Boy runs away to join wilderness school

I’m not really sure what to make of this. On one hand, I can appreciate the desire to want to live with the wilderness, but that is not exactly a realistic desire in today’s world, especially if you expect to be a functioning member of society. Maybe he didn’t want to be, but he probably should have at least waited until he had some money saved up so he could buy enough supplies to make a better attempt at hollowing out a tree and living with owls or whatever.

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inka Pen - like a Space Pen, but crappier

I love my Fisher Space Pens. They are small, feel nice in the hand, the ink never skips, and they can write under water and upside down. I always have a pen on me, whether I am at work, out and about, or even on the trail. I like to be able to write things down if necessary, so I keep a couple of slips of paper in my wallet, and take a small Moleskine plain notebook (lined paper is the devil) on the trails. My Space Pens have been faithfully working for me for many years, but I saw the inka and was intrigued.

The version I bought was the titanium one, which runs about $23 shipped on ebay. The tube is the only titanium part, which the rest of the body being plastic and the split ring being regular stainless steel. With a large portion of it non-titanium, the part that is actually titanium seems to be just for looks, which is fine, since it does not exactly tear a whole in my pocket with its immense weight.

The problem with the pen is that, unlike the Space Pen, you do not just remove the pen portion and stick it in the cap to make a full pen. Let’s take a look at the Space Pen, apart and assembled:
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Firecap? Capsteel? Sparktainer?

I have this insatiable appetite for building and creating, which usually manifests itself in a new project that I buy the parts for and then lose rapidly interest. Last weekend, I got the bug again, except this time I already owned all the parts, and there were only two of them. Folks, that is beginning of a success story.

I use a 3/8″ x 4″ firesteel to light most fires, since I can usually get things going more quickly with it then I can with a lighter. Probably because I spend more time preparing the tinder instead of attempting to light a piece of wet cardboard with a mini Bic, but that is beside the point. A blank firesteel is slightly awkward to hold, and since my dad has been “making” some hardwood handles for three months now, I decided to come up with my own handle. A handle that you just hold onto is boring, so I thought one that you could stuff stuff into would be wonderful. I have seen similar contraptions made before with success, so I figured I could make it work. Luckily, I happened to have a couple thousand capsules sitting around.

I drilled a hole in the bottom of the capsule with my trusty Ridgid Lithium drill, inserted the firesteel, then filled in the caps with JB Kwik. JB Kwik is actually quite quick (kwik?), so I had to make sure that the firesteel was inserted relatively straight, and then it was all done.

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My new baby - Arc’Teryx Beta LT

I picked up an Arc’Teryx Beta LT (ignore that link if you are not familiar with the brand, or you might have a price induced heart attack) recently, finally buying into the Arc hype. The Beta LT is replacing the Theta AR that I recently sold, since the Theta was just too much for the temperatures and humidities I am exposed to in the southeast. I have several Precip-ish jackets, but wanted something that didn’t feel like Saran Wrap in the constant 100% humidity of the region. Weight was also a concern, since it needed to be a jacket that would always be in my pack, since more often than not, there is a surprise rainstorm on a hike in the southeast, especially during the summer.
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Motherlode of Stuff - Come Buy It!

I finally got my huge order of aluminum stuff yesterday after DHL did their best to make sure I didn’t. I was kind of wary about placing such a large order, but I am very pleased with the quality. The anodizing looks great, every item works as it should, and you have the best store in the world’s URL on every piece (except the emergency whistles). I made my prices half of what you would pay for the same thing at REI or most any other store. Come buy 10 of each so my landlord does not kick my wife and I out on the street.

Here is what’s new from that shipment:

Capsules:

Aluminum Waterproof Match Case - Gray
Aluminum Waterproof Battery Capsule - Blue
Aluminum Small Waterproof Capsule - Blue
Aluminum Small Waterproof Capsule - Red
Aluminum Waterproof Silo Capsule - Black

Carabiners:

Strap Carabiner - Purple
Strap Carabiner - Red
Wire Gate Carabiner - Silver
Wire Gate Carabiner - Black
Flat Wire Gate Carabiner - Black
Small Carabiner - Green

Whistles:

Emergency Whistle Capsule - Red
Bullet Whistle - Red
Bullet Whistle - Blue

[b]Tent Stakes:[/b]

Aluminum Tent Tri Stake - Silver
Aluminum Tent Tri Stake - Red

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