Camping and Backpacking GEAR thread

Primus made this type of multi-fuel lantern in chrome. Widely used as primary lighting in Africa and remote areas of Asia (himalaya). Runs well on kerosene, diesel or mustard oil.

 

Overshare Alert ... TMI.

Primus and Optimus made some good ones. I do not have any, but have wanted one.

if you really want to drool at some lanterns and lamps ...
http://classicpressurelamps.com/

Coleman made a lot of lanterns. There are quite a few kerosene models. Some are chrome/nickel.

The 237, 237A, 237B, a vintage, no longer made model, is one. It can run on white gas, too. There is a positive lock on the checkvalve, in the pump tube, that prevents fuel rising into the pump tube. 500 candle power. There are other kerosene models, too.
I have a few 237s, from the 50s & 60s, all chrome/nickel. (I say chrome/nickel because I always forget how to tell the difference)

You can search a bit and find them at Coleman Collectors meet, flea markets, yard sale, etc. I know there are quite a few collectors all over the country, and you could probably find one willing to share in your area. It would be best to find a local meet.

Coleman 639 is a kerosene model and has some good reviews. I have one, in the box still, that I got at a Coleman Outlet store, and on sale, so fairly cheap. (I know not chrome/nickel)

Here is an old Coleman 129 table lamp. 2 mantles. A cheap China shade and a reproduction glass globe under the shade. But, a beautiful light we use camping.
You can see one here, scroll down to the 129. Be careful, people have been known to get lost, and never found, after finding that website. Stove, lamps, lanterns.

 

@DoorDing
I did ask the surgeons if the model I havthat allowed for alignment (camber, castor & toe-in). He said yes, but I haven't been able to find the access panels, and the special tools run into many thousands of dollars. Of course they don't recommend the DIY approach either.

In the operator/repair manual instructions read: Don't Run, Don't Jump, Don't Carry more than forty pounds. OK with not running or jumping but the weight limit brought; "if I lose 10 pounds can I carry fifty?" I got the stink eye for that

With all of the smoke in the air, I'm having more trouble finding a cleaning kit w/instructions, for my MAF!

 

Got my new MLD Prophet!

Going to do Whitney with it and just camp around the Sierra’s this weekend.

 

Quick report on the inReach Mini...

Well first activation was down for almost a whole day right when I got it. Not confidence inspiring, but whatever.

The device itself is nice and small and lightweight. The user interface is decent for something so small and pretty straightforward to use.

I haven't paired it with a phone so far since my primary use is to send "preset" messages directly from the device. These are the messages you can send an unlimited number of for free so very similar to Spot. This is useful for essentially 99% of my needs. The advantage over Spot being the inReach messages are Iridium SDB based so you get a confirmation the message was sent and received by the network. With Spot which is GlobalStar based the messages are one-way without confirmation and the unit just transmits three times over 15 minutes in the hopes the message will get through as the satellite constellation's geometry changes relative to the user.

And here is the rub. The inReach Mini confirmed a message sent by me (from clear Utah desert skies). The device message log also shows this as a confirmed message. Garmin has no record of the message though, never contacted my users and does not display the message on their website. I confirmed with their tech support their network has no record of the message and they had me confirm through the message log on the device that the device believes message was confirmed received by the satellite network. They offered no explanation but after some prodding by me they eventually created a ticket for a higher tier of support. I'm not expecting to hear anything from that higher tier but we will see...

Oh, their lower tier did offer "maybe our network just glitched at that time". Nice...

So to date I sent three messages successfully from home before my trip. My very first message on my trip was confirmed by the device but in fact nothing was ever recorded by Garmin. Three subsequent messages did get through.

Fortunately I had my Spot along and was using that as well. All the Spot messages got through just fine. (Spot of course offers no confirmation though).

This experience severely diminishes the appeal of the device to me. I've never had Spot fail to get through when under clear skies after years of use. I have had it occasionally miss in partially obstructed skies by of course that is expected. With inReach I've now sent 7 messages and one didn't get through but the disturbing part is the device indicated that message as confirmed received.

It looks like if you are using this device you should treat it as "spray-and-pray" just like Spot since it looks like either Garmin or possibly Iridium's back-end network is dropping messages that were received by the satellite. My money is that Garmin is the party at fault based on the fact they can't seem to keep their activation website working but that is a guess of course.

Nice things about the device are still the size and weight along with the fact it is USB chargeable compared to needing to use disposable lithium primaries with the Spot beacon.

I'm seriously considering returning the inReach and cancelling the contract and sticking with the tried and true Spot I've been using but I'll wait a little bit to see what or if Garmin's next tier of support comes back with.

Oh, and I of course posted reviews on a few sites since it appears their social media folks monitor those and provide a separate support path once you post a negative review. Fingers crossed that produces a better result then their phone support did. I'd like to continue with this device if I can better understand what failed on their end.

 

Good stuff thanks @DVexile . I am in the market for either one of those devices for my AZT trip been wanting to see some real world feedback on the Garmin that was not blogger written based on receiving free product.

 

No worries! My plan is to do a whole bunch of transmissions over the next few weeks to see how frequent these "lost" messages are. There's always the chance I got very, very unlucky somehow on an otherwise reliable network. I'll report back with some more statistics at that point. The correct number of acknowledged but not received messages is of course zero .

 

Bummer to hear such a negative review on the Mini. Ive been using my inreach explorer+ (The full size) and have not had any incidents with sending messages or tracking my steps/trails.

