The Adventurer's Gear Thread

[Mike K.]

I'm going to say it openly... we need a section for this!

:eusa_clap :eusa_clap :eusa_clap :eusa_clap :eusa_clap :eusa_clap :eusa_clap
If it actually happens, let me know if there's a need to help run the shop.

 

[Mojave Jack]

I'm going to say it openly... we need a section for this!

And we need Mojave to host another campout!

:eusa_clap Agreed! (on both counts!) And Lars has introduced yet another piece of equipment that really deserves it's own thread. Binoculars are an important piece of gear, and depending on your needs and activities can vary greatly.

For my needs, e.g. spotting petroglyphs or pictographs on rock faces, I found that my very compact pocket binoculars just did not work. The field of view was too narrow, and it was like looking down a toilet paper tube. When your searching mountainsides, they were almost useless. I found that birding binos at 7x35 were perfectly suited, which are very similar to military binos for the same reasons: wide field of vision and the lower power allows you to hold the image steady. Anything over 8x and it becomes difficult to keep them steady enough to see detail. Anything over 10x and you almost need a monopod or tripod to hold them steady.

I tried to get a nice pair of vintage binos, but my first pair had the lenses misaligned due to a knock sometime in their life, which will really give you a headache. The second pair had poor optics, and were awful to look through. I ended up getting a new pair of Bushnell Insta-Focus Wide-Angle Binoculars, 7X35. I vintaged them up by adding the 37 pattern binocular strap from WPG, but I haven't yet found a good case for them, so they are still in the black nylon case that came with them. Gotta work on that!

Incidentally, anyone catch the new limited edition Leica M8.2 Safari Edition?

A great piece of gear, with 10.3-megapixel resolution, a Leica Elmarit-M 28 mm f/2.8 ASPH. lens, exclusive Billingham camera case, and a matching leather carrying strap. A bargain at...are you ready for this?...$10,000.

Cameras are another piece of field gear that could easily support its own thread, independent of other threads on cameras due to the particular demands of cameras in the field.

 

[NelsAnderson]

WW2 British binoculars are relatively cheap and freely available - a bit of a bargain.I think Military compasses are something else - they go for more than they are really worth, I think. I wonder why?

I've been looking for a suitable compass to add to my kit and found the same thing...plenty of them for sale but they go for quite high prices. Seems to be plenty of supply so why the high prices?

I like the look of the WWII British military compasses and wouldn't mind having one. The appear fairly large though, so I'm also looking for an alternative that would be more practical in size for sticking in a pocket and actually carrying around while hiking.

 

[Bruce Wayne]

Incidentally, anyone catch the new limited edition Leica M8.2 Safari Edition?

A great piece of gear, with 10.3-megapixel resolution, a Leica Elmarit-M 28 mm f/2.8 ASPH. lens, exclusive Billingham camera case, and a matching leather carrying strap. A bargain at...are you ready for this?...$10,000.

Cameras are another piece of field gear that could easily support its own thread, independent of other threads on cameras due to the particular demands of cameras in the field.

you had me going oout to get one until you mentioned the price. :rage:

 

[Mojave Jack]

I've been looking for a suitable compass to add to my kit and found the same thing...plenty of them for sale but they go for quite high prices. Seems to be plenty of supply so why the high prices?

I like the look of the WWII British military compasses and wouldn't mind having one. The appear fairly large though, so I'm also looking for an alternative that would be more practical in size for sticking in a pocket and actually carrying around while hiking.

The standard military prismatic compasses are actually fairly easy to find, and don't fetch a huge price. I assume that is due to the fact that every NCO and officer was issued one, so there must be thousands around! Mine is a 1918 version, like this one:

The real problem is that if you're actually going to use them, the older compasses don't have a declination adjustment. For my part of the desert, we have a 13 degree East declination. Not being a math whiz, I always have to stop and think about the declination when using a compass without a declination! For you, Nels, you have about a 15 degree West declination.

For daily carry, I have a small pocket compass with a flip up lid. It's a cheapie knock off of the solid brass WWI issue compasses, but it serves the purpose and I don't worry about losing it.

Still, the issue ones can be found, especially doing a search on eBay for "brass compass." For me the trick is finding one with a nice belt pouch that isn't completely worthless. The compasses survive much better than the pouches!

 

[Mojave Jack]

you had me going oout to get one until you mentioned the price. :rage:

Nice rig, eh? I am currently in the market to replace my old digital camera, and was pretty excited, too. Then I saw that price! lol Blimey!

I'm also trying to hunt up some plans and/or hardware for making a set of these chairs:

I have a bunch of pictures of the Johnsons using them, and many others. The problem? Apparently Lewis & Drake are about the folks making them with wood frames, and I'm afraid $595 is a bit steep for camping furniture!

