Essential minimalists gear check list for jungle trail tours

bigntall said:
Ok that's it then. No more carrying shit. I'm simply bringing a country gal on the rides. She'll even be able to muscle the bike through the mud and bush better than me, haha. can handle making a shelter (no hammocks or tents needed), cooking and food gathering (no bringing stoves or food), clearing trail (no knives or machetes), keeping me warm (so need sleeping bag or quilt). Best 40 kilo package ever I reckon.
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Could be... But maybe bring some of these - especially for when she decides it's time to eat. (Hourly?)
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crs said:
Yep. Crap. Like trying to use a swiss army knife for whittling or sumat. People think they're good quality but they're shit.

Top for chopping big, solid/hard wood - middle for getting through smaller/lighter stuff. That's how I'd grab 'em... Is that how you'd use them, Mark?

The curve 'grabs' what you're cutting and keeps it in the cut/slash for longer is how I'd try to describe use of a curved blade. Different angle of cut... Better on lighter, less dense, hollow stuff that deflects/deflects the blade.

A lot of how well things work is how they are used though. Since being in Thailand I've seen a few local country girls cut through stuff far more efficiently and with less muscle power then I can. Sure most of them can - technique, innit!
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Exactly Chris. for the really big stuff you could also carry some 'jelly' and 'Dets' . could use the jelly sparingly in the cooker too :roll:
 
KTMphil said:
Cooking







I'm not a huge fan of carrying unnecessary liquids off-road, so have been experimenting with solid alcohol fuel cubes, the same kind they put under your fish soup at a restaurant table in Thailand to keep the soup hot.



You can buy a big bag of them in Tesco Lotus, so easy to find


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Using a titanium cooking pot that takes a cup and a half of water, more than enough for the Mama Noodles


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I used 2 alcohol cubes, it took about 4 minutes for steam, which would be hot enough to mix with the noodles



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I brought a Swiss Ranger Stove back from my last UK trip. I was toying with the idea of using it as an Emergency Stove to boil up a cup of coffee or a mama knoodle if stuck out in the middle of nowhere. it comes with a large cup and a bottle that can also be used to Boil water. This thing will burn anything, twigs, bits of wood, an olpair of Socks or some disgarded technical underpants ;) .... I've tried it a few times and it works but it's a bit like hard work. I found some 'Alcohol Kheng' , hard alcohol after reading Phil's post.

The Alcohol is the ones used at restaurants to warm soup and fish dishes and come in a small aluminium cup. One of these boiled a large mug of water in 3.5 minutes and went on to burn for 4.5 minutes. they cost me about 2 baht each, so very economical unlike solid Fuel tablets back in the UK. I will dispense with the water bottle and just use the cup that comes with it. I can then store sachets of 3 in 1 coffee and perhaps a mama knoodle and a few alcohol cups and have a self contained emergency cook set which I hope never to use :eek1

The beauty of this stove is it will work in almost any weather as it's a form of Volcano stove. a bit of wind will help it burn quicker and a bit of rain won't affect it
 

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KTMphil said:
This chap west of Khun Yuam cut through this hard tree in about 30 seconds. Always interesting to see what the hill tribe people choose as they work with these every day, all of them in this region had square, wide ends to the blade
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Theres a Thai guy in facebook selling all kinds of over priced imported fancy blades (hes up here around CNX I think).. Saw this today and thought of the thread, both machete and saw combo.

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https://www.facebook.com/MyInfinityBlade?
 
bikesncats said:
The "tool" underneath would make a quicker job at it given enough ammo...:GF
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But being Thailand where he takes his pics I would bet London to a brick its a BB gun copy ;)

those little white pellets just dont have the same stopping power !!
 
