rucksacking

A spork to end all sporks

The Light My Fire spork, available here, is a welcome addition to the mostly boring world of lightweight trail utensils. Brightly colored, brilliantly designed, light and strong (made of heat resistant PC material, it apparently isn't afraid of boiling water). Hope to get one of these and test soon.

The new Jet Boil

Hoping to stay on top of the new market niche they've created, Jet Boil is following up their successful first model with a new twist: Group cooking! The new, larger Jet Boil system weighs in at a hefty 19 0z., but offers a much wider array of cooking options. Not only is the included 1.5 liter pot much friendlier to group outings, once you've boiled some pasta, you can take off the pot and use a skillet to sautee the onions.

The editors over at Backpacker magazine definitely like the new model, giving it an Editor's Choice (TM) designation.

Le Cafe du Rucksaque

There's nothing like a good cup of joe to start a morning in the woods off right (or maybe there is, but we haven't figured it out yet). Trouble is, bringing extra gear along just for coffee kinda violates the whole lightweight backpacking ethic (shh!). Being rucksackers, though, we want to live well and hike light. How, you ask? Brilliant question! To begin with, there's good-old, reliable, lightweight Cowboy coffee. For those with modern tastes, how about doin' it Jet Boil style (scroll down to French press)? And if you can justify bringing along one small extra bit of kit, the GSI espresso maker suits us just fine.

Cowboy Coffee [Ineedcoffe.com]
Jet Boil coffee attachment [Jetboil]
GSI Espresso maker [Med.ca]

Jetboil Review Roundup

The biggest stir in stove land last year was the introduction of the Jetboil "personal cooking system," also known as, you know, a stove. An integrated pot/stove with a highly efficient heat exchanger, the Jetboil represented a new concept in outdoor stoves, and reviewers went gaga over it. It won awards from Outside and Backpacker, and supposedly has other stove makers in hot pursuit of their own versions of the integrated cooker. In honor of its first birthday, check out the three reviews it's had so far at Backpack Gear Test, see it put through its paces at Backpacking Light's review, (you may want to see how it stacked up in comparison with other lightweight canister stoves [subscription required]), or feast on the bounty of other reviews below.

The bottom line, from what we've read, seems to be this: very convenient, fuel efficient, and fast (though not as fast as the manufacturer claims). It really outperforms other stoves in windy conditions. If most of your cooking involves boiling things (one review below talks about poached eggs), and you want something easier to use than a Snow Peak Gigapower and titanium pot, this might be a good match for you.

Jetboil Personal Cooking System [Outside Buyer's Guide]
Jetboil [Backpacker Magazine]
Jetboil Reviews [BackpackGearTest.com]
Jetboil Stove Review [Backpacking Light]
Jetboil [The Backpacker.com]
Jetboil Review [GearReview.com]
Consumer Comments [Backcountry.com]
User Reviews [Summitpost.org]

Cookoffs Are Your Friend

Lightweight backpacking doesn't necessarily entail eating only soggy boil-in-a-bag macaroni and cups of weak tea. The results from the REI/Backpacker cook-off from last September are mouthwatering, and some of them -- like the winning entree, Angry Red Lentil tortilla soup -- are one-pan wonders, easily within the reach of the lightweight backpacker with a titanium frying pan and some serious culinary skills.

Rei/Backpacker Camp Cook-off [Backpacker.com]

Everything You Ever Wanted to Know About Lightweight Stoves, But Were Afraid to Ask

In yet another sign of the continuing series of major manufacturers getting into the ultra-light market, check out Coleman's new lightweight canister stoves, the F1 Ultralight (2.7 ounces, 16,000 BTUs, $39.95, pictured) and F1 PowerBoost (4.7 ounces, 23,900 BTUs, $49.95).

There's also a veritable blizzard of stove reviews goin' on over at BackpackingLight, with features ranging from in-depth reviews to gas consumption comparisons (membership required). For the general public, there's also this handy Index of Lightweight canister stoves. Shattering the myth that Coleman only makes products suitable for parking-lot camping, the F1 Ultralight takes the top performance awards. Now ain't that something. Happy cookin', campers.

REI Getting Into the Game

We take a few months off, and the whole landscape of lightweight backpacking rucksacking changes. REI has introduced a new line of "UL" products, which, though still a tad on the heavy side by most standards (or at least by ours), are still a huge improvement over traditional gear and will probably start a much larger segement of the public down the path towards rucksacking. We're not exactly sure when they began offering in-house items like the poetically-named REI UL 30L Pack, but we'll leave finding out stuff like that to real journalists who do stuff like, you know, research.

Jetboil Stove reviews

No new backpacking product this season has been met with as much hype and expectation as the Jetboil stove. Boasting a boil time of 90 seconds and extreme fuel-efficiency, it's been picked up by all the major outdoor retailers and given an editor's award by Backpacker magazine (read review). Backpackinglight.com and Backpack Gear Test have more skeptical reviews. Everyone seems to agree on one point: the design innovations of Jetboil have opened up new territory in lightweight stove design.

We Like Good Design

The Brunton Crux is a handy little stove - 3 oz., folds up nice, and looks real purdy. Might need to pick one up before the season begins, do a little home cookin'.