Home Made Gear?

Do tell what your next project is!
For a knob, have you tried screwing a piece of cork onto lid?

Where did you get silnylon from? How does it work as a liner? Are you trying for a vapour barrier effect?

Not sure if I should explain the next project because I'm still trying to decide if it's worth the effort - lots happening at the moment. Good idea about using the cork will definitely give that a try. Gonna take some pix of the stove set up and post once I give the cork thing a try.

Managed to get the nylon ripstop (parachute spec.) from a textile manufacturer just outside Durban. I used Nikwax gear water repellent for rucksacks etc and used very hot water and soaked the entire length of fabric in it for a day. I repeated the process again and then left the fabric in the sun to dry for about an hour.

The sleeping bag liner works really well...but I get too damn hot when using it!

Interesting!
I'll try take some photos of my cooking system too.
I'm busy right now testing solid fuel (coghlans) and a new pot I bought today (Stanley adventure cook set )

Cool. I'll try to post before the weekend...gonna have to have open a bottle of wine so I can get a decent cork!

Nice! Exactly the same setup I use. Simple and cheap ne? What can did you use? Do you have a windscreen for the field?
I get similar boil times, depending on the pot (material, shape etc). I've tried at least 3 different coke can stove designs, with various tweaks and in different sizes and I've noticed no difference in boil times.I've come to believe that the limiting factor is meths, and the amount of heat it releases, and not the stove design.

There's a lot to be said for the elegance and simplicity of a cat food can stove.

Next step is to experiment with hole patterns, eg to make a 'simmer cat'.

Just remember to be careful when using it indoors, meths fumes are horrible! (And be careful about standing above the stove while it's burning, especially when using a windshield or chimney).

Some of my creations from the past few months

Nice. I get empty cans for free from a friend
How close was your windshield to the stove? Sounds like it may have been too close. You also need to have enough space at the top to vent exhaust gasses.

I use a leather punch, it works pretty well

Off topic - but with cheap gas stoves - Adventure Inc (the SA importers of brands such as Icebreaker) are running a clearance sale. They are selling, amongst other things, the Go System Tri-Spi Stove for R120 (plus postage), and lots of other stuff for really low prices. If anyone want the price list and details, inbox me you're email address and I'll forward it to you