Ahem, so...I cheated.

Hard Kit is all other accoutrements that are not clothing, weapons or armour. This includes pots and tents, and flint & steel, and other things like that.

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Ursus
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Ahem, so...I cheated.

Post by Ursus »

For the first time I well and truly cheated. For a while now I've been seeking a sizable lightweight pot for my mess kit. I looked everywhere to no avail when suddenly I stumbled on exactly what I wanted. Sadly it was made of modern materials.

Enter the 32 oz stainless steel boiler sold by Fugawee. Gasp! You read that right. stainless. steel. I was truly hoping to find something like this in plain steel but alas twas not to be. Basically I wanted a good sturdy pot that unlike my copper and tin boiler, wouldn't fall apart when cooking without water in it. Also it has the capacity to boil a sizable amount of water when supplies run low, can be used as an oven for trail bread, to brown meat, make medicine, and due to the handle it makes a fine large cup.

Add to all this that my small bean boiler from Backwoods Tin and Copper nests neatly inside and my small tin cup nest within that and you've got a fine all in one mess kit. Add to that my small steel folding skillet and small wooden bowl and you've got the means to have bacon and potatoes frying in the morning in the skillet, water boiling in the large boiler ready to do pour over coffee into the small boiler(served in the cup), and the remaining water ready to be used for oatmeal or bread. Neat, efficient and still reasonably light.

My justification? Well I've never played the "elven or dwarven craftsmanship" card before so I guess I'll play it now. Perhaps I helped a wandering dwarf merchant out of a tight spot and was given this pot made of a secretive dwarven material as thanks. Either way I figure once it's been in the fire a few times no one will know whether it's regular steel or stainless. I'm happy either way.
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"Lonely men are we, Rangers of the wild, hunters – but hunters ever of the servants of the Enemy."

“My cuts, short or long, don’t go wrong.”
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Greg
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Re: Ahem, so...I cheated.

Post by Greg »

That's quite a pot! 32 oz? When's breakfast?!

All joking aside, you have Backwood's corn boiler, right? The one he calls a bean boiler is closer to the size of your tin cup, to avoid confusion here. Neat little setup. What are you planning on carrying this in?
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Ursus
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Re: Ahem, so...I cheated.

Post by Ursus »

Greg wrote:That's quite a pot! 32 oz? When's breakfast?!

All joking aside, you have Backwood's corn boiler, right? The one he calls a bean boiler is closer to the size of your tin cup, to avoid confusion here. Neat little setup. What are you planning on carrying this in?
I have both the standard boiler and the small bean boiler. The small bean boiler is what you see here. The small tin cup comes from Turkey Foot Trading Co.

I now carry everything in my leather haversack. As seen here http://middleearthrangers.org/forum/vie ... =27&t=3148
"Lonely men are we, Rangers of the wild, hunters – but hunters ever of the servants of the Enemy."

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Elleth
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Re: Ahem, so...I cheated.

Post by Elleth »

Sometimes functionality has to win. :)

(I also love that treen bowl! Looks like it's held many a meal.
The handle on the fork looks handmade - did you haft it?
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Ursus
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Re: Ahem, so...I cheated.

Post by Ursus »

Elleth wrote:Sometimes functionality has to win. :)

(I also love that treen bowl! Looks like it's held many a meal.
The handle on the fork looks handmade - did you haft it?
I did and shamelessly used Gregs idea of notching the end to lift lids and such. I made the spoon and bowl as well. That bowl is nearly 15 years old by now and has indeed seen many a meal!
"Lonely men are we, Rangers of the wild, hunters – but hunters ever of the servants of the Enemy."

“My cuts, short or long, don’t go wrong.”
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Re: Ahem, so...I cheated.

Post by Manveruon »

No harm in a little cheating every now and again! And this definitely looks the part well enough to my eye!

I've gone back and forth on adding something like this to my kit. Currently, I don't actually do enough primitive camping to make it necessary, however practical and realistic it may be for such purposes. And when actually trekking in full kit, I have a hard time envisioning where I would actually PUT such a thing. Currently I feel like I'm trying to fit ten pounds of... well... y'know... into a five-pound sack, to borrow a colorful phrase, and I can hardly imagine fitting anything like that in. Makes eating at camp rather boring, but considering my current level of commitment to the lifestyle (or, honestly, lack thereof), I don't know if that will ever end up being a problem for me, beyond simply trying to adhere to a sense of authenticity.
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Elleth
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Re: Ahem, so...I cheated.

