Off Grid and Sustainable Living
A couple of items have crossed my path in the past week to prompt this particular post.
To start with, I was lamenting to myself the demise of the paper straw. I still have no idea why it fell out of favour to be replaced by the plastic straw. The plastic straw has now become the latest target of the sustainable living shotgun. Indeed, I thought paper straws were so much memory fade that the second occurrence blew my mind.
I was at my favourite sustainable food store/butcher shop and wanted to try a sample of Kombucha and lo and behold right beside the tap, a box of paper straws! So, obviously they are still being made so what the hell world, why the switch to plastic? Unbelievable.
Then I saw an ad or article about a product called Final Straw (see below) which as you might expect is a reusable straw.
The final prompt that pushed me over the edge was a new show on Netflix called The Joy of Techs. The shows centers on one really nice BBC fella named Alex, trying to convince his dense and hate filled BBC colleague Marcus, that tech could improve his life.
Well this reminded me of a couple of things in which I've been interested in the past and so here we are! Let's have a lookie loo shall we?
Final Straw
If you are a straw user this is a better than average solution, although there is still a lot of man-made material in there like silicon tips, the plastic lining of the straw and the carry case that is made of recycled ABS plastic (wouldn't a biodegradable option like a cloth sack or bamboo case be better?). No mention of what materials are in the bungee cord that keeps all the pieces together.
It does fold into a small package that can reside on your key chain because who doesn't already have a key fob the size of Manhattan.
You can still pre-order one for 20 buckeroonies, 10 bucks off it seems and they seem to be very popular - the Kickstarter raised 1.8 million dollars for this thing.
Flash Torch by Wicked Lasers
Not just any old cylinder of dry cells, the Flash Torch can easily banish the duskiness and because this 100W flashlight cranks out 4100 lumens, it can also dry out your firewood and ignite it too!
Unbelievable I know. The site has some very convincing videos of things getting melted and burned including an iPhone (sorry I wasn't there for *that* one). Constructed from aircraft quality aluminum ...blah blah blah... yeah we get it. You need some puffing up so you have a reason to sell a flashlight for 200 dollars.
This one is cool if a bit of overkill, but I have since spent considerable time daydreaming about my house getting broken into, and me defending my castle by pressing a flashlight up against the back of the perpetrator. Sure, he'll laugh when you tell him you have him covered with a flashlight. But just imagine your joy as his peals of laughter turn into shrieks of agony as you char your way through his kidneys.
A tool like this may well be perfect for you doomsday preppers out there. It's a serious bit of gear from a company that has come closer than anyone I know to making an actual working light sabre. Check the site for details but be careful.
PS - I would have shown a picture but the site has prevented the ability to link to one. I could just grab one from their site and use that, but I don't want to be A Bad Man(TM).
eStream
When I saw the first mention of this gadget, I thought it was a joke until the ad started getting some traction and a following. Such a following that almost 150,000 dollars has been raised to fund this nifty little spinner. However, it appears my first estimation was closer to the mark. Check that eStream link above to see all the jilted backers that can't seem to even raise a whimper out of parent company Enomad.
We'll just leave that one there.
Biolight
Here is my favourite bit of kit so far.
When Hurricane Sandy wrapped it's gentle arms around New York, the Biolite folks were one of the first to respond with their twig burning, food cooking, USB recharging device.
The Biolite Camp Stove is exactly what I just described. Whip it our of your backpack, jam some twigs in the top and light them and you'll soon be emergency charging your phone while you brew a nice warm cuppa or perhaps fry up a weenie or two for supper. There was even coverage on the news showing several Biolites lined up on a table on the sidewalk with a line up of people anxious to get a charge so they could phone loved ones and let them know they were still alive.
Seriously though, this is the real thing. Since then they've added a grill top, a kettle that also can be used as a coffee press and the dielectric guts have been revamped to make the whole unit more efficient. There are more accessories but I'll leave you to explore the ins and outs of the pizza dome on your own.
The Yeti Power Station by Goal Zero
If you're travelling about and have a bit more stowage than a hikers backpack, consider the Yeti Power Station.
