Here’s a simple trick that I use to make storing my titanium tent stakes a little more fabric-piercing friendly. I’ve had too many pieces of expensive gear accidentally stabbed by these thin tent stakes that I really care to mention, so this hack is a great solution that you might find useful too. Cut off [..Read More..]
Fisher Space Pen Refill | Ultralight Hack v2
Make the ultimate UL all-weather ballpoint pen for taking notes along the trail with just a standard Fisher Space Pen refill (SPR4) and a short length of heat shrink tubing! The Fisher Space Pen and the associated SPR4 refill earned the reputation throughout the world for being able to write on almost any surface, at [..Read More..]
Titanium Foil Esbit ‘Tray’ Stove
I have a love-hate relationship with Esbit fuel tabs. I want to love them, I really do, but they seem to never work quite right for me so I end up getting frustrated and hating them. The Short Burn Time IssueYou may recall that a few weeks ago I posted a blog article about my [..Read More..]
I Really Want to Like Esbit Tabs
[Updated below] The problem is, no matter what type of stove I use, or type of cooking setup I try, I get totally lousy burn times for my Esbit solid fuel tabs. So bad in fact, consistently under 7-8 minutes per tab, that I am unable to bring two cups of 70-degree water to a [..Read More..]
DIY – Single Use Antibiotics Packs
The ongoing trend in the consumer market of providing small, ready-to-go, individual size packages of consumables has been a win-win for the lightweight and ultralight backpacking communities. Always looking to shave a few extra ounces or grams off of our overall pack weight, these individual servings are the perfect fit for trail snacks, drinks, condiments [..Read More..]
Ultralight (17g) 1-Micron Water Filter
Water filtration systems can be bulky and heavy. Depending on the type that you choose they can also be expensive. Pumps and mechanical devices are prone to blockages or failures and chemicals alone result in a less than desirable end product. So what should you do? I’ve grown more and more dissatisfied with many of [..Read More..]
Ultralight Fly Fishing Box
I’ve been on a bit of a Tenkara kick lately, every since receiving my new Iwana rod and other pieces of Tenkara fishing gear from Daniel at TenkaraUSA just a few weeks ago. Unfortunately for me there aren’t any specialized fly fishing stores near where I live in North Carolina, unless someone knows of any? [..Read More..]
Reader Poll: Home-Made Gear?
I like to make a lot of my own gear, like the Cuben Fiber stuff sack shown above. It saves me money for one thing, but it also tends to give me a much better understanding and appreciation of how something is made and how it functions. I not talking about hacking, tweaking, or modifying [..Read More..]
Ounces & Inches – Decimal Tables
I always seem to need to look up the decimal value for fractions of an ounce when I’m writing one of my blog posts. I try to include detailed weight specifics for any products or MYOG projects as part of the post. Unfortunately my small digital scales only display weights as fractions and I’m definitely [..Read More..]
Eyedropper Bottles: An Ultralighter’s Friend
One of the easiest and quickest ways to shave some weight off your pack is by reducing the quantity of a given item that you carry. For most items that’s relatively easy, you just carry less, this works for most things including toiletries, but for liquids like soap, toothpaste, or water purification drops it requires [..Read More..]