Looking at the design, though, the wood is all straight pieces, and there are only three different brass fittings: the swivel at the bottom and tops, the sort of S-shaped plates, and the Y-shaped plates. If I can find those or have them fabricated, the frame should be easy to assemble. The canvas is identical to the modern versions that use a wire frame, so that would be easy to have copied at any upholstery shop.

 

[Miss Neecerie]

Once you have it all figured out...I would totally buy some for our next adventure....they look super cool!


You could always get extra innovative and figure out how to make us a folding camping couch with just the same parts.

 

[Mojave Jack]

Once you have it all figured out...I would totally buy some for our next adventure....they look super cool!


You could always get extra innovative and figure out how to make us a folding camping couch with just the same parts.

I think you could make it into at least a double seat by connecting two frames!

I have two of the Bali chairs from Cost Plus World Market that I bought about a year and a half ago, and love them. When Nick Charles sent me a great coupon, I bought two more, but they are the creakiest things I've ever sat in! I don't know what happened between the first two I bought and the second two, but, man! are the new ones noisy!

 

[Miss Neecerie]

PS.. Now you have me looking at my cute little folding camp table from Wally mart and pondering just -how- to replace the top with actual canvas.....

damn you!

 

[Mojave Jack]

Oh, do I have ideas!

I have one of these stools:

which I'd like to use as a model for making a washstand like the one you see in the picture below.

The complicated thing is that there is a three-way bolt at the heart of the stool, which I can't find anywhere. If I can find that bolt, I can make the washstand any height I'd like with just three pieces of octagonal stock and a strap at the top to stop it opening too wide and the basin falling off. But where to find that bolt?!

Here's another piece of gear I'd like, but for which I am not going to pay $700!

 

[NelsAnderson]

The standard military prismatic compasses are actually fairly easy to find, and don't fetch a huge price. I assume that is due to the fact that every NCO and officer was issued one, so there must be thousands around! Mine is a 1918 version, like this one:

That's a nice looking vintage compass. I assume that's American military though, whereas I'm being fussy and trying to find British items to fit in the Land Rover. Not many of those on U.S. eBay and more expensive when they come up. More are on U.K. eBay but then you deal with the expensive shipping. Though sometimes that's what you've got to do...I bought the binoculars from someone in the U.K. though even with the high shipping they were a pretty good deal.

I'd really like something I could both use and display with my Land Rover expedition kit. Most of my actual use around here is on marked trails though, and usually doing geocaching so I primarily navigate by map and GPS but there are times when a compass would be nice.

 

[Mojave Jack]

No, that's a British Mark III Prismatic Marching Compass. You can see a very similar one on the LRDG page here: http://blindkat.hegewisch.net/lrdg/lrdgpatrol.html. Here's an example of a Verner's Mark VII, 1917.

The British ones are nearly identical to the US versions, but will be marked with the broadhead arrow (as is the one above) or with the place of manufacture, usually London. Mine is marked C-E, for Corps of Engineers, meaning it is a US model, but it is indistinguishable from the British models.

Here's a later example of a Francis Barker M88, with tritium markings. It is a later model, but Francis Barker made compasses for the military for years.

 

[NelsAnderson]

No, that's a British Mark III Prismatic Marching Compass. You can see a very similar one on the LRDG page here: http://blindkat.hegewisch.net/lrdg/lrdgpatrol.html. Here's an example of a Verner's Mark VII, 1917.

Ah, OK. Well I'm just going to have to look harder I guess. Things like work and other responsibilities get in the way of scanning eBay

I do believe I see my binoculars on that web site too. As they comment, a very common item during WWII. Lots of interesting stuff on that page, I'll have to read it more closely...

 

[nobodyspecial]

On occasion, Deutsche Optik has a good selection of vintage compasses. Also, you can try this seller. http://www.purgatory.net/kornelia/comp/forsale.htm

 

[NelsAnderson]

I'm also trying to hunt up some plans and/or hardware for making a set of these chairs:

So why is it that chairs like this seem to be simply unavailable at any reasonable price? It's nothing but a couple of sticks and some canvas...it should be possible to make and sell these for under $100. Surely we few here aren't the only ones who would like them...

The most suitable thing I've found for sale at a reasonable price is this one:

http://www.fixturesandfurnitures.com/director-chair-driftwood.html

Orvis also briefly sold what seemed to be the identical chair, though at a higher price.

The design I really like is the roorkhee chair:

These are available from a couple of sources, but again at ridiculous prices for a few sticks, a couple of belts and a piece of canvas...

 

[Mike K.]

