Riverwalker's Fire Bowl

What is a fire bowl? It's quite simply an old brake hub off a large truck or bus. They are quite heavy, able to resist high heat temperatures, and will safely contain a fire built in them. The ones in the pictures are from the drag axle for a bus. The simple thing is you can even use smaller versions from trucks or even cars for that matter. Many auto repair shops have them laying around and you can probably get them for free. You can also check with diesel repar shops or truck garages to see if they have any. They are generally sold for scrap and you can pick them up for a few dollars. Add a grill from one of your old rusted out, thin metal pits and you can start grillin'.

Single fire bowls can also be stacked to make a double fire bowl that can be used for grilling, cooking hot dogs, or just roasting marshmallows. You can let the smaller coals and ashes just drop to the bottom or you can place a small, shallow pan underneath to catch the ashes. These weigh approximately 40 pounds each, are 3/4 inch thick, about 13 inches high, the large open end is about 15 inches across, while the bottom part with the bolt holes is about 13 inches across.

At 40 pounds, one is easily carried by most anyone. Two can be packed at one time if you're a hefty fellow.

Looking for a way to spread the heat around? Try using a fire bowl. A fire bowl safely contains the fire and absorbs a large amount of heat that is slowly given off to the surrounding area. Think of it as a portable cast iron stove for outdoor use.

Riverwalker

Riverwalker's Gear - Sterno Folding Stove

One of the items I have as emergency equipment is a Sterno folding stove. They are portable and lightweight. They fold flat for easy storage and ease of portability. They are fueled by cans of Sterno (gelled alcohol) and can be used indoors with proper ventilation.

They are relatively inexpensive stoves and cans of Sterno fuel can usually be found at most grocery stores or camping supply outlets. They work great for camping out or emergencies.

You can get additional info on an Emergency Preparedness Pack with stove here:

http://www.sterno.com/retail/pages/emergkits.html

Staying above the water line!

Riverwalker

Riverwalker's Gear - Cell Corp Coolvent Sleepcell Sleeping Bag

One of several different styles of sleeping bags that I use is the Sleep Cell Cool Vent. It’s available at Wal-mart or Academy Surplus and has a special climate control system. It’s a large size sleeping bag at 40” x 90” and comes with different temperature ratings. I currently have two Sleep Cell bags which are rated at 30 degrees (other temperature ratings are available) which pretty much makes it an all-season sleeping bag for my usual area.

It has a removable air pillow, a drawstring hood, three pounds of Litron Hollowfill (a 7 hole polyester filling), and a compression sack. The price for these sleeping bags is generally under $40 which makes them very affordable. It’s a mummy-style bag and has a hood which can be tightly secured with the drawstring and its size allows storage of gear at the foot of the bag. The special climate control system, called Cool Vent, consists of mesh vents on each side with zippered controls that allow you to regulate the air flow through the outer portion of the bag. The system actually works quite well and I’ve had no problems at varying temperatures with over-heating while using it.

Riverwalker

Riverwalker's Gear - Safety Cross 6-in-1 Safety Flashlight

I use the Safety Cross 6-in-1 Safety Light. I keep one in each of my two main vehicles in my EDC fanny pack. It requires no batteries (crank the handle for power) and includes a cell phone charger, an FM radio, a compass, an emergency flasher and a 130 decibel siren. The LED flashlight provides a very reliable source of light. The cell phone charger feature comes with a free adapter for most cell phones. The cranking handle for power can be either turned clockwise or counter-clockwise for either left or right-handed users and can be used to generate power when and where it’s needed. It has a reasonably high-quality FM radio that provides access for emergency purposes or to just have a little music available. It also has a directional compass in the crank handle and a siren for emergency signaling (the siren has a rating of 130 decibels). The flashlight also has a flashing strobe light feature for night-time signaling.

One minute of cranking yields about 1 hour of running time for the flashlight and an even longer time for the radio feature. It is relatively lightweight (less than a pound) and compact enough that it fits easily in my fanny pack that has my EDC items.

Riverwalker