This little lunch box can take a charge from a wall socket or can be coupled with Goal Zero's portable Solar Panels to provide a steady flow of power for your devices. There are several sizes to suit your needs and the higher end models might actually be used for some off-grid applications around the house.
For instance, do you have essential medical equipment that needs power during an outage? The ability to collect and store the sun's power without having the noise and filth of a gas generator is priceless. The Yeti 150 and a set of Nomad 7 portable solar panels (both items the smallest in their respective lines) will set you back less than 350 bucks.
Each model has at least 1 12 volt outlet (like your car cigar lighter), 1 USB port through which you can charge a variety of items, and at least one standard 120v outlet. I can see using several smaller models or one of the bigger ones to keep things like fridge and freezer running, or any other appliance which you will lose the use of, when the power goes out.
Pretty handy to use in the van, in the trailer, in the boat, at your cottage or even just out in the backyard providing the power for some chill tunes around the firepit.
I really like Goal Zero as their prices are bloody fantastic and they have a much wider range of products running from the Yeti and solar panels, to portable USB power banks, lights and lanterns.
Water Filters
My final entry in this lenthening fan letter to off grid life is a look at water filtration. Many of the above products have a definite slant toward the hiker/camper. Just the same they can be adapted to every day use and clean safe water is right at the top of the list (okay we're at the end of the story here - sue me).
This is not water purification although some products claim to remove heavy metals and other carcinogenic chemicals. Water filtration is about using a material with such a small pore size that things like amoebas and other disease causing critters are just too big to get through.
There are a *lot* of different products on the market, most of which do the same thing but there are three that I have settled on.
Sawyer Mini
It doesn't look like much, but I think it's the best to be had at the moment. Easy to use, clean and reuse, this baddie will set you back a whopping 24 -30 bucks. It can filter about 100k gallons of water, doesn't require you replace any cartridges and it can be used in a variety of ways.
You can screw it onto your favourite water bottle. It can be used inline with your backpack hydration system. You can slap a 'straw' on it and slurp diredtly from your favourite murky lake. You can use a bottle to collect the dirty water and then filter it into your favourite drinking vessel.
What you'll mostly see when someone reviews portable water filtration systems is the Katadyn Pocket. Lovingly created by the crafty little fingers of the Swiss, it also costs 350 dollars and you have to replace filters and whatnot. Not the kind of thing you want to have to dick around with in the mountains or woods when you're just trying to get a drink of water.
However, ceramic filters like the Katadyn are most often a two stage filter that also uses an activated charcoal component. Sometimes the water you filter will retain an unpleasant smell. The water's still good, safe and will keep you alive but.......that charcoal filter would just get rid of that so easily.
Lifestraw Universal
For those of you who want safe water with that sexy safe water aroma, there is the Lifestraw Universal.
Lifestraw is an award winning company in the water filtration system playground and the 'Universal' is their very fine two stage ceramic and activated charcoal filter system. It comes packaged with some fancy bottle caps that let you use the system with your favourite brand of water bottle. Apparently water bottles these days use the same size of screw thread making it easier for a few different caps to work for them all. You get all of those with the Universal.
Water Purifiers
It's important to note that water filtration is just fine for most areas in North America. However, the water supply in some countries carries a lot more disease and filth than we ever see her in the land of white privilege. So the my final water treatment recommendation, in addition to one of the above filter systems, is a UV water purifier.
SteriPEN Classic 3
The Classic 3 appears to be the flagship of the company or at least the best know of their products. It will kill everything in a half litre of water in about 48 seconds - 90 seconds for a full litre of water!
Because a UV purifier will kill every living thing in your drink of water, it can probably be used in place of water filters, However, it does require the use of batteries and if you aren't equipped to recharge them or carry them, I think a filter combined with a UV purifier is the best deal.
SteriPEN makes a less expensive model called the Aqua, but it doesn't have a "pre-filter", as does the Classic 3, which is used to screen out those big chunky bits of particulate in the water.
Final Words
So there you have it! My love letter to the outdoor off-grid world that is steadily opening up to even the least experienced hiker/camper/prepper out there.
Are you a hiker or wilderness camper? Have you used any of these items or are you using similar but differently branded items? I'd love to hear what the prepper in you has to say about all of this stuff.
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