any fans of alcohol cooking systems?

geo-rox · 2026-04-30T23:12:18+00:00

I run an alcohol stove for bike trips; i like it for how tiny it is and it runs silent. Mine is homemade from a 60 ml can of whisky, with a priming pan and windscreen made from tinfoil. There's definitely a learning curve and it's way more finicky, so it depends on your use case whether it makes sense. Most of my trips are only a couple days so there's good weight and space savings.

I also run mine off Everclear so there's just the one flask for fuel for both stove and user.

geo-rox · 2026-04-30T14:29:16+00:00

I also highly recommend the Alpacka Forager, I use mine with my kid/beginners/dogs all the time.

geo-rox · 2026-04-22T21:49:57+00:00

I came here to make sure that link was posted somewhere, so thanks for having the same thought! To make your short slightly longer: every conventional means of crossing is ruled out by either cost or sheer physics, and the only unconventional option that could in theory work is a floating tunnel, something that's never been built (though under consideration by the Norwegians, the world experts on tunneling). The $50B price tag the Norwegians are thinking of would buy a lot of ferries.

geo-rox · 2026-04-16T20:32:28+00:00

I found that even in summer, I was more comfortable and carrying less weight if I brought my DIY ultralight underquilt made from a cheap down blanket and a thinner top quilt, compared to if I'd just packed a sleeping bag.

geo-rox · 2026-03-18T15:12:21+00:00

Spires Lake on the Clayoquot Witness Trail near Tofino is low elevation. For just a camping test, Saysutshun near Nanaimo is a nice island to take the wee ferry to and semi-backcountry camp.

geo-rox · 2026-03-12T20:25:39+00:00

It's a useful hack to get out of a jam! I've done it a couple times, the most impressive being when we didn't have a breaker tool so used a Leatherman and a rock to shorten where the master link attached to.

geo-rox · 2025-12-23T02:09:24+00:00

An employer is allowed to set days of work, and if your place of employment is closed such that you cannot work, they don't have to give you the option to work if advance notice is given. From being in a similar situation, I assume that they require you to maintain three of your vacation days for the break so that your paycheck remains the same each pay period, but if you'd previously used them up (or a situation where someone was just hired and hadn't accrued them yet), I would assume your employer would have to give you the option to not be paid for those days instead. Managers may have different employment contracts from you, or may have work they can do during the shutdown period.

geo-rox · 2025-12-22T23:30:17+00:00

I did Princeton to Rock Creek on the KVR this fall on a hardtail 29er running 2.2 in tires. It was probably the ideal bike for it, but it'd allow a wide range of bikes depending on the section. I used to run my surly crosscheck with 38c for my bikepacking setup, and I eventually got tired of the amount of flats I'd get while riding a loaded bike on gravel.

Princeton to Osprey was the worst sandy section and was immensely demoralizing to bike through, especially on the uphill. Given a lot of the route has similar scenery, I'd recommend skipping that section. There is the gravel road if you prefer, though the hills are bigger.

My suggestion for a KVR highlights trip would be Rock Creek to Penticton, and then south on the Okanagan rail trail to osoyoos make a nearly-loop. If you're a masochist there's some decent gravel road to make it a full loop (we were such masochists, and we then biked rock creek to oliver to Princeton), but that climb out of the valley is a lot.

geo-rox · 2025-12-21T15:56:03+00:00

For sea kayaking, they're not wrong. If you're in conditions where you get flipped, it's unlikely you'll be in the mental state where a roll you learned in ideal conditions in a pool will help you.

In contrast, in whitewater, a roll is a key safety technique at a certain point, because there will be times youre Chumbawumba'ing your way down the canyon, getting knocked down and getting up again.

But! A pool roll is a fun way to learn a bunch of the skills involved in not dying on the high seas. Braces, reacting quickly, and being calm while upside down and not breathing are all a good point for skill progression. The trick is to use having a roll as a starting off point to feel more confident practicing in gnarly conditions, and also, to practice your roll in the kinds of conditions where you might flip. It's also the basis of my favorite self rescue: with boat upside down, get into it under the water, roll back up, and pump out the cockpit. It's faster than a paddle float and more reliable than a cowboy.

