Haul More Gear With a Cargo Carrier Cover From Harbor Freight | Video Review

This past weekend I went on a scheduled camping trip with my scouts. We did not have someone to haul our double axle trailer, which meant packing all the participants and their gear into three vehicles. When I purchased my car last year though, I made sure to have an already installed tow package. I wanted to be able to add one of those cargo carrier platforms when going on trips. So with two Ford Flex and a Jeep, we hauled 15 individuals and gear to a fossil dig.

When a fellow scouter learned of our plight, he mentioned having a Nylon Cargo Carrier Cover  from Harbor Freight. Essentially it is a large soft-sided bag to tie onto the carrier instead of using a tarp. He had not used it yet but said I could test it for him. And test it I did!

The expandable cargo carrier cover from Harbor Freight
was a great solution for hauling gear! 

We used the bag to haul 6 tents, two hiking packs and assorted cooking gear. There was a bit of room to spare but we encouraged everyone to pack lightly and hauled gear in cars too.

Thankfully we had near-perfect weather and did not have any rain until driving home. (Really it was more of a mist.) We ask a scout in each tent to take them home after a weekend, to dry them out and sweep them. The tents were already damp from packing up, so they came out of the bag damp.

I still had my tent and assorted gear in the carrier. After dropping my scouts it began to rain in earnest, so I left the cargo carrier and bag on the car. The plan was to  return it and the remaining gear to the trailer the next day.

First thing Monday morning I drove to my friend's where the trailer was. Now this is where I had poor planning. After a night of heavier rain, I SHOULD have opened the carrier FIRST to check for water. Instead though, I sprayed down the carrier to wash off the mud.

I was concerned about the zipper area leaking, and sure enough it did. I did use a sprayer to clean the bag though, so the force might have been enough to push water through.

My suggestion would be to add water-proofing to the bag, or waxing the zipper OR adding a tarp cut to fit to place on top of gear in the bag. Otherwise I was exceptionally pleased with the product. In fact, as soon as I need it again, I will likely buy one from Harbor Freight to have on hand for $30 it can't be beat!

Leatherman's New-er Keychain Tool

Leatherman's Style-line of keychain tools was introduced in 2010, making it one of the newest on the market.  The Style CS and Style PS follow Leatherman's Skeletool styling, a design full of holes and alternative materials designed to reduce weight and probably also to look cool.  Materials include stainless steel and plastic.  The current Leatherman keychain tool Style offerings run about $25.

By way of introduction, the Style was a basic Leatherman's keychain tool that took aim squarely at the Victorinox Classic, offering a knife, nail file, scissors and tweezers.  I believe this model has been discontinued, and I've never owned one.  So, we're going to skip ahead.

Released at the same time, the Style CS offered more.  Isn't that what tools are about?  MORE?  The Style CS design took what Leatherman's Skeletool design and downsized it.  The Style CS offers a knife, nail file, scissors, and a nail file, as well as an easy-to-use clip which doubles as a bottle opener.  The Style CS uses Leatherman Micra's folding scissors configuration to make them very functional.

The CS knife is a straight back point with a chisel grind, and a surprisingly wide spine for a keychain knife.  This makes the knife better for cutting harder materials, but the lack of a blade lock of any kind, the stainless steel metallurgy and the knife's short length make it a poor choice for cutting anything particularly hard.

The CS scissors work just like those of the Leatherman Micra, unfolding when opening the tool, which makes them much better for heavier cutting tasks than smaller fold-out scissors like those offered on the Victoinox Classic.  Again, with keychain tools, I question the inclusion of both a small knife, and a pair of scissors that operate in overlapping areas of functionality.  For example my Style CS scissors see much more use than its' knife as smaller cutting tasks are easier, more accurately, and more safely performed with scissors than with a knife.

The Style nail file and flat head screwdriver is similar to the industry standard, though I appreciate that the file is more coarse than others, and the flat head is ground to an almost sharp edge rather than Victorinox's more blunt polished offering.

The Style tweezers are arguably slightly better than the industry standard Victorinox.  They are made of two pieces of metal rolled together at one end and the tip is set at an angle and sharpened some.  They make very effective tweezers and I dare say I haven't seen better in a pocket tool.

Above I also mentioned the Style PS.  I can't tell you what that stands for but the concept was to produce a keychain tool that would be TSA friendly.  Of course, TSA doesn't certify tools and rules was and wain more frequently than the phases on the moon.  So, you're traveling with this at your own risk, but it worked for me.  The Style PS replaces the CS model's knife with a fold-out style scissors, and replaces the main body scissors with miniature pliers.

My verdict: The Leatherman Style PS is my every-day carry, and that is high praise.  I find the build quality and construction of Leatherman's keychain tools to be top notch, and the tool-set vs size vs weight vs price balance is as optimized as one could reasonably expect.

