lightweight camping – Page 8

Testing the Alpkit Kraku stove with the Alpkit MytiMug 400 @Alpkit @OctagonT

Alpkit MytiMug 400

Before another busy week at Octagon Technology I thought I would get out and try out my new Alpkit MitiMug 400 mug with my trusty Alpkit Kraku stove.

The wind shield, in the photo, is homemade from heavy duty aluminium foil cut from a serving tray bought “two for a pound” from a pound shop. The wind shield is really practical as I can bend it to give maximum protection from the drafts and wind and it weighs only a few grams.

This new Alpkit MitiMug 400 mug/pot fits really well on the Alpkit Kraku burner and is very stable when in use – the stability is essential if I am going to safely use this combination in the porch of my lightweight tent. The lid is a good fit – it is much improved over the lid supplied on the original MitiMug – purchased before there were 400 or 650 models. I am really pleased the lid has changed.

Another change, for the better, with this Alpkit MitiMug 400 is that it has a flat bottom – the original MitiMug had a ridge in the base, which when I cooked in the mug always allowed food to burnt there and that also made it difficult to clean. I cooked (well reheated) baked beans in this new Alpkit MitiMug 400 and the beans did not burn. You do however have to take care when using any titanium or thin walled cooking pot on a stove like the Alpkit Kraku stove which concentrates its heat in a small spot on the pot base:

Do not turn the stove up to “flame thrower mode” keep the flame very low and heat the food slowly
Stir continuously and thoroughly, getting right into the corners
Hang onto the handles or the pot can skip off the burner
I also, continuously, gently move the pot over the flame so the heat moves around smoothing out the hot spots

Afterwards it was easy to wash up the pot – this base design is another well thought out improvement.

My thoughts:

Overall this mug/cooking pot is a great piece of gear for the solo traveller, camper or backpacker who just needs to cook for themselves.
The size saves space in anyone’s pack. Titanium saves weight.
Even if you do not plan to use the mug for cooking the lid makes the mug a useful storage container and keeps the flies out of your drinks when outdoors.
Alpkit is a great UK company producing excellent gear – we should support them.

I think the next thing to add to this mug/pot, stove set is an Alpkit SnapWire Spoon. The folding spoon, stove, tea bags and milk powder will all then pack neatly inside the Alpkit MitiMug 400, inside the supplied netting draw string bag for easy packing when travelling. I am going to add this to my Christmas list.

My lightweight gear list

Testing the Alpkit Kraku stove with the Alpkit MytiMug 400 @Alpkit @OctagonT Read More »

Website updates

8 February 2015 / Outdoor Gear, Technology / iPod, lightweight backpacking, lightweight camping, lightweight walking, outdoor gear, Photos 2015, technology

I bought an Apple iPod Touch yesterday.

This will be a useful bit of kit and supplement my smartphone when I am walking, backpacking or camping.

Read about this and other updates to my backpacking and camping gear for 2015

Website updates Read More »

Water treatment methods and their effectiveness

1 February 2015 / Backpacking, Outdoor Gear, Walking / backpacking, camping, lightweight backpacking, lightweight camping, outdoor gear, water, water treatment, wild camping

Whilst browsing Pinterest this morning I found a excellent document published by the USA government organisation, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, about water treatment methods. This is a particularly useful, one page pdf description about the ways to treat water when wild camping and their effectiveness against various water borne pathogens.

Water treatment methods

a guide for individuals intending to use untreated or poorly treated water as a drinking source

Link to the CDC page – A Guide to Drinking Water Treatment and Sanitation for Backcountry & Travel Use.

More about water – Backpacking water, bottles and bladders

Water treatment methods and their effectiveness Read More »

Camping – The Viking Way – Woodhall Spa

18 May 2014 / Camping, Lincolnshire, Photography, Travel / black and white, coffee, England, iPhone photography, lightweight camping, Lincolnshire, tea, Woodhall Spa

Things that happened on this backpacking trip

I saw a grass snake – it was about a meter long and lying on the path just outside Horncastle near the old lock. Before I could get my iPhone out it had slipped away into the long grass.
I scratched the screen protector on my iPhone – not the screen.
I had a great view of the Lancaster flying over Woodhall Spa.

click on the above image for a larger version

See here for – Early morning tea, watching the sunrise and listening to the birds

Fresh coffee and porridge with dried fruit for breakfast

Camping – The Viking Way – Woodhall Spa Read More »

Walking and Camping

17 May 2014 / Backpacking, Camping, Lincolnshire, Photography / backpacking, black and white, camping, Camping and Caravan Club, iPhone photography, lightweight camping, Lincolnshire, Photos 2014, Woodhall Spa

I am backpacking today from outside Horncastle to the Camping and Caravan Club site near Woodhall Spa.

It is not a very long walk so I have one or two bits of extra gear with me as the pack weight is not critical. I have a 10Ah power supply for my iphone as I plan to watch a couple of videos tonight. I have a Chicken Chow Mein microwave meal with me so I have packed my larger Alpkit MiTiMug to cook it in as well as bringing my smaller titanium mug/cook pot.

For a change the weather is perfect – so I have packed extra water and one of my bottles contains an electrolyte drink.

