Itinerant Air-Cooled

Not good IN a tent (fire bad) but great for backpacking. Oh you, Twinfalls.

hambone wrote:Not good IN a tent (fire bad) but great for backpacking. Oh you, Twinfalls.

I was using a small Maglite which is smaller ( and its battery lasts very long ).
Now I love using a small led lamp with a crank ( no needed battery ).
Mine is from Decathlon @ 9.99 € ( it comes in red, yellow and blue ).
Mine is hauted, I have light with no cranking. Must have a battery inside or a super duper large condensor ?
However, I crank it just for the fun of cranking.

Those little led lanterns are cool. Deschutestrout has one. I covet it.

twinfalls wrote: I have one of these.
I used it only once. It turned out terrible in a tent. It sits here in it's original package whith spare candles.

Another clever camping gismo that is not so good in the field. Stay out of it, or make it a Xmas gift.

If you didn't live in France, I'd ask you to send it to me. I'd give it a good home!

I use these all the time, and usually carry two or three of them in the bus.

Two things about them:

1. They do wear out ... or parts of them do. In most cases, all you have to do is replace the spring every few years. REI used to sell the springs as replacement parts, but now you have to buy a little "spares" kit to replace most of the components except the barrel itself. The kit costs $5.00 from Amazon (The link is on the page whose URL was posted earlier).

2. I haven't used the Citronella candles, but I've found that the beeswax ones don't work as well as the standard paraffin ones on my older lamps. The beeswax is a little stickier, it seems, and so the candle doesn't feed as well. Maybe the lamp just needs a new spring (see above).

In a tent, it is likely you'll burn a hole.
There is no convenient way to hung it far from the canvas.
On the floor it will tilt.
The damn thing is in the way, ready to burn a hole in the tent.

In a bus, you'll get sooth stain at the pop top. I have enough of those, from candles that where used in my bus.

About Citronella : Canadian mosquitoes just laugh at this.

twinfalls wrote: However, I crank it just for the fun of cranking.

HEY! That kind of talk belongs in FREE SPEECH!

twinfalls wrote: Canadian mosquitoes just laugh at this.

When they have a sense of humour, they do. Otherwise they just...well, you know.

I got two of these for my b-day. They fit perfectly in the bus and seem very durable. Made a big difference in comfort level for me.

http://www.rei.com/product/778147

Ryno wrote:I got two of these for my b-day. They fit perfectly in the bus and seem very durable. Made a big difference in comfort level for me.

http://www.rei.com/product/778147

You have a rivi? Did you need 2? Did you use them in the bottom or the top?

chitwnvw wrote:

Ryno wrote:I got two of these for my b-day. They fit perfectly in the bus and seem very durable. Made a big difference in comfort level for me.

http://www.rei.com/product/778147

You have a rivi? Did you need 2? Did you use them in the bottom or the top?

Rivi. 1974 Westy interior though. Yes 2, arranged side by side. I prefer to call it the main floor, but yes, I prefer the bottom.

Ryno wrote:

chitwnvw wrote:

Ryno wrote:I got two of these for my b-day. They fit perfectly in the bus and seem very durable. Made a big difference in comfort level for me.

http://www.rei.com/product/778147

You have a rivi? Did you need 2? Did you use them in the bottom or the top?

Rivi. 1974 Westy interior though. Yes 2, arranged side by side. I prefer to call it the main floor, but yes, I prefer the bottom.

I picked up memory foam, 1 and 1/2 inches at Target. 15 bucks. It made a big improvement. I want to get what you got for cots. I used them in
Oregon and they were great.

I keep an old mouse pad for backpacking. No weight, small and portable and great for something to kneel on when cooking. Also an old stadium cushion that only weighs a couple of ounces for something dry to sit on. An old cut up yoga mat would work too but may absorb moisture.

For winter camping I bring one of these http://www.nextag.com/Mr-Heater-MH9BX-B ... 29B72DB4BA[/url] I wouldn't sleep with it on but it makes the tent nice and toasty right before bedtime and in the morning when dressing.

Yup, those lil buddy heaters are great. I also wouldn't sleep with it on...but crank it up 15 minutes before I climb in to hit the sack...and 1st thing in the AM before I crawl out of my cozy nest.

I've never seen these "Little Buddy" heaters. How can they be safe in an enclosed, indoor space? Don't they produce CO?

glasseye wrote:I've never seen these "Little Buddy" heaters. How can they be safe in an enclosed, indoor space? Don't they produce CO?

Yes they do. You are suppose to have at least 9 square inches of ventilation when using them in an enclosed space. They do have a low oxygen sensor that shuts the unit down if needed. I've never trusted that enough to leave it running while I'm sleeping though. There is also a tip over safety shutoff. That said I've never been tooo worried about CO when the poptop is up.

The one drawback of the Buddy heater is the main byproduct of the catalytic burner is moisture. If you're camping in a dry low humidity area it's not much of an issue but if it's cold and humid everything gets damp. Other than that they work great. I've taken my bus from sub freezing temps to a comfortable 60° in a few minutes with the top down. Takes a little longer when the top is up since all the heat fills the top bunk first.