l’occhio mi è caduto giusto tra ieri sera e oggi sul karrimor jaguar 55-75 che ha praticamente tutto quello che mi serve. diciamo che mi ha affascinato non poco. la versione più grande è ancora più bella, in effetti, ma è TROPPO grande. inutile diciamo per il 90% delle mie necessità.

altra cosa che effettivamente mi manca e che probabilmente dovrò comprare a prescindere è una bivy bag mono posto, visto che non ne ho. l’occhio è caduto su ferrino, questa volta. in particolare questa. piccola, leggera, impermeabile. perfetta per un hiking leggero o anche in uso softair, con la dovuta copertura.

la componente “cibo e bevande calde” è direi a posto – vedi precedente post, in inglese – salvo per il filtraggio del tè, al quale è stata trovata soluzione giusto un paio di giorni fa usando delle garze del kit medico. ne inserirò a breve qualcuna nel gavettino come oggetto standard.

il resto è tutto materiale “randomico e standard” già presente più altro da comprare più l’oggettistica di consumo. ci sta che tra un po’ (qualche mese di sicuro) al prossimo packing farò una review completa del mio zaino standard

I built this kit with the purpose to carry some of the stuff I love to have with my while hiking. It’s meant to be an Esbit burner and carry all the stuff I might need while using it. Nothing too complex and definitely nothing complete, as it’s not and EDC or emergency kit, but it’s meant to work with a backpack (at least a small one) with all the things that are supposed to be in there. I wrote down this review to share it with whoever would like to read it and for me, to remember what I have inside it at the moment

The burner itself is a cooking system from Esbit (this one, actually)composed by the main pot (almost half a liter, if I remember correctly) contening the base, which is in fact the burner itself, where you put the solid fuel tablet and a lid, to cover everything for carrying it around and keeping everything together. The lid itself has a little metal lever which can be used to pull it up and the main pot has a collapsible grip, thermally insulated, which is very usefull.

I usually carry with it a small fold’a'cup (you can buy it here, for example. I bought mine through eBay) to drink whatever I decide to warm up inside the pot or to share with someone else.

The cooking system itself is really cool. it warm up rapidly the water and cool down almost as much fast, allowing you to drink from it or to store it again in the backpack. I really like it. compact and functional.

its functionality is easy as it may look on the website: the burner goes under the pot, which have the grip opened, the solid fuel tab goes in the burner, the lid close the pot to help water boil faster. When it’s closed the burner goes inside the pot and the lid close it, while everything goes inside the small bag.

That’s where the idea come from, and I think it’s what they meant you to do: The burner inside the pot leaves a lot free space, allowing you to fill it with various stuff, like tabs of fuel, matches and so on.

What I carry inside is, as said before, a little of this and that, allowing me to use it a couple of times at least, to drink something hot and\or to reintegrate minerals and allowing me to set up a bigger fire if ‘dI need to. I usually carry at least one lighter and some matches when I’m in the wild, so I keep just few matches in there just to be sure. Almost all the “unusual” stuff comes from Army MREs, like the towelettes or the paper stuff.

So, at least, here comes the stuff I got it inside it just now. I’m trying to improve it as I got new ideas but for now it’s the best I can get with what I have at home.

from top left:

2 Moist towelettes, used to clean up the pot, hands or whatever or to start up fire.
1 rolled and sealed condom. sterile silicon bag, to carry water, as a tube or whatever it might be used in survival. there was room in the kit, so…
1 MRE matches box, which can work lightly wet too
1 small bag of salt, for the soup or whatever
2 paper/cloth stuff, which I don’t know what they’re meant to do actually, from MREs, but I use them to start up fires as dry tinder.
3 soup cube, for minerals
3 bags of sugar cane
1 watertight medical tablet container, with tea inside
4 esbit solid fuel burner

The only thing I should add is actually something ti filter the tea leaves from the pot. i was looking for some actual filter but can’t find anywhere here. last time I needed to do some tea with this burner we used a sheet of kitchen paper – or it was toilette one, don’t remember – which worked actually very well.

All the stuff inside the burner, ready to be put inside the pot

Comunque sia, argomento del post: il mio club di softair, o airsoft che è meglio. Più nel dettaglio la preparazione dei soci, per quanto riguarda vari aspetti. Ancora più nel dettaglio, come si può magari evincere dal titolo – che non è in italiano! woah! – l’argomento è la preparazione cartografica, la navigazione con carta e bussola, note varie sul gps e la pianificazione delle uscite.

Chi sa fa, chi non sa insegna (Lao Tsu)

Tempo fa scrissi un manualetto di una ventina di pagine circa riguardo gli argomenti citati sopra, salvo l’ultimo che sto tentando di integrare adesso. Il problema è: come? sono concetti talmente articolati e variabili che, almeno per me e a quest’ora (le 2 e mezza del mattino, ndr) crea non pochi problemi. Non tanto perché non sappia, quanto perché non ho idea di come spiegare per scritto i concetti da esporre. Sarebbe anche interessante trovare testi simili a quello che sto producendo, in modo da prendere spunti, più che sui contenuti sulla forma, ma anche qui: non ho idea di cosa cercare.

L’idea di fondo che avevo era quella di usare esempi, come ho fatto anche per la parte iniziale del testo, avendo qualcosa su cui lavorare e da utilizzare per spiegare. Avrei pure in mente “cosa” usare ma al momento mi è abbastanza impossibile.

Il testo stesso è di ausilio ai corsi interni – ma aperti anche a chiunque volesse partecipare – che teniamo, anche se raramente, quindi il grosso della roba e dei concetti è possibile pure spiegarli a voce sul momento, ma riuscire a definire il più non sarebbe comunque male.

