Showing posts with label storage. Show all posts
Showing posts with label storage. Show all posts

Friday, February 16, 2024

Review: Back Country cusine Beef Terriyaki


Time for a food post. When on the trail, camping, bugging out or even bugging in, it is advantageous to have tasty, easy to prepare and storage stable meals. I've covered Back Country Cuisine meals before as well as the similar Outdoor Gourmet Company meals Even compared to the main meal components of MRE ration packs they compare well. One thing I really like about this kind of dehydrated meal (which I fondly recall from way back in my Houston childhood,) is the NASA like retort the meals come in.  The main meal  I selected was the beef Teriyaki, which weighed in at 175g dry, and called for 438 ml (1¾ cups or K2 fill line) of boiling water be added to meal pouch. Stir and stand for 10-15 minutes. Serving size 613g (once prepared). The pouch has an internal ziplock to seal in the meal and heat during the re-hydration process. The retort bottom blouses out at the bottom to allow it to stand on its own. 
The meal itself  consists of freeze dried beef, rice and vegetables in a soy flavoured sauce. The meal is both Gluten free and had no added dairy, both good to know for those with dietary requirements like Coeliac's such as I have in my family. One thing I neglected to pay attention to was the full ingredient list and one of the vegitable components was dehydrated capsicum to which i'm allergic. Thankfully I was able to pick out even after re-hydration, with no ill effects. The squares of dehydrated beef reconstituted nicely as did the rice. The dish, once water is added, and left to stand for 10-15 minutes, and given a good stir ( right down to the corners of the retort), the meal thickened up into a very satisfying consistency. Easily spoonable without being sloppy, it was easy shared out.  
I shared this meal in order to help vette it for future stock-ups  (a very good policy, taste-test your food preps). 
As well as  being a hot, fast and tasty meal, nutritionally they offer quite a lot. A single serve meal provides Energy 3180kJ (759Cal), Protein 34.1g, Fat 22.7g, Fat - saturated 9.3g, Carbohydrate - total 103g, Carbohydrate - sugars 27.1g, Sodium 1990mg. Probably not what you'd want to eat every day, but certainly suitable to have on adventures or whilst in the midst of crisis. The flavour was mild and inoffensive and as an all-in-one meal it certainly works. 

I've made mystery-can meals before, but having a balanced and blended meal was an excellent step up in preparedness and certainly a vast improvement in palatability over compressed rations biscuits. Family approved!


Hal



Thursday, February 8, 2024

Prepping shed

As the final part of our move from the original home of Apocalypse Equipped Actual, we installed a garden shed in order to store my copious accumulated camping and prepping gear. No room in the new house or garage. My parents were kind enough to gift us this flat-pack, DIY ABSCO 3x3 shed. We built it over a couple of weekends, in a quiet corner beside the house, which was a nice project for me and my good-father. The shed consits of a frame to which pannels are afixed. Assembly is made easier with the help of pre-drilled holes and Absco’s patented SNAPTiTE technology that allows panels to lock into channels without the need for screws. (note, it came with screws and is screwed together, but self-tappers all the way.)

We found there was some manufacturing variance on the pre-drilled holes that needed occasional modification to set things secure and square. The shed is designed to be bolted onto a pre-poured concrete slab, but rental property constraints meant that we instead used a treated pine sleeper frame we anchor-plated together and bolted down to star-picket anchors we pounded into the soft ground. The bare grass we built over was covered in places by salvaged pallets or timber sleepers to set things upon. I put a long table in, along the back wall and a couple of ‘duckboards’ to avoid any seepage that might occur. 

I loaded my collected camping gear ( tents, sleeping systems, cookware and other needfuls, into some old ikea shelves on the table, and many, many stacked Tactical Milk Crates full of my other preps (canned goods, MRE's, and the like) that i'd collected before and during the Covid years. I also have spare tools, crockery and other super-numerate supplies. I also had a number as as-yet unpacked boxes of stuff from the previous house. Initially I just tetras-packed it all in, floor to ceiling in order to get it all in so I could free up other spaces and make them functional. This didn't lead to a very accessible and orderly storage system. 

