Back from the forest.

Well its sad but im back in the civilization again.But it was damn good two days vacation at my friends dads summercabin,made in 50´s. Its simple but compared to to the usual lean-to´s i use it was like overwhelming,but i dont complain at all,no sir. Especially caus ewe had one not-so-into-wilderness girl with us there,so it was good place for her to,as there was warmth and shelter and all the small necessities she has used to use .I was almost around the clock at the lake,fishing with one or two buddies and we had about 30 good sized fishes,which we gutted and salted,and put most of them into freezer,but few we smoked in makeshift smoking box and in one splitted old truck´s air-brake canister which had been there as bbq grill and just lying un used for some 10 yrs,but with little tinkering it was good to go. I whittled some juniper in the bottom of it,followed by about ten sugar cubes and hint of whiskey i had there,to give a nice catch on the taste,and it seemed like we completed the smoking well,deciding from the grins on my friends face when we tasted it. Girls gathered up berries and some fungi too. Rest of the time i was mainly chilling out,having sauna,eating,talking some s--t and planning on next trips,especially one were goin to do at end of summer 2010,it will be pretty harder task as wed like to get as many people with us,so he have to plan the days according to everyones schedules.

Sort of shorty Khukri "knife"

This is managed to do today at forging course,from old leaf spring,that was eight millimeters thick and about 70 millimeters wide. Its banged against anvil,to thickness of an quarter inch,from handle to the beginning of the wider part of the blade,which still is 8 millimetrs thick,measured from the spine,so the weight is mostly on the front of the blade,to improve the performance when choppind down something. The holes on the handle are there merely to lighten up the handle and give better balance,although two of them are for brass pins,which im about to use to attach two slabs of some harder quality wood or maybe G10 scales,to make the handle more comfortable to handle for longer times. It was very hard to do this,as its my first,its very stubborn and hard material to forge. It has quite long bevels,ground with angle grinder,sandpaper,and all the necessary spinning gadgets to give very sharp and long lasting ( it seems the hardening vent well,as did the annealing too )edge,although this aint for whittling :) .Its about 18 inches long by the way.

Now i have a lot more knowledge and knowhow to make next one faster and better,thanks to the blacksmith dude who was our instructor there and understand that some folks just dont have that much of intrest to the traditional finnish puukkos,although i love em too.

Litlle bit of som new handmade stuff

Here you go,my new knife,done entirely by me.

Blade is bit over 10 centimeters,and its 3 millimeters thick,made from hi carbon steel blank,forged and ground,hardened and then annealed into about 59hrc of hardness.

The handle is made from curly birch,which i sunk into pitch black leatherpaint as its longlasting and penetrates wood well,after the assembly ( with epoxy and brass hardware) the handle has been oiled and polished just a bit,and the blade has been oiled with thin layer of food grade oil to prevent rust and od taste if i use it for stuff ill be eating.

It hasnt got sheath yet but im getting that done too when i get some leather.

Blacksmith studies continue.

Tomorrow-off to learn more about blacksmith skills,its hands-on class,i just cant wait till morning.

Sleeping bag for winter

I had my old dirt bicycle 4 sale or 4 trade in one popular website where they sell used stuff,i had it there for over 7 weeks and today finally someone called to me. He sure wasnt the only one but he lived just few miles from my home,and was looking out for a bike for his kid,who had bashed his other market quality mtb´s. I said to him that if he comes to check it out,likes it and takes it,ill give him good discount for it. His kid tested it,and so did the dad himself,and deal was made,and i knew immedialtely what to do with the money,as my favourite market,where they have awesome amount of outdoor gear,even compared to most sport shops here,had these discount days,and all the outdoor products were included to this discount campaign. So off we go and after some 20 minutes of touching and feeling things,i ended up with this Ajungilak Tyin 5-season sleeping bag,as i used to have one ajungilak and they have good reputation among other people too. Im hoping now for first hikes at Minus Celsius temperatures to see how good this one is. The best thing to me in this is,that its for person whos 2 meters tall,and im 192,and the previous was for 190 tall guy,and it was bit tight for me due to this. I was in bit of a stress since im goint o lapland once again before christmas,for over week,and i sleep in snow foxholes,etc,not in cabins or heated tents,and i hope this will serve me as well as did the previous Ajungilak i had,it had extreme at -51C,this one has what...-41c,and the comfort zone is between minus 20 to minus 29.With proper clothing,proper sleeping matress,i think ill survive just fine :).

http://www.mammut.ch/en/productDetail/241000550_v_180/Ajungilak+Tyin+5-Season.html

Blaah.

