when is the new season do to start

Well, I just bought THIS, I reckon, from my testing they all work very well.

I burned 91% Isopropyl alcohol in mine and it worked very well.

In doing some research, I have found reference to folks using HEET water remover to burn in theirs as HEET is Methanol.

I seem to have bought the last of the ones from the site I linked, but they can be found by googling Swedish Alcohol Stove or Trangia stove.

It was around 25 degrees outside when I tested the 8 stoves that came with the package I bought and it did take a few minutes for the stove and alcohol to warm up and burn properly and I tested them with the wind screens installed and in a 15MPH wind, I was able to get a full cook pot (about a quart) of water boiling in 22 minutes.

I find from my research that in warmer conditions, with the stove placed out of the wind, that water can be boiled in under 10 minutes.

My testing took about 28 ml of alcohol per stove.

As I understand it, these type stoves MUST function as they have no parts to fail as is the case with a pump up white gas stove or propane stove.

As long as you have fuel and a way to light it, it will work according to my research both before and after my purchase.

Overall I am pleased and have already placed one with fuel and multiple ignition sources in my emergency kit in my truck and one is going in both my wife and daughters vehicles as well as my home emergency kit.

If anyone here has used this type or similar alcohol stoves, please let me know what your experience was with them.

I give them a thumbs up!

Edit: hopefully, this weekend I can add a few pics or a video of these units in action.

I have an alcohol stove made out of a soda pop can that is very similar. I like it and it works great with HEET. HEET burns very clean.

I use my little stove when I go on my hiking trips. It's small and light. And, as you stated, they have no moving parts so they don't break. My little soda pop can stove could be crushed, making it usless, but it's not likely to happen under regular circumstances.

IMO you made a good purchase.

Thanks for the reply Chuck and for the info on HEET, I will give it a try.

I have made the pop can stoves before, but the results I got were less than desired. (I think I got a little impatient and made it too quickly and made the burner holes too big)

For cold weather I am going to try putting the stove I bought inside of a 10 oz tuna can and poor alcohol down between the stove and can and light it off to pre-heat the stove and its fuel to help the stove reach operating temp a little quicker, this seemed to work fairly well with the pop can stove, so hopefully it will work even better with an actual Trangia type stove.

yes pre heating a alchol stove makes all the diffrence in the world. and dont forget they work like poo below 0C or 40F. you have to warm them up one way or another.

i have been building pop can stoves over the last two months working with a US metal canteen cup and stove/stand
other than a few mods to the stove/stand to allow proper airflow this setup works good for popcan stoves
i boil 500mills(half a liter) of COLD water is about 7 mins at near sea level.
( and me and a buddy found out that altitude make a big diffrence the stoves he builds that burn like wildfire at Elevation 360 m (1,181 ft) dont work well at my house at Elevation: 42 m. (138 ft.))
here is a great site learn all about various stoves..but mostly plans to build your own alcohol stove

http://zenstoves.net/

i use 8oz stainless steel boose flasks to hold my fuel just have to mark it poisonous and not vodka.
btw i buy stove fuel at the paint store in a gallon jug for 10$
methanol burns at half the temp of ethonal but i cant find it anywhere.

nutz_III
too many toys not enough money.

Since the discussion has turned to alcohol stoves, I thought someone might be interested in the testing I have done. Check it out at: http://www.runswiftwhippets.com/Hikes/Descriptions.html

I've got more tests to do, and more stoves to be tested...but these are a start.

Nutz and doggonega...thanks for the links and info! Much appreciated!

quote:

too many toys not enough money.

I suffer from the same malady...

Hi Y'all I just found this site and this particular thread is a great one.
I've been involved with survival techniques since my time in the Boy Scouts 25+ years ago. The BSA Field Book had a section devoted to wilderness survival and had survival kit information as well, the kit noted was a pretty good one to use as is or to use as a basis to start.
I've recently purchased a couple of kits by LifeLine First Aid that I have modified from the original to be more suitable for my needs. By themselves they seem to be very usable kits for different undertakings. These are not expensive and can be found at outdoor retailers, I got mine from Sportsman's Warehouse for a decent price.
So far my mods have been the addition of Potable Aqua tablets and multiple fire starting implements. I'll continue to tailor them until I have just what I need.

Thanks for the links and welcome aboard giantjim!

Don't be surprised if your earlier post gets edited or just plain deleted by the mod, seems they don't like links to outside sources around here. (I think they consider it advertising, as opposed to information sharing) Though the deleting is rather hit or miss as the mod isn't around much.

Again, welcome aboard and glad to have you!

