Camping stoves and heat/light packs - Bug Out Bag Stuff

So I have invented the heat and light pack. Its a small heavy gage plastic seal-able bag, that in it has candles, a candle lantern, and some Sterno cans, except the good ones, the high heat - 8 or more hour cans. Throw in a lighter, a mylar emergency blanket, some hand and foot warmers, and you have a heat and light pack.

4 of these Sterno cans, they are called Magic Heat, and you can cook with them or heat a car or tent.
Safe for indoors. But up to 10 hours some of them, I have the 8 hour cans.
The size of a can of Sterno, for heating the buffet dishes at the Sunday Buffet. You know what I mean I am sure.

SO I went to the local outfitters, MEC, top class outfitters for mountain climbing etc, and looked at light weight pack stoves. They all want to use the small butane propane mix cans. And a small stove rack for one pot that screws on the can usually. One can = one hour of cooking.
But it will boil a liter of water in 4 minutes. Whats the rush???

And they are like 70 bucks and up to 150 or more for these little things.

And you have to carry those cans of propane/butane.

So I figure with 4 cans of magic heat, at 8 hours per can, I have 32 hours of cook time. That blows the doors off their 1 hour of cook time.

And for a stove, I take a large can of tomatoes, make chili, keep the can , cut some air holes in the bottom on one side, not the windy side, and voila! A little pot holder. The Sterno cans sit in it and the pot sits on it.

So tell me your candle lantern stories. I just bought one. Bees wax candles, last for 8 hours, one will heat a tent. And the one I bought, that candle lantern also has a little led light on the bottom, with a couple of those little flat batteries, it will last 150 hours. If you need more light temporarily.
Now add to this your usual headlamp and high tech 900 lumens flashlights like the ones I got from China, which are freaking amazing. Battery rechargeable, batteries have a 15 year shelf life, and they are an odd size between a double A and a C. And they are Lithium Polymer.

So, what have you got for heat, light and cooking for your Bug Out Bag?

I'd recommend a habachi (hibachi? spelling), a tree axe, and heavy duty aluminum foil.

I had one hibachi for almost 20 years before it rusted out. It's very small, folds up, light as a loaf of bread ... and I could smoke turkey legs on it using the foil.

Be sure to save and reuse the foil in a SHTF scenario.

man, I really hate to mention this, but I started a thread a few days ago about Cheetos and how they are a serious fire starter point. I won't bog you down with the thread but, if you need a conservative heat source, really think these little orange crunchy things through. they have an insane amount of energy in them.

a single 'crunchy' Cheeto will ligt for a very long time on a low flame. like 20 minutes of heat for hands or kindling.
try it out. (just spreading the word as weird as it sounds)

the ideal situation is low, lasting flame. the puff Cheetos burn faster and higher rate. test out the "crunchy" kind.

Go preorder a Biolite Camp Stove. It is all you will ever need to survive in a SHTF scenario. You can cook on it without fuel (uses anything that can be burned), recharge usb devices, use it for heat and light (can be transported while burning), and it only weighs about 2 pounds.

Originally posted by beautyndissonance
Go preorder a Biolite Camp Stove ... recharge usb devices

It has to be recharged? USB devices require electricity right? If SHTF then there'd be no electricity.

Originally posted by zooplancton
man, I really hate to mention this, but I started a thread a few days ago about Cheetos and how they are a serious fire starter point. I won't bog you down with the thread but, if you need a conservative heat source, really think these little orange crunchy things through. they have an insane amount of energy in them.

a single 'crunchy' Cheeto will ligt for a very long time on a low flame. like 20 minutes of heat for hands or kindling.
try it out. (just spreading the word as weird as it sounds)

the ideal situation is low, lasting flame. the puff Cheetos burn faster and higher rate. test out the "crunchy" kind.

Do they stink like bear farts when they burn or what?

I am not sure I want my two man tent smelling like burnt cheetos. I was thinking of winter camping.

In summer for a fire starter, I bought this little magic match, from China, of course, where else, and it it has a permanent striker, you know, and a long flint up the side, but the striker wand screws into a socket holder in this little thing, and you pour some lighter fluid in there. So as long as your lighter fluid lasts, you have a match, and then you have a big sparking striker. And then you need steel wool or whatever kindling.

But you know, a bag of cheetos around here, would last about 20 minutes. So probably I would eat them.

I have one of those little foldable backbacking stoves, that uses canned heat to cook with. Also a metal camp pot that holds about 4 cups of water. Works great for me, and lightweight too! Add to that the LightMyFire kit I use- its a plastic type of bowl that has another bowl inside it, and a spoon/fork combo tool, very resilant and easy to clean too, also includes a flat plate w/ holes in it to drain pasta/top raman, etc. Heres a link: LightMyFire
Everything fits inside the bigger container, which itself isn't that large to begin with, very light and compact for the BUG, or backpacking, which is what I use it for.

*Thanks for the link beautyndissonance, that thing looks pretty intersting. You don't have to recharge the stove, to the poster who mentioned it, the stove actually recharges your stuff, using the heat produced to (I imagine), turn a fan that will produce a current. I wonder how long it would take to recharge a standard MP3 player... I'm thinking awhile...


To quote the website

Charge your gadgets. By converting heat from the fire into usable electricity, our stoves will recharge your phones, lights and other gadgets while you cook dinner.

reply to post by Rocketman7


take that advice on a more serious level. I know it sounds brash and trite.
have you played with magnesium and a striker?

Originally posted by Trexter Ziam

Originally posted by beautyndissonance
Go preorder a Biolite Camp Stove ... recharge usb devices

It has to be recharged? USB devices require electricity right? If SHTF then there'd be no electricity.

You can charge things with cars as long as there is gas, or makeshift bicycle flywheel when the gas is gone.
Or solar.
Charging batteries is easy when you need to.

Small toy airplane motor, that runs on whatever, alchohol maybe, and distill it yourself. Hook it up to a fly wheel, charge batteries.
Where there is a will there is a way. Make a small boiler out of a pressure cooker, hook up a flywheel, to the steam pressure, steam turns a turbine, charge batteries.

Originally posted by zooplancton
reply to post by Rocketman7

 

take that advice on a more serious level. I know it sounds brash and trite.
have you played with magnesium and a striker?

Well I will show you what I bought, I am not sure it is magnesium.
Keyring match stick

I understand the cheetos would work well. I watched the videos, read the thread. I would still eat them.
Its too tempting to have them sit in the pack and not eat them.

Chapstick and dryer lint. The only heating/cooking utilities you will ever need.

reply to post by captaintyinknots


Chapstick? I must need some enlightening...so please do! That sounds interesting...

Originally posted by captaintyinknots
Chapstick and dryer lint. The only heating/cooking utilities you will ever need.

Can you elaborate? Thanks!

Oh, and my spouse told me night before last that chapstick (which I use constantly) is made out of the white bits in chicken pooh. Your post made me remember that and now I have to run to Urban Legends.

But, what do you do with the chapstick? Rub it on the dryer lint or toss it in the fire?

Originally posted by JJRichey
I have one of those little foldable backbacking stoves, that uses canned heat to cook with. Also a metal camp pot that holds about 4 cups of water. Works great for me, and lightweight too! Add to that the LightMyFire kit I use- its a plastic type of bowl that has another bowl inside it, and a spoon/fork combo tool, very resilant and easy to clean too, also includes a flat plate w/ holes in it to drain pasta/top raman, etc. Heres a link: LightMyFire
Everything fits inside the bigger container, which itself isn't that large to begin with, very light and compact for the BUG, or backpacking, which is what I use it for.