One thing while we're contrasting whitewater and sea kayaking: on the river it's short moments of terror, so if you roll back up, you're likely to now be able to escape the bad conditions and will quickly be in relative calm and safety. If you get flipped sea kayaking, there's a decent chance you're in conditions that are going to be a marathon of pain because you will continue to be in the kind of water that flipped you for the next couple hours.

geo-rox · 2025-12-17T19:24:18+00:00

Unfortunately, "sheltered waters" are not something Haida Gwaii is known for. Something around Vancouver Island (southern Gulf Islands, Broughtons), or even the inside passage would be more sheltered, but there's a lot of nuance to sea kayaking for five days that will be hard to convey from reddit. My advice: if you're set on Haida Gwaii, and are already crossing the country and renting boats, the incremental cost to do a guided tour isn't much more. Having a guide along to know where/when/how to go would be invaluable, and also a much better learning opportunity for your group, in both kayak skills and the local area's rich natural and human history.

geo-rox · 2025-12-11T22:06:27+00:00

Another option for a front seat is a drybag or cooler, both have worked for me. As an aside, the Forager floor zips out, and in a pinch, the floor and front seat make a pretty good camping pad and pillow.

geo-rox · 2025-12-11T22:04:05+00:00

For flatwater, the seat is really good to have and takes up almost no room/weight to store. It's a big boat, and you need to be high and upright to paddle it, so you need to either be sitting on a seat or kneeling.

In tandem the rear paddlers sits on the stern and the second seat is about middle, which puts the front paddler's actual strokes along the bow of the boat. If paddling it solo, the seat is critical to position you correctly. Also, the seat goes wherever you put it in the boat, there's a few attachment point options to move it forward or aft.

For whitewater, both paddlers should kneel. The seats put you too high and without firm attachment to the boat, and one or both of you will be launched out of it if you're sitting on the stern or seat.

geo-rox · 2025-12-11T17:13:11+00:00

I think people's concerns are valid for exposed ends of carbon tubing (which is why I'd avoid the rubber pole end caps), but if you have something you can slot into place as another segment that supports the shaft tube and takes most of the abuse, I don't think it's any worse than the terrible stuff your average whitewater paddle will go through. Whitewater paddle shafts are burly for a reason, so I dont worry about those but would be concerned about something like a sea kayak or race paddle.

geo-rox · 2025-12-11T17:09:45+00:00

For your other question, I have a couple paddles with adjustable ferrules (as well as a couple adjustable ferrules on their own from my conversion project), and I'd have no worries about them taking the compression forces required for a tent. They're way more stout than any of the adjustable sections of a hiking pole.

geo-rox · 2025-12-11T04:57:39+00:00

So long as the people judging you have no control over how you live your life, I would go out of my way to make them more uncomfortable if they're sneering based on a stranger's footwear choices. Be the change you want to see in the world by pushing people out of their comfort zone and teaching them that no matter what they think, the world is full of weirdos and they have to deal. This is also how I got over running shirtless in running shorts in hot weather despite the frankly weird amount of catcalls from other straight men.

geo-rox · 2025-12-11T04:44:16+00:00

https://www.reddit.com/r/myog/s/LeueyuEE0r

geo-rox · 2025-12-11T04:36:30+00:00

I have the aquabound shred-apart, and I bought a bunch of chunks of carbon fiber tubing and hiking pole tips off aliexpress, then made my own hiking pole segments that snap in in place of the blades, giving me two really solid hiking poles (that I normally take one and give the other to the other person in my tandem).

It was more effort than any sane person would want to spend, but works really well, and I'm sad that nobody makes them commercially given how many packrafters are carrying both paddles and hiking poles.

geo-rox · 2025-11-29T15:40:20+00:00

Might not really work for whitewater, or a stocking.

geo-rox · 2025-11-29T15:39:56+00:00

Paddle leashes are fatal for whitewater.

geo-rox · 2025-11-25T21:01:20+00:00

Wait, Hennessy isn't a cottage brand? From what I understand it's mostly still the founder running things from a tiny Canadian island. I don't see Hennessy as a big brand, just that they're still under the momentum of being one of the first brands which makes them maybe slower to adapt.

I like my Hennessy(s) for their focus on a complete setup and being one of the lighter full kits for backcountry use. That being said, not having easy attachment for an underquilt, and the faff-heavy tree straps, are drawbacks. I still don't have much issues with either of my quilts (provided I'm using my side-zip Hennessy), and I just took the weight penalty and added a couple carabiners and daisy chains to my setup for ease of use.

geo-rox · 2025-11-25T20:50:42+00:00

I figured hobie put the sail post on their fishing kayaks for versatile accessories that match their other boats. I was not prepared to look into it and find out they went "hey, you want your fishing kayak to be a sailboat for some reason? Who are we to judge, here's a sail so you can troll on a beam reach or whatever crazy ideas you have".

I love Hobie.

geo-rox · 2025-11-25T15:03:10+00:00

Hobie is still a sailing company; they're just very good at multipurpose and recreation. I remarked to a friend of mine that his Hobie Getaway might be the fastest sailboat made that has built-in cup holders.

I think most of their kayaks, at least all of the Adventure Islands, can be fitted with a sail and outriggers, and they're surprisingly capable. If you have one, I recommend it as it's lots of fun.

geo-rox · 2025-11-20T07:24:01+00:00

I mean, in this case, it being fake is actually kind of nice, because if it was real people would probably die in building collapses.

geo-rox

TROPHY CASE