Appropriate packaging

February 16, 2011
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I think it was 2006 when I heard a story about how recently-imposed TSA restrictions on liquids were causing problems for New England lobstermen. Several of them did quite a bit of business by selling fresh lobster packed in ice to travelers flying out of Boston. But the TSA regs prohibited the ice (soon to […]

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BPL, Finland and Twitter

February 11, 2011
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Busy, busy, busy! About to leave for a trip to NYC and MoMA, but a trifecta of big news first. BPL: As those on the mailing list already know, a VERY limited number of the Boilers are now available to pre-order on Backpacking Light! I probably don’t have to extol the virtues of BPL to […]

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Laser etching

February 7, 2011
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Earlier today, I picked up this mockup of the laser etching for the top of the Boiler. Pardon my language, but these are going to look effing sweet! The guy who did it for me is named Uwe and he and his wife operate Pittsburgh Engravers. It’s a small, but very professional operation. Uwe did […]

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Made in Pittsburgh

February 5, 2011
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Things with the Boiler are humming right along. The spinning shop is finishing up making the chimneys so the Boilers can soon go through final assembly. I’ve been working with the anodizing and etching shops to make sure they’re all geared up and ready to go when the Boilers are. I shot the above video […]

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In the wild

February 1, 2011
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I meant to post this earlier, but as I mentioned in a previous post, I loaned out the unfinished production sample of the Boiler to the folks over at HammockForums for their Florida “hang.” All reports are that both the hang and the Boiler were resounding successes. “Islander” coordinated the appearance, and “Flackfizer” shot the […]

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Scale comparison

January 24, 2011
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In a comment on my last post, Chris asked for a size comparison between the Boiler and the smallest existing chimney kettle. I’ve never owned or had the chance to measure a kettle other than the Boiler, but given information available online, here’s a comparison of how much pack space the two would occupy (both […]

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Robospinning

January 21, 2011
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Earlier today I stopped by the shop and caught this video of the firebowls for the Boiler being spun. There’s an interesting contrast between this process and my efforts over the summer. When it comes to speed, this is nothing like John Henry vs. the steam drill. The machine has me beat hands-down. Fair enough, […]

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The forest, the factory, and Florida

January 20, 2011
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It has been a while since my last post, but a lot has gone on in the past week or so. Forest: To begin with, and as you can see from the above video, I had to get out of the house. So on a whim, I gathered my gear, threw it in the truck, […]

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Sewing the stuff sack

January 11, 2011
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A simple stuff sack: the first sewing project for a lot of MYOGers. Making one or two is a breeze, but when you’re making, well, a TON, it can get kind of hairy. So I invested the time to make some templates for both cutting and marking and simplified the process as much as I […]

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Production sample

January 7, 2011
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Good things come to those who wait. Earlier this week, the shop presented the much-anticipated production sample. Three, actually. One of which I kept, while the other two will be referenced by the shop as they set up production. Here are the specs: Average Weight: 7.6 oz (ranging between 7.4 oz and 7.8 oz) Dimensions: […]

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