Geigerrig Tactical 1600 Review

Geigerrig Tactical 1600 Review

This is the first time I've come across the Geigerrig series of hydration packs, but honestly I don't know why. They seem to be rising in the states quite quickly and I know it wont be long before the Brits start to climb on board as well. The Geigerrig range of packs with their pressurised water system, manufactured by Hydrapak, are combined with some of the best water filtration systems in the world, made by Aquamira. Between those three companies you couldn't help but expect a great product and that's exactly what you get.

Before we get on to the pack I would like to talk very briefly about the hydration system. I say briefly because this the entire system itself is so good that I would take up too much of this article talking about it and if you want more information on it you can find it in its own featured review here.

The bladder/reservoir is a pressurised system, so you can spray water rather than needing to suck it, which means you can cool yourself off, clean some muddy boots or share with a friend or even your dogs. It is designed to work with the Aquamira filters which come in two options and have Cyst, Bacteria and Virus removal rates of over 99% and process either 100 or 120 gallons depending on which you choose. You pressurise it through a hand pump that fits in the pouch on the left shoulder strap so it's always close at hand, and the one that fits in this pack has a 3ltr capacity. That's all I will mention and again any more info can be found here.

At first glance this is definitely one of the highest quality packs I've ever seen. They have kept it simple and practical while adding some great features over similarly designed and priced packs. The one I have here is the Geigerrig 1600 tactical but, it should be noted that although this is the largest pack they make (I may be wrong), this is still a small pack. 1600 refers to the cubic inches which is just over 26 litres, so it's not enormous, but it is a good size for a hiking pack and it does come with molle on the front and waist straps if you wanted to add extra carrying capacity.

There are two large pockets and two small side pouches which is great because more and more these days you find companies who make 'tactical' packs limit capacity by splitting it over far too many pockets. The main pouch is a little bit smaller than I had expected due to the water bladder and a rigid back support, but both of these can be removed if desired to give you a little extra space although, I couldn't see you needing any more than what's already provided. The secondary compartment houses the usual valuables and document holders and it unzips all of the way down to give you great access to whatever you store inside. Finally the side pockets are big enough for you to store maybe a small medical kit or a hat and gloves, not quite large enough for a water bottle but bigger than a standard soft drinks can.

The shoulder straps aren't heavily padded but there is plenty for the size of the pack and the weight you will carry in it. They are part of the frame of the pack rather than being stitched on to the back so they will be a lot more durable than most other packs. There a 3 strips on each strap so you can attach a radio or phone pouch securely (I use them for clip on lights) and as mentioned previously the left strap houses a pocket for the hand pump for the hydration bladder. Now with the mention of the hand pump I will be honest, I don't like where it's positioned. Maybe its just my frame, but it's too high up and I feel it pressed against my chest, which isn't uncomfortable, but I could 'feel' it. This was the only issue I had when first using the pack, however I compressed the bulb down and taped it for a couple of days and it went really soft which made it almost unnoticeable, so if you get the same problem, do as I did and you should be fine. If you still don't like it you can always put the air pump somewhere-else and use the pocket for a utility item instead like a pocket tool, or you can always remove the air pump all together and use it as a regular hydration system. So the pump position is nothing to worry about, but I thought I should mention it as the tape trick really changed the whole thing for me, so I figured it might help some of you out if you ever have the same issue.

The waist straps are quite comfortable as well, and have a couple of strips of molle for more pouches. There are also two pockets on the straps which is a nice feature, but make no mistake these aren't huge (especially when you are strapped in. I dare say they were designed with the idea of housing a map or cash (something along those lines) which is really nice, but you wouldn't put anything other than documents in there or it would be uncomfortable. There's also the usual compression straps to hold all of the gear in the pack together.

As a whole it's not as big as I need for an everyday pack, I do carry a fair bit of gear when I go out as I test a lot of equipment, but you should easily fit in some spare clothing, a small cooking system and food and medical supplies. There's not a whole lot you should be carrying for most day trips and I think this has enough space while also giving you the molle options on the front. I will be using it when hiking some of the larger mountains in Britain later this year when I wont be carrying a million knives, and I foresee it carrying everything I will require without needing to attach any molle pouches.