City-life is SO N-O-T for me.
The more i see the wilderness the more i miss it.
Hike after hike i feel so depressed here in the concrete cube.
I could easily trade my life here,with all the "good sides of modern home" to less equipped log hide-away-home in the woods.
If i only could pack up my small family and gear and take a hike.

A hike for life :).

Good night,fellowmen.

Helpin out a close person a bit.

Ive been bit off my tracks in past,or maybe i should say that ive been a bit concerned about a person really close to me as this individual has gone and got a bundle of trouble and harassment against,but luckily it seems this person is doing a bit better now for past few days which im so glad for,since i care about his life,and health hellova lot.I got sooo frustrated sinc ei didnt know how deep in the poo he was until recently and how terrified and lone he was,and yet he has to face it in future,but hell get over it in the end,and that is just great.He is now trying to make it up for the persons who helped him out of the deep swamp of frustration and loneliness,starting slowly a new page in his life,and im helping him out as well as i can,and so are soem of my closest buddies too.Its good to see,to realise that i have these around me,and that the helping hand reaches out to him,with all kinds of good small things towards him.I really owe to my friends a big hug or a handshake,a beer or two for helping put a buddy they havent even met earlier.This person wants out of the ratrace,the one that most people live without even realizing that,that more-more-faster-more money-more booze-moreee! stuff you know.He just wants to get his mind calm,to calm down a bit,sit down for a while and see how it feels.this is how he said it to me lately.And that he wants to travel,hike,with me,my gal,my buddies,our small "crew",just to feel welcomed and to make new-much wiser- friends.He used to hike a lot more when he was a kid,and now he wants to find out the life in the bushes again,and hey,if that aint,then nothing isnt better to hear,in my books.So im starting to collect a small kit for his possession,with my buddies too,to ease out a new hobby,a new lifestyle for him....Nothing special but something useful,a new knife,compass,firesteel,backpack,proper hiking bottle,fishing rod,folding knife,mug,spork/utencil,cooker,kettle,cup,etc.

Anything that makes him feel that he is welcome,and make him smile a bit more as he really is sad and really really poor,for long time now.


Any ideas,folks ?



Edit:
By this far we have managed to get some stuff,heres whats in the package:
-Marttiini lynx knife,with black handle and sheath,like new.
-Halti inflatable sleeping mattress
-Tatonka sherpa(?) kettle,small but suits for one person,has locking lid and out-folding handle so it might be good for both,gas stove and open fire.
-Savotta firesteel
-Spork
-Finnish army field bottle and swedish army´s folding kuksa cup.
-Otso led headlamp,small and simple but better than nothing.
-Used(well,for three days at max) pair of Haglöfs trekking shoes,i think theyre like..half-long ones,gore tex and brown brushed leather.
-Inflatable pillow,some generic brand.
-Uke flashlight,4 aa,old,but works and is pretty bright too,although it is Not LED operated.
-Us army belt utility pouch,might be nice for canteen or something,like first aid kit etc.
-Light generic summer sleeping bag and one older and a lot thicker Halti sleeping bag.
-Storm/waterproof matches in waterproof case.

This means that if these are good to him,im glad,and im hunting for:

-Bdu or similar pants and maybe m-65 jacket for him.Or some other rugged outer layer.
-Winter sleeping bag ( i really could use one too for myself )
-Maybe some plate,like light my fire makes,or other mess tin kit.
-Small tent.
-And last,one good reliable rucksack,in size of about 65 to 90 liters,and some daypack.

Few pics more

Few pics

So i just add a few pics from this latest weekend hike i did with my gal and my buddies.

Hike food again

Ok.


So i used again WAYFARER foods,a few portions at the trip,this time i heated em up in my primus litech kettle,and it took just about some 5 to 7 minutes to get em Hot,i measured it by taking time when the first signs of actual boiling appeared.The taste was good as it gets,this time i mean the one meal with pasta & meatballs in tomato sauce,i was pretty surprised that the meatballs were so good and fullfilling,not dry powderish tasteless junk at all! Good in my books 4 sure!And the size was ok,as it might weight some 300 grams,and that is ok for one meal if you eat something on the side too.

Sorry for the blurry pic,it was pretty cold at morning at the cabins porch,and my cameras lense frozed and fogged :).

www.solutionfoods.fi

Late birthday gift / Sigg retro bottle

At out short trip,i received a small bottle of my favourite poison,Jägermeister,and along with it,came gift voucher to our local scoutshop,so today i went there and tried to pick up first something i really NEED.....but still i ended up with something i really want,more than need,and it was this Sigg 1941 Swiss Army field bottle & stainless oval integrated cup,its remake of classic Sigg bottle,and ive always fancied one and now i have it.It measures only 0,6 liters but on short walk its ok,and the cup offers me even a chance to heat up some drinks above fire etc.Its compact enough also to fit in your vest pockets,so i dont have to drag it on belt or hand to get quick access to refreshments.Quality seems like i expected,from one of the most famous bottle making companies,everything fits like a glove,does not leak or clank at all.