Thank you Marine.
I've hung around some of the other Discovery Channel forums but have grown mostly disappointed in them due to some very abusive posters. Those particular folks seem to think that they are the
Be All and End All for that forum and if you don't think like they do, or worship the pages on which they post, then you're simply scum of the earth and not fit to be in the presence of that forum.
I have a fair amount of survival knowledge and a bit of experience and I'm always looking to add to my base of knowledge.
If the link to the product I mentioned is deleted, I'll just put it back up since it is most assuredly useful information and definitely germaine to the forum and discussion.

Cool, Jim. We need more civilized folks here abouts.
---------------------------
Back to the alcohol stoves: Seems like Isopropyl Alcohol (91%) soots up the bottom of my cooking pot pretty bad and it makes for a messy clean up as well as getting on my hands when holding it to eat.

So a question for those who use HEET or Denatured Alcohol. Do they soot up your cooking pot/canteen cup?

Trioxane Fuel Bars are nice since you don't have anything that can spill. and they are what are meant to be used with the U.S. canteen stoves.
http://shop.sportsmansguide.com/net/cb/cb.aspx?a=111028

"So a question for those who use HEET or Denatured Alcohol. Do they soot up your cooking pot/canteen cup?"

No, they don't. Isopropyl alcohol soots up because it's only something like 80% alcohol...the rest is water. So it burns too "cool" to completely burn the alcohol and that is what produces the soot.

quote:

Originally posted by ratpack07:
Trioxane Fuel Bars are nice since you don't have anything that can spill. and they are what are meant to be used with the U.S. canteen stoves.
http://shop.sportsmansguide.com/net/cb/cb.aspx?a=111028

Yup, I have cooked over many a Trioxane bar, back in the 80s, they are pretty good, but they take a long time to get a good boil to cook and soften a cup full of Ramen noodles.

Also if you get a pouch with a bad seal, the Trioxane(?) or something evaporates out of them and they don't burn.

The fumes off of them are also pretty foul, (especially when cooking in a hooch on a pouring rain day).

I seem to remember a warning about them causing cancer....though that may be just a military myth.

quote:

Originally posted by doggonega:
"So a question for those who use HEET or Denatured Alcohol. Do they soot up your cooking pot/canteen cup?"

No, they don't. Isopropyl alcohol soots up because it's only something like 80% alcohol...the rest is water. So it burns too "cool" to completely burn the alcohol and that is what produces the soot.

Cool, thanks for the info, I'll go to the paint store and get a gallon of Denatured Alcohol for fuel.

Yeah, I used the 90% Isopropyl, but I figured the water content had something to do with the sooting.

The wife wasn't happy when I washed off all the soot in the kitchen sink!

I finally got some denatured alcohol and it even says right on the can, "For use as a Marine Stove fuel, burns hot, clean and odorless."

Very nice.

quote:

Originally posted by formermarine0341:
I finally got some denatured alcohol and it even says right on the can, "For use as a Marine Stove fuel, burns hot, clean and odorless."

Very nice.

Does it say what % of alcohol it is? My guess is it's pretty high (like 98%). Have you tried it out yet?

Unfortunately it doesn't say what percent it is on the can. Any yes it des burn hot and clean, with very little noticable odor.

Klean Strip S-L-X shellac thinner is what I bought.

"Unfortunately it doesn't say what percent it is on the can"

The Klean Strip website has links to the labels of their products. The denatured alcohol labels doesn't say anything that I can find about the percentage, so that leads me to think it's 100% alcohol

It doesn't even say what kind of alcohol it is...but another website where they sell it says it's ethanol. Since it's labeled as a poison this seems consistent with the warnings on the can!

Thanks for the info Doggonega. I also did a bit of googling and came up with this: Denatured Alcohol

I learned something today.

Well I bought one of these awhile back to keep in my emergency gear. folding mini shovel

It works well and is lightweight and small to carry.

"The image shows it almost more like a pick. Does it open up further to act as a shovel as well? "

Well...the webpage says "the Folding Mini Shovel can be used as a shovel or a pick, and the serrated edge allows it to be used as a saw, too! "

It looks like more or less the same design as the military version...and those do open up to be used as a shovel.

Yup it opens up to be a shovel at which point the pick lays flat up the handle to offer more stability.

Yup, it is basically the military design, but smaller.

The handle screws together in the middle, so it breaks down to be a much smaller package.

The serrated portion is common to most military E-tool (entrenching tool) designs and while I have never saw then very useful as a saw, they do help in cutting roots when digging a fighting position in a wooded area.

I wouldn't try to use it to saw down anything of "size", unless I absolutely had to.

I suppose it could be used to saw branches that are too big to be cut with a knife or broken by hand.