I think this is an excellent for mountain hikes and other lightweight exercise enthusiasts like joggers and bikers who might need the additional space some molle compatible pouches can provide. The quality as I mentioned earlier is one of the highest I've ever seen. I have another hydration pack that's in the same price range as this and you just cant compare them on the same scale. I definitely will be keeping my eye on Geiggerig packs from now on and as soon as they get a good 40+ltr pack I'll be on it like a hawk.

[taq_review]

Geigerrig Tactical 1600 Review

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Geigerrig Hydration System Review

Geigerrig Hydration System Review.

This is a full system that is developed by Hydrapak with Geigerrig and Aquamira to give you one of the best hydration systems on the market.

First off it's a pressurised system, or you put pressure into it with the little hand pump that attaches via a separate tube. It also uses an internal air pocket which has several advantages over just pressurising the container. As the pocket extends the full length of the reservoir, it means that it supports the water and prevents the pack from sagging. The pump is separate so you don't get fluid back-washing into the hand-pump which keeps it clean and easier to maintain and it also means that you can completely remove the hand pump, and use it more like a traditional hydration system, without compromising the seal of the reservoir in any way. The air and water tubes also come with thread-less, quick-disconnect valves which really help to put this system together in small packs.

I've watched a demo of this system by the founder Bob Geiger and he actually jumps on this pack while its full. When I say jump it's not as extreme as you might think, but if you watched it you would know what I mean, it certainly holds his weight. I wouldn't want to stamp on the thing as hard as I could to find its limits, but part of the durability comes with the nylon fabric on the back of the reservoir that helps protect it from any gear in your pack.

So the idea is, you pressure in it after you fill your pack, so that it forms around your items, which makes it use up less room and it allows for some really great options over a normal water bladder. You don't need to suck on it as it sprays it into your mouth or onto/into whatever you fancy. So you can spray a nice (not powerful) stream into your dog's mouth or share with a friend or even clean down some dirty boots or anything-else you desire. I really like this as its a simple alteration that allows for far more uses out of a hydration system that usually ends up being wasted. This reservoir is 3 litres (there's also a 2ltr option available) so its more than you would usually need on a day out which means you have plenty to spare for your dog and you don't need to carry a water bowl for them which is great for me as i usually forget that and have to cup my hands together, also I have two dogs, so while they fight for water and end up spilling most of it, this actually saves me from wasting as much.

The whole reservoir can be pulled inside-out and thrown in the dishwasher to be cleaned, which just adds to its ease of use, and its done thanks to the slide top seal which also minimises its profile in your pack. It's BPA and phthalate free, but best of all it comes co-developed with Aquamira's filtration systems.

The Frontier Max filter I have comes with a 'Red Line' filter but you can also get the 'Green Line' filter which is cheaper. The difference between the two is that the red filter has the capability to remove 99.99% of viruses where as the green does not. Both filters however have a 99.9% cyst removal and 99.9999% bacteria removal rate and will filter 11 gallons for the green and 120 gallons for the red, so they will probably last you quite a while as it will last over 150 refills of the 3ltr reservoir. Basically if you go out once a week they will last you approximately 3 years, and you can always stock up on a few extra.

 

Overall, like the hydration packs made by Geigerrig, this hydration system is one of the best on the markets at the moment. If you aren't going to spend the money getting a pack from Geigerrig I would certainly suggest you look into their water reservoirs. They are tough, come with water filter compatibility that is above the average on the market, and feature the all important pressurising system that gives you more options and utility with your water while also helping to keep your back cool. I wont be using anything else. Ever.

[taq_review]

Geigerrig Hydration System Review

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Mihai Bostan Knives

Mihai Bostan Knives
Well as this is a review of the Knife maker, as much as the knife we have, we thought we would start by giving you a bit of info into the smith before we talked about his blade.

