Oct 29

purificup field test

After a couple trips being postponed I was finally able to get out and try the Purificup outside, with some water you should not be drinking with out sanitizing it.

After use shot showing its pack size versus a Nalgene.

A quick fishing trip to Patagonia Lake in Southern Arizona brought us to a shady little cove with a narrow opening in the reeds to cast our lines. After a few hours of no luck, I decided I would give the Purificup a try.

As you may have seen in my overview video, using the Purificup is an easy process. Unscrew the white caps on either side, unscrew the filter from the fill cup and remove the filter assembly and drinking cup from within the fill cup (which is also the outer shell when all packed up, as seen in the photo above.)

The filter assembly then sits on top of the drinking cup, Nalgene or similar bottle or even can be screwed onto the opening of a soda bottle. Once the filter is in place you can then put water in the fill cup and install it on top of the filter assembly which then starts the filtering process.

In the video mentioned above the timer went past three minutes to filter the full 10 ounces of water. I have discovered since that video that it actually works much faster than that, and the slowness was due to my error. When putting it all together, give the filter a few good shakes with an emphasis on the downward stroke, trying to set the contents of the filter itself to the bottom spout where the water exits. This helps the water flow through much smoother and you can filter 10 ounces of water in about 45 to 50 seconds!

It was getting close to supper time and I had purposefully only brought enough water for cooking, I was going to be drinking from the lake. I set up the Purificup on a rock and filled the fill cup and let it work. The lake water itself before being filtered was pretty clear, with a tiny bit of floating debris. After having filtered it, it was crystal clear with no odors of any kind.

Then I hesitated. In the past I’ve been a boiler, and on rare occasion I have used a purification tablet, but never have used a filter like this. It was a bit of a mental hurdle for me to accept that this little device could possibly make drinkable water so quickly. Once I got past that, I put the cup to my lips and took a sip.

The water was cool, refreshing, and had absolutely no taste other than the taste of water – if you can consider that a taste. I am happy to report that I am still alive and healthy two days after drinking lake water. I think this thing works!

Aside from making undrinkable water drinkable, one of the best advantages of this filter system is that it does not take up a whole lot of room in your pack. As you can see in the photo above its overall size when packed up is less than a Nalgene style bottle. Coming in at a bit under 11 ounces and being something that could quite possibly save your life, it is something that I will be carrying in my pack constantly. After having done this field test I can easily recommend this product to people look for a lightweight, easy to use filter. At $60 retail, it is a must for any hiker, hunter, outdoors-person or prepper. To pick one up for yourself head over to the Purificup Partners page to find an internet or local retailer!

Unfortunately I was unable to take any video during this trip, but I will be doing a follow up on our next outing.

FTC Disclaimer: This product was sent to me by Purificup for the purpose of using and reviewing. 

 

Sep 20

purificup overview and use



Sep 12

scratch one off the list: optimus crux

If you read my post yesterday, you’ll have noticed that I had my sights set on the Optimus Crux Weekend HE cook system. They happened to have one at the store today when I was browsing and decided to go ahead and pick it up.

I have big plans for this thing and it’s going to get used A LOT. I have a couple options when it comes to eating lunch at work: bring something to cook in the microwave and eat at my desk (since they forgot a break room when they built this building!??) or go out and get fast food.

With this, I plan on bringing more stuff that I can cook on the stove, soups, pastas and whatever else. Then I can go to one of the nearby parks, sit down under a tree or on a bench and have a hot meal not only away from the office, but it will likely end up costing me less in food. At least that’s my justification for spending $80 on the thing!

It’ll go camping/hunting/hiking and what not as well, but I think the frequency of use I have planned for it of at least 3 or 4 days a week should really prove whether this little guy is as good as the reviews I’ve been reading on it.

image

Aug 30

alone in the woods

A recent post on the BCUSA forums about being afraid or nervous when alone in the woods has really got me thinking…

I spent a lot of time in the sticks as a kid with dad and granddad, as a teenager and young adult. Quite a few trips I’ve taken in my adulthood where solo. Sometimes just for the day and other times over a night or two. I am fairly comfortable in the wilderness and respect it enough to know that if I am being dumb, it can hurt me. Otherwise I know if I am being careful and mindful, I’m going to wake up the next morning.

But there is something that I’ve been battling mentally lately. I want to leave the tent at home and go with nothing but a tarp to protect me from wind and rain. I want to forgo the sleeping mat and replace it with a hammock. Sounds easy right? What about that Mountain Lion or Black Bear that decides my rear end hanging from a tree looks like an easy and tasty snack!?

Now, I fully understand that a tent is absolutely no protection from a curious black bear. If he wants to see what is inside the tent, he is going to. Nylon and mesh fabric are not going to stop him. It’s the false sense of security that helps to put ones mind a little more at ease, and may just be enough to help you get a good nights rest.

In the end I’ll get that hammock, and go out and survive. Maybe I wont get as much of a good rest as I would otherwise – but what I do know for sure is that I’m safer out there than I am walking around downtown Tucson in the daylight!

Aug 27

esee-5 & maxpedition m5 kit update

I have been wearing the ESEE5/M5 kit for a while now during numerous activities. This past Saturday I got my first real opportunity to not only wear it for an extended amount of time, but wear it while hiking, minor rock scrambling, sitting, kneeling, etc. I think the kit will work nicely for how I am intended it to be used, but it’s going to require some modification.

I had initially used some paracord to tie the bottom part of the M5 bag to my leg so it didn’t flop around. Good idea in theory but it has some issues. In order to keep the pack stable, it has to be tied on tight enough to not move, but not so tight as to cut off circulation. The pack also has to come off, if getting into the drivers seat of a vehicle with a center console. Being able to quickly fasten and unfasten the leg cinch would be a plus.

I will be replacing the paracord with a length of webbing and a side-release buckle. I figure while I am making that, I am going to redo how it clips to my belt. I’ll remove the clip plate back from the ESEE-5′s sheath and fashion some quick release belt loops out of webbing and buckles that will allow the pack to hang at the same location as the clip plate, but offer more flexibility and comfort at the belt. The clip plate is uncomfortable with a tightly fastened belt.

The M5 has a place for your belt to run through it, but I don’t like how high that puts the knife handle.

The combined weight of the ESEE-5 and the M5 (including it’s contents) are also making me consider adding a removable baldric style shoulder strap, not so much to help with weight distribution, but to help keep my pants up!

Aug 26

mt. graham photos 8/25/2012



Aug 06

homemade alcohol stoves

I spent some time messing around with some energy drink cans over the weekend, making alcohol stoves out of them. Being the tinkerer that I am, rather than following plans known to work, I did a little research to get the basic ideas of what needed to happen, and then started experimenting.

The first stove I made was made from an aluminum energy drink bottle, similar to a Venom bottle but from some other company whose name escapes me at the moment. This was to be a prototype before I go and hack up the really nice, thick walled Realtree Energy Drink bottle that was given to me to try.  The stove is similar in construction to this one. It got 1 cup of water boiling in my GSI cup in about 4 minutes and now that I’ve prototyped it on the flimsy bottle, I know what I need to do for the Realtree bottle.

The second stove I made was from a Monster Energy Drink can. It was just your basic self-priming soda can design, similar to this. This one worked well but didn’t boil the water quite as fast as the other.

You can look forward to some video on the Realtree stove when I get it put together and working.

Jul 14

wildertrek cup system

I call this the Wildertrek Cup System only because it’s my pieces of gear. Other people have done this before and take no credit for the idea.