Has your gear ever "come to the rescue"?

[Stash]

No. Not another "F&G rescue" discussion. This one's about how my little WhisperJet saved dinner.

We're in the process of replacing the kitchen and the stove is sitting in the garage. Dinner is prepared using the barbequeue grill with that handy little side burner for stuff that needs to go in a pan. In the middle of the chicken and rice dinner we run out of propane. The chicken's pretty well cooked but the rice has another 15 minutes to simmer. The local hardware store/propane place closed at 6. Crap. Wait a minute... Break out the hiking stove and problem is solved (well, okay, simmering rice on a WhisperJet ain't easy). I've used this stove more than once for a home-based dinner (ice storms in Maine + lots of trees in Maine = electric stove not working).

Have others had similar experiences with stoves or other gear?

 

[brianW]

Used my stove a few times when the power went out. Also gear that i bought for hiking, like headlamps, are now in the "junk draw' for around the home use.

 

[Lou Hale]

I don't know about "rescue" but I use some of my hiking gear almost everyday. Going in to crawlspaces, basements and attics, I found my headlamp to be way more usefull then a standard issue flashlight. The problem is remembering to take it out of my truck and put it in my pack for a hike. Trying to get funds approval to buy another one.

I have also found most of the clothes that make for a comfortable hike( bugs, sun, rain, snow etc) make working outdoors in all weather conditions comfortable. Especially in winter if you break a sweat, layers or wicking synthetics have kept me comfortable when many of my co workers had one thick coat and soaked cotton long johns

 

[TrishandAlex]

Last October I came up to Campton alone, I was doing a WFA course that weekend and the family stayed behind in MA.

When I arrived -- at 11:30pm -- I found all the the electricity was off. House was below freezing, super cold.

Out came my winter bag, my headlamps, my hiking fleece. We have an electric stove so I jetboiled some hot chocolate for breakfast.

 

[The Unstrung Harp]

Hah. So I'm not the only one...

Headlamp pretty much lives in my handbag. And gets used allll the time.

Like, when my horse hurt his leg, which is black and furry, and which was at night, and he was hanging out in his barn, which has crummy lighting. He was a little freaked out that I'd turned into a cyclops monster but other than that, the headlamp use went smoothly.

 

[BlackBuffalo]

I actually used my compass today!!
I was in an unfamiliar Mass. State forest following not so well marked snowmobile trails and mountain bike tracks. When I came out to the main route by brain told me, take a right.
Well, the compass decided left. I was back on the return route!
I could have easily gone the wrong way and added another 1.5 hours to my day.
DaveG.

 

[Tom Rankin]

I used an ice axe to chip ice out of my trunk so I could get at my spare tire!

 

[bandana4me]

Rescue??? Very Marginal

My son and I stayed at the Garfield Shelter back in the early 90’s. A thru-hiker was staying there and he had told us that he left his pack cover at Kinsman Pond shelter, and wanted to know where he could purchase one close by. Without hesitation I reached in my pack and handed him mine (which I had just purchased and never used). He was amazed that I would do that, but he needed it more than I did!

Rescue, well not for me but maybe for him.

 

[REK]

Power failures are a way too common occurance around here so my gear is never really "put away". We use camp stoves and headlamps a lot.
I sometimes cook my lunch at work on a trangia or a pepsi can. I have and old desk with those slide out things that a typewriter is supposed to go on and I use that (the paint is kind of ruined).
Bob

 

[hikes-with-him]

he he he...

Living in the boonies...where power that goes out stays out for a while...we almost rely on the hiking supplies to get us through these spells.

We've used our tent and sleeping bags and warm cloths to keep us warm when the power went out in the winter...used the headlamps for light (these are especially good when we have fires in the firepit in the summer...for reading)...used the jetboil for dinner...

it makes these power outages almost (used quite loosely) fun

 

[hikingmaineac]

One lovely winter morning I was parked at the 19-mile brook trailhead when I decided to make the genius decision to lock and close my doors with my pack and keys still inside it...

Thankfully, there was a group of hikers preparing for their hike and let me borrow a swiss army knife and ice axe. I slipped the pick of the axe between the window and the car, levered it out a bit, and slipped in a stick to keep it open about a 1/4 of an inch. Then I used the knife to carve a notch in the end of a thin, 3-foot branch that I used to snag and open my door lock with.

 

[Paradox]

Living in the boonies...where power that goes out stays out for a while...we almost rely on the hiking supplies to get us through these spells...
it makes these power outages almost (used quite loosely) fun

Concur. I do have an additional one. About two years ago I purchased 100' of 1" wide nylon webbing on close out with some plastic buckles. I use it to hold sleeping backs and tents to my pack and many other uses camping and on the trail. BUT, I also use it as a belt to hold my pants up

 

[rocket21]

I slipped the pick of the axe between the window and the car, levered it out a bit, and slipped in a stick to keep it open about a 1/4 of an inch. Then I used the knife to carve a notch in the end of a thin, 3-foot branch that I used to snag and open my door lock with.

Jeepers, I never knew I've hiked with MacGyver!

 

[jniehof]

I've dug a few cars out of Franconia Notch with my avalanche shovel. Usually in full winter hiking gear while the owner of the car is standing around shivering in a T-shirt and sneakers.

 

[dug]

In the middle of a large party that my brother-in-law was hosting one stormy autumn evening, the power went out. Right in the middle of cooking a huge feast for about 40 inebriated people.

Within 5 minutes, the Coleman two-burner stove was fired up, the Coleman lantern going, two Whisperlites, candle lanterns going. We barely missed a beat....

Being without power for 4 days this past December, I was in full gear mode for the entire time. Bags, stoves, and lanterns were going full blast.

 

[DougPaul]

I use my headlamps around the house daily... And an old sleeping bag in winter.

Haven't needed them yet, but the stove and water treatment gear could come in handy...


BTW, a warning about using camping stoves indoors: many of them give off carbon monoxide, so they are best used outdoors or with lots of ventilation. (There have been deaths from people using stoves in closed tents.) If you do use them indoors, it would be worthwhile to have a carbon monoxide detector near by.

Doug

 

[weatherman]

I used to get a lot of heat (the psychological kind) about all the gear in our basement. Then December 12, 2008 hit. Two days later when the power came back on - we were lucky it was so short!-, we (including my inlaws from FL who were visiting) were all still comfy, with our only concern being that we didn't have a sleeping bag big enough to put the house in to keep the pipes from freezing.

I have not heard a single complaint about how much gear I have accumulated since.

Weatherman

 

[LRiz]

I was glad to have my headlamp when I first moved into my apartment. Being the idiot that I am, I forgot to arrange to have the electricity turned on prior to the move...

 

[Puck]

I have used a compass as a stud finder a few times.

 

[nartreb]

(well, okay, simmering rice on a WhisperJet ain't easy)

It's very easy if you have some common kitchen hardware.
What you need is a pot slightly bigger than the pot the rice is in. Put an inch or so of water in that pot and bring it to a boil. Drop the rice pot in.

Presto, smooth even heating of your rice, with no risk of burning.