The Smith

We recently got our hands on a custom, hand-made knife from a 28 year old gentleman, called Mihai Bostan. He currently resides in Birmingham, but he's originally from Romania where he graduated university with a mechanical and production engineering degree.

He started crafting knife handles for knife blanks but quickly decided he wanted to do more. He made his first knife and after a work colleague bought it and asked him to produce another, he enthusiastically started to make his life goals more of a reality. He went part-time so he could focus more on crafting and hopes to make it his full-time career over the next few years. He has the determination and skills to make this happen, and his knives stand up with the best of them.

He uses CAD (computer aided design) to get a good idea of how his knives will look long before he starts crafting. This gives him the benefit of making changes to get a knife's design spot on and then moves on to crafting a wooden model to see how it really feels and looks. If you get a knife designed by him he can send you the wooden model so you can get a look before you make your final decision. I like his entire approach, as it's a lot more technical and modern, and I think it really brings custom knife manufacturing into the 21st century. Combine that with being able to hold a wooden mock up before getting it crafted is a really great way to treat his craft and his customers.

The Knife

It took him about 25 hours to craft this knife, and you can see that the time was well spent. The quality is superb and there's very little that I would alter for myself. I would thin out the handle a little and make the end a bit deeper, but that more for my own hands and really there's nothing wrong with it. The Walnut scales look wonderful with the mosaic pins and the red liners, this really is a good-looking knife. He's finished the blade in satin and its overall length is about right for a nice medium-sized bushcraft knife. It wasn't as sharp as I would like, but it wasn't hard getting it to where it needed to be.

The sheath is the usual style for a bushcraft knife (which his how he likes them) and the red stitching stand out nicely against the tanned leather. It holds the blade firmly but still makes it very accessible (I shook the knife violently while upside-down and it didn't budge). The colour matches wonderfully with the walnut scales and the whole thing including the knife really is beautiful. While it probably isn't my favourite leather sheath, it's definitely one of the best looking.

 

The handle has red liners and as previously mentioned is made with walnut wood and held together with two mosaic pins.  The fit and finish of it is superb and you really cant feel where the scales meet the tang even slightly, he's really spent time perfecting his knives and this is just another area where it shows. It is a bit rounder than I prefer in a handle but it looks and feels a lot more traditional like this, which is really nice. The over-all shape fits well in the hand and I haven't once thought it felt off with all of the use I've given it.

 
The blade is made from 4mm thick 01 tool steel and has a flat grind which looks very good. He currently offers the option of 3/4/5mm in 01, Damascus and stainless steel. He also will do a Scandinavian or sabre grind if the flat grind isn't your preference. The heat-treat should be spot on as he sends his blades out to be professionally treated. This just ensures the blades strength matches the overall quality of the entire knife and you get the piece of mind knowing that you've paid for something that's going to hold up to extensive use. We have had this for a few months now, and I kept forgetting to get the pictures I needed for this article, but I'm really glad I took so long as I got to use it quite a lot more that I would have otherwise and it really held up well. The blade barely needed a sharpen to keep it razor-like and every time I got to use it I remembered that there was no other out there like this one, so it was a little bit special.

All in all, we are very impressed by this knife. He hasn't been a smith for as long as the big names out there, but we know he has the capability to compete with them. We all look for production knives far too often and really forget that we can get something special from a good craftsman at really good prices. This is one of my favourite bushcraft knives, but is far from the most expensive that I own. Keep an eye on him and get your orders in early as his knives will only go up in price (and rightly so), so grab yourself a really, really good blade at an amazing price while you can.

If you want to contact Mihai Bostan, or look at some of his work, check out the links below.

