Western Forest Complex: Day 4

Farming, forest, and mountain landscape near Ban Khli Thi.

One of the checkpoints on the road from Ban Khlity to Sri Nakharin Lake.

We cycle back the same way we came during most of the day. It's a bit disappointing but still a beautiful landscape to travel through, and great cycling. We also miss out on the steep climbs on gravel and concrete slabs near the Nakharin lake.

Monk and kids on the ferry across the Sri Nakharin Lake.

We get to the lake shore and the little ferry on the beach at 2 p.m. and we leave for the western coast at 3 p.m. An hour later we arrive on a similar beach on the Si Sawat side of the lake.

Enjoying a cold beer (Beer Leo) at the camp fire on the beach at sunset. Sri Nakharin Lake, Kanchanaburi Province.

We camp on the beach near the ferry. There is a small hamlet with a restaurant where we buy a couple of cold beers. We swim and wash in the lake.

To be continued.

Western Forest Complex: Day 3

Misty morning in our camp on day three. Lam Khlong Ngoo National Park, Western Forest Complex, Thailand.

We have oatmeal and coffee for breakfast before we keep cycling north further into the wilderness. We see another road junction and a small restaurant but mostly jungle and some very noisy bamboo forests. The noise comes from cicadas. Ear plugs would be good here. There is also a ranger checkpoint but no questions asked.

Local farmers on the way to remote fields. Ban Khli Thi, Western Forest Complex, Thailand.

We arrive at the remote village of Kli Thi (sometimes spelled Ban Khli Ti or Ban Klity) in the early afternoon. There is a restaurant with a small shop here so we sit down and have a bowl of noodles, and do some last shopping (snacks and noodles). A man who speaks good English explains that there is no road to be found that could take us north to places like Umphang or Ban Palatha. There is only jungle, he says. He reckons it would take a lot more than a week to walk through. He lives up here so we kind of trust his knowledge on this. It's a bit disappointing, but we are still eager to try to get as far as possible into the wilderness to see for ourself even if we just have to come back the same way. We continue north on the road to the park headquarters for Thung Yai Naresuan Wildlife Sanctuary. Our man says it's eight kilometers to go.

On the road to West Thung Yai Naresuan Wildlife Sanctaury - one of the largest and most remote protected areas within the Western Forest Complex.

As we arrived at the ranger station checkpoint we had our second disappointment. They told us that we can't continue into the park. We insisted to talk this through, and they informed us that a permit is needed. We told about our phone calls and a young lady took us to the main office where we were promised a phone call to whoever gave us this information. We made the call and I handed over the phone to the lady and here colleague, and they still said we can't go. We moaned about this and tried to take it all in, while studying a 3d model of the park. After a few minutes the lady tells us that she has spoken to the officer on the phone and that we can now get a permit, but only to go as far as the second ranger station inside the park, at about thirty kilometers from the headquarters. This is good news in the circumstances, but we wanted to go all the way to the Burmese border area (approximately 100 kilometers) and continue north to Umphang or Palatha. That was the grand plan. The lady also tells us that we cannot leave the road, that we have to report at the ranger stations (15 and 30 kms respectively) and that we cannot camp because of dangers. We have to make it to the ranger station for the night. When I ask here to be more specific she mentions tigers. I assume she just doesn't want us to camp, because tigers would probably want to stay far away from humans if they have a chance, and they do; They have 18 720 square kilometers to roam.

Local villagers coming out of the rain forest. Thung Yai Naresuan Wildlife Sanctuary.

We promised to follow the instructions and started cycling into the dark rain forest. We had been warned about the road conditions but it turned out a bit worse than we expected. After just a few hundred meters we had to get off our bikes and push through flooded areas with deep mud. We could still cycle through some of the ruts or on the side, but the obstacles got more frequent as we got deeper into the forest. It takes a lot of time to travel like this and it was already late in the afternoon.

Poor road conditions in the West Thung Yai Naresuan Wildlife Sanctuary.

Deeper into the forest the road got worse (even a bit worse than on the photo above) and we had to push through deep mud ruts full of water. We thought we may be able to get to the next ranger station before dark, or at least to higher and hopefully drier ground, but we also thought about going back the same way the next day, because they didn't give us a permit to go further than ranger station two 30 kilometers into the park. We didn't think we had much chance of making it through the dense jungle off-road and we would be easy to track and stop if we tried to sneak past the checkpoints. A decision had to be made. We decided to go back. We camped on a hill near Ban Khli Thi.

To be continued.

The Therm-a-Rest case: E-mail problems

As I mentioned in my last post, I sent in photos of the ballooning mattress. The latter bounced however, and I had to send it again. Eventually I got in touch with people at Cascade Designs. They promised to replace my mattress based on the photos I sent, and that I could choose one of two equivalent models from today's product line. I chose a Prolite regular. I picked up my new Therm-a-Rest a few weeks later when I was in Kuala Lumpur. I works fine, and is lighter and more comfortable than the older one. I guess the lifetime warranty was for real this time.

http://cascadedesigns.com/therm-a-rest/mattresses/fast-and-light/prolite/product

Sorry for the late update on this issue.

Is lifetime warranty for real?