A process of consolidation and rediscovery over a couple of sunny weekends enabled me to make a little more sense out of my collection, both for ease of access but also to make room to store more stuff and even use the space for additional supplies and furniture, like this cupboard unit, which makes for good assorted pack and kit storage (I have sleeping bags, hydration systems and some tools). 

I also managed to collect all our only occasionally used cold weather snow gear, as well as my various cammo outfits. Under the big table, I've been able to stack my foldable tactical crates. which makes good use of that space whilst having these easily available in the event of a bug-out or camping trip.

 The placement of the shed puts it in the shadow of our side fence and beside some trees and the back corner of our house. It's in the full daylight ark, but has some wind shelter. We placed it on a flat spot but the area is in a slight depression so the duckboards and pallets  keep all the stuff off damp ground. (I open the doors of windy/ sunny days to ensure it doesn't get too humid in there).

I'd noticed condensation on the roof and walls, so I made sure to space my stacks so there was some clearance on all sides (which also improves ventilation)and even though I have  a mix  of storage containers ( crates, chests and bags) I've managed to make an orderly store for my preps, in a safeish, dryish, dark place. I haven't yet put a thermometer in there. but I expect it gets pretty warm in there  (which will obviously affect shelf life of my food preps) but that's a next stage concern. 

How do you store and organise your preps?





 

Tuesday, January 17, 2023

Review: Gobi Gear - SegSac Stuff Sack

 
Sometimes you just need to keep your gear in good order so you can ensure all the pieces you need make it from base camp to your destination and set up with  everything you need (or might need). Sometimes just jamming everything into a  bag will do but other times, some segregation really comes in handy. Initially backed on Kickstarter. but now in full production!
The innovators of Gobi Gear have come up with a solution to this need in the SegSac.Constructed of the super light, yet durable, water-resistant, rip-stop woven, 30D Cordura fabric.   Four internal compartments, sewn into the main tube, in the form of  an X shaped addition, sewn into the outside and all the way to the bottom. 
This keeps gear internally separated, yet still in one place for easy and quick access to what you need. Being sewn to the bottom means that items will not slide around and jump compartments.
The upper edge of the outer-tube body is laced with a draw-string with a cord-lock, which not only acts to secure contents but when fully open, also acts to stabilize the opening to prevent it collapsing under its own weight.
The SegSac is fitted with four compression straps to cinch it down to optimal packing size but it also provides carry handles and lashing points. The straps are fitted with clips  for ease of opening when under tension.  The base of the SegSac also features a sew in loop of nylon fabric to act as a carry handle. 
The compression straps terminate on a cap of the same nylon the SegSac body is made of and features a neck to cover the sides when compressed, adding to the security and protection of the water-resistant material. The SegSac is available in two sizes: 15 liter capacity and 20 liter capacity.

 used the SegSac in two ways: Firstly to pack clothes, and a towel ( using the segments to pack dirty/damp clothes away as they accumulate). I can fit 4 pair of socks, 4 t-shirts, a pair of pants and a mid-sized towel in it. The second thing I use it for is to stow hammock slinging straps and accessories, with 4 x 5m lengths of heavy webbing, 2x anti-theft laptop security cables (which when knotted  make very strong and abrasion resistant straps to hang from) and assorted other straps. 
NOTE: Water resistant only:  This SegSac is NOT a dry bag, but water will conveniently bead off it should it get sprayed or drizzled on.. Nor is it a heavy duty item, though it is well put together. Its most suitable for storing things inside your main pack, for ease of packing and organisation. Keep your socks and jocks clean and dry till you need them.


 
 



 
 













Sunday, March 8, 2020

Home Front: COVID-19 bug-in cache

With the current COVID-19 pandemic scare going on, I thought it prudent to supplement my food stored in case we needed to enact the self-quarantine the Australian government is recommending in the case of exposure.  I suspected something like this might occur so as soon as i heard of an outbreak in China. Mostly due to the risk to supply chains.  Given the reported nature of the virus, in both infection rates and morbidity and mortality, I'm not overly concerned about the disease itself, but rather the disruption to supply lines.