Yes, that site is a darn good site, I have bought all kinds of things from them over the last 15 years or so and have never been disappointed with the quality of what I got from them.

quote:

definately good to know that you have been frequenting the site for that long. Offers peace of mind for when i place my order.

I order at least twice a year, I save my money and plan what I want, then place a big order. Of course my biggest orders are done after I get my tax return.

When ordering, always check the availability of the item you order. (Easily done when ordering online) If you order by mail and the item sells out before your order is processed, they will refund your money in a very timely fashion.

I have always been happy with their goods and services. A real top notch site in my book.

you know i keep hearing about people useing cotton balls as fire tinder but you know what works just as good and is free the almost everyone throws away.............the lint from the dryer i never thought anything about it till me and a friend of mine got suck in some woods when me and him went huning and were stuck there for about 4 days and he had a small kit just for thing like this and he had a small bag filled with it and it worked GREAT between me and him we had what we thought would cover everything in our kits we had pain reliver feld dressings splints neck brace rubber tubeing suringe quick clot about 3 or 4 different types of lighters and very small blow torch hand and feet wormers lint TP about 4 different knifes inclodeing one KA-BAR a 20 pack of cem lights about 100-150ft of 550 cord and one case of MRE we each had six of them and this is to formermarine0341 thank you for everything you did for this country and i do plan on join the Marines that has been my dream from when i was like 8 thats all i wanted to do when i got older was become a Marine and it still is today and when i hit 18 that what im going to go and do is sign upand yes i have thought about it i have ben thinking about it for 9 years and its still all i want to do

Tank2, Yup dryer lint is handy as tinder. I keep a ziploc bag of it in my butt-pack. The best lint comes from a load of bath towels.

If you want to travel the most, enlist with an infantry MOS. It you want to learn something useful, don't join the Infantry.

Ofcourse you could start as Infantry and then do a MOS change at re-up time and go into an MOS that is useful in the real world. I find there is very little need for Mortarman in the real world.

I would hope that you stay in until retirement, and if you do...stay for a 30 year retirement as opposed to a 20 year retirement.

I have seen plenty of 20 year vets who still have to work to make ends meet, most 30 year vets (at least in my area) only work full time if they want to, most work part time or not at all.

I can't stress enough to try and get into a MOS that is useful in the real world (especially if you only plan on a single enlistment), as I said, their is little use for Infantry in the real world.

Well, we have talked about Trangia Type stoves, but has anyone ever used the Volcano Type Stoves. I assume the operate in a similar fashion as a Trangia, except that the bottle rests inside the burner for heating.

These look like they would be unstable and increase the risk of a danderous fire when using liquid fuel such as Alcohol.

Any thoughts? Comments? Experience with these stoves?

formermarine0341 send me a message so we can talk ok because for some reson i cant send one to you

Sorry tank2, messaging is not activated on this forum and I don't give out my email on a public forum.

If you wish, you may start a new thread/topic and ask me what you want to know, but I don't want this thread cluttered up with non topic posts. (although it has happened from time to time) I try to keep on topic and it has been successful for the most part. Thanks.

I just recently bought a Crusader Cup and a 58 Pattern Water Bottle.

Its a nice set up, they both fit together and create a snug fit. The cup is metal, for boiling water and cooking, its nice and sturdy, I don't think it would bend easily. The water bottle is also sturdy and well built.

Unfortunately, it needs a pouch for carrying, there isn't a lanyard hole. And the profile isn't very slim, so its a tad cumbersome.

But Id recommend purchasing this set up for the old survival kit, it should cost you less then 50 bucks (American)

I had to look up the Crusader Cup, it looks to be a pretty decent system.

It seemed to be of similar size and shape to the U.S. Canteen Cup. It may fit in a carrier for a U.S.G.I. canteen, or perhaps there is a British military equivalent carrier.

From what I saw, I reckon you purchased a good and useful tool.

The canteen and cup fits nicely into one of the side pockets of my new tactical assault vest, but the vest isn't exactly the ideal item while on a hike, haha. I think Ill try and buy a belt pouch for it or maybe rig an over the shoulder strap system for it.

Has anyone here heard of/used that "burger-in-a-can" item? From what I hear you put this unopened tin can into a pot of boiling water for about 15 minutes and when its done you should have a perfectly cooked cheeseburger, with a bun and everything right out of a can. I heard the item is aimed at hikers and the military. Sounds kinda fishy to me, last I heard it wasn't approved by the USDA for sale in America.

quote:

Has anyone here heard of/used that "burger-in-a-can" item?

Not having heard of this, I gave it a quick google and came up with This Site, which is in German or some such language, so I don't know much more than what you said.

