Muscles Not Motors Gear Review – July 2010
By
Ryan James Leclerc
Posted June 30th, 2010
Whether you’re a snowboarder or snowshoer, mountain hiker or mountain biker, Nordic skier or Nordic walker, you need gear. Each month, I review, right here, three items that I personally feel are especially cool. Here are my picks for this month.
Brunton Brewfire Dual-Fuel Coffee Maker
My friend Dave insists that the only respectable way to make camp coffee is to throw some coffee grounds into a pot with an eggshell, add water, and boil. The eggshell, he claims, has an important purpose: some of the coffee grounds, supposedly, will stick to it, limiting the amount of grounds in your ration after you’ve skimmed your muddy cup of Joe from out of the pot. Oddly enough, this is the same guy who for camp dinner grills salmon with olive oil, garlic, and fresh tarragon. I enjoy his camp dinner immensely, but I’m not a fan of his camp coffee, so I usually bring along a French press to make my own, much to his disapproval. I wonder, then, what he would think of the gas-powered Brunton Brewfire. I’m guessing he would refuse to ever go camping with me again. The 6.5-pound Brewfire runs on propane or butane fuel, features a reusable filter, and makes 8 cups of delicious bean juice. Brew time is only 10 minutes, but your java will stay hot for up to 2.5 hours inside the stainless steel carafe. Dave can call me a lightweight, a disgrace, whatever, but I love good coffee. I sure will miss his salmon. $160. www.brunton.com.
Therm-A-Rest Luxury Map Mattress
Aside from coffee, a good night’s sleep is another comfort I’d rather not sacrifice when I’m camping. The new Luxury Map from Therm-A-Rest takes their most comfortable thermal, self-inflating mattress and makes it even more luxurious. Using digital pressure mapping technology and innovative die-cut foams, which decrease foam density for softer cushioning in high-pressure areas like the hips, the Luxury Map provides an even and supportive sleeping surface, resulting in fewer pressure points and less tossing and turning. When you do roll over in the night, the non-slip surface will keep the mattress from shooting out from underneath you. If you’re backpacking, you may need to leave this at home with your Brunton Brewfire coffee maker, but otherwise, because it is light and compacts down into a tight roll, it can come along. You’ll feel much more limber when you crawl out of the tent in the morning for that first cup of camp coffee. $129.95. www.cascadedesigns.com.
Primus ExpressSpider Camp Stove
On the other end of the spectrum from the magical 6.5-pound Brunton Brewfire Coffee Maker and the luxurious Therm-A-Rest Luxury Map is the 7-ounce Primus ExpressSpider. While the Brewfire and Luxury Map will fit in your canoe, the durable ExpressSpider hose-fed gas stove will fit in your hand and has the ability to boil water in 4.5 minutes, while cranking out 7150 BTUs per minute. With its preheating coil design, performance is greatly improved when used in high altitudes and low temps. Also key is its broad base for a low center of gravity, making it stable enough to handle large pots for cooking group meals, or making a pot of my friend Dave’s stalwart camp coffee for the person who dares to drink the stuff. The ExpressSpider comes with a nylon stuff sack and heat reflector, but does not come with egg shells. $60. www.primuscamping.com.