This is the kind of prepping anyone can do and its as simple as picking up a few extra items each time you go shopping. Long lasting staples.  I chose things I like to eat, and things I will take camping.  I didn't pre-stockpile toilet paper which was the panic-buy item of choice  reported and experienced, but some judicial and crafty shopping saw us stocked without issue. Something to note for next time.

That said, here is a quick look at my very quickly and inexpensively put together bug-in food cache. Nothing too exciting, nor anything that will go to waste. this is all stuff  I will eat over time and replenish and build on as time goes on.

Red Feather Butter cans: Providing energy rich fats and good taste, for frying, baking, spreading on bread.
Spam cans 340g A traditional prepping staple. Long lasting, tasty and versatile, has its own opening  system and a Weird Al song and Monty Python skit. 3 year best-by date.  I prefer it sliced or diced and fried but its palatable enough eaten from the can with a spoon if you're in a bind.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bully_beef, this mechanically reclaimed potted meat and rendered lard in a can. Bully Beef. Not a very exciting food, nor especially sophisticated but it is meat, long lasting, ready to eat and can be added to many other foods. 'Pocalypse Stew as well as the traditional 'shit on a shingle". (served on toast like pate) It kind of looks like pet food. 
Noodles: Ramen. packs Two-minute pre-fried noodles in a packet.  Comes with its own seasoning sachets. Best eaten as noodles in soup  (ready in just  2 minutes give or take) or eat dry sprinkling the seasoning on top as you munch. They also make excellent fire starters being dry and greasy. I prefer the "mi goreng" flavor which it includes a chili/sauce/oil sachet for added flavor variety and use in other dishes as needed as well as fortifying the meal.
Baked Beans  555g cans: Beans Beans ,good for the heart. Best served hot, "Fine like this" if you shun compromise and wear an ink blot mask. 
Stew cans, Braised steak and onion;  425g cans. A meal in a can, simple and tasty. good texture and serves two per can.
Soup cans, Chunky bacon and potato x3 505g cans. Another meal in a can, though not quite as satisfying as the stew cans. Better when combined with other foods.
MRE's: from a variety of sources.  Pre-packaged military style meals ready to eat. not fancy but very carefully put together and long lasting.
Water jugs: Every time I go camping I buy one of these 10L-20L bricks and take them to ensure I have clean water for drinking, cooking and even wash-ups. Afterwards I keep the jugs and with some simple cleaning and refilling with tap-water they're good to go for long term water storage.
Powdered Egg mix: 150g, equivalent to a dozen fresh eggs when reconstituted with water. can be used to make scrambled egg or omelette or as a binding agent in baking. 
Sauces/Soup Mix:  I keep the excess sauce packets from fasts food meals and also the soup sachets from ramen packets to act as soup stock and seasoning for other meals, especially the otherwise bland Spam, beans and corned beef. What otherwise might have been throw away I've kept and stored to supplement my meal stores. 
Mac and Cheese kits: x4 boxes 380g "serves 3. contains pasta packet and canned cheese for use as a sauce. Requires only water to cook. The canned cheese can be eaten separately or combined with other supplies. 
Pasta sauce, Jars of tomato paste with flavorsome herbs, good for making stews, pasta and adding flavor and nutrition to any meal.

Can Pie; Steak and Kidney. Pie including pastry in a tin. Designed to be cooked in the tin (Lid off) it is possible to bake the pie in coals, with some coals on top, by partially opening the tin.

In addition to these specific canned good stores i've stockpiled, I have routinely built up supplies, preserved foods like jams and jerky. Dry-goods like rice, beans, flour and sugar i've kept well stocked and stored in DPJ's  along with fruit preserves and even some pickled eggs.



Friday, March 6, 2020

Review: Red Feather Brand canned butter

I had heard and read about canned butter as a survival and prepping resource for years but had never seen it until doing some shopping at my local IGA super market (a small locally owned chain of community oriented markets) where I saw them stacked on a display. I grabbed one and took it home to try and have made a point to pick one up each time I go in as part of my on-going prepping.