E-mail: mboshandmadeknives@gmail.com
Instagram: mihaibostan88
Etsy: MBosHandmadeKnives

Flint Knapping for Beginners

Flint knapping for beginners

*This article was submitted as a guest publication by an outside source.*

Making a knife from a flint stone is easier than you think, it only takes a few minutes to make a razor sharp edge. It's called knapping, don't worry it's just a posh word for snapping flint! First you need the right stone, flint is ideal it is often a rounded almost black stone covered in chalk but can be various shades of grey or even brown.
I hate giving out health and safety advice to adults, but seriously, this stuff is razor sharp, use gloves and wear some eye protection. I had a tiny splinter fly off and it went into the skin of my wrist, and I was wearing gloves! Make sure you don't leave any flint splinters where people walk around barefoot. Keep pets away until you've tidied! If you want to do try this indoors use a groundsheet sheet so you can collect the bits and shake into a bin or waste area. Use a good vacuum cleaner afterwards, flint splinters are like glass, so will easily go through sofa fabric and skin!

To try this for yourself at home you will essentially only need 3 easy to obtain tools:
Hammer. This does not need to be big or heavy, a standard household hammer will do, another large stone will also work, and the thicker part of natural antler will also work.(1 thing to note with hammers, I have broken a fiberglass hammer handle in half by repeatedly hitting stone, wooden handles are far safer for flint).
Retoucher. Retoucher is French for 'to-touch up' or 'to alter', basically it's a tool with a point you can exert pressure with. In stone age times they used the tip of an antler which I've used, it really is strong enough! For my teaching I have made r   etouchers , they are cut off tent pegs filed into about 1” shaped bullet shaped tip, embedded in a wooden handle the same width as your hand , very easy to make. If you like, the handle could have a point at both ends, one sharp and one blunt. Sharp for precise work blunt for larger bits. For more serious work you can buy copper headed tools that do the same thing, I've never bought one, as copper is very soft metal and I'm sure any point or hammer would wear out very fast, and steel tent pegs are very cheap!
Pad. You also need a small work area depending on how you are comfortable, you can work on your lap or on kneeling the floor. I use a sheet of thick leather over a flat piece of wood, this could be leather from an old jacket, bag, or boot. The point of the leather is to hold the flint shard more easily whilst you work on it, it's soft and grippy. If you tried flint knapping on a hard surface the flint would slip around. For my clients that tend to mostly be children, they use small boards I've made, which are small rectangles of wood about the size of a shirt pocket, with leather attached. It's just a board with a soft layer. A sheet of metal or plastic covered in a soft fabric like sleeping mat foam, Rubber car mat, or thick canvas would work just as well.


The flint you use needs to be good, you want flat wide pieces and break off coin sized or larger chunks. An easy way to tell if it's a good stone is to tap one flint looking stone against another. To do this carefully hold the flint in your left hand and tap it with the hammer, if it's flint it will split fairly easily. DON'T hit it as hard as you can, you'll just end up covering the area in microscopic razor sharp flint blades! If it's the right stuff, it will break into large flat sided lumps with thin razor sharp flat shards that have either fallen off or look loose. Flat and thin is what you're after, if it leaves lumpy angles or blocky shapes (which is common) discard the stone, and try another. It's quite possible from the first split you've found a shard that will serve it's purpose. During a public demo I broke off a shard that was exactly the same shape and size as an arrowhead, and needed nothing doing to it, often if you just need a sharp edge one crack will give you loads of bits, you shouldn't need to be there all day.
It's a good point to mention that flint tends to break off in to small short(ish) pieces, it's very difficult to make long straight knives, you can see examples of stone age knives or long, wide spearheads, but they would have been made by expert craftspeople. From my experience, I imagine it may have taken days of attempts to have a stone break in a long enough piece to make a full size knife. Unless you manage to be lucky enough to make a long flint shard, it's best to aim for a Stanley knife or craft knife type design.

