Here's another "make your life easier" stove gear tip:
The PackaFeather Cap from
PackaFeather.com, an ultralight gear provider.
Basically, it's just a flip top spout for a bottle of alcohol,
but it has a very nice little enhancement: a nice, long plastic tube is well seated in the spout. The tube can be pulled out, but it doesn't come out on it's own and is air tight.
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| A PackaFeather Cap. Note the long plastic tube. |
The plastic tube is bent at the point it exits the spout such that it lies flat against your alcohol bottle when the spout is closed.
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| A PackaFeather cap in the closed position. |
In the open position, the tube is basically perpendicular to your alcohol bottle.
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| A PackaFeather cap in the open position. |
It comes with an "O" ring to seal the cap against the bottle, but honestly I don't think you need it.
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| The "O" ring of a PackaFeather cap. |
OK, so why do I say this is a "make your life easier" piece of gear?
- Fueling. Got an alcohol stove with a tiny, little fuel opening? No sweat. Insert that little straw straight into the fuel port. See photo below.
- Measuring out alcohol. When I dispense alcohol into my little medicine measuring cup, this straw allows me to squeeze it in really smoothly without a lot of turbulence. It's easy to see exactly where the meniscus lies against the measurements on the cups. I also have very precise control.
- Oops! Did I squeeze out too much alcohol? No problem. Squeeze the bottle a little bit, dip the straw into the alcohol, and use the straw to suck up the excess alcohol. Sweet.
- Priming. That straw is great for getting alcohol into hard to reach old stoves that you'd like to prime with alcohol.
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| Tricky fueling that little alcohol stove? Problem solved. Fueling the little MBD Nion 3 simmering alcohol stove. |
Now, could you DIY something similar? Sure. If your flip top pour spout has a round cross section, piece of cake. But PackaFeather has already done a really good job and produces a quality product. Someone passed this tip along to me (thanks, Nick!!), and now I pass it on to you.
The PackaFeather cap. It just makes life easier.
HJ
Note: I have
no relationship with PackaFeather, financial or otherwise. I am merely a satisfied customer sharing his experience.
Hello,
ReplyDeleteJust found your blog earlier today and have found it to be rather resourceful!
I am a SUL/XUL hiker for the most part but still love a good discussion on camping stoves any time!!
Out of curiosity does this screw onto the top of a HEET bottle?
Thanks!
John B. Abela
RedwoodOutdoors.Com
HikeLighter.Com
Hi, John,
ReplyDeleteNo, I don't thing this would fit. It's actually a fairly large cap. HEET bottles have a smaller than average opening. That's an *excellent* idea though. I'll keep my eyes open.
HJ
Good to know. I had never heard of the PackaFeather cap. It might also be a good thing on a little oiler bottle. My experience with these little dispenser caps has been that they weep if the bottle isn't vertical.
ReplyDeleteThanks.
Hi, Bill,
ReplyDeleteThey really are a nice idea. It seems really trivial, but once I started using it, I find myself not wanting to use my other bottles that don't have one.
HJ