This canned butter was from the Red Feather brand, which is an Australian company which takes Australian and New Zealand milk to make fine and traditional butter and have done so for over  70 years. Red Feather butter has no artificial colours or flavours, Each 10 oz ( 340g ) can is made only Pasteurized cream and salt. Sealed airtight for maximum freshness, this canned butter delivers convenience in the form of extended shelf life and easy storage without the necessity of refrigeration, with a manufacturers recommendation of a 2 year use-by, In ideal, cool conditions, an unopened can could be expected to last much longer than that and it is purported to be shelf stable for 10 years. I may put a can aside to see how this holds out. Time capsule anyone?


The can itself  comes with a plastic cap which allows you to re-seal the can after opening with  a can-opener. The conveniently stackable cans have one lip larger than the other.  One thing I found is one end of the can opens better than the other. The bottom end of the can has a better lip for engaging the can-opener and once open, the plastic cap closes the can up to maintain freshness. With regular butter I tend to leave the pat out to stay room temp for ease of spreading. In an Australian summer this occasionally leads to a puddle but being in a lidded can I've avoided this with the Red Feather butter. 

This also makes it camp-safe  to keep bugs and crud out of the butter and  also keeps it dry in you store it in an icy cooler.

 





As far as taste goes, I'd go as far as to say it's sweeter and creamier than the regular butter I buy from the grocery.  It spreads nicely at room temperatures, it fries well and is excellent on pancakes, an essential attribute.

I haven't tried powdered or freeze-dried butter but I think the Red Feather butter would make a very fine addition to your long term food stocks. It's a little more expensive than regular packet butter but the added value of long term shelf-life, stackability and good taste means I will be buying it for regular use as well as prepping needs.
I can believe it's long life butter.


Thursday, November 3, 2016

Wish Lust: Green Traveler


Here is a neat container that is being Kickstarted that I was quite keen on.

I have a number of survival caches, but they are all pretty small, such as the neat aluminium Sentinel-X by Ti2 and of course, the PathoPak "Dead People Jars" but having a purpose built food-storage, especially with rugged and dependable construction. Having enough storage components to make a whole meal or meals worth of food travel with you, up and down mountains, and along the trail. Something like the Green Traveler from My Green Traveler is in order.

It is only in its pre-production state currently, and I haven't had one in hand as yet, but here is what they say about it, and what I think about that. Made from injection molding out of ABS, and is made from 8 pieces. Two flat bottomed tray sections, each with a sealing lid, and two cup end pieces, with screw caps.

The tray sections, called Nooks, each hold 355 ml (12oz), and the cups hold 237 ml (8oz) for a total of 1.3 L (44 fl.oz) with overall dimensions of 34.5 x 9 cm (13” x 3.5”) and weighs 500g (1.1lbs) on its own. Solid. Heavy is good, if doesn't work, can hit them with it.



When sealed up, the Green Traveler has four isolated compartments, is reliably liquid tight, so won’t come apart inside a bag. It has two sets of clips on the top side of the nooks, to allow it to be clipped to be the outside of any bag, strap, sling or belt loop and fits in the beverage net on the side of most backpacks. It can keep items inside dry as well as hold liquids in.
It is designed for everyday uses such as around a city during your daily life to carry food, while traveling on airplanes, or driving to the park and is rugged enough for hiking, skiing, rafting, kayaking, canoeing, climbing and other adventure sports.

I suspect it wont like a rapid altitude change, such as on an airplane of a sea to summit trip, so be sure to burp it, if that's you plan, but the combination of screw clips on the cups, latch clips on the nook lids suggests

•Pack a lunch for a day trip
•Take food to-go or meal leftovers
•Pack a lunch for your kids
•Fill with pre-made food at a hot bar or food truck (this sounds excellent)
•First aid or other supplies to keep dry while boating
• Prevent soggy food from melted ice in a Esky

The Green Traveler looks like it will be a good sturdy food container, not to mention other supplies that can be stowed in it: medical supplies, fire starting kit, or electronics might well work in it, for kayaking trips or the like. ABS is a great plastic for this kind of build, and I think it will hold up well. I have LEGO that's almost 35 years old and still kicking around and going strong. I'll be curious to see how well the seals hold up, but as a one-piece set of food carriage gear, I'm impressed.