Have a picture in your mind of a basic size and shape you need for your project. Often this is determined but the bits you break off but most can be reshaped. for example a triangle for an arrow, a long rectangle for a knife, a square with blunt side for a bone saw. Once you have a shard, pick them up carefully as they really are sharp. You need to decide which side to work on, the thinner the better.
- Place the shard on the pad in front of you. Hold the flint firmly in place with the area to be altered towards your working hand. When you start knapping the flint may move or tilt, (you may want to wear a glove on your off-hand for this). To use the retoucher you need to make a sort of pinching action, with your whole wrist almost like the same action concentrated pressure you'd use to remove a tyre from a bike wheel, or to use a mini can opener, but on the first few millilitres of the flints edge.
- Pick up and hold the retoucher in your main hand with the point facing inward. Rest the wide wooden head of the retoucher (next to the point) on the pad with the point on the edge of the flint you want to alter. The retoucher should be sloping towards the pad as you hold it.
- Without moving your off-hand, hold the retoucher firmly and twist your right wrist anticlockwise towards the metal point, so your little finger is going upwards. As you twist, push down on the metal point. If it works you should hear a crack or crunching sound depending on how much you have knapped (snapped off).
- That's pretty much it. If you make a scalloped design on the edge you'll have a sharp blade, if you add tiny notches you'll have a saw that will cut through bone. Once you've done that you can make just about any design you want, bigger or smaller and arrowheads are just the same process but on both sides
If you want to make an axe head, it's pretty much the same idea but requires more careful shaping with the hammer to begin with, then gentle “pecking” which means carefully tapping off tiny specks of stone with the hammer to shape the part you attach to the handle.

You can Knapp glass exactly the same way, but I would urge extreme caution, always use gloves and glasses, as the bits you break off are see-through and can be nearly invisible.

 

You can contact Richard and learn more about his primitive skills and teachings via his website here.

*This article was submitted as a guest publication by an outside source.*

The Friendly Swede Survival Kit

The Friendly Swede Survival Kit.

 

Most of us have this grand idea that we could survive any disastrous circumstance using only our bare hands and a manly beard. This is completely untrue, but survival kits such as this one offer us all we need for most survival situations we may ever encounter. The rule of three is the basic theory behind most survival situations:
3 weeks to survive without food
3 days to survive without water
3 hours to survive without shelter
There is also 3 minutes without air, but let's be realistic, if you find that rule applies to your situation there's no emergency survival kit in the world that can help you. Most companies look at this set of rules and design their kits around it. So with that in mind let me tell you what they include in this kit and how it can help you survive.

 

The full contents of this survival kit include.
Paracord Rope(8m/26feet), Emergency Rescue Blanket, Wire Saw, Washer(flint striker), Flint Rod, Carabiner, Compass, Zip Lock Bag, Tin Foil, Iron Wire, Whistle, Needle, 2x Safety Pin, Tinder, Fishing Line, Weights, Swivels, Floats, 2x Fishing Hooks, and Lure

 

On the outside of this kit are a whistle and a compass which is absolutely great as you have some form of navigation and signalling capabilities without needing to unpack any of its contents, so a big thumbs up from me there. I blew the whistle in my armchair and quickly regretted it, as this room is quite small and it was very loud, but at least I knew it worked well. The compass had a little bubble in it so it's not amazing quality but it does point north and that's all you need. There's also a carabiner on the outside that's very lightweight but is a great little extra if only for attaching to your backpack or belt.

 

I figured I had to remove the whistle from its case in order to access the ends of the paracord but I honestly could barely get into this by hand. I was sat in a warm room in a comfy chair and all I could think was if my hands were numb then I'd be smashing the whistle up with a rock. So I was not a fan of that as a very important signalling device would be destroyed in that scenario. That being said with a knife or another small object I did manage to push the whistle out easily enough but sometimes these things aren't available. After that though there were no issues getting inside and all of the contents came wrapped in a piece of foil like wrapping to help keep it all dry.

 

The paracord was wrapped very tightly around the items but I only needed to pull out about 5/6 layers of it out and  could pull the contents out through the gap I had made. I quickly realised when I had done this though that there was no way I could put it all back together, but I had pockets on my trousers so all was good and if I somehow had access to this survival kit, but had no trousers on, then I'd probably need to reassess my outdoor skills in general. So inside there is a variety of nice little items for such a small package. I think there is more than enough for most survival situations and if you were so inclined you could even add one or two small things into the wrap if you were very persistent (a few water purifying tablets would be a great addition).

 

I wont go into detail with what you can do with all of the items, as that would be a very long and boring article, but I'll try to give you a bit of useful info based on what I have in front of me.