LivinLOS said:
But being Thailand where he takes his pics I would bet London to a brick its a BB gun copy ;)

those little white pellets just dont have the same stopping power !!
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Didn't think of that one LOL...but you must be right TIT
would take too much room anyways:lol3
 
Could develop into something quite interesting for extended trips / back up power -


Charge your GPS & phone a night from a collapsible wind turbine, 1.14 into video, looks like its a rechargeable battery pack too



Portable wind turbine power station for charging USB devices (Video) - Pennenergy




Trinity.jpg







Independent research firm Skajaquoda has just launched a Kickstarter campaign for its new product Trinity, a portablewind turbine power station that folds together into a 12" cylinder that you can carry with you wherever you go.
Trinity is comprised of a simple, easy to use design. The portable turbine has three blades that can be opened to capture the wind and spin, which then generates clean energy. Trinity has a 15W generator and a built in battery that holds 15,000 mAh . Folded inside are three 11" aluminum legs when extended can be configured as a tripod or laid flat. When the legs are folded back in Trinity's locks turbine blades close and are locked into position. (See Video Below)
The device is equipped with a standard USB port to charge items such as smart phones and tablets, and a mini USB port for charging the device itself. Trinity is designed to allow users to charge a smart phone up to 4-6 times before it has to be recharged either by itself (using the wind) or simply plugged into a wall output.
 
Next week I hope to get a trial Siam Hammock, visitors of the Beergarten project will get the idea why :hmm
 
Compact Parang Bush Knife

As some of you may recall my trails and tribulations in Laos recently during which my old machete came into use very often, although my trusty blade did it's job (mostly) i have been hunting around for a knife with a blunt end that can be packed easily and of durable quality.

Not normally into name branded stuff i found this Gerber (Bear Grylls) compact Parang from a knife dealer in Bangkok, at 16" long and 14oz's (400 gms) including sheath it's pretty light. Good quality blade that look's like it will sharpen easily, it cut's through bamboo and small tree's with little effort.

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The Siam hammock and fly sheet (made in Chiang Khong) arrived, specs are:
Weight 1,3 and 0,5 kilo, length packed 32 and 20 cm, diameter 12 and 7 cm.
The hammock can withstand 120 kilo bodyweight and is 2,6 meter in length unpacked.

Can someone advise me if I should buy a matrass for it and if so, where (local in the Rai?!).
 
Yes :lol:
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Or you can go to the outdoor shop in Chiang Mai located inside the Stardome golf club.
 
I've been trying to understand, without using rigid materials (poles, etc..), how they can (try!) create the flat bed section in a soft material hammock. What they have done is create a sleeve/ pocket area in the underside bed area of the hammock and you slot an inflatable mattress in there. Only the compression/ tension of the inflatable mattress inside the bed area pocket gives the flat sleeping surface. When 90kg is put on top of this, I would like to see how flat the bed area becomes, I can't see how there is enough rigidity in the inflatable mattress to keep things flat, even when it's in a tight pocket with 90kg on top.




2wheels said:
Flat-bed hammock (that should make things easier!)

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Amok's flat-bed hammock copes with twists and turns
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Absolutely right,i was wondering too .( therma rest mat)is great on the floor as a insulating cushion, but not gona make anything 'flat'.actually chances are that u are goin to blow the matress up ,pushing/sinking in it, if not on a hard/flat surface

KTMphil said:
I've been trying to understand, without using rigid materials (poles, etc..), how they can (try!) create the flat bed section in a soft material hammock. What they have done is create a sleeve/ pocket area in the underside bed area of the hammock and you slot an inflatable mattress in there. Only the tension of the inflatable mattress inside the bed area pocket gives the flat sleeping surface. When 90kg is put on top of this, I would like to see how flat the bed area becomes, I can't see how there is enough rigidity in the inflatable mattress to keep things flat, even when it's in a tight pocket with 90kg on top.
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Also imagine trying to rig a tarp over that contraption, think i will stick with my jungle hammock.
 
Screw your hammock, now there are tree tents...

The Tentsile Tree Tents were conceived as a treehouse that you can take with you anywhere.
They offer an incredible way for you and your friends to experience the great outdoors in style, unparalleled comfort, unrestricted by ground conditions and with increased separation from wetness, bugs and other creepies.....

Tentsile Tree Tentswebsite >>> http://www.tentsile.com
 

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Thanks for the update, i had seen these before and was unsure of the quality, good to know they actually work :)
 
quality:made in china (like almost anything else :? )but yes it does work..for now
bsacbob said:
Thanks for the update, i had seen these before and was unsure of the quality, good to know they actually work :)
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KTMphil said:
Only the compression/ tension of the inflatable mattress inside the bed area pocket gives the flat sleeping surface. When 90kg is put on top of this, I would like to see how flat the bed area becomes, I can't see how there is enough rigidity in the inflatable mattress to keep things flat, even when it's in a tight pocket with 90kg on top.
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If you have adjustability to the strapping you can do this with a sideways hammock.. In fact even without it I used to have a giant 'mexican' hammock and because the tension is side on, rather than top and tail on, you dont get as bent double as is more common in regular small hammock. Its not about the air matress holding it flat, its about balancing the load.