I havent had a chance to real field use yet but in time i will.

Back from the bush

Well,tomorrow ill be typin some new stuff here as i just came back from my last trip with my buddies.More foodmaking stuff atleast,incoming.

Bahco Laplander- my favourite folding saw.

ok, as i wrote the food review,i remembered that i used my BAHCO´s Laplander ( lap 396 ) saw as a weight in one picture,and also snapped a few shots of it too,so im goin to put em up here as well.
Laplander has been so far the best folding saw ive used on my trips,and at home too.

A choosed due to the reviews i saw about it,in newspapers,youtube etc and it sure aint bad reference to any tool if USA military forces issue this to their soldiers,and its NATO approved as well,and carries the number : #5110-25-147-4344

Its pretty sturdy,and yet not bulky or heavy in my pocket,the blade locks in open and in closed position too so it wont open up accidentally to rip the gear you have in you ruckasack,or tear apart your trouser pockets,neither your skin.

I´d say its something like 9 inches long when folded,so it rides easily in uniform pants pockets if you dont carry any backpack or similar,and theres now few belt sheats for these in Ebay too and im goin to sew one for myself too,as i really do like to carry things attached to me,in belt,so i always have necessities at my hands and i dont have to search thru packs and bags when i need some tool.

The blade is superb,it really holds up its edge and sharpness,and ive used this a lot,thru rotten,iced,moist,soft and hard woods,and plain ice too,and it keeps going on.Lately i managed to get a hold of some 5 spare blades from local scout shop,and due to this i think i wont be looking out for another saw for long long time.....if i dont drop this on trails,that is.From my classmate i got french,large Opinel saw but i havent used it at all yet so its my spare now.

I think its ok to carry axe in the woods,but to someone it might be too heavy and even more dangerous if youre not used to axe working,so the saw is lighter,safer and more accurate if you need to do some grooves and notches,smooth ends etc.With axe you can cut off a thicker tree faster but with stumpy saw like this,you can do it too,with some thought and it takes longer but its ok to me.Anyways,this will beat any(?) saw included in multitools and folding knives anyday of the week,when making any bigger tasks like cutting away material to build up a three stand for cooking,lean-to,or other shelter stuff and similar.

Anyways,if youre looking for good folding saw,for reasonable price,these are pretty easy to find nowadays ( mine came from Uk ) here,even from bigger markets like Prisma for under 20 Euros.Its not bad for hi quality item like this.

Personally i rate this as high as 4 points of 5,if id have to,and i dont give it five,cause any tool can be made better someday.BUT this is the best ive seen so far.

Hot Pack-flameless heater & Wayfarer hiking food field test

Well im back from a hike i did,and there i got a chance to do a little test and take some "how-to" pictures for your eyes,later on i wil add a short video film here and to youtube where i show the use of these cool light weight food & drink heaters.

First you just pick up the food you want to eat,and one of HOT PACK heaters.
Then you peel away the upper end of the heater,it has clear marking and cut-away´s too to ease out this step.After this,open up the food of your choise,in this particular case its WAYFARER´s
Chicken,pasta & mushrooms.Wayfarer is one of my favourites as it resembles those used by US military forces MRE ration packs.It does NOT need any water to be added,and it can be eaten cold too but it makes it digest and taste even better when warmed up.If you have one of those meals that need water,make sure you can close up your food pouch after you have added the water,since these heaters work best when theyre laying flat on ground,or roc or something.
If you cant close the pouch,make sure you put the meal,inside the Hot Pack,in a way it really stands against some support,tree stum or some similar.And it aint so effective when its standing,ive noticed,but still better than eating cold foods,especially those that require water,theyre bit hard to chew :).

Anyway,then you drop the meal that is in its own pouch,into the hot pack,and see that the clothbag in the hot pack,will be between the meal and ground/support,it heats up the portion better this way as the heat rises up to the meal,and wont escape,as it would do if its on top of the meal.

Then,you poor about 45 milliliters of water from your container to the heater,it has also been clearly marked where you stop pooring,as its bit hard to measure that amount in the woods if you dont carry a mug or something with proper measurements in it.

After this,just close the leftover part of the pouch that doesnt cover the meal pouch,use it like a lid/flap,to seal up the package,but DONT use any heavy items to make it 100% leakproof,this thing becomes VERY hot,and generates hot water steam,for quite a while,amd if its sealed up with tape or something,it might blow up.As long as you remember this,and that the package is laid flat on good surface ( it wont start a fire though,dont worry),youre doing just fine and its safe to use,really.

