High Tech Camping

So if you've really read this blog at all you'll know that I'm big into survival, camping, and the outdoors in general. The other day I was reading a tech article on PCMag.com and noticed an article in the sidebar called Equipment for High Tech Camping. So, considering my love for both the techy and the primitive, I obviously had to check it out. I was expecting the usual solar chargers, GPS units, etc. and those were indeed included. However, there were some really neat, useful products that I hadn't seen before.


TentLEDs

The TentLEDs are such a no-brainer that I am really shocked that someone hasn't mass-marketed them before. I know I personally trip over the tie ropes on my tent at least once a trip. When you're stumbling around in the dark half asleep, you're going to eventually catch your foot on one of them if you're not careful. The TentLEDs would definitely make it less likely to happen.



Brunton's Flip-n-Drip Coffee Maker

I'm a big fan of what we call "Cowboy Coffee". I have a campfire coffee pot and we normally drink boiled coffee when we're camping or hunting. That may change now that I've found this little guy. It just looks so damn convenient. You just pour water it in the lower chamber and throw that in the fire. While it is heating up you put coffee in the middle chamber and screw it all back together. Once the water is hot just put the whole thing together, flip it over and let it drip. Pretty flippin' sweet.



The Cave by Heimplanet

There is no way to describe this other than awesome. Ok, maybe convenient works too. It is a tent that uses "air beams" instead of tent poles. You just unroll the whole thing, hook up a hand pump, and in no time you have your tent aired up and ready to go. I can see where there would be times when it wouldn't be "enough" of a tent. Long trips, high winds, etc. But for your day to day trips, this seems like it would be pretty cool. Easy to pack as well. You just pop the air valves and roll the whole thing up and stuff it in the bag. Pretty damn nifty.


Have you guys come across any cool high tech camping gear lately?


Summer Colds Suck

Sorry I've been away for the past few days. I've been dealing with a killer summer cold. I hardly ever get sick, maybe twice a year, but when I do it always seems to knock me on my ass. When it comes to medicine I tend to take an old school approach. As far back as I can remember my grandmother had a recipe for what she called "the syrup". Any time one of us got sick she would mix it up and make us sip on it all day. It is probably the reason I became a borderline alcoholic at such a young age. I figured I would share the recipe with you all. It is pretty simple. No real measurements, just throw all the following into a coffee mug, heat it up, and drink.

Whiskey (I prefer Makers Mark or Jack Daniels but you can use anything. Rum works in a pinch as well)
Honey (Preferably locally grown)
Lemon (Lots of lemon)

Just mixed all this up, throw it into the microwave for about 45 seconds, and sip away. It really does help. You can also grate up some ginger root and add to it. I do this but most people don't like the taste of raw ginger.



Whiskey, Honey, and Lemon

Hopefully this will help any of you suffering from a summer cold like I am at the moment.

Bottoms up, bitches!

I have a confession to make... I am addicted to Pinterest.

So a few weeks ago I noticed that my girlfriend was obsessively perusing some website that I'd never seen before. My first thought was "Ooooh... Pretty colors..." Yeah, I have ADHD. Anyway, I ask what she is looking at and she tells me about this awesome site she's been checking out called Pinterest.

Of course, I had heard the word but I didn't really have any idea what the site was all about.

Kind of like Google+. All my friends were using it but I had resisted the demons and never checked it out. Once I did, I was extremely disappointed. Google+ sucks. Period. No debate.

But Pinterest... Oh, Pinterest... You crafty vixen. You... You had me the first time I saw a DIY pin about re-purposing wine bottles. Or it may have been the homemade Kimchi recipe...

Either way, I'm hooked. I'm an addict. I admit it and I am not ashamed (much) of it!

Sassafras Tea. Mmmmmmmm.....

So yesterday my buddy from over at Saturday Sports Blog and I were hiking through some of his family's land when we came across a stand of Sassafras trees. I am absolutely addicted to fresh Sassafras tea so we pulled, dug, and cut some Sassafras root to take home. This morning I washed the roots and sat them out to dry. Once they were dry I put a few in a pot of water to boil and made some Sassafras Tea. If you've never had, or even heard of, Sassafras Tea you are really missing out. It is a very light, flavorful tea that is great either iced or hot. Sassafras trees can be found in most areas of the lower 48 but is most prominent in the southern states.