 

Shelter and Fire
You have a form of shelter and fire which can be the most important things in a survival situation depending on your climate (usually water is the most important, but it's not always the case). Cold weather, or cold and wet weather could see you perish within 24 hours. You would have to use some ingenuity but there is the survival blanket which can be turned into a small roof or obviously slept in and there's the 8 meter's of paracord and wire saw so you can build a better shelter if the materials are available.
There's the ferro rod and striker (that's the washer that's mentioned in the item list) and a bit of tinder. It is a small  of tinder but if you are careful in your preparations you could get it to work, but I would definitely source more and any you find can be stored in the zip lock bag to keep dry for later on.

 

Food and Water
You can easily use the foil to boil some water, but  wouldn't make a container and put it in a fire or on coals. It is only foil so it would break, but I would happily dig a small hole and line it with the foil to hold some water then, CAREFULLY, place a few hot rocks in it to boil the water. I would also find some leaves to put at the bottom of the container to stop the rocks breaking through.
I don't fish but there's plenty here for an inexperienced survivor to get a meal. Don't be afraid to try a few different things, I seem to recall people using foil to catch fish as its shine can attract them to the hook. Also if you do catch a fish or two there's enough foil to wrap them and cook them on your fire which is great for locking in moisture. I still would hold off using the foil for boiling water though but if you have that covered then go for it.
There is also some snare wire in here, but you need to understand how to make and use snares effectively and what game can be caught with them. I would suggest learning proper trapping techniques as they aren't very complicated and its something handy to know that could save your life in a bad situation.

 

Signalling for Rescue
Well I mentioned the whistle, which is very handy as it can carry noise in built up locations very well. There's a reason that birds have high-pitched tweets and its nothing to do with their size. In a jungle bigger animals on the ground have lower tones as they carry well over open ground. In the trees where there are lots of leaves high pitch noises reflect and so they travel further than low pitch noises. You also have a shiny blanket and foil that you can use for visual cues. Mostly if you can build a fire that will always be a better signal for rescue, remember the rule of three here. Three is the universal signal for emergency. Three fires in a line will tell any planes, helicopters or boats that there's somebody there who needs assistance. If you can build a fire keep a pile of green vegetation nearby to throw on top to make some extra white smoke.

 

There is also a needle included in this kit, and while I wouldn't rely on it and certainly wouldn't want to use it, could be used with some fishing line to stitch up a wound or two, but it is very big so it would be quite painful. Maybe I would just go for one of the fishing hooks, but lets just hope it never comes to that. If it did though make sure you sterilise the needle in some fire to avoid any extra contaminants.

 

Overall I'm impressed with this survival kit. It has almost everything you need in most survival situations besides a knife. I have spoken to The Friendly Swede guys and there is a 'ring knife' in most of the kits, but its unavailable in the UK thanks to Amazon's stupid rules. The only things I would add to it would be some water purification tablets or some potassium permanganate so you don't have to rely on fire for safe drinking water. These are things you could easily add yourself though and the whole kit at is incredibly good value and it all comes with a lifetime warranty from The Friendly Swede. This will definitely be part of my outdoor kit, providing I can put it all back in.

[taq_review]

 The Friendly Swede Survival Kit

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Kelly Kettle Review

Finally we can bring you our Kelly Kettle Review.

 

I say finally as we had this little beauty in my spare room for about 2 months waiting for our Welsh weather to be less, well Welsh. So we packed our bags and went for a hike, taking the Kettle with us, and the whole way all I could think was how I hated my partner for being a million feet tall. I bet you thought I would say the kettle, but no, looking up and seeing an ex-military giant leaping up cliffs and stepping over meteor craters just made me want to bludgeon him to death and use his corpse to skate back down to the car. I mean I had a 60ltr pack full of gear we needed that day, while he carried the kettle and a spare pair of gloves in his little daypack. I felt like a pack mule, but he's the one with a horse face so I think I win.

 

Anyway, lets give you some useful info on the Kelly Kettle.

