Well, I buy from REI, because they still have sales on useful stuff, such as packs and other gear. But I certainly agree that the store is nothing at all like it once was. For one thing, it was long the place to go for Nordic ski gear and, importantly, rentals thereof. All of that is totally gone, but for an anemic selection of a few XC skis in a hidden corner.
I went to the local REI once with a friend. I was neither impressed with the selection, nor the prices. The kind of people shopping there were the ones who wear immaculate North Face or Columbia Sportswear jackets and clean Keen hiking boots. And leggings and makeup. They use trekking poles to walk the 0.6 miles of flat groomed trail to the local waterfall, and then take selfies in front of the waterfall and complain that there's no cellphone coverage at the waterfall. Then they go to Starbucks wearing their gear and talk about how awesome the hike was. They probably take selfies at Starbucks, too. My buddy and I were in work clothes and noticeably stood out. Not our place, we don't see the need to go back.
A year or two ago I picked up a Coleman 222B lantern, a Coleman 400B stove, and a Sigg fuel bottle w/pour spout lid. $15 total, and everything worked except the stupid pour spout. Reading this thread got me digging out the Sigg bottle and trying to find information on the stupid useless pour spout. Turns out the pour spout/lid is not a single seamless piece, but rather the spout can turn 180° within the lid, and pours fuel nicely once it has been turned. I’m fairly certain that Sigg fuel bottle smirks at me now, and rolls it’s “i” when I walk past it.
Everyone says the Sigg plastic screw caps are unaffected by the fuel / vapour from CF or RUG which is great if that's you're experience. However, my experience is that although a week or two on holiday or an expedition is fine, long term storage of naptha based fuels softens the threads, making them useless. I made myself a brass alternative from a threaded hex headed end cap (plumbing) plus a viton o ring. Absolutely bullet proof and it allows me to keep a full bottle of fuel. I'll add a photo or two of anyone's interested.
Marc, Your Jack Boot quote is spot on. REI has changed since the 70s, no doubt. Evidently the average customer has too. That makes it a challenge to find rock solid gear without the urban component built in. But it can be found. That’s why we are all here on CCS! Ivan
OMG @Marc I understand EXACTLY what you mean. Living in the Highlands of Scotland near Fort William, in the shadow of Ben Nevis we see these types every damn year. They click-clack up the High Street on bright sunny days with their walking poles, wearing full climbing gear before going to grab a coffee in town. They usually have brand new 'outdoor' clothes - matching if they're a couple of course and then wonder why the folk in town look at them and shake their heads. I saw one guy clambering up and down Steall Falls, over large wet boulders with his walking poles, getting them stuck under rocks, disappearing into deep plunge pools and falling over as he couldn't save himself because his hands weren't free. It would have been funny if it wasn't so dangerous, but he'd bought those poles and he was damned well going to get his moneys worth if it was the last thing he did - which it nearly was on several occasions. This is Steall Falls: The photo doesn't do it justice! It's well worth a visit and you have to do a 'high wire act' to get over a rope bridge as that's the only way to reach it. It's good fun! Oh, and the track that get's you there has a sign at the beginning that that reads: 'Danger of Death'!
I should be glad people enjoy the outdoors in whatever way suits them. Just came in from the shop, after three days the sample of plastic in alcohol is brittle and easily crumbles. As MSR fuel bottles aren't recommended for alcohol, this may not be an issue. Testing on kero and white gasoline continues.
Looks serviceable to me. Works pretty good. I figure that in its lifetime it might see four hours of fuel contact; I have one sitting in Coleman fuel right now and will see how it looks after 5 hours.
Fell asleep and the part wound up staying in the fuel for 12 hours. It is unaffected by the fuel, no softening at the edges, no increased flexibility. I am declaring victory with ABS.
Gadgets are nice, but for me to remove the lid from the bottle, inviting a serious loss with me and my cold hands, install gadget, pour, remove lid again inviting serious loss of fuel... I'm not sure it is truly needed. But neither do I need so many stoves.
Looks good. I printed mine using PET-G (very similar to 2 liter bottle plastic). I would avoid PLA. It has a habit of absorbing liquids
These are awesome! Do anyone (@TheSandMan or @Mohoganogan )still have any of these that they've already ordered and had printed we can purchase? I would love few!! Thank you!
The best bet is to ask around your community. Odds are good that someone you know has a 3-d printer. There are even some public libraries that now have them. The files are posted via thingsiverse. I printed my own but do not have any spares as I gave away many to Scouting friends. Good luck.
And now a distraction from the weighty subject of perfect fuel cap seals. Weeeel until they get themselves killed. It's a sad thing in National Parks in the USA. Big warning signs telling people what not to do. These are rocky rapids, these are cliffs, these are pressurized sulfur spouts, etc. They will kill you, STAY BACK. And yet, generally every year there's someone who doesn't. Someone has to go swim above the waterfall, because they thought the sign didn't apply to them. Worse, they have friends who try to save them, who end up dying too. In the industrial consumer society, too many people have no contact with Nature. And thus no understanding or respect for it. I'm old enough to at least have had Cub Scouts in my youth, before any controversies about it. I know about lighting fires with 2 matches, whittling with the knife pointing away from you never towards you, and handling a hatchet securely when passing it to another person. After several decades of removal from those childhood experiences, they were at least enough to keep me from doing anything stupid, when I went into the woods again as an adult. It's also pretty sad that a country as big as the USA, has so much Nature available, so much freely driveable vastness. And yet so little awareness of what to do with it, among so much of the population. There must have been a big cultural shift at some point. Some kind of long term urbanization and suburbanization thing? Too much TV, then video games, then "smart" phones? Well, to the extent it's all catching on fire or flooding or being blasted by hurricanes and ice storms, I imagine people will gradually start learning again. Due to the generosity of global warming, Nature comes to You.
