My first impression of the Lansky Blade Medic was a little cynical. Another knife sharpening gadget? No thanks. As a professional woodworker I have sharpened hundreds, if not thousands, of blades, chisels, knives etc. over the years. I’ve shown a couple of hundred Scouts how to use and sharpen a pocket knife and I’ve tried out many different sharpening methods. The Lansky Blade medic features two ‘crock stick’ sharpening tools, one in ceramic, one in carbide....
2019 Update This review was written in 2013, and after six years of heavy use in the hands of Scouts later these Rayovac lanterns are still going strong, just about indestructible. We replaced our old propane gas lanterns five or more years ago with Coleman Pack-Away LED Lanterns. Like any Scout gear they’ve been battered, bruised and broken and we’ve decided it’s time they were replaced. Overall the Rayovac Sportsman seems to be built more solidly than the Coleman Pack-Away....
We depend on satellite phone rental for emergency communications during our annual high adventure canoe trips. Since we’ll be travelling out of cell phone range we want some way to contact help if needed. There are a number of technologies available but a satellite phone is the only one that enables two-way voice communication If you look around you’ll find a number of vendors in the satellite phone rental business, but buyer beware – there can be hidden charges for shipping, obligations to buy a package of minutes and up-charges for things like spare batteries for the phone....
Modern portage packs have an advanced suspension system that is much like a normal backpack. At the beginning of a high adventure canoe trip our portage packs our packs weigh about 60-70 pounds. This is quite a load for some of us but time has proven that even our smallest Scouts can handle them very well. As the trip progresses we eat our way light and by the last portage out the packs are about 20-30 pounds lighter....
: Portage pack and day bag (the waist or lumbar pack) The canoe never gets lighter, but the packs do. Pack with paddles. Triumph! The end of a five mile portage. Any high adventure canoe trip requires selecting the right gear and clothing. I am pretty specific about what we carry on our trips because I know one thing for sure; in the case of where we are going:...
Backpacker Magazine’s Complete Guide to Outdoor Gear Maintenance and Repair is your ticket to becoming a camping gear repair guru. Author Kirstin Hostetter’s well illustrated, carefully explained directions return your investment with the first piece of damaged gear you save. Maintaining and repairing modern clothing, sleeping bags, backpacks, stoves and tents is not a simple as slapping on a bit of duct-tape. You are much more likely to find siliconized nylon, GoreTex titanium and Fastex buckles rather than canvas, brass or leather in a Scout campsite these days....
Dan Baker shared an interesting 9 ounce reflector oven idea constructed of titanium foil, aluminum and bicycle spokes. I think this is a great design, it’s lightweight, collapsible and looks like a fun project. I cannot resist taking this on my trips. I have baked pizza, chocolate muffins, bread, etc… with this and it is always terrific! I use silicon baking trays and cups and mainly use ‘add water only’ cake packs and my recipe for bread and pizza dough....
In the never ending search for the perfect chuck box here’s another interesting chuck box design by lupinsea found at the Expedition Portal. Looks like a lightweight, compact and functional idea (there’s a video below showing how it is set up. I could not find any plans for this box, so you’d meed to reverse engineer if you’d like to build one. Features Include Table height work surface, 29.5″ high Work surface area of approx....
A simple camp seat made from a piece of closed cell foam will provide a bit more comfort around camp, you can recycle an old foam sleeping pad or buy a new one to share with two friends. Either way you’ll have a cheap, lightweight camp seat, a dry place to stand when you change your socks, a tabletop for games or cooking, and you can even roll it up into a pillow....
Convert a 7-day vitamin/medication container into a camping spice kit – what a great idea! The custom labels are nice, I think I may skip that and use a sharpie marker instead.
What’s the best Scout pocket knife? I am not sure there’s only one absolute best pocket knife for every Scout in every situation, but the Victorinox Hiker is an excellent choice and here’s why: COST A decent knife will last a lifetime (really!). Because a Scout will likely loose a knife or two along the way long before it gets worn out parents are tempted to buy a cheap pocket knife....
If you haven’t discovered the Wirecutter blog check it out, they have excellent in-depth reviews of all kinds of interesting stuff. Here’s what their review of the best hand warmers concluded: Zippo Hand Warmer Sometimes gloves aren’t enough. That’s when hand warmers come in. I tested several of the best reviewed kinds and models, and the $16 Zippo Hand Warmer is the best hand warmer, because it’s cheap, safe and provides enough heat to keep your hands warm for close to 24 hours before it needs to be refilled....
The BSA chemical fuels policy is a good common-sense approach to the safe use of any gear using chemical fuels. Here it is in it’s entirety: Purpose This policy directs Boy Scouts of America members how to safely store, handle, and use chemical fuels and equipment. Safety and environmental awareness concerns have persuaded many campers to move away from traditional outdoor campfires in favor of chemicalfueled equipment for cooking, heating, and lighting....
I am not a scientist, so tell me if this makes sense. There are about 40,000 Scout troops in the B.S.A., they go camping (this is a very conservative average) of six weekends a year. 40k * 6= 240K weekends I’d guess, conservatively, that two-thirds of these troops own stoves or lanterns that use disposable gas canisters or disposable propane cylinders. 60% of 240K = 144k weekends The average troop has 20 Scouts....
Before I begin this Solo Stove review I need to explain that I think building a campfire is an important skill. It connects Scouts to many things, sharpens their ability to plan, and is almost always a group activity. I once thought that we ought to do all of our cooking over fires and not stoves, then I acquiesced to the idea that stoves were quicker and to the misapprehension that gas stoves were a responsible low-impact method (they aren’t when you consider the impact of making and disposing of a gas canister)....
Over time I have managed to get my weekend backpack down to around 25-30 pounds. I am not an fully anointed apostle of the ultra-lightweight sect but I have certainly benefited from a lot of their ideas. The backpacking cook kit described here weighs in at well less than two pounds depending on your choice of stove. Without the stove my choices will cost you somewhere between $20-25.00 – a pretty good deal....
Scouts and whittling evokes a vivid boyhood memory of sitting on the back porch steps whittling a green stick with a steak knife purloined from my mother’s kitchen. Since then I have always had one kind of pocket knife or another and whittled when the opportunity presents itself. Sometimes it’s nothing more than reducing a stick to a pile of chips, sometimes it’s carefully shaping the links of a chain out of a single piece of wood....
A few years back I built a sailors ditty box from plans found in Hervey Garrett Smith’s The Marlinspike Sailor. I finished it with milk paint and even went to the trouble of copying the beckets (handles) from the book’s description. I haul this ditty box along on our car camping trips and to summer camp. It measures about 8″x 11″x 20″ and weighs about ten or twelve pounds when it’s loaded....
Somewhere along the way (eBay I think) I got a good solid old-school pack basket. It’s perfect for packing a pretty big pile of camping miscellany that comes in handy. Visible on top of the basket is a blue groundcloth. (1) is an old folding candle lantern (Lee Valley still stocks them), (2) pocket umbrella, (3) Outdoor Products Small Watertight Box with tea and coffee bags, sugar packets, salt and pepper....
(1) My lumbar pack is a Mountainsmith Day Recycled-Fabric Lumbar Pack (my review here). I use this bag all the time and it has become my “man bag” or “murse”. (2) I have a large Kwiki Organizer to keep things easy to access on the inside. (3) I keep a shemagh tactical scarf in the bottom of the bag – it comes in handy as a giant bandanna, a kind of table-groundcloth and as a head scarf in the heat or a neck scarf in the cold....