 

This is the stainless steel 'Scout' version that's 1.2 litres, although you can get a 0.6ltr 'Trekker' or the 1.6ltr 'Base Camp' models, and all three come in Aluminium if you want something a little lighter. You have most of the little bits like cups and pans are available separately so you can tailor your kettle to suit your personal needs, but we went with the 'Ultimate' edition that comes with everything. Really its the most comprehensive wood burning kit of this type we have ever seen, it only needs some cutlery and when I suggested that to Patrick Kelly (Oh yes,  I have the connections), he told me they are working on that right now, so expect to see them really soon to finish off your kit.

 

Anyway, we got to the summit of a local hotspot for downhill bikers (the hooligans) and found a windless little pocket to sit in the sun and set to work getting a brew on the go. We knew we had to gather wood for the kettle and we weren't sure how much we would need, so I wandered off and gathered a few dead branches. I came back with less than enough to fill a carrier bag, certainly I thought I needed more, but I was tired and figured Gav could go get more when it was required. It was however enough to boil the kettle twice, cook 4 sausages and an entire pack of bacon and still have a few small twigs left over (probably enough for another brew). It really is efficient at burning wood and the temperature gets right up there thanks to the closed design, it really felt like a piece of kit you could rely on.

 

I know a fair bit about physics and engineering, so I was expecting it to be fuel-efficient and quick to boil, but nothing prepared me for just how good it actually is. In about 3 minutes we had a cuppa each and plenty of water left over for two more to join us.  Also, before we could even finish the first brew, the sausages had cooked through to perfection. Even including the time it took to gather some wood and get it all going, we reckon it was still faster than the usual gas stoves and camping kettles we normally use. Combine that with the fact that you don't need to buy gas, and the entire package fits into a rather small little package when put away properly, you have something that really struggles to find an equal. It does take up a bit more space as just a kettle than I would like, if I'm completely honest, but if you look at it as a whole package (the cups, plates, pot and pan, hobo stove, grill and the kettle itself), then it takes up less space than the equivalent kit I would carry instead. Lets also not forget that there is the Trekker model that's about half the size of this one, so if size and space is an issue then they have you covered.

 

So that's the big part of the kettle done, but lets talk about the little extras that came with this kit.

 

For use with the cooking apparatus is a small grab handle that works with both the pot and pan. I would have liked another inch or two on it at times when the fire got a little larger than needed but it got the job done. The hobo stove made a nice stable platform for the pot and pan. It did burn more fuel when using this as it lets more oxygen in but, as I mentioned previously, it cooked 4 sausages faster than I could drink my tea, and I do not hang around letting a cuppa go cold. There is also the option of using the grill, but as we were cooking bacon as well, we thought we would use the pan so we could get the juices rather than bring oil. The only thing with the grill is you couldn't have a huge fire going in the base as it does sit down quite low, but as long as you don't go nuts with the wood you should be fine. Also it comes with a stand to put a pot above the kettle although, I would just boil the kettle and get the hobo stove out as 3 minutes isn't a long time to wait.

 

The plates were a good size and quite deep. They were more like dishes so you know any rations, or whatever your chosen food is, wont be running off the edge. The cups came in a small and large size so they fit together, but even the small is bigger than a normal household cup so you wont be left wanting. The cups also come with measurements and lip protectors to stop burning if the cup is hot and I did have an issue with them when the cup was close to empty as they made me dribble instead of drink, but that was only on the last couple of mouthfuls. The pot is big enough for a boil in the bag sized ration or a couple of tins of beans, and the pan fit 4 large sausages without issue.

 

So overall I couldn't be happier with this kit. Well I could be, as this one belongs to my partner because he's freakishly tall and he held it up too high for me to grab, damn ogre. Honestly though I was looking at these for about two years before we finally got our hands on one and I wish I had done it sooner. You can get lighter products that take up less space, like mini gas burners, but you will struggle to find something that boils as quickly as this, and it requires no additional money spent on fuel. It just has no rivals in my opinion, at least none that burn wood, and the quality is there. Its great if your on a day out or even when your camping, just set it up next to you and have a quick brew and breakfast on the go in the morning. This is quickly becoming our 'go to' cooking kit when we go out and if you ever get one you will see why.