Interesting idea...though probably not for me.

Here is a bit more info on the canned burger. Still.......looks a tad fishy....THAT from a can? That looks better then a fast food burger. But, they make their burgers look so much better on the commercial.

I think Id just take a sack full of energy bars and get a burger on the way home, haha.

LOL, yup I think you are correct, I don't believe that burger came out of a can!

Yes, a sack full of energy bars sounds like a better idea than a Burger in a can.

wow that looks delicious.

Hi folks. I just joined the forum and thought I would resurrect the discussion about "what to wipe with" while in the bush. Someone mentioned that monkeys don't have to wipe cause they don't have big gluteus maximus muscles gettin in the way. Not to be too crude, but it seems to me the best way to handle this is to spread your cheeks as far as possible while "doin the deed," and thus minimize the mess! Never tried it, but this may eliminate the need for wiping. (May call for a field test, eh?)

go for it and let us know the results

quote:

Never tried it, but this may eliminate the need for wiping. (May call for a field test, eh?)

Believe me Frosty...in 17 years of military service, I have tried just about every way possible to "stay clean" in the great outdoors and "spreading as far as possible" ain't always the easiest thing to accomplish, especially while: squatting, leaning against a tree, sitting on the lowest limb of a tree while standing in deep snow, hanging a cheek on the handle of a tri-fold e-tool stuck in the ground, etc. etc. etc....

About the best way I have found is to eat MRE cheese and MRE peanut butter and make your...um...droppings...really firm. Makes for less mess in the buttockal region, but man, it can be 40 below outside and you'll still be covered in sweat after squeezing one of those "gorilla turds" out of your body!

Anyway, welcome aboard the Survivorman discussion board!

Gorilla Turds!! Ha!
Seriously though, nice to hear from somebody with experience.

two of the wierdest yet some of the most helpful survival items are a tampon and a condom.
now i'm not trying to be a pervert here but the condom is the smallest item that will expand to the biggest which makes for a great "canteen"
the tampon can also be used as a "bandage" for deep wounds.
another cool trick that i learned is you buy two space blankets and lay them on top of each other. tape the seams at the bottom with duct tape along with one of the sides completely. on the other side tape it half way up to allow you to climb in. then you can take your fleece and put it in there and you have a surprisingly warm sleep.

quote:

two space blankets and lay them on top of each other. tape the seams at the bottom with duct tape along with one of the sides completely. on the other side tape it half way up to allow you to climb in. then you can take your fleece and put it in there and you have a surprisingly warm sleep.

One flaw I see with this is that the Mylar doesn't "breathe", so if you sweat it can't wick away to the air, so you end up wet.

Wet + cold = very bad.

Best bet is to lay one blanket on the ground (shiny side up) for a ground cloth and use the other to reflect heat from your fire back towards you. Sleep in your fleece as normal.

"One flaw I see with this is that the Mylar doesn't "breathe", so if you sweat it can't wick away to the air, so you end up wet."

That's the description of a vapor barrier. Yes, you would end up wet...but if you were also warm, you'd probably be ok. BUT you would have to be careful about getting out into the open air!

If you are warm, but damp, and the air temperature is really cold then yes warm & wet + cold could be very bad. But if you slowly allow colder air to infiltrate the warmer air inside the vapor barrier and slowly give the moisture room to leave...it could work.

It's the age old argument about wearing rain gear. Given the right circumstances you come down to a choice between being wet and cool, or wet and hot. It's only when the weather is downright COLD that the option to wear rain gear becomes a no brainer.

But when it's borderline cool you're going to get wet either way. Generally it works out that if you are moving and keeping warm that way, it's probably better to stow the rain gear and just get wet. Then, if you need it for when you stop you have the rain gear to use as...yes...a vapor barrier that can assist you in keeping warmer as your muscles cool down and the weather cools down.

I guess what I'm saying is: don't reject the user of mylar as a vapor barrier out of hand...but if you think it might be a needed option then EDUCATE yourself on how a vapor barrier works and when. That way if you DO need the option you know how to use it correctly and safely.

Edit: I almost forgot! Something very similar happened to Les in the dog sledding episode. He built a snow "bunker" shelter and used the mylar sheet and some plastic and pine boughs to roof it and close it in. He showed in his filming that it got VERY damp, to the point where he couldn't keep the lenses dry enough for good, clear shots.