Sassafras was banned from commercial sale in 1960 because researchers found that extreme doses of an ingredient found in Sassafras, called safrole, caused liver cancer in rats. These findings were very controversial for several reasons. The main reason being that it would take MASSIVE amounts of Sassafras being consumed to cause any negative effects. However, if you're concerned, please do the research before you try to make yourself any Sassafras tea.

If you'd like try some, here is the process from harvest to the glass:

1. Find a Sassafras tree.

2. Dig up some roots. Take them home and wash them really well then throw three to five roots about 4" long in a pot of boiling water. I normally do about a gallon of water for this amount of root.

3. Let the roots come to a rolling boil and sustain that boil for 30 minutes. Then remove the pot from the heat, cover it, and let it sit for 3 to 4 hours. The water will have turned a medium pink to a darker red color. Carefully pull the roots from the tea and strain the tea to get any small particles out.

4. Enjoy! If you like your tea strong you can drink it straight. Or you can dilute it with water like you would normal iced tea. I prefer mine diluted, with a bit of sugar, on ice. Just experiment with the variation that works best for you. You can also adjust the recipe to find the strength that you like. Just add more root to make it stronger or leave some out to make it weaker.

Or, you could just buy some commercial Sassafras Tea. The commercial teas use a safrole-free Sassafras flavoring to skirt by the safrole ban, so it won't be as tasty as the real thing, but it is better than nothing!

What gadget/tool can you absolutely not live without?

I realized something today. There are a few things that I carry with me everyday that I feel absolutely lost without. The first is my phone. Not because I feel I have to be connected ALL the time but simply because the damn thing is handy. I have an Iphone (haters gonna hate) and it has a ton of useful stuff on there. I have GPS, my geocaching app, weather info, a calculator, notes, voice recorder, etc. etc. etc.

The second thing I never leave home without is my knife. I mean, come on, when are knives NOT useful? You can open boxes, pry things apart, stab people, etc. The uses are endless! I carry a Smith & Wesson M&P. It is a spring assisted knife so it is easy to open with one hand. It is a carry over from when I was a firefighter. It is an amazingly durable and reliable knife.

And last but certainly not least, the ONE item that EVERYONE should always have with them... A good Multi-Tool. These things come in a variety of options, sizes, qualities, and finishes. A good Multi-Tool can save your ass in a number of ways. I don't carry a tool kit with me all the time so when I come across some small repair I can usually just pull out the Multi-Tool and get it taken care of without having to carry a ton of different tools around. My current Multi-Tool is the SOG Power Assist. It is fairly simple as far as Multi-Tools go but it does what I need it to do; day in and day out.

So those are the three things that I absolutely cannot live without. I feel completely naked if I don't have these three things on me at all times. Now, some of you might say that carrying a knife AND a Multi-Tool is overkill. After all, most Multi-Tools have a knife in them. So is this overkill? Absolutely. I'm a MAN, dammit. Overkill is what we do. Especially geeks. And while it very well may be overkill, there really is no substitute for a high quality knife. While some Multi-Tools, such as the SOG shown above, contain pretty decent knives, they will never compare to a high-quality stand-alone knife.

Now that you know what gadgets/tools I can't live without. What is your top three?

Dave Canturbury's Pathfinder Concepts Video

One of my readers, Sadistic, commented on the last post about wanting to make a 3 day trek through the Canadian Rockies with very little equipment. I wanted to post this video in response to that comment. I am a firm believer that a person should be as prepared as possible whenever venturing into the wilderness. Dave Canterbury, of Discovery Channel's Dual Survival, is a great resource for anyone looking for survival information. He has some great video on YouTube. Here is one of my favorites. It is basically a "primer" of the concepts he teaches at his Pathfinder School. I hope you enjoy it.

The Pathfinder School

Ok, so this isn't what you would normally find on a "geek/tech/whatever" blog, but survival and preparedness is something that I have been passionate about for a long time. As a geek I tend to obsess about things and survival is one of those things I rabidly obsess over.

Some of you may have seen a television show called Dual Survival on the Discovery Channel recently that stars a man named Dave Canterbury. Dave owns and operates a survival school called The Pathfinder School. His school is based out of Ohio but he does survival classes all over the country. I would highly recommend checking out his website. There is a lot of great information there.

http://www.wildernessoutfittersarchery.com/