I have used a Therm-a-rest on some of my trips, abut on this trip it failed on me. The outer fabric has disconnected from the foam material, creating a large 'balloon' or 'bubble' across the middle of the mattress. It failed in Malaysia so for seven months in Sarawak, Brunei, Sabah, Indonesia and East Timor I used a simple (and very light) foam mattress from a local Malaysian supermarket (Rm 17).

The Therm-a-Rest has a lifetime warranty though and I prefer the comfort it provides. I'm no about to find out if manufacturer Cascade Designs is good for their word. There are some rules about cleaning your gear, and storing with the valve open it in a dry place. I've followed the rules, so let's see what happens. They have now asked me to send in photos of the mattress, so they can conclude if I have the right to a replacement or repair, or nothing. See photos below:


Ballooning with a little extra inflation.


Ballooning with extra inflation.




The tag/sticker.

Do you have similar experiences with "lifetime warranty" products in general or the Therm-a-Rest in particular?

Do you think they will help me out?

I think so. They would loose out big time if they get a bad reputation about their warranty. They depend on this to keep selling their products at the premium price. Why would people by "the original" if there is no benefit, and the warranty doesn't work when you need it?

UPDATE (April 4): Still no answer, so I sent a reminder to my contact at the local distributor here in Malaysia. I was also surprised to learn that the e-mail address I got from Cascade Designs doesn't exist (the mail to that contact person bounced).

UPDATE 2: I got the good news on April 6. They will give me a replacement.

DIY project: Ultralight pot gripper

After reading forum threads on pot grippers I decided to get my old MSR gripper out, and start thinking about how to make it lighter without loosing stability. The original version weighs about 45 grams (1,6 oz). The Trangia version is 48 grams (1,7 oz). A new MRS gripper, the Litelifter™ weighs 28 grams (1 oz) according to their website.

Improvement of the old MSR gripper: I started with filing off the rivets that holds the two pieces together. Then I filed off unnecessary material around the edges of each piece, and mad the holes larger where the stress would be lower. I was careful at the front of the gripper, near the axle, where the stress is high when a heavy pot is lifted or tilted. The advantage of using a file for the holes is that you can shape them in any way you like to optimize the strength to weight ratio. I also shortened the gripper from about 125 mm (4,9 in) to 112 mm (4,4 in). The rivets where replaced with a small screw and nut.

After a few sessions with filing and testing I got the weight down to 31 grams (). I could not notice any problems, even with heavier loads. I started to suspect that the design is very over-dimensioned, at least for use with smaller pots.

New pot gripper prototype: Next step is to build a new gripper from scratch in a thinner material. The original's material thickness was 2 millimeters (0,08 in). I chose a 1 millimeter (0,04 in) sheet of aluminium/aluminum for the new version. I also made the new version a little shorter and narrower. The new length: 105 mm (4,1 in). The length can be shortened more or less depending on how the gripper is used. I eat from my pot, and hold it with the gripper during a meal (or while it's still hot), so I need a good comfortable length.

The width of the handle of the old MSR gripper was 24 mm (0,9 in) and the the new version is 18 millimeters (0,7 in) wide (not including side supports at the front).

The material I used came from the tube from an old vacuum cleaner. I cut off two pieces of tube (120 mm / 4,7 in each). Then I shaped the two pieces with a vise, some pliers, and a hammer. The details and holes where done with files and drill bits. After some work I had pieces looking like this:


The parts after some cutting, shaping, drilling, and filing. Weight: 18 grams (0,6 oz).

After even more drilling, filing and testing, the gripper looks like this:


The new ligher pot gripper prototype. Weight: 16 grams (0,56 oz).

Result: The new pot gripper weighs 16 grams (0,56 oz), and is very stable for both lifting a full pot, and tilting it (to pour contents). It's also comfortable to hold a pot while eating from it. I did not notice any problems for pots from 1-2 liters, even when full to the rim. It may be too weak for larger loads, but I have no pots to test with, and no need for that kind of strength.

Conclusions: The traditional Trangia and MSR pot grippers are over-dimensioned and too heavy. The clever design will be strong enough with thinner material, at least for use with smaller pots. It would be interesting to try this design with even thinner material in titanium.

Vanliga tamojer är överdimensionerade

Efter att ha läst intressanta forumtrådar om tamojer (de där handtagen som man greppar kastruller med ute i vildmarken) bestämde jag mig för att plocka fram min MSR-tamoj och fundera på förbättringar. Den ursprungliga versionen (som följde med MSR:s kokkärl tidigare) väger ca 45 gram. Trangias väger tydligen 48 gram. En ny MRS-variant (Litelifter™) väger 28 gram enligt deras egen hemsida.

Förbättring av befintlig MSR-tamoj: Jag började med att fila bort nitarna som håller ihop de två delarna och började sedan fila upp hålen i respektive del där det verkade vara onödigt mycket material. Jag filade också bort en del av profilens höjd eftersom delarna upplevdes som extremt styva. Försiktigare var jag längst fram där man greppar kastrullen där krafterna bör vara som störst. Fördelen med att fila upp hålen i stället för att bara borra är att man kan forma hålen så att viktbesparingen blir optimal. Nitarna ersatte jag med en liten tunn skruