The shoes that I bought a couple of years ago specifically for riding began falling apart soon after purchase, so what did I do, I went out and bought another pair from the same manufacturer. I couldn't pass up the mesh and lack of standard laces. Some people swear by their Keen sandals but I like to wear socks with my footwear. These are the new Salomon Rx Travel shoes meant for pre and post workout. Orange was the only color left in my size.
I also picked up an unobtrusive mirror for riding the roads out to the state park.
I stopped by a local military surplus store and bought a well used and very dirty Esbit stove (the only one left) as well as a unused surplus French army cook stove. I picked up a box of fuel tablets from Backwoods. I made out pretty well as the stoves were only $3.50 each and the fuel tablets were $7.00.
The kids decided to help out with the water boil test. It took me a while to clean out the Esbit stove so I lined the bottom with tinfoil to keep it clean. The fuel tablets leave lots of residue. I filled the pot with 16oz of water. This was probably too much as I went through two tablets and couldn't get the water to boil. I'm thinking that the tinfoil might also be a problem. It blocked airflow from below, there are holes in the bottom of the stove.
I placed a new fuel tablet in the French stove and had the water boiling in no time. Of course the water was still hot from the previous attempt.
The short support arms on the French stove brings the pot closer to the flame.
I stopped by a local military surplus store and bought a well used and very dirty Esbit stove (the only one left) as well as a unused surplus French army cook stove. I picked up a box of fuel tablets from Backwoods. I made out pretty well as the stoves were only $3.50 each and the fuel tablets were $7.00.
The kids decided to help out with the water boil test. It took me a while to clean out the Esbit stove so I lined the bottom with tinfoil to keep it clean. The fuel tablets leave lots of residue. I filled the pot with 16oz of water. This was probably too much as I went through two tablets and couldn't get the water to boil. I'm thinking that the tinfoil might also be a problem. It blocked airflow from below, there are holes in the bottom of the stove.
I placed a new fuel tablet in the French stove and had the water boiling in no time. Of course the water was still hot from the previous attempt.
The short support arms on the French stove brings the pot closer to the flame.
The most important new item, a French press. There's nothing better than coffee on a campout. I've never used a French press before so I thought I should practice beforehand.
