel knives can be a pain and annoying, and can sour your experience with a brand new Opinel knife. Worry not, since there are a couple of easy fixes to resolve this problem. Since the handle of the standard line of Opinel knives is made out of beech, olive, or other kind of wood, it absorbs moisture and expands. Therefore closing up the joint between handle and knife blade. This issue I…
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Groove Alcohol stove
Easy, single can design, and one of the lightest. That’s the Groove Alcohol stove in a nutshell. Rapid bloom time of only a few seconds and no pot stand required. I like this design, here is how to make one and some points on use. What you will need for this Alcohol stove design is a single 250 ml soda can, could be an Energy drink can, or in my case, a cola can that was kicking around in my parents fridge expired since February. Can also be made with the wider cans, or any sort you like really. The trick behind this stove is that it uses the Capillary…
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SuperCat Alcohol Stove
One of the easiest designs for Alcohol stoves you can try out is the SuperCat stove, in this article I cover how to make one and how it performs. What you will need to make this Alcohol stove is the following: This stove is very easy to build and assemble by popular design by John Woods, and that is why it is such a hit for hikers that are curious about alcohol stoves. And preferably have a cat, or somebody in their circle that has a cat. I have got a couple friends and family that have cats, so once in a while I get a delivery of cat food…
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Beer Can Alcohol Stove | Open Jet
One stove that I wanted to make and try out for a long time is a DIY open Jet Alcohol Stove made from a single beer can. After many attempts and trial and error, I have found one that is relatively foolproof to make. Design and build This design is not my original idea, and is done a thousand times on the internet. I have picked up a few pointers however that I have not seen before. And I think makes this stove a lot easier to build and use. What you need to replicate my specific design are the following tools and materials: As always, be careful with sharp…
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Popular DIY Alcohol Stoves
In this article I wanted to compare 5 popular types of Alcohol Stoves, and talk about the upsides and downsides of each of them. Lets light up some stoves! With the five types of alcohol stoves I will focus on my experiences with them and put them to the test, where I measure and talk about the following three focus points: Alcohol stoves tested and discussed in this article: Puck stoveSuperCat stoveFancy Feast stovePenny stoveCapillary (Rift) stove All these stoves are very lightweight, with the lightest coming in at 5 grams (capillary stove). For exact weights for each type of stove you will have to make your own, since there…
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Kiprun TR2 Trailrunning shoes review
After wearing out my third pair of Salomon Speedcross, it was time for some new trailrunning shoes again for my hikes. Enter the Kiprun TR2’s. I wanted to try out a more affordable option with the Kiprun TR2 that’s sold in the popular store Decathlon in Europe and all over the world. Since they are roughly a third the cost of the Salomons and are therefore quite affordable. Here is my review after 7 months of almost daily use. With hikes (and runs) around my area in Germany, the Netherlands, and in the German/Austrian mountains around the Zugspitze. Kiprun TR2 Overall impressions for the Kiprun TR2’s are positive, and I…
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Alcohol stove fuel in Germany
Since I live in Germany (Franken), and use Alcohol stoves a lot for hiking, I thought I make a list for where and what kind off alcohol fuel you can get in Germany. My overall favorite fuel I have found for Alcohol stoves in Germany is available at the popular Rossman drugstore. From the brand Velind. And is affordable, clean, and odorless. Netto – Cleaning products aisle Since I have a Netto at 200 meters from my house, this makes for my first stop on the list, and chances are you can find a Netto quite quickly in your area off Germany or along a long distance hike. Alcohol stove…
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Fancy Feast stove | Mark 3
Since several years now I have been a massive fan off the Fancy Feast / Fancee Feast stove system, with its ease of use and construction its the best alcohol stove for most users. Here is my latest experiment for trying to improve on the original tomato paste can design. I was looking to improve on the Fancy Feast tomato paste can design since it was prone to rust. And Aluminium is a bit easier to work with in my opinion. Here is my Mark 3 variant after a bunch of fidgeting with the same concept. Previous versions and ideas That first improved Fancy Feast design used another Aluminium can…