Post by Elleth »

Ursus cheats. Being built like a Dunedan, he's got more room to put stuff. :)
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Ursus
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Re: Ahem, so...I cheated.

Post by Ursus »

Elleth wrote:Ursus cheats. Being built like a Dunedan, he's got more room to put stuff. :)

Indeed! I use it to carry my emergency reserve of bs! :P
"Lonely men are we, Rangers of the wild, hunters – but hunters ever of the servants of the Enemy."

“My cuts, short or long, don’t go wrong.”
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Ursus
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Re: Ahem, so...I cheated.

Post by Ursus »

Greg wrote:What are you planning on carrying this in

Should anyone be interested in the bulk of this when packed head on over to the clothing update I did in the Soft Kit forum. In the full body shots you will see my haversack. In those photos it is currently fully packed with this complete mess kit, several days of dried trail rations, med and sewing kit and various other small possibles.
"Lonely men are we, Rangers of the wild, hunters – but hunters ever of the servants of the Enemy."

“My cuts, short or long, don’t go wrong.”
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Manveruon
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Re: Ahem, so...I cheated.

Post by Manveruon »

Ursus wrote:
Greg wrote:What are you planning on carrying this in

Should anyone be interested in the bulk of this when packed head on over to the clothing update I did in the Soft Kit forum. In the full body shots you will see my haversack. In those photos it is currently fully packed with this complete mess kit, several days of dried trail rations, med and sewing kit and various other small possibles.
Dang. You must be really good at Tetris! :mrgreen:
Maerondir Perianseron, also called “Mickel,” Halfling Friend - Ranger of the Misty Mountains
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Ursus
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Re: Ahem, so...I cheated.

Post by Ursus »

Manveruon wrote:
Ursus wrote:
Greg wrote:What are you planning on carrying this in

Should anyone be interested in the bulk of this when packed head on over to the clothing update I did in the Soft Kit forum. In the full body shots you will see my haversack. In those photos it is currently fully packed with this complete mess kit, several days of dried trail rations, med and sewing kit and various other small possibles.
Dang. You must be really good at Tetris! :mrgreen:
That may mean that their is hope that I may yet be good at some form of video game. But I doubt it :P

Packing properly is key. The trick is downsizing everything that can be downsized. Also critical is the way I pack the bag. It is packed/stacked into three columns for easy identification. Food, possibles, and cookware. Stacking things vertically like this not only keeps the bags profile thin but most importantly allows the body of the bag to fold and conform to my torso better.
"Lonely men are we, Rangers of the wild, hunters – but hunters ever of the servants of the Enemy."

“My cuts, short or long, don’t go wrong.”
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Elleth
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Re: Ahem, so...I cheated.

Post by Elleth »

Nice!

Out of curiosity, is there much bouncing when running with that thing? Or does the blanketroll serve to keep it weighted down?
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Ursus
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Re: Ahem, so...I cheated.

Post by Ursus »

Elleth wrote:Nice!

Out of curiosity, is there much bouncing when running with that thing? Or does the blanketroll serve to keep it weighted down?
When I run my left hand is on my sword hilt guiding it and keeping it anchored. As a result my arm and elbow keep things firmly in place. With no sword present there is a bit of play but not enough to disrupt my running. Short of a well anchored backpack though kit like this is always going to require a learned set of mechanics in order to run, squat, climb etc, at least in my experience.
"Lonely men are we, Rangers of the wild, hunters – but hunters ever of the servants of the Enemy."

“My cuts, short or long, don’t go wrong.”
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Manveruon
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Re: Ahem, so...I cheated.

Post by Manveruon »

Excellent points there. I'm slowly learning the best ways to run in my gear, but as my kit is still in a pretty much constant state of evolution, some adjustment is nearly always required. I have to say though, on my hike this past Sunday, I was more satisfied with my overall kit and carriage than I probably ever have been before, and I think I'm finally homing in on a good system - thanks in large part to posts like this and the MERF in general. Even so, I didn't carry 100% of the things I likely would for an overnight/multi-day trek, so I'm going to have to get good at strategic packing, like what you've described, in order to make everything play well together for that kind of adventure.
Maerondir Perianseron, also called “Mickel,” Halfling Friend - Ranger of the Misty Mountains
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