But he also did NOT choose to let colder air in...clearly opting for the "damp but warmer" scenario to get him through a cold night.

i would never recommend this for a cold campout seeing as yes you would get damp and yes it is not designed for that kind of weather.
but that "sleeping bag" is truthfully just a cheap version of a bivy sack. i have completely converted to a bivy and now never sleep in tents, even in below freezing temperatures and i only encounter a small amount of frost build up and gore-tex, if i'm not mistaken, is one of those water barriers. so in truth shouldn't this bag work the same as a bivy sack and from experience it does. you dont have to cover your face entirely either, which will allow the water vapor you exhale to leave without coming into contact with the space blanket.

quote:

Originally posted by OrIgInal MethOd:
i would never recommend this for a cold campout seeing as yes you would get damp and yes it is not designed for that kind of weather.
but that "sleeping bag" is truthfully just a cheap version of a bivy sack. i have completely converted to a bivy and now never sleep in tents, even in below freezing temperatures and i only encounter a small amount of frost build up and gore-tex, if i'm not mistaken, is one of those water barriers. so in truth shouldn't this bag work the same as a bivy sack and from experience it does. you dont have to cover your face entirely either, which will allow the water vapor you exhale to leave without coming into contact with the space blanket.

I see what you are saying now. I just always put "space blankets" together for use in cold/cool weather.

If I have to use a non breathable material, I always use it to make a shelter so that I don't get the water vapor build up "on me", thus making me wet and uncomfortable and possibly leading to cold weather injury that could have been otherwise avoided.

If I had 2 space blankets and a fleece bag, I would use one blanket for a ground cloth and the other to make a heat reflector and/or weather shelter as needed with plenty of ventilation to help eliminate as much moisture build up as possible. (though you cant always eliminate it, depending upon the conditions you're in)

I carry space blankets in my kits, but mainly for use as large reflective signaling devices or ground cloths or to help provide a pocket of shade if caught in the open in hot conditions.

GoreTex is waterproof and breathable at the same time. It is excellent in keeping oneself dry from the outside as well as the inside of a jacket/pants/parka/boots/hat/gloves.

GoreTex is darn good stuff!

I have never tried a bivy. I just make a shelter with a poncho or one half of a "shelter half". Or a combination of the two....LIKE THIS.

This pic was taken before I got the "floor" covered with pine boughs. (a man has to eat!)

doggonega,
Yep, I know what a vapor barrier is and how to use it to keep me warm. I choose to use it in ways that don't get me wet, especially in cold weather. Wet, even if it is just sweat is almost always a bad thing in cold weather, more so in a survival situation.

I have used some of the worst and some of the best rain gear our tax dollars can buy and I was very happy when Goretex was invented and issued to the military and I still use it to this day.

I'll stick to staying as dry as possible, it is how I was trained and has always served me well.

One other point, in warm weather and rain, yes, I much prefered to just get rained on and wet as opposed to wearing a rainsuit and getting wet from the "inside" by sweating.

In tropical climates, you are either going to be wet from rain in the rainy season or wet from sweat in the dry season, so I rarely even carried rain gear in the jungle. (mainly to save on weight that I had to carry for an item I wouldn't use anyway.(rainsuit) Though I always carried my poncho, they were handy to make shelters and even to make rafts for stream crossings or emergency stretcher.

Really the only time I would carry a rain suit was when we were firing mortars in the rain and mud.

The recoil of the mortar would throw mud and water from under the baseplate and get musd all over you, especially when you are the Gunner as he leans down under the barrel and holds the bipod legs down to keep them from raising up when the gun recoils.

Oh yeah, another darn good reason to not wear the old style rain suits the military used to issue....they smelled like dog vomit when they got wet and that smell transferred to you and your Utility Uniform.

It wasn't a pleasant smell...at all.

quote:

Originally posted by Frostyfingers:
Hi folks. I just joined the forum and thought I would resurrect the discussion about "what to wipe with" while in the bush. Someone mentioned that monkeys don't have to wipe cause they don't have big gluteus maximus muscles gettin in the way. Not to be too crude, but it seems to me the best way to handle this is to spread your cheeks as far as possible while "doin the deed," and thus minimize the mess! Never tried it, but this may eliminate the need for wiping. (May call for a field test, eh?)

I know this post has already been addressed, but then I found:

THIS

I am not sure what kind of info it has, but the title is....interesting.

quote:

the tampon can also be used as a "bandage" for deep wounds.

Sanitary Napkins (pads) work well also as an expedient bandage.

Well, a buddy of mine sent me This: SAS Survival Guide, it has a wealth of information on many subjects and is in a handy "pocket" size.

This has been stowed away in my kit.

Many thing s in it I knew already, but many things I did not. I figure it may come in handy one day, even if it is just to "refresh" a tired mind in an emergency.

thanks for the link gonna buy it next month. thanks again