If it has the Leica name attached, you can bet it will cost you and arm and a leg (and probably a few other body parts too). At least they're making digital rangefinder cameras now. As an alternative, try the Canon G series. They are "high end" point-n-shoots with that cool retro rangefinder look, plus they are loaded with great features, are compact, and produce great photos (so long as the person firing the shutter has some skill). Here's a Canon G5 alongside a Contax rangefinder camera.

As for the campaign furniture, for crying out loud!!!! It is only wood, canvas, and leather! I'd bet the actual cost of materials is closer to $25 at retail. Hmmmm...there's a craft store nearby that sells canvas and leather, and there's a hardware store that sells pre-lathed wood spindles and brass tacks.

 

[Mojave Jack]

That chair doesn't look too bad, Nels. Sometimes I like the blend of the old and the new if it offers something useful, like the side table. As long as the polyester webbing isn't too bad, I'd use those chairs. Incidentally, I'm not sure how historically accurate it is (though they claim it is an exact copy of an original), but Lewis & Drake offer a similar chair....for $640!

On the Roorkhee chair, I showed them to my neighbor, who is a good woodworker, and currently on disability because a jackhammer exploded and sent shrapnel into his leg. I'm trying to talk him into doing some side business in things like these. I'll do the marketing side of things, and we work on the chairs and such together, as I have time and as his leg allows him. If Lewis & Drake is still in business (much like J.L. Powell!) selling those things at that price, surely there is a market (like us!) for a more affordable version. I've really been debating buying one, taking all the measurements I need to reproduce it, and returning it. That goes for both the Roorkhee chair and the Lewis & Drake sling chair. I'm just not having any luck finding the plans or the parts. For the sling chair, I've found the brass swivel and the stays, but I think the S- and Y-shaped plates would have to be custom fabricated. That would not be difficult, however, and I have a place locally that does very affordable canvas and leather work.

 

[Mojave Jack]

On another note, I went exploring in the Willys this afternoon, and had a grand time bouncing around the desert.

My first stop was at the Integratron, built by one George van Tassel right after WWII. Apparently in addition to being quite intelligent, George had a few screws loose...

Apparently you can still get "sound baths" to clean your "aura" or some such. Personally, I find a cold Tusker to do a fine job of cleaning my aura!

Next I stopped at Giant Rock, reputed to be the largest boulder in the world (diminished somewhat by the huge fragment that cracked off, which you can see lying in front of the rock in the picture). Nels, that's my 1908 pattern water bottle on the fender, too.

Franz Critzer was a cantankerous old hermit/prospector that had excavated a home under Giant Rock. Legend has it that he was suspected of being a German spy during WWII, and in an attempt to drive him out of his home under Giant Rock, the FBI threw in a tear gas canister. The tear gas lit Critzer's store of dynamite, which exploded and killed Critzer.

Criitzer had built an airfield next to Giant Rock, which after the war was improved by van Tassel. Van Tassel also opened a cafe in the rooms dug out by Critzer,and hosted fly-in UFO conventions.

I know from some of my Chemehuevi friends that Giant Rock is also a sacred site mentioned specifically in their creation songs, the Salt Songs. They are quite upset about the way Giant Rock has been vandalized and abused.

After leaving Giant Rock, I followed a road toward the horizon.

I thought I was going to be sea sick, going over all the whoop-de-dos that the motorcycle traffic has caused in the road! I was pleased to see, however, that my short wheelbase performed much better than the full size trucks I passed. I just rolled up and down the whoop-de-dos like a ship on ocean waves, but those trucks with longer wheelbases jounced up and down horribly, and high-centered fairly frequently, forcing them to wind back and forth across the road. lol

 

[Bruce Wayne]

Nice rig, eh? I am currently in the market to replace my old digital camera, and was pretty excited, too. Then I saw that price! lol Blimey!

I'm also trying to hunt up some plans and/or hardware for making a set of these chairs:

I have a bunch of pictures of the Johnsons using them, and many others. The problem? Apparently Lewis & Drake are about the folks making them with wood frames, and I'm afraid $595 is a bit steep for camping furniture!

Looking at the design, though, the wood is all straight pieces, and there are only three different brass fittings: the swivel at the bottom and tops, the sort of S-shaped plates, and the Y-shaped plates. If I can find those or have them fabricated, the frame should be easy to assemble. The canvas is identical to the modern versions that use a wire frame, so that would be easy to have copied at any upholstery shop.

not making any promises, but get me some measurements (front height, back height, width, depth) & i MIGHT be able to at leat make the frame.

 

[Bruce Wayne]

one more thing, rosewood is out of the question. oak would be cheaper & i think stronger & will take stain just as well.