The Gear House

I’m a huge Light My Fire fan, mostly because I deal with them regularly and am a dealer of their products. They have some really great products including the spork, meal kit, and the UCO Candle Lantern line. Today I wanted to touch quickly on the Spork that they sell.

The Light My Fire Spork features a spoon, a fork, and a knife all in one single utensil. It is incredibly handy, lightweight, and great for taking on any trip - short or long, backpacking or car camping. The spork measures just under 7 inches and weighs about 7 grams. Not too bad right? The length is good and does not affect the idea of wanting to cut weight and be ultralight; you can still achieve that with this utensil.

I have used it many times for a variety of meals including noodles, pasta, rice, and your normal freeze-dried food like beef stroganof. The LMF spork handled all of these meals pretty well.

The spoon on one end is your normal spoon - nothing special here. Its about the size of a teaspoon and is good for your soups and other foods like that and also for mixing batters or mixes if needed. The fork end is the side that also includes the knife, which is along the side of the fork. The fork prongs seem short and fat and not the most helpful when trying to get some noodles wrapped around them. However, it does hold up well for most of your normal fork needs. The points of the fork are not incredible sharp either, which can be good - I have used many other sporks that have been made of titanium or other materials and poked right through plastic bags and other items. The knife on the other hand is where things fall apart for me with this spork. It almost seems useless - its definitely not the best option for cutting meat or just about anything else. It cuts through noodles and pasta pretty decently but so does the spoon end, so nothing special there.

The spork is constructed of heat resistant polycarbonate material and will be fine if it is left in some boiling water or other hot liquids. It is also has some flex to it, so if you were to step on it may not break, but if you bent it hard somehow, it would snap in two. It is also a nice material because you do not really need to worry about it scratching up your pots and pans. Being a nice smooth plastic, it won’t leave many if any marks and you should be good to go with using it on your Teflon or other material pots.

The spork is also incredibly easy to clean - just get it wet and wipe it off. The spork is a great item to keep in your pack, take with you on any trip, and also give to your kids to use when you take them outdoors.

It is available at pretty much any outdoor store and major retailers including Wal-Mart for around $3.00 and in a range of 15 colors.

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I was just over at Backpacker.com taking a look around and found this great reader tip about how you can make your own backcountry cutting board.

Michael Irvine from Santa Rosa, CA shares the tip:

To make a backpack-friendly cutting board, I trimmed plastic cutting boards from Target into small circles that fit snugly inside my cook pots. These lightweight discs keep my knives from dulling–and provide a hygienic place to store ingredients while I cook.

One of the follow up comments from a visitor to the site even suggested cutting a notch or putting a hole in the board towards the edge to help with getting the board out of the bottom of the pot if it gets stuck or suctioned in from washing it. Great tips!

Here is another video that I put together walking through the different 27 utensils that make up the Kitchen 27 by GSI Outdoors. Similar to the small Kitchen 11, the Kitchen 27 is great for any gourmet camp cooking or backpacking adventure. The major difference between the Kitchen 11 and 27 is that the 27 includes cutlery for 4 (forks, two sizes of spoons, and knives). If you are looking for a gourmet kitchen kit, the Kitchen 27 is definitely worth taking a look at.

Here is a video that I put together on the Kitchen 11 made by GSI Outdoors. The Kitchen 11 is an all in one 11 piece kitchen set and has a utensil for any gourmet expedition.

From GSI Outdoors: Camping doesn’t have to mean making sacrifices. And this lightweight cooking kit proves it. The perfect companion for the backcountry gourmand who demands a bit more from their adventure than just killer views and bug bites, it’s got every kitchen tool needed to make fluffy omelets, fat pancakes, or grate a little cheese for that Mexican feast.

When traveling or being outdoors, it is important to carry a first aid kit with you no matter what type of activity you are doing (camping, backpacking, rock climbing, kayaking, biking, anything). Many first aid kits will just be a few simple items that are good for any activity. However, it is important to have an in depth kit that will allow you to face most emergencies and challenges that you come across.

The only way to be fully prepared for the trip that you are taking would be to buy a sport specific first aid kit or to create your own. The American Red Cross has a good list of general supplies that should be in any first aid kit, including:

• 2 packets of aspirin (81 mg each)
• 1 blanket (space blanket)
• 1 breathing barrier (with one-way valve)
• 1 instant cold compress
• 2 pair of non-latex gloves (size: large)
• 2 hydrocortisone ointment packets (approximately 1 gram each)
• Scissors
• 1 roller bandage (3 inches wide)
• 1 roller bandage (4 inches wide)
• 5 sterile gauze pads (3 x 3 inches)
• 5 sterile gauze pads (4 x 4 inches)
• Oral thermometer (non-mercury/non-glass)
• 2 triangular bandages
• Tweezers
• First aid instruction booklet

You see the full list on their website.

However, if you are looking to create your own, there is a great website that sells the different items you would want to include and you are able to pick and choose rather than buying just a standardized kit. The Emergency Essentials website allows you to select only the items that you want in your kit and purchase. You can see this great order page here.

As I was doing some research this afternoon, this headline caught my eyes: New England Ropes Recalls Climbing Lines Due to Fall Hazard.

It appears that New England Ropes had some production problems and initiated a recall on two of their rope models: the Maxim Apogee 9.1mm and Maxim Pinnacle 9.5mm.

The full notice from the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission can be found on their website.

Two types of climbing ropes have been included in this recall, the Maxim Apogee 9.1mm and Maxim Pinnacle 9.5mm. The Maxim Apogee 9.1mm is a 48 carrier climbing rope. The colors are yellow and black, and red and yellow. The model numbers are 3411-91 and 3415-91, with date codes 060801 thru 080601. The UPC codes are: 75396312299, 75396312298, 75396312301, and 75396312300. The Maxim Pinnacle 9.5mm is a blue 48 carrier climbing rope. The Model number is 3403-95, with date codes 070201 thru 080601. The UPC codes are 75396312292 and 75396312293. The date codes and the UPC codes are on the original packaging.