Sunday, April 3, 2016

Review: Mystery Ranch - Removable Stick-it

I got in touch with my mate Tay Choon Mong at Hornest Singapore, my favourite stockist of the hardy and heavy-duty Mystery Ranch packs and products, after I saw that they had some accessories I had been hanging out for come in. You may recall I have one of the rare Mystery ranch "Asia Pacific only" 1 Day Assault Pack bags, which is a cross between the more mature 3 Day Assault Pack and the more recently released ASAP Pack.

I also have one of the Cinch straps, for comfortable wear and quick release of a pack whilst wearing a loaded plate carrier.

Great kit. The particular accessory that had come to my attention was the Removable Stick-It flap, seen here in Coyote, mounted to my black 1DAP. The Stick-It is a detachable beaver-tail that mounts to the bottom of a compatible pack to offer external storage when you've either gotten too much stuff, or just something too big for your pack to carry.

Built with 500D Cordura for long-haul durability, which I've come to expect from pack-makers, and fitted with mil-spec 1" webbing straps, Mystery Ranch have gone all out on the both the construction and the hardware. The buckles have a clip-in end, for fixing to MOLLE loops or other webbing on your pack, as well as a spring loaded friction lock for the working end of the buckle.

This kind of attention to detail as well as using better-than-standard fittings is something I love about Mystery Ranch. You pay for it, but it's worth it. The Stick-It attaches to its host pack with four press-stud closing loops of webbing, which feed back into the accessory by extra loops of MOLLE style webbing sewn into the Stick-It's interior. Those press-stud loops allow you to attach it to the bottom of any pack with MOLLE on its base.

I've put it on my Platatac Light Field Pack in place of its "Office" Admin Pack, or in fact as well as it. It also fits the Propper UC Pack, and the old standby the classic Platatac Bullock Echo, though the Echo already has a beaver-tail attachment built in.

The Stick-It has a couple of other interesting features. It is constructed to have expanding baffles in its Center line, in case of very bulky loads, with plastic inserts to stiffen the sides and carry the weight more evenly. You can really fit quite a lot into this, and is is the smaller of the two sizes offered. It also had a set of drainage grommets in its base, for those times you've taken a dip or been caught in a monsoon.

Another very forward thinking feature is the sheer length of the webbing for the attachment straps. This both lets you place the buckles anywhere from right at the back of the pack, to all the way at the front for quick release options of your over-load without shucking the pack propper. They also come with hook-and-loop keeper loops, to bundle the excess webbing up tight and out of the way for snag free utility.

The small Stick-It is perfect for stowing bulky times, like an Ops-Core bump helmet, a bundled jacket like the  Platatac Harry 1.2 Softshell or the like. It can easily cope with even larger items, as long as you're comfortable with the, sitting out over the top of its top lip. The construction is hefty, and I suspect the weakest point would be the clip on the buckle. I've never had any trouble carrying my every-day items, let me know if any of you try lugging a ammo-can with yours.

The Stick-It isn't usually available as a stand alone item, but can be found in the Mystery Ranch Gunfighter pack, or through Hornest.


Tuesday, February 23, 2016

Review: BackCountryCuisine Instant meals - Roast Chicken

As my second part in the four dehydrated meals reviews I have been doing,  I will cover the Backcountry Cuisine "Roast Chicken" meal.

The first of these reviews, on the Outdoor Gourmet Butter Chicken meal was published on Breach Bang Clear, and I had some interesting feedback on it. Go check it out here... The principle is the same, the plasticised foil retort is both the cook-pot, the serving dish and eating bowl.

The Roast Chicken meal weighs in at 175g (6.2oz) tender chicken in little squares, vegetables and stuffing smothered in gravy and then served with the mashed potato. You simply add 220mL of hot water to the mashed potato sachet and 250mL hot water to the chicken meal sachet, stir and let stand for 10 minutes. The result is a delicious hot meal wherever you may be.

About half way down the retort a second tear tab on all pouches allows you to tear the lower perforation and use the pouch as a bowl once the food has reconstituted. It's a great idea and saves getting messy hands when using your spoon or fork, but be sure to tear carefully or you can make a hot mess of the meal. It might even be an idea to cut it into a bowl, to be sure. You have a knife with you, right?