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Scorpion Crossbow Review

Scorpion Crossbow Review

 

We start this review after I have sweated profusely putting the bow together. I don't know what sort of hulk they had in the picture, but I could not string it with one hand. I couldn't even string it with two hands so I caved and got my partner to loop the string while I bent the bow back. I dare say with a little practice I could find a way to string it solo but it's just easier with two. I can at least cock the string without requiring the foot stirrup on the front, so that's a little bit of messing around I don't need to do from now on.

 

Ok, so you can't expect amazing quality when you buy something like this for the very low price it costs, but at least they didn't skimp out where it matters. The body of the crossbow and the body of the bolts are both made out of aluminium. The bow itself is fibreglass and the sights, handle scales, trigger and the fetches of the bolts are all plastic. In total the crossbow itself feels pretty solid although the bolts could do with having the heads glued on, but again for the price this is higher quality than I was expecting.

At the moment I haven't gone out and tested it, so only time will tell if my concerns are justified and, in that regard, there are two things that concern me. First is the safety lock. It engages automatically when you cock the bow, which is great, but the way you switch to live involves pressing forward in such a way that I fear it might automatically fire the bolt, so don't have it facing anybody or any part of your body when you do this (although you should be doing either of these things at all). Remember this is a serious piece of equipment that can cause harm if you don't respect it. Second there is nothing that holds the bolt down to the body so I'm slightly worried it wont fly forward but fling it upwards or sideways so make sure anybody with you is behind you when you fire.

 

Well with my little health and safety warning over, its time to head out and see how this mini crossbow performs.

 

Well, unsurprisingly, my partner with his military training took the first shot and with sniper precision, lost a bolt immediately. I obviously mocked him and he retorted 'Well they don't train you to use crossbows in the army.', to which I had to confess I had crossbow training at university whilst studying journalism. No wait, I  didn't. He's just useless.

 

Anyway, like fools we fired at a tree which brushed aside the bolts like they were fly's on a windscreen, but we could see that it was accurate and had plenty of power.  The poundage was light enough that we could cock without the use of the stirrup and my worries about the safety catch were put to rest (somewhat) when it held just fine. The safety was a problem later in my home when I wanted to get some photos and the string caught my fingertip while I was trying to fix the mechanism. This was more likely due to my own messing with the bow for pictures, but just a warning that if the string does get stuck, use a stick or some other object to push the string rather than your own flesh. Thankfully I was expecting this so I avoided anything serious happening.

 

The bolts are a bit flimsy in a sense that the tips just want to fall off, but a bit of adhesive on the thread will sort that out. They are also very cheap to replace (I think a pack of 12 is about £3-5 depending on whether you want plastic or aluminium).

 

The whole set-up is really lightweight although, if you plan on keeping this in a backpack or bugout bag, then I suggest not attaching the bow to the chassis as its shape makes it a little awkward to fit in a pack and the string will last longer being unburdened. It's accurate and powerful enough that, if you had to, you could hunt some small game like rabbit, pheasant or duck although, with these bolts I think you are more likely to get a stunning blow on something rather than any sort of piercing shot. You would need some good stealth skills to get close enough to secure some food but it's definitely achievable and gives you a good tactical edge when fighting for survival. I personally would head down to the river and attempt some bow fishing in shallow water if I had to secure some food. It's definitely powerful enough for getting some fish close to the surface and if you had some cord to attach to the bolt then you could stop them floating away.  Not just that you are right next to a water source so it's generally a good area to set up camp.

 

So that's our scorpion crossbow review. Overall I love this thing, it's seriously fun and a nice addition to any mans toy box. At the price these go for it's well worth the money, even if you don't put it in a bug out bag or use it for any type of survival or hunting. Just get a target up (somewhere safe) and fire a few bolts, you can't regret making this purchase.

 

I got mine from here at a very good price and they also supply replacement bolts (something I must now purchase).

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