Amazing Coleman Lantern Jacket Surprise

May 29, 2012 //
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Look at what my sweet girlfriend made me for my birthday. It’s a lantern jacket!

A couple of years ago I bought a non-functioning, early-70s, Coleman 200A lantern for $12 at an antique store. It sat around for a while until I ordered all of the parts, stripped it down and restored it. Here’s the how-to I used, if you’re restoring your own by the way.

It was really satisfying to rebuild it and get it to work. I didn’t have a case for it though and it would knock around in the back of the truck with an old towel draped over it for modicum of protection.

Then my girlfriend, Natalie, after borrowing my lantern under the guise of wanting to draw it, presented me with this amazing lantern jacket. It’s fully padded and even has a zippered picket for holding matches and spare mantles. I love it!

Read more for additional photos.

Read the rest of this entry »

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Categories Media, - Pictures, Gear

Spotted: ex-Forest Service Dodge Crew Cab 4×4 For Sale

May 28, 2012 //
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This rare, ex-Utah Forest Service Dodge crew cab 4×4 with a PTO winch is currently on sale in Utah via ebay Motors. The seller states that it’s equipped as a 3/4-ton, W200 Power Wagon though it’s not badged as such, and that it has a 360 cu. in. V8 under the hood mated to a 4-speed manual transmission.

The ad says that this short-bed, step-side truck is “decent” shape but that the gas tank needs to be flushed — the seller is currently running the engine off of a gas can to avoid pulling old gas into the carburetor — and that the brakes may need some attention.

The ad also states that the truck utilizes 8-lug Dana 60 axles front and rear, though this is questioned by one of the bidders. A quick check on Wikipedia reveals that Dodge used the stronger Dana 70 axles until the mid-seventies.

The seller also states that the odometer reads 15,xxx miles. Could this really mean 115,xxx?

If you want to make a move, the auction closes on May 30th, 2:15pm PST. Bidding currently stands at a bargain $1775 with no reserve.

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Categories - Pictures, - Spotted:, - Trucks, Features, Media, Vehicles

Gear: L.L. Bean Maine Hunting Shoe, 100th Anniversary Edition

May 26, 2012 //
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Check out these limited edition, 100th Anniversary Maine Hunting Shoes from L.L. Bean. They feature a 12″ leather upper and brick-red soles that are durable yet flexible enough to transmit the feel of the terrain. They’re a faithful reissue of the 1912 original. Available now for $140.

Read more for a video about the boots. Read the rest of this entry »

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Categories Gear

Quick Trip: Lake Sonoma

May 24, 2012 //
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For our first camping trip of the season together, my girlfriend, Natalie, and I took the canoe up to Lake Sonoma for some boat-in camping. Lake Sonoma is a man-made reservoir just east of Cloverdale, California. There are beautiful campsites around the edge of the lake, lots of shoreline to explore, and plenty of fishing — the lake contains one of California’s only landlocked steelhead populations.

We self registered for a campsite at park headquarters at the southern end of the lake then drove up to Yorty Creek to put in. With the canoe packed up, we shoved off for the 2.7 mile paddle to our campsite. It was fairly windy but, once we left the main basin of the lake, the water was much calmer. In an hour and fifteen minutes we were at Thumb Camp, Site #2. Read the rest of this entry »

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Categories - California, - Campgrounds, - Lake, - Pictures, - Ships / Boats, - Trips: The Western US, — Sonoma County, Features, Media, Places, Places to See, Places to Stay, The Americas, United States, Vehicles

Spotted:    Jeep J4000 Gladiator For Sale

May 24, 2012 //
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If you’re looking for something to go with your handlebar moustache, you might try this 1971 Jeep J4000 Gladiator. According to the seller, it was restored in 2008.

If you want to make a move, you’ve got about a day left. Bidding currently stands and $9,550 and the reserve hasn’t been met.

Check out the write up on Bring a Trailer or view all of the details on ebay.

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Categories Uncategorized

Quick Trip: Mendocino National Forest

May 22, 2012 //
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Photo: Gregory McDonald

A few weeks ago my friend Greg and I headed up to the Mendocino National Forest for a quick mid-week camping trip. Our plan was to drive south on Forest Road M1 from near Covelo, CA to Lake Pillsbury. When we got to the ranger station in Covelo, however, they informed us that the M1 was still closed due to snow. Doh. I guess that’s why it’s good to phone first.

After asking about our options at the Eel River Work Station (the smaller ranger station East of Covelo), we headed northeast up the M1 instead to a defunct camping area called Boardman Ridge. The area is accessed via an unnamed jeep road off the M1 roughly five miles from the aforementioned ranger station. We followed the rutted jeep road about 3 miles to the end of the line (Difficulty 2 out of 10) and then backtracked to spot opposite a meadow and pitched camp for the night. Read the rest of this entry »

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Categories - California, - Difficulty: 2 of 10, - Pictures, - Trips: The Western US, — Mendocino National Forest, Features, Media, Off-road, Places, The Americas, United States

Spotted: Triumph Tridays Rumbler

May 22, 2012 //
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I found this on BikeEXIF the other day. It’s a Triumph Scrambler modified to compete in the Triumph Tridays scramble, a 400-meter sprint across a field in Neukirchen, Austria.

The Tridays Rumbler is a one-off but, if you want, you can source the parts yourself and build your own.

Categories - Motorcycles, - Pictures, - Spotted:, Austria, Europe, Features, Media, Places, Vehicles

Solar Eclipse Today!

May 20, 2012 //
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Image: Stardate.org

If you live in the Western and Southwestern United States, southern China or Japan, go out and see the eclipse today. Viewers along the exact path of the eclipse will see an annular ring, meaning the moon will be centered on the sun but won’t appear big enough to cover the entire solar disk, leaving a ring of light around the shadow of the moon.

In the U.S., the eclipse will start around 5:15pm PST, reach a maximum around 6:30pm PST and end around 7:30pm PST. Here’s a link to Stardate.org, which has exact times and locations. Be patient with the server. They have heavy traffic today.

Or check this NASA Google Map. Clicking on the map will give you the exact times for that location.

Update: Link to the Stardate.org site is fixed.

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Categories Things to do

Spotted: Lego Land-Rover Defender 110

May 20, 2012 //
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Check out this Land Rover 110. It has a sequential 5-speed transmission, 2-speed transfer case, working disc brakes, selectable 4-wheel-drive, and is made entirely out of Legos. Amazing! What’s more, every one of those features and more are actuated by remote control. Quite a project.

It’s currently listed on a site called Cuusoo, which is a kind of farm league for Lego models. If it gets 10,000 votes, Lego will produce it as a kit.

Read the rest for more photos and a video of it in action.

Here’s a link to the builder’s site.

Thanks for the tip, Mas! Read the rest of this entry »

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Categories - Pictures, - Spotted:, - Videos, Features, Media, Models, Vehicles

Fire Skills: Tea-Light Mini Bushbuddy

May 19, 2012 //
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Youtube user, buscraftmyway, shows how to turn an ordinary tea light and a strip of cardboard into an ingenious, practical fire-starting tool. He calls it a “mini Bushbuddy” and reports that it’s also good for boiling a single cup of water. Brilliant. I can’t wait to try it out.

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Categories - Skills, - Videos, Features, Media, Uncategorized
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