I purchased a couple 5 gallon jerrycan's about 8 months ago. Along with the cans I purchased a bendable pouring spout.

I decided to rotate the fuel in them this weekend (non emergency.

I very quickly discovered the jerrycan's didn't have a vent hole and neither did the pouring spout. It took me about 30 minutes to empty each can by tipping it up and back then up and back to let air into the can.

Now I will purchase a spout with an air vent incorporated into it.

Would have been a real bummer trying to fuel my car in an evacuation situation.


What have been your experiences with gear that you are glad you tried out before you needed it?

CO

Thirty years ago, I worked at place where we filled the trucks from those cans. If you don't screw the nozzle in real tight, air will pull in through the threads so the can will drain. If you have it too loose, it'll really drip, or worse...

Which jerry cans? The US variety with screw threads or the euro can with the cam latch lids. Have a few of the euro cans and had the same problem. Finally found the "correct" military spout at swissarmyvehicles.com (standard disclaimer) has a built in air vent and empties a can quickly. The down side is it is expensive, cost more than the cans and will not fit the restrictor plate in the gas tank of a car.

Elk hunting 8 years ago. Took the camp trailer in to get it all cleaned up. Cost me $300+. Filled the water tank and took it into the hills. Went to run water, found out the pump was bad. Then found out no drain spout on the water tank. Then tank full of water freezes hard. Should've tested the pump at home first.

my first Coleman stove 25 or so years ago..the Peak model.
i never used a gas camping stove before. took out on the deck and fired it up---Whooosh..well ok thats how they start but i'm glad i found that out before i took it out on the trail and thought i could light it in a tent or under a tarp.

Frankly, if the gear is for some emergency use, I won't have it in my pile of stuff for emergencies unless I'm already comfortable using it. I've had too many experiences like yours on camping trips.

I had a collapsible water carrier that I used to keep around in the emergency kits. I decided to give it a workout on a camping trip. We filled it with 3 gallons of water (it was supposed to hold 5) and at the campsite, it rolled off the picnic table (ok, it wasn't "camping" as I used to do with my brother) and split open immediately. DOH!

They are the US variety with the screw on threads.

All of it?

My packs, so I know how they'll ride before even the slightest soreness becomes a problem.

Ferrorods, or I'd be doing the whole "still rod, moving KNIFE" thing like the directions show, rather than "still scraper, moving rod" that works really well.

I think food can be included. Just cause somethings on sale and looks really tasty doesn't mean you should buy 10. Buy a little, try it, then go back for more.... learned this the hard way. The last thing you want is to be stuck on a pit toilet in some remote camp site.

My favorite example of this comes from an old story I heard from a retired state trooper.

The entire state police force was being issued new revolvers. The new wheel guns were the same model, just going from .38 special to .357 magnum. His boss met him and gave him the new revolver and some ammo. Said trooper immediately went to switch out with his old sidearm. The boss asked him to test it first. Out to the "range" on a deserted road for "practice" and the mainspring broke on the second shot. This was effectively a one shot weapon. The maker replaced the weapon, but it was good the lesson was learned in practice not in a shootout.

I have since seen several .38 revolvers that were issued in pilot survival vests that would not fire. Makes me wonder how many years those revolvers went flying in such shape.

+1. IIRC some time ago a couple of us on the site had similar opinions of a new, very tasty sounding meal from Backpacker's Pantry. It was only nasty tasting and never escalated to the "pit toilet" stage. Still, I was very glad I hadn't carried it 20 miles into the back country before trying it.

Yup, as Iron Raven says, all of it.

I have a couple of old friends in Victoria B.C. that will still laugh if you mention my name and tents.

Every time I got a new tent the first thing I did was get it out of the packaging and set it up on the living room carpet.

They happened to visit a few times when the tent was set up in the living room.

I am so glad I check out my maps before going out. Do not just buy the map that is listed as your destination, you may be missing crucial trails on it.

Is it just me, or does almost every trip I take go through through at least two 7.5 minute quadrangle maps, that I then have to piece together or carry?

Does My Topo customize maps and splice them together when you create them?

One of the more popular hiking spots in lower NY State is right on the junction of 4 quads (Slide Mountain)

Yeah, the USGS does that intentionally. It's a secret government plot to increase revenue and fight the deficit.

But seriously, yeah, it's always at least 2 maps.

Let's see:

• Coleman Xtreme pack stove.
• An adapter for said stove that lets me use standard LP canisters (Luckily for me as the one I had was faulty... the replace one worked like a charm)
• Mountain House food. Want to make sure I like it before living on it.
• MREs
• Any fire starting device (Spark-Lite, Tinder, new matches, etc..)
• Backpack
• Tent

So, pretty much anything that I would seriously depend on whilst camping, I make sure to test in a way that would simulate similar conditions, but in a controlled way.