The mashed potato comes in a separate retort, stored inside the main retort, which is good in that it allows you to serve it separately and keeps it from becoming a thick sludgy mess. I found the texture of the main meal to be really appealing, with the mashed potato being fairly standard for instant mash. The flavour balance was good, and it wasn't too salty.

The waiting time wasn't too bad, especially from water brought to a fast simmer, through to eating it only took 15 minutes.
One thing that I found was important, but not required was to have a flat surface to plop them down on as they are reconstituting, but the retorts fan-out from the bottom as part of their design, but I think they did better from standing up than laying down. One good thing however, was that the zip-lock top seal allows you to squeeze-mix the contents to reconstitute your food. This made me feel like an astronaut, given food served on the ISS.

Nutritionally, the whole meal makes up 1549 kJ (370 Cal) which Back Country Cuisine state is 18% daily intake requirement, so it's not a hefty food source, but being light, you could pack a bunch of them, and if you had three a day, that's 54%, so don't leave out the snacks when you're packing.

One thing I found was that the mashed potato didn't quite reconstitute properly, and when I spooned it out, I found some dry patches, but by mixing it up when in a separate bowl, it all came good. All in all, this was a really good meal and I enjoyed it, it was tasty.



Well worth adding to your pack if you are wanting to travel light, but also want a home-cooked style meal.

Be sure to pack enough potable water, or have access to enough wherever you are going, and enough to balance out your hydration as you go.




Tuesday, January 26, 2016

Crumpler - Squid stuff-satchel

It's been quite some time since I added a new Crumpler bag to my collection. Back in 2012 I covered the New Year lucky red Hillman Hunter which was originally meant to be a new satchel for Omega, but seemed to fall into the role of "Tactical Baby" nappy bag.

Prior to that I had covered a Thirsty Al utility pouch and one of the John Thursday camera bags but my first love with Crumpler was their Considerable Embarrassment laptop and courier satchel. I loved that bag. I loved it to death. Crumpler offer a serious lifetime guarantee on their bags, but I had started finding my EDC was getting too much for a shoulder-sling bag to be comfortable lugging, so I moved to twin-shoulder strapped bags.

So, I've following along as new developments come along in the Crumpler line-up, and as Giftmas approached, I spotted a really good deal on their stuff-sack, The Squid.

The Squid is a lightweight, versatile drawstring backpack. It reminded me of the very slick First Strike - Snatch Bag ii  but obviously with a fair bit more marketing and design nuance put in.

The Squid features two storage zones, the main compartment holds 20L and is closed by the dual-coloured extra-thick drawstrings, and a smaller zippered front pocket. That front pocket was big enough to carry my Propper Liberty bottle,  although not enough to zipper it up. The internals of the main compartment are spacious but lacks any internal structure.

The pack is made of a weatherproof 150d ripstop outer fabric which has a very nice texture, and a fairly reliably water resistant. Spills and sloshes seem to run right off it.

Lightweight at only 200g (7oz) and compact, there are no frills, bells or whistles to get in the way of its simplicity. It sits at 28 cm (11.02") wide, and 43 cm (16.93") tall width a depth of  22 cm (8.66"). It easily fits a Nalgene bottle, and the combined Go! Hammock and Go! Apex shelter tarp
easily. The lack of structure means that the pack gets a bit lumpy, but it certainly makes for an easy carry when you don't have to lug a whole ruck around.

It would be perfect for stashing gym or beach gear, groceries, or supplies for a quick bug-out if you hadn't already prepared a bug-out-bag. Equal parts simple and useful.

When slung, the Squid holds itself shut, as the drawstrings also form the shoulder straps. Under a heavy load, they don't offer much padding, but again, it isn't meant to be a full-on ruck.


One of the nice things about its design is that the zipper pocket's internal attachment is sewn such that the whole bag folds up into itself and stows away in a bundle the size of two coffee mugs.

I'm going to be using the Squid as my wet-gear bag, and as an occasional snatch-and-grab bag. I respect and admire the Crumpler products, so I think it will serve me well.





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