THATS a nice bit of work..when folks talk about coffee can
stoves and other "make do" gear i hark back to the mash-up
we made in scouts--1950's..and ask why anyone would trust
something like that for anymore than a weekend of fooling
around to see if it really works..but i see the "art" has
come a long way...
i'm sure i don't have to tell anyone here that hiking and
canoeing are far apart when it come to camping gear..while
the hiker is tossing stuff out the canoe tripper is finding
room for "just one more thing" in their Duluth packs..
when you can paddle for hours,sometimes days without having
to carry your pack any place but out of the boat and into
a lakeside camp you go "huge" and at the portage it's
tumplines and heroic loads to the next lake..maybe 2 minutes
maybe 20..but not all day long,every day for weeks..
i'm new too this forum and came looking for ideas that
would improve the "overboard" vest--i.e. PFD..that i would
depend on if i lost my canoe and gear and found myself washed
up on shore ..and have have gleaned many bits of gear and
good ideas so far..when the vest is ready i'll post a photo
for your feedback...
Raven..i would have posted a photo of the axe--saw and
reflector oven but i had a feeling i was pushing things
as it was...


THE TABLE was "after" the photo is "before"..
well you do need to search around for just the right stuff..

Wow. You carry that in your canoe!? How? Canoes are little. I not sure I've got that much metal in my kitchen. I mean, it's a small kitchen, but... Wow.

Actually, the stoves haven't come all that far. I don't think. This is just a slight modification to what my grandfather taught me when I was little. I've moved some things about because he used cardboard and wax buddyburners, but he used the drill on the stove and finished them up with a round file the same way I do. It was an evolution on what he used to use that he made with a church key (hobo stoves), and the native peoples he worked with (Liberia, Thailand and Philippines) used them to great effect. But I can see how it could be done badly with too small/few/large/many airholes, cans that are too small, and just overloading the poor things.

I appologize for snarling earlier. I remember when my brother was on a canoe trip with some friends and everyone was amazed at how little his 50 pound pack was. The same pack I was shaking my head at and thinking he was overpacking. And car campers are a source of eternal giggles for me.

That, and I've seen a lot of "real" gear fail, while home built stuff takes the licking and not only ticks, comes back for more. I used a can stand like that with a succession of soda can stoves (retired in favor of trangias), a grease pot, aluminum foil, a chunk of hardware cloth and an ammo can BBQ for a summer to cook most of my meals while living in the dorm and working for the college.

For a PFD like you are describing, I'd be thinking something like the 14oz Nalgene, with a washed and burned out vegetable can or a cut down aluminum energy drink bottle for a mini-pot around the bottom in the pouch. I'd probably also stash a mini holder and a couple of tablets. I'm also am in a place where you can die of hypothermia in June if it is raining. :P

Just one warning. If you get into making your own gear, you start taking a tape measure to the grocery store and getting odd looks.

IRONRAVEN..
the photo with the footlocker is 25 years worth of yard
sales and junk shop buys..all in a attempt to find the
"perfect" combo of cooking gear for camping..lots of dead
ends and nice trys..

below are the two packs that go on the canoe path with
me..twice a year..two weeks in spring..two in fall..thats
a month a year outside..no trail shelters..lodges..roads..
power boats..aircraft..



on the left is the gear bag with the tent..sleeping bag
and pad..clothes..it looks like a lot but most of the
stuff is poly-fluff and nylon so the weight is around
45 pounds..
on the right is the food bag..nick-named the "bear bag"
as in "where's the bear bag","put this in the bear bag"
it has the HUGE cook kit and two weeks worth of food..
more like 16 days with the back-up meals i take in case
i get windbound..also a nylon shelter..rope..saw..
it starts out at 65 pounds but after a few days becomes
a lot more realistic weight wise..after all there is a
pounds of cookies in that sack!!!..
right now my hang up on the PFD is something to cook in.
i have looked around at several small pots and metal
cups but they are all just a bit to big..and something
hot to eat and drink would be a real life saver for a
cold,wet camper..i have foil bags..heat tabs..flashers..
all the right gear but that pot is tough to find...i'll
take your advice and look around for a fruit or bean can
that might work..

For some reason pineapple cans are not lined. You can use them straight after they get emptied. Look around, they come in lots of different sizes. I'd like to see your PFD when its done too!

Looks like my estimate was accurate- you are packing twice as much as me. And you don't have 7+ liters of water in there. :P

How big is the pocket in your PFD that you are looking to use for your pot? (Wow, that looks wrong.) It isn't much, but a stainless, tall flask might work if the can doesn't. The big thing to remember is that you NEED a multitool or another pair of pliers to handle these things. Or poke a couple holes just under the rim, so you can pack a small bail made from a coat hanger.