Let the whole package be there,for some time,from 7 to 12 minutes ( to my experience,this is),and then carefully pick it up,rip away the second marked part of the pouch ( this eases out removing the hot meal inside the hotpack).Be careful,the package can be still quite warm,use gloves if you want.Remove the warm meal,in this case you need just to open up the wayfarers factory-closed bag,check out that its warm,and start to eat straight from the pouch or poor the meal into your plate of choise,and enjoy.

MAKE SURE YOU GET RID OFF THE GARBAGE PROPERLY,DONT EVER WASTE NATURE. Its pretty odd you if you dont have the muscles to carry away the empty cans,pouches,packings if you had the energy to carry them along in to the woods.
Hot Pack has instruction for its use written on it very well,now in finnish too,which is great for us.



I found out,during our short trip,in our natural park,the Hot Pack,very useful and easy way to heat up the meal,so did my buddies,especially i noticed that my brother really liked it,as hes a beginner and does things on low budget intentionaly,and reduces weight of gear too,if he can.So this is also lightweight method to do food,and offers an low-cost way to get started your hiking and outdoor activities as you dont Have to buy any gas cartridge or liquid fuel operated stoves at the first point at all.And even later,im goin to carry these,cause they work well in cold climates too,where the gas stoves arent best things usually to carry around.And hey,it wouldnt be bad idea at all to add these into you cars emergeancy kit,not to mention other just-in-case uses,in boats,cottages or anywhere.These pack up in small space and dont cost much,think about it.

The food i tasted this time ( there will be few other taste testings soon too,folks.) was that Wayfarer chicken,pasta & mushrooms.I found it pretty damn fine meal,compared to multiple others ive eaten,and ive eaten a lot.It weights about 300 grams which is quite ok,as you usually eat few of these per day,and this stuff is anything but thin,its drowned in tasty filling creamy sauce,that suits me atleast,better than well.The stuff in the cream sauce is large chunks of tasty chicken.I was quite amazed about it actually as usually any hiking meal containing chicken,seems to contain only tiny crumbs,and almost non-visible particles of chicken.This meal made an positive
exception to that as it has about fingertip sized reddish chunks of it.The pasta is good,and not dry,points for that too.Not to mention the good amount of mushrooms,that i like,some dont but hey this is my tongue speaking now:)
My brother who is on novice-level when it comes to outdoors living,rated this the best stuff he had eaten on trails this far,and if youd know him,you would be sure that the meal cant be bad as this guy is picky one and eats a lot in restaurants etc.

Packings are sturdy,which is good,as in your rucksack sometimes meal pouches get some rough rides and get pierced,but these luckily didnt.I think you can even take away the outer packing away from any wayfarer meal,before hitting the trails,and it will not break easily.This just just to reduce amount of trash and weight in your backpack.I think it wouldn be stupid also to put the acyual pack containing the meal,inside the Hot Pack-bag,before you pack up you things and head out to your trip,and when the lunch break hits you,you dont have to look around for the hotpack and meal as they are togethe ralready and you only need to fill it with water,and eat away....

Both,the Heat Pac´s and Wayfarer rations along with many other food items can be found from SOLUTION FOODS webshop.

And as i said,i will be adding some short video clip as i get it edited,and few other meal tests here pretty soon,im bit busy now as im havin quite a lot of jobs,school classes and one trip in nearby future.

Hope you liked this one !?

Food test incoming

Ok,

Ive been talking thru emails to this one shop here that sells ready-to-eat meals,that i could possibly make a review & sort of field testing about them and now it seems that i have a green light from him and we just spoked on the phone about this matter.Later on this wweek i might get the items and then ill head out to some trip in the outdoors and take the foods along,cook em and take photos of those too,and then a si return to home ill post my review here.

A shop named "Solution Foods" (www.solutionfoods.fi) in Oulu,sells these foods,theyre bit special here,atleat i havent seen many other,if even one,hiking foods that you can eat straight out of pouch too,with or without heating em up in any way,but you can make em better by heating in hot water,in an un-opened pouch.

To my eyes they are very handy and intresting,since these dont require water,in times of crisis when the water supply gets broken,shut off or polluted,and this happen can the natural water sources like streams,pollution i mean.And this way wayfarer offers way to hydration too,due to the water it has already in it.You should consider these to be added in that "just in case" pack everyone should have in storage,along with all the other items like water purifiers,first aid kit,etc.

But thats it for now,ill post more thoughts and opinions after i get my field testing done .