Givin' a Shout Out for A Couple of Good Sites

Every once in a while I check my Blogger "stats." It's interesting to see what site people were on that hooked them up with my blog. It's fascinating. For example I just discovered a bushcraft site in Portugal that had a link to my blog. Pretty cool!

I wanted to quickly highlight a couple of such sites that I think would be useful/interesting to my readership:
High Sierra Topix. If you're interested in backpacking, fishing, climbing, etc. in the beautiful Sierra Nevada Mountains of California (and who isn't?), then this is a great resource. I've linked to their home page, but be sure to click through to the forums where you can get real time information about conditions on the ground.

Hiking In Finland. Don't be put off by the title! This site is about a whole lot more than just hiking in Finland (not that hiking in Finland is such a bad thing). This is a site with its ear to the ground and its finger on the pulse of what's going on in the outdoors world. It's really an eclectic site and a great read. (and don't worry, it's in English) :)

That's not to say that there aren't other worthy sites out there! From time to time I may highlight the occasional site that I think is worthy of such note.

HJ

Stove Information -- Where on the Web?

People often ask me where I get my information on stoves. Well, a lot of my information comes from my life. I own over 100 backpacking stoves (hey, some people collect stamps, why not stoves?), and I use them. I use my stoves pretty much every week on day and overnight hikes, and in most weeks, I'll be out hiking more than once a week. I also meet people on the trail, hike with the Sierra Club, talk with friends, etc. Between using stoves and talking with others who use stoves, I pick up a lot of information.

BUT, there are some good web sites with really good information on them. Some of the sites I refer to regularly include:
Classic Camp Stoves -- All the information you could ever want on classic and antique stoves as well as plenty on modern stoves. Don't know what that old stove in grandpa's garage is? Find out here. An amazing resource.
wikipedia.com -- Wikipedia has good information on the properties of gases and fuels
zenstoves.net -- The grand daddy compendium of stove web sites
The Confederation of Bushwalking Clubs NSW Inc Web Site -- They have an excellent FAQ
BackpackingLight.com -- They have excellent articles and excellent forums. Paid membership required for most articles.

HJ

MSR Whisperlite Universal -- First Videos, Detailed Photos

I'm in the process of writing a review of the new MSR Whisperlite Universal stove.


UPDATED 10/4/2011:  I have written a review of the MSR Whisperlite Universal.

See also this related post which contains additional info on the new (for 2012) stoves from MSR.

The new MSR Whisperlite Universal

I'm still working on the review, but I've posted some rough videos. Don't be expecting slick production values, but if you're interested in the stove, these videos should be pretty informative.

MSR Whisperlite Universal -- First Look







Field trial: MSR Whisperlite Universal, running on canister gas.





Another video of running the MSR Whisperlite Universal on canister gas.





The MSR Whisperlite Universal -- changing from liquid fuel to canister gas:





MSR Whisperlite Universal -- Flip Stop:





I've also posted some detailed photos -- and commentary:






I'll have more to say after I get the stove out in the field, but I thought I'd give you some preliminary thoughts now.

HJ