 

Love that Wasabi! If possible, can I get an idea of the lead time? I am (very) early in on the wait for a Burn and Duomid.

 

Yes! Had to go with the wasabi color haha

Order was placed on May 23rd, MLD sent me tracking information that it was shipped August 17th, via 2 day priority mail. Safe to say about 12 weeks or so.

 

Nope, neither Garmin nor Spot use the NOAA SARSATs. The SARSATs operate on 406MHz which is why PLBs and EPIRBs typically have deployable whip antennas. Because of the relatively long wavelength you can’t use a compact antenna.

Spot is entirely GlobalStar based for all functions including SOS mode. In SOS mode it continuously transmits to increase the probability of message eventually getting through. Devices operate entirely around 1610 MHz which is why they can be so compact without requiring a deployable antenna.

inReach is entirely Iridium based including for SOS and operates around 1620 MHz making antenna characteristics nearly identical to the Spot devices. I strongly suspect in SOS mode it also sends multiple messages like Spot but can’t verify that. The message protocol is very different as Spot is one way while Iridium even when only “sending” is two way (well at least for SDB which inReach uses).

Now when an SOS message comes via GlobalStar or Iridium that message and your emergency profile is sent into the same SAR network as the SARSATs send their messages so from a SAR response goes the effect is the same if the message actually makes through the satellite.

SARSAT is undoubtably more robust and reliable than either Spot/GlobalStar or inReach/Iridium. The SARSAT LEO constellation can even receive your message and give a coarse position fix (1 mile) without a GPS fix from a deep slot canyon though it may take half a day for the satellite geometry to be correct to get the message.

In the same situation it is unlikely a Spot or inReach will ever get a message out. For Spot if it does it will likely have no position data at all because it couldn’t see enough sky for a GPS fix. For inReach/Iridium it would give a coarse fix of about 15 miles without GPS. If you had tracking on before you entered the slot canyon that would still be OK though.

Once SAR is in the air they can radio direction find on the 406MHz beacon of a PLB. For Spot/inReach they are entirely dependent on the position fix provided by the device GPS.

A PLB does its one function really, really well. The Spot and inReach do more but their SOS function is definitely not as robust as a PLB. But that really might not matter at all. It is likely robust enough and in addition these devices offer a different and important SAR function, namely a breadcrumb trail and deadman switch if you have a reliable person watching your updates. Based on the preliminary report I suspect the recent fatality in Panamint Valley may actually be an example where a PLB would have done nothing but a Spot/inReach breadcrumb and deadman could have saved him.

I’m presently sending gobs of inReach messages and will do so for a few weeks to get a better feel for how unlucky I might have been.

 

I usually carry both on remote day hikes on my trips. But weight is much less of a concern then. If I still ever backpacked I’d have to think carefully about it as I’m very much a cut the handle off the toothbrush and order slightly shorter shoelaces kind of backpacker.

This also reminds me next time I’m out with just my daughter I should show her how to operate at least one of them. She’s six and could easily activate either. Come to think of it I should probably just put one of them in her daypack and one in mine when we are out together...

 

Bummed to hear about your inReach mini. Mine worked flawlessly for two trips around Owens Valley.

 

[I hope I did not write this before]
I used the Delorme inReach to call for a rescue here in NC a few weeks ago.
Having the two way communication was great. I could let them know he is 6'8" 340 lbs and what the injury was.

The only snag was that the Transylvania County dispatcher gave the rescue team the wrong coordinates. Not related to the device.
One of the group was at the trail head, and after a brief back and forth, the rescue team finally realized that the location the dispatcher gave was the dispatch office. After that it went easy. They used a one-wheeled stretcher with 6 people rolling it.
I could use the smartphone, with Earthmate App, to write, or the inReach. The Mini, can you type with it alone?

 

It was really awesome. The guy was down from Indiana, and was part of our group.
The guy that met the team at the trail head knew more than half the team.

Using the Delorme inReach was easy, and was even easier with the Earthmate app.

Again, I ask.... Is it easy to type with the MINI?

 

The Garmin version of the inReach has t 'QWERTY' style keyboard. Still a lot of finger dancing, but not much of a problem for those of us that use the two or one finger method.

 

The Mini doesn’t have a keyboard AFAIK.

 

Old Delorme.

Old Delorme is a pain to type. But the screen looks bigger than the MINI.
Smartphone APP makes it easy.

 

@castrofe
You're right , he mini does not have a keyboard. it needs to be paired (are those the right words) with a smart phone.

 

With the Mini you can enter a custom message on the device but indeed it is rather a pain in the neck to do so as the device has no keyboard. So if you plan on sending a lot of custom messages you'll want to pair it with a phone.

It does have a two options for pre-formatted messages which means that most of the time you can send useful messages right from the device without needing to pair but of course you need to setup those common messages in advance.

Lastly of course it has a dedicated SOS button if you need to call for help.

One of the things that is really nice with two-way communication on the inReach in an SOS situation is that you call for help for someone else without panicking your loved-ones since you SAR will know it isn't you that is in trouble. With a PLB or Spot no one can communicate with you so SAR has to assume a life or death situation for the registered owner of the device. They will call your contact list to attempt to verify it isn't a false alarm and that you were expected to be in the location that the SOS came from. This will of course upset your loved ones a fair bit and they won't know you are OK for hours.