*Thanks for the link beautyndissonance, that thing looks pretty intersting. You don't have to recharge the stove, to the poster who mentioned it, the stove actually recharges your stuff, using the heat produced to (I imagine), turn a fan that will produce a current. I wonder how long it would take to recharge a standard MP3 player... I'm thinking awhile...

edit on 20-1-2012 by JJRichey because: add thankx for line

To quote the website

Charge your gadgets. By converting heat from the fire into usable electricity, our stoves will recharge your phones, lights and other gadgets while you cook dinner.

edit on 20-1-2012 by JJRichey because: quote

Wow, cool stuff.
I went for the metal set.
What I did was I thought that the canned heat would fit in this set...
alchohol stove kit

But the canned heat is too big for that stove part. So I will keep the pot and lid/plate, and keep that stove too I suppose, since it just needs rubbing alchohol. An ounce will cook a meal.
But I will need to substitute an empty 14 oz can of tomatoes as a stove to hold the canned heat.
But I found another aluminum pot there that is just big enough for the pot to sit in, so I bought it too.
And a plastic 18 ounce hip flask.
You know I bought a stainless water bottle for my water filter, and an aluminum water bottle, and then I bought a can of gatorade powder and it said don't use metal, use glass or plastic for the gatorade.

Originally posted by JJRichey
reply to post by captaintyinknots

 

Chapstick? I must need some enlightening...so please do! That sounds interesting...

chapstick, vasoline, or any petrolium based lubricant acts as an amazing accelorent for starting a fire.

They ignite faster than just about any other household item.

Cheap, lightweight, and a tube holds hundreds of lights. Chapstick is invaluable in a survival situation.

Originally posted by Trexter Ziam

Originally posted by captaintyinknots
Chapstick and dryer lint. The only heating/cooking utilities you will ever need.

Can you elaborate? Thanks!

Oh, and my spouse told me night before last that chapstick (which I use constantly) is made out of the white bits in chicken pooh.

Your post made me remember that and now I have to run to Urban Legends.

But, what do you do with the chapstick? Rub it on the dryer lint or toss it in the fire?

a little put on some dryer lint will ignite faster and burn hotter than most store bought fire starters

Originally posted by Rocketman7

Originally posted by Trexter Ziam

Originally posted by beautyndissonance
Go preorder a Biolite Camp Stove ... recharge usb devices

It has to be recharged? USB devices require electricity right? If SHTF then there'd be no electricity.

You can charge things with cars as long as there is gas, or makeshift bicycle flywheel when the gas is gone.
Or solar.
Charging batteries is easy when you need to.

I made a small solar powered usb source. For the bare minimum all you need is a decent solar panel, a 5v limiter or regulator, and a usb connector. Can charge cell phones, usb AA/AAA battery chargers and such, with no dependance on a battery. The switching regulator I got cost 3 bucks, outputs a max of 5v at 1.5 amps, and runs around 85-95% efficiency. Much better than the chickenshack voltage limiters which just waste energy as heat.

As far as ignition, I got some bricks of magnesium, a load of flint sticks, lighters, and a laser. I can charge the laser with my other solar set up, using supercapacitors for reliable energy storage.

I use a MSR Dragonfly. Pricy, but the ability to burn white gas, kerosene, gasoline, and diesel all with the same stove makes it worth it IMO. The stove body itself is a solid block of machined aluminum. It's fairly large; a 5lb coffee can makes a good case for it. I wouldn't recommend it for lone wolves due to its size, but for a family it's a good piece of kit. I went with the Dragonfly mainly for its multi-fuel capability *and* for the ability to adjust the flame to a simmer. Those little bag side dishes are the perfect size dinner, but they all require the ability to simmer.

MSR Dragonfly

I do like that Geo stove thingy though. I'll probably buy the big one for versatility as my gear has evolved more towards bugout car as opposed to bugout bag. Yeah, it's still packed but it'll be ten thousand flavors of Suck if I have to bail and leave all that gear behind. Then again, I only have 45 miles of rural highway to traverse.

Originally posted by Trexter Ziam

Originally posted by captaintyinknots
Chapstick and dryer lint. The only heating/cooking utilities you will ever need.

Can you elaborate? Thanks!

Oh, and my spouse told me night before last that chapstick (which I use constantly) is made out of the white bits in chicken pooh.

Your post made me remember that and now I have to run to Urban Legends.

But, what do you do with the chapstick? Rub it on the dryer lint or toss it in the fire?

Ooooo gross. Did you kiss im when he said that?

Tell him, "you don't want to go to a brewery and see how beer is made"

Here's what I don't don't get: if the s has truly htf, what usb device will you need to charge? What usb device will be important to your survival?

In a survival situation, charging an ipod is going to be the least of my worries...