Insomma, è un gran casino, ecco! In più avevo voglia e bisogno di staccare da tanti altri pensieri, e di continuare a scrivere su word mi era un po’ passata la voglia, quindi… ecco qua, perché non fare un post in italiano qui?

Non si può dire di sapere una cosa fintanto che non si è in grado di insegnarla ad altri

Che non so di chi sia, ma che ritengo più che veritiera.

I was looking on the dashboard – I think it’s how wordpress call it in English. I got mine in Italian so.. it’s called bacheca here, anyway – about the most searched words, I think used to get here from you guys.. there are just a few words, but they are all about EDC Kit and mostly about EAGLE RHODESIAN RECON VEST, or RRV or MJK [nooo..! what are you thinking? I'm NOT writing these word down to increase visit counter. lol]. I checked out an article posted long time ago about my RRV loadout and I wrote down there that I was going to post a picture of it. Obviously I didn’t. I haven’t used it a lot during this times, because I almost always choose the Universal Chest Rig, by Eagle Ind. Lighter, more comfortable and with the right amount of space to carry just what I need to: ammo and radio. everything else goes in the backpack (Camelbak HAWG) or in the first line, with my sidearm end some other stuff.

Anyway.. I sold the UCR to a friend of mine – but I think I’m going to buy another one, maybe by SKDTAC or a standard one but asking a skilled friend do make some mods to it – and I have just an LBT 6094, an old m65 LBE and the RRV, which became my default loadout for light and heavy “standard” operation (no CQB or reenacting stuff). I decided to remove the SPINE MAP from behind for standard ops, using in its place the HAWG backpack, more comfortable, in my opinion, with more space and you can access it without removing everything. I lowered the frontal admin panel (BIB) too, reducing the vest to it’s minimal.. This weekend I have a night op and I’ll see what will happen. I’m going to sell it, anyway, to buy a larger (and cooler) LBT1961, A or G version, or the cheaper but imho better MULTIPURPOSE CHEST RIG by EAGLE.. It depends on which one I’ll find sooner and at a lower price.

I’m going to take some shots of it and post them, maybe creating a dedicated page about loadouts.

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I actually thought that I will stop writing this pages in English only – I think I already said that – using my own language (Italian) and the new one I’m trying to studying (French) just to make some practice. I will continue to use English for the main arguments, even if I post stuff with no frequency, buy I’ll use Italian for some stuff, like airsoft or Italy-dedicated stuff and French just when I’m in the right mood  and when I’ll be capable of doing it.

Anyway, talking about French… they are DEFINITELY crazy people. Seriously guys. look at how they talk about numbers. it’s everything almost ok (especially for English people) ’till the number 69. after that… FOUR TIMES TWENTY PLUS ELEVEN for 91? ARE. YOU. NUTS? I mean… WHY? WHY IN GOD’S NAME YOU HAVE TO DO SOMETHING LIKE THAT?! quatre vingt onze… EEH? and what about something EVEN MORE complex, like NINETY-NINE! QUATRE-VINGT-DIX-NUEF. Clear. Obvious. four (times) twenty (plus) ten-nine [dix-nuef is actually nineteen, but is technically ten (plus) nine].

I mean… they’re crazy! for sure!

anyway… PHUNNY PIC OF THE DAY…

Anyway, in the exact moment i stepped out of the train in Florence I almost died. The temperature and the humidity was something unbelievable. I felt like a fish out of water. really. I got back home with my parents and… well, everything just started to be as ever but worse. I can’t decide what to eat for lunch or dinner, can’t something to do except acting like a zombie inside home, ’cause there’s nothing really interesting around here, especially in August, nor is a damn sea which I miss a lot. I need to find another work, because I had to quit the one I spoke the last few posts – long story short: it didn’t worked out right for me at the moment and I choose to quit it – and I think I really need to find it as soon as possible. I sent a resume for a some jobs around the world, trying to escape this country that I love and hate at the same time, but for the moment no answers and I’m beginning to lose hope on those jobs.
I just want to find an excuse and some money to run away from this damn place again and soon, for a place with a sea and/or a cooler place. or with more hot and “easy” girls

One thing I definitely found out is that I want a diving license. I think I’ll do it this winter, if I find the money to do it, here in Florence, or will do it back there in Puglia next summer. I loved the sea and the coastline, full of life and place and things to explore.

I made a few photos of the places and people met down there. I have to publish everything, at the moment. so be patient… they will be on flickr soon, I think.

I had the opportunity to hard-use some gear I bought, maxpedition’ stuff and others.. I think I might do some easy review one of these days. just to do something.

Last but not least: I think I’ll start to write down something in my native language too, here. It’s just easier for some stuff for me to write and easily readable for most of the people whom I’m supposed to write that stuff for, so… well, ehy: considering how much people read this blog, I don think somebody would notice anything

I like the work, I really do. It’s what I’ve studied for, a I said before, so… But I found out that I really need some time for myself and the things that I put apart for the time when I would have got the money… For the moment I’m out of money too, till the end of the month, but with this work I’ll be out of time for a looooong time..
I just have to find out what to do and what kind of work look for.

Oh, yeah… And I need a 500mm at least 1.8, a wide angle like a 14 or the 12-24 and a nice macro.. 100, 135mm maybe.

And I was thinking about setting up a new blog with wordpress, to be used as portfolio for my works. I have a flickr account but I upload there almost everything, so it can’t work. I’ll see through in the future.