They have a variety of ultralight rechargeable torches, as well as this excellent charger/powerbank which is all you need to charge them (and anything else!) I already wrote about their remarkable Tube torch here and here. Now they have much brighter models available such as the: Thumb (85 lumens + 25 grams with rotatable head …
Tiny Containers: The search for small receptacles to stow various necessities is ongoing. My friend Meg loaned me these lovely aluminium ‘tins’ to evaluate. She uses them for some of her tiny art works such as her fabulous ear-rings & etc. The smallest one here is perhaps a 10 ml model (and weighs less than …
Corner Inlet (above Wilson’s Prom) is such a treasure. If you are walking from Phillip Island to Eden along the coast (which you must, one day) you can wander along its amazing foreshore bird watching etc for days and if you have a pack raft you can even manage to get across the few spots …
I am after some light waterproof fabric to make one of my new 10 x 10 Tarps and new versions of my Pocket Poncho Tent and my Deer Hunter’s Tent. I would like to source the fabric out of China (where most of it is made anyway) and have been trying and trying (with Alibaba) …
I guess every hunter dreams of some secluded valley where it feels like you are the first person to have ever trod – at least where the deer are as plentiful and tame as rabbits and there is no competition from other hunters. Where you can arrive at your camp after a couple of day’s …
(Della) ‘yesterday revisiting Tongue Point and Fairy Cove at Wilson’s Promontory with friends. The beautiful spring weather, the good company and the 8 km walk were all very pleasant indeed, and we were warmly welcomed by the appearance of some winged luncheon guests at Fairy Cove (not actual fairies) as well as a killer whale …
It has been quite a while (over two years) since I first posted this. Time for an update. There are now over 100 ‘ideas’ to try out. Most will save you money or at least improve your outdoors experience; nearly all of them are my own ‘inventions’. Hope you find something useful to you. 101. …
I know most people can’t sew (and probably don’t have much money either) so I suggest either of these two simple poly tarp ‘hacks’ for en excellent dry shelter (which you can also enjoy a fire out front with). They both also feature ‘stand-up’ room (at least if you are shorter than 6′) which I …
Things just keep getting better and better. I was impressed by the CRKT PDK knife but I am even more impressed by this 10.4 gram little beauty. I confess I may have a titanium fetish, and yes, I do think you could dress a sambar deer with one. I have used the CRKT on one …
Opinel make some pretty unique knives. I guess I came to the party a bit late on this one, but I have two of them in my hand right now and they are magnificent! First I bought the Opinel No 6: because a reader (Tim) recommended it (in this post), as follows: ‘Opinel #6 has …
A friend of mine coined the phrase ‘APC’ being a play on words for a major patent medicine of the 50s and 60s. Instead of the three chemicals which were its constituents (Aspirin, Phenacetin and Codeine – you just can’t get good pain relief cheaply any more!), her expression stood for ‘Armpits and Crotch’. A …
This is my 1300th post here at the Ultralight Hiker! That’s probably about a million and a half words (more than a dozen novels worth!) and over 25,000 photos. Quite an achievement in four years since May 2015 when I began this blog. It has been 200 posts since the 1100th post in May 2018 …
An idea whose time is right: A Portable Bidet As you can see these guys have raised a million bucks on an ‘ask’ of $36K. Not bad. Gives some idea of the demand for these things – yet they were not focusing primarily on hikers. However their device weighs only .5lb (225 grams?) lasts 3 …
I had hoped that this post would be titled ‘The Seventieth Birthday Stag’ but he did not emerge from his lair during my recent sojourn up the bush to check how my hunting camps had fared from the terrible bush fires of earlier this year. I am still not fit enough for this sort of …
While I was working on my post about Simmer Stoves I just could not resist ordering a couple of Tinny’s stoves. I have to admit to being a bit of a collector of these wonderful contraptions. It is true that there are Minibull stoves I don’t own, but time will probably take care of that! …
(or ‘journey cakes‘ as they once were known) also fried scones and maybe ‘bannock’ (from the Latin, ‘panis’ or ‘bread) if you hailed from Scotland. You can see that their (European) origin is quite ancient. They were once a basic food item. Folks took little else into the bush (by way of food) except for …
This is just about the greatest knife ever! I’m just a little late to the party concerning this knife which has been around nearly as long as I have – at any rate since 1956. As you can see it has a 55 mm blade. That’s just under 2 ¼”. (55mm = 2.16”) You could …
I have Montbell down clothing. At the time of purchase it was about the lightest and most economical I could find – I am also more than happy with the build quality and its durability (considering its extreme lightness) over the years. I carry a ‘Superior Down’ jacket and a vest, weighing approx 200 + …
Everything you ever needed to know about down jackets: Read More »
or Biscotti. You may or may not have tried Hard Tack which is what unfortunates such as British sailors used to have to subsist upon. Italian sailors were better chefs so they came up with Biscotti. Della has tweaked their recipes for this wonderful food until it is just perfect. It is as good as …
It is easy to make an ultralight alcohol stove which will boil water (instructions here and here – and in the comments below) but a bit more difficult to make one which will simmer. Many of my recipes require that the food simmers for 10 minutes or so (usually to soften lentils etc). I guess …