I cant say for sure from the pictures (but the ability to create a sit up chair means its likely) but if you have adjustment you put greater tension on the 'middle' and an adjustment of the tension for the head and feet, you get a balance where the bulk of your bodyweight is supported by the higher tension middle, and the lighter ends are just kept taut. You cant have too much center tension as that makes the hammock unstable and liable to flip you out.

Unsure of that description makes sense ?? It works in my head but unsure if I am communicating the idea ?? And I dont know that this is what they are doing, as I dont have one, but it can be made to work like that.
 
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See how the 'load' is held around the hip area.. And the head and feet are more lightly strapped.

You can see the strapping tension adjustment here.. Seems like 5 loads including the outer edge of head and feet.

amokdraumr-8.png


Saying its the airbed making it flat, as one of the picture captions, is incorrect assumption on the part of the writer.
 
Looking at this.. If I did camping, I would be getting one for sure..


Great design IMO. Everything, bed, bug net, tarp, all on one package.

The only thing is.. You will swing head to toe not side to side, I actually like the sideways sway of a hammock (tho not when your baked !! Thats a one way ticket to spin city).
 
From the previous page:


I've been trying to understand, without using rigid materials (poles, etc..), how they can (try!) create the flat bed section in a soft material hammock. What they have done is create a sleeve/ pocket area in the underside bed area of the hammock and you slot an inflatable mattress in there. Only the compression/ tension of the inflatable mattress inside the bed area pocket gives the flat sleeping surface. When 90kg is put on top of this, I would like to see how flat the bed area becomes, I can't see how there is enough rigidity in the inflatable mattress to keep things flat, even when it's in a tight pocket with 90kg on top.
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LivinLOS said:
Looking at this.. If I did camping, I would be getting one for sure..


Great design IMO. Everything, bed, bug net, tarp, all on one package.

The only thing is.. You will swing head to toe not side to side, I actually like the sideways sway of a hammock (tho not when your baked !! Thats a one way ticket to spin city).
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If they can keep the whole thing to 2kg as they claim it could be worth closer inspection, tarp info attached.

Screen Shot 2014-06-23 at 09.24.42.jpg
 
Great idea, but needs a 3 way pull, you will limit your camping options big time. Hard enough sometimes finding 2 sturdy rigging points






3 way hammock.jpg







TB-Racing said:
Screw your hammock, now there are tree tents...

The Tentsile Tree Tents were conceived as a treehouse that you can take with you anywhere.
They offer an incredible way for you and your friends to experience the great outdoors in style, unparalleled comfort, unrestricted by ground conditions and with increased separation from wetness, bugs and other creepies.....

Tentsile Tree Tentswebsite >>> Tentsile tree tents
Click to expand...
 
KTMphil said:
Great idea, but needs a 3 way pull, you will limit your camping options big time. Hard enough sometimes finding 2 sturdy rigging points
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Agree.. Finding 2 trees or supports is IMO easy enough.. But finding 3 spatially equidistant supports is much harder.
 
How does that not provide an unequal support pull then ??

If you have 2 supports 30cm from the edge of the 'tent'.. and one support meters away.. The side of the longer pull will then drop lower when you add weight.. As the mass will attempt to centralize over the length of the line... So you will end up that way in the night.

Simple physics.. Like standing on one edge of a tightrope.
 
You just adjust the longer one to compensate using tension and fixing height as you adjusters (been around ropes all my life).


LivinLOS said:
How does that not provide an unequal support pull then ??

If you have 2 supports 30cm from the edge of the 'tent'.. and one support meters away.. The side of the longer pull will then drop lower when you add weight.. As the mass will attempt to centralize over the length of the line... So you will end up that way in the night.

Simple physics.. Like standing on one edge of a tightrope.
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Ahh by raising the end point.. Tension wont help as tension will distribute equally via the entire line but a raised end point, that would of course create 'balance'.. My mind was thinking 3 equal heights.
 
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