If you purchased one of these ropes, you can contact New England Ropes about getting a free replacement for it.

WoodsMonkey has a great article about the Grandpa’s FireForks from Light My Fire. I have sold many of these and have more on the way and believe they are great items. Look for them to be in the TheGearHouse store soon (which will also be getting a MAJOR revamp).

Heres the article from WoodsMokey:

Cooking food directly over the flames is a practice that goes back as far as man has had fire, and the basic practice still hasn’t changed all that much. Take a look around any campground that you happen to be near and you’ll find folks roasting hotdogs and marshmallows on pointed sticks right over the fire. It simple, it works, and it’s fun for the kids to both cook that way and to make their sticks ahead of time.  However, it isn’t always the most efficient way to do things.  It’s not uncommon to lose your food into the fire with the old single prong pointed stick. Multi prong sticks work a little better and you can find metal two tined fire forks at most camping stores. The problem with those is either that the big ones are too long and bulky to take on anything but a car camping trip, and the smaller are generally all metal including the handle portion. They also tend to be rather short and quickly heat up since you have to be closer to the fire–not to mention the fact that the metal transfers the heat to your hands much more than it will with a wooden stick.  Enter Light My Fire and their Grandpa’s FireForks.

Continue Reading…

If you are looking for a great name brand pack, then the Kelty Illusion backpack is a great option. The features are plentiful and the space is great. Here is a quick run down of the features/details of the pack:

• Twin LightBeam™ aluminum stays are strong, lightweight, and shaped for comfort; HDPE (high-density polyurethane) frame sheet
• Spacermesh™ breathable two-layer padded waistbelt, backpanel, and padded shoulder straps
• Extra-large front-loading panel; top panel loading; internal load pocket; adjustable suspension
• Sternum strap for extra stabilization; load-lifter straps; belt stabilizers; daisy chain for external storage; ice axe loops
• Hydration compatible; shovel pocket; four mesh side pockets (two with draw-cord closure); security pocket
• Scherer™ cinch works similar to a pulley system for easy adjustment and tightening of waistbelt
• Spindrift collar for expandable loading; side compression straps; lash tabs

I have had the chance to use this pack about 6 times since I purchased it about 8 months ago. It started out as an item that I scooped up for an incredibly reasonable price (about 50% of retail) and was going to resell it, however, I was looking for a new pack and thought that this would be a good new pack.

I have taken it out on a couple short backpacking trips (3 days) and have had great success with it. All of the pockets and the different access points to them allow for you to get into the pack easily and without much fuss. If you are one to pack a lot of gear, sometimes I like to take extra gear to test it out, then there is plenty of room in the pack for it.

The pack also features a great system of adjustable straps to help you adjust and fit it to your body, including adjusting the height of the back pads and the shoulder straps, as well as load adjusters to bring the pack closer to your back and take some of the weight off of your shoulders.

Overall, I have had great experiences with the pack so far and will continue to use this internal frame backpack until a problem arises. Having this pack in my closet, brings my pack count up to 4 different packs for different uses.

Pick it up at Backcountry.com, or on eBay.

Need some help with packing your backpack? Check out this article.

Here is a cool little gadget for you backpackers and campers out there that like to do some cooking and want to enjoy toasted food items - the GSI Outdoors Glacier Stainless Toaster. The toaster has a unique design that folds flat for easy packing and it is made of fine steel mesh which evenly distributes heat for easy toasting.

Weight: 5.8 ounces
Dimensions: 6.5″ x 5.5″ x 0.63″

If you want to be able to toast some bread, toast your bagel, or make a grilled cheese while out on the trail, then you should definitely check out the GSI Outdoors Glacier Stainless Toaster. You can also pick it up on eBay from our store!

This past Sunday I got a chance to head down to Great Falls, MD to do some hiking around, take some pictures, and capture some video. This was my first time entering the Maryland area of the park - there is also a Virginia side to Great Falls as the Potomac River runs right through the middle of the area and is the border line for MD and VA.

Anyway, it was an extremely hot day out and I underestimated what I was getting into. Since I had not been hiking in the Maryland side of the park before, I just assumed that it was pretty similar to the Virginia side - fairly easy hiking trails and old canal tow paths. Although this assumption was true, there are also some different more strenuous sections of trail, such as the Billy Goat Trail which I hiked on Sunday. Speaking of which, I actually decided to get off the trail early because I literally ran out of water (in about an hour I drank a full 70 oz Camelbak). Luckily, I came across an “emergency exit” from the Billy Goat Trail that ran right to the main tow path trail. Although it was marked as for emergency exits only, there were a fair amount of people using it as a connector (it was about the half way point of the Billy Goat trail).

The trail is extremely nice, but also features a lot of boulder fields and rock scrambels that you will need to ascend. The trail takes you right along the edge of the Potomac in most places and you can enjoy the amazing views of the river as well as the rock formations and rock face on the Virginia side. Another neat thing about this park is that since Great Falls is on both sides of the river, while hiking, if you look out across the river, you will most likley see other people hiking as well. On top of the hiking the other side, Great Falls, VA offers some great climbing routes for beginners to experts. Another big attraction to the park is the kayaking in the area - kayakers were everywhere I looked along the river having an awesome time in the water and hitting some big holes and waterfalls. There was even some sort of kayaking competition going on, which I tried to show you a bit within the video.

Above is a video I put together as well as some pictures from the day. Hope you enjoy! It was a great place for a day hike and I strongly recommend you checking it out!