Walking and Camping Read More »

Sea to Summit Travel Day Pack

1 February 2014 / Camping, Outdoor Gear / lightweight backpacking, lightweight camping, outdoor gear, tea

The Sea to Summit Travel Day Pack has, since last summer, become my walking day pack of choice.

It packs away into a keyring size package making it excellent as an extra bag for backpacking, holidays and travelling. I started using it as my day pack to simply save weight.

In use Scotland August 2013

The 20l capacity provides enough space to carry my:

Waterproofs
Pot, stove and mug
Lunch and water
Extra warm clothes
First Aid Kit
Emergency equipment
Sit mat (back padding)

In use Scotland January 2014

The only time this is not my “go to” day pack is when I need to carry a walking pole. For short walks I can slide my lightweight pole in between the small of my back and the pack, letting it ride on the bottom of the straps. For more technical longer walks with a pole I use another bag.

Comfort

With such a light backpack there are some issues with the comfort – but these are not so great to stop me using it.

Because the bag has no structure I have to pack the it carefully so the items stay in place and so nothing sticks into my back.
To help with the above problems I have cut a section from an old sleeping mat so that when it is fitted into the back of the day pack it helps with giving some shape to the bag and pads my back a little.
The shoulder straps are unpadded so from time to time whilst walking I have to flatten them out and reposition them on my shoulders to support the weight.

Mods

I have added a couple of small caribieners to the ends of the very thin shoulder straps. This has stopped the straps being pulled back into the buckles, which happened a lot when walking with the pack with even a moderate load in it. Once the strap was back in the buckle it was then very awkward to adjust the shoulder straps for comfort and there was also a risk of the strap being pulled right out if the buckle.

I have also added a caribiener to the double zip for security.

Inside you can see an 8l dry sack – this is essential as the pack does leak in heavy weather

Wear and tear

The Sea to Summit Travel Day Pack is made from rip stop Siliconized Cordura® and the pack itself is very well made, making it extremely tough and strong. However I use the bag (particularly in the winter) well packed and this has led to some abrasion damage. When well packed the material is tight, with no give in it and when it had dragged against rough rocks it has been damaged. At the moment none of the damage is serious but I expect it to happen regularly and to eventually ruin the bag.

The shoulder straps now have permanent heavy creases in them through use.

A bag for work

A few weeks back I used this pack for an overnight business trip. It easily held the clothes, wash kit, paperwork, iPad, charger, cables, small toolkit and portable hard drive I needed for the job. I added to that a bottle of water and a snack or two for the journey.

With the mat slipped in the back it was comfortable to carry and easy to store on the train as well as being smart enough to turn up with at a client’s office.

Conclusion – Sea to Summit Travel Day Pack

For me the Sea to Summit Travel Day Pack is a great day pack and I would recommend it to anyone who wants a light, strong day pack. But remember it is a simple no fuss design, no extra pockets or straps and if you use a hydration bladder the crinkling tube has to come out through the zipper. Because of it’s packed away size and weight it is especially useful to carry as an extra bag when travelling – if needed I add it to my backpacking equipment to be used as a shopping bag.

The minus points have to be mentioned:

The bag has no structure – if I carry my iPad in it I have to take extra care not to damage it due to bad packing.
if the bag is packed full and tight it is susceptible to abrasion damage.
There are no external fittings for a walking pole.

If (when) I ruin this bag I will buy another.

Sea to Summit Travel Day Pack Read More »

Alpkit Kraku Backpacking Gas Stove

20 January 2014 / Camping, Outdoor Gear, Travel / Alpkit, Alpkit Kraku, Aviemore, Craigellachie National Nature Reserve, lightweight backpacking, lightweight camping, lightweight stove, MSR titanium mug, outdoor gear, Scotland

First use of the Alpkit Kraku Backpacking Gas Stove

It was my first opportunity today to use the new Alpkit Kraku gas stove. It is very small and I carried a small gas canister to make it a very portable unit. The small size of the burner unit does mean that some care must be taken when fixing it to the gas canister, it can cross thread very easily and if over tightened the shoulder of the valve can jamb on the lip of the gas canister. Once together and the pot supports are set up it does make a very stable stove. I used my MSR titanium mug with lid on it and it sat very well. Once lit, it only took a couple of minutes for the water to come to a rolling boil – I had the stove set up in a very sheltered spot and I was using a wind shield. In the photos you can see the pot support glowing cherry red.

The actual flame head is also quite small, especially compared with my previous MSR Pocket Rocket, it worked well under my mug and I am sure it will work under my Alpkit MiTiMug but I expect it will struggle with a larger pot. It probably will not deliver enough heat for group cooking. When I go camping later in the year I will try it out with the small frying pan I use when static camping. However I bought this as a personal backpacking stove where weight is everything and it is considerably lighter than the MSR stove and when camping on my own it should still be sufficient.

Overall (so far) I am very pleased with the Alpkit Kraku stove – it is very small and light. Well made and efficient – boiling a mug of water significantly quicker then if I had used my meths stove. Because it is so light I may be changing my backpacking habits and using a gas stove more than the ultralight Vargo titanium meth stove I currently use.

Here are some more detailed photos of the stove – More is less.

Here is the post about the walk where I used this stove.

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