Lost Camping Utensils and How to Avoid It

Has anyone found my spoon? Camping and silverware do not go together well in my family. Yet keeping it handy while camping is a must. If there is anything I have forgotten (more than once) it has been my eating utensils - and possibly my mess kit. This is in large part due to the nature of those items being removed from my pack for better cleaning after camping.

When we started camping as a family, we took along a small container of re-usable Ikea kids flatware. It was inexpensive at $2.99 for 18-pieces, so I did not mind of we lost anything.  The kids really did not appreciate them though, and they often got thrown away by accident.

It was shortly thereafter, during the Coleman sale at the local 100th Anniversary of Boy Scouting Camporee, that I found, and purchased this Coleman Swiss Army style Silverware. I made sure to purchase (4) so that everyone in the family received one (in our Christmas stockings) and even went back to purchase two more sets to have "on hand". The price was right at less than $5 for each one. The challenge was in keeping them together after using while they were drying after being washed. When cleaning, you take them apart to dry so it is easy to misplace one half. Sadly we quickly lost track of several pieces. I also found that keeping the crud out of the cracks was challenging. I did like that they were a good weight, heavy enough and were good camping silverware, but less than 8 years later we have only 1 or maybe 2 of the sets remaining!

The next thing we tried was a good old plastic spork that I found while shopping at my local Scout Shop. The thing is, after less than 6 uses, several of the tines of the fork would break off. So here I was spending $2-3 on each spork, only to throw it away shortly after purchasing it!

Sometime last year I saw one of my scouts with a flatware set clipped with a carabiner. I thought that would be great to clip to the side of the back-pack for easy access. So I bought a set. Only the carabiner broke and I lost the spoon. So again, there went money down the drain...

So what is a parent to do? I did not want to waste more money but needed something that worked. This summer while backpacking with my daughter, I thought out of the box a bit. To keep things light, we only needed a collapsible bowl and a spoon. So what did I do? I grabbed the free spoons we were given at Menchie's.

I was getting tired of all the waste though, and did not want my scouts to laugh at me. That's when I ran across these stainless steel sporks, I thought they may be the perfect solution. They were lightweight, easily cleanable (and could be sanitized), and could be easily stashed. So I purchased a dozen and added one to my mess kit.

My only two criticisms I have, if they are even that, is that the set is a bit long. I would love it to easily fit INSIDE of my mess kit. If not, I would like a way for it to easily hang with it. So the the  improvement I would suggest is that there should be a small hole in it. I actually drilled a hole in mine so that I could hang it with my metal lunch plate during summer camp, or clip it to my backpack. I can't say yet if they will last a long time, as this is my newest acquisition. I can say though that when a hole was added, I was very happy with the resulting lightweight, stainless-steel 3-in-1 camping utensil for around $2.

The Flashlight Standard

Camping gear is eternal, what worked for your grandfather still works today.  In fact, because much of camping, and outdoor exploration is linked in with conservation, some of your grandfather's camping gear is probably still around.  My own personal inventory still includes tents that are old enough to order a beer.  And while technology and the pursuit of ever-lighter materials is a driving force in the manufacture of all outdoor gear, flashlights have certainly made dramatic improvements in recent history and continue to do so.

As an industry, recreational camping has always been closely tied to the military; and the development of the WW2 TL-122 flashlight and its Vietnam era replacement the MX-991 flashlights made them very popular for camping.  Eveready even made one for the Boy Scouts.

Image: http://www.flashlightmuseum.com

Advancements in technology and materials led to the aluminum bodied Kel-Lite and the Oreos to Kel-Lite's Hydrox, MagLite.  The aluminum-tube flashlight was the next generation of technology, using space-age metals that are lighter weight and don't corrode.

MagLite

While angle-head flashlights have become scarce, and MagLites are still plentiful; technology marches on.  Today, LED technology means smaller more durable lighting with better battery life.  Unfortunately for the consumer, the technology is also inexpensive to manufacture which means there are many manufacturers.  A quick Amazon search for "LED headlamp" shows 11 headlamps by manufacturers that I've never heard of before the 12th result branded an Energizer.  The first "big" name flashlight branded headlamp, a Streamlight, shows up on page 2.  How is anyone supposed to make an informed decision?

An Amazon's Choice: Foxelli headlamp.  I've never heard of them.

Before we go about reviewing every flashlight on the planet, know that it's a daunting proposition to people who know their stuff.  A lot of the "professionals" will pick a name brand and find features they like in a model that's offered for a flashlight reviews.  We won't be doing that, it's likely that the big name brands are already being reviewed by the big guys in the outdoor world.  We're going to find the hidden gems, the underdogs.  We're going to focus on a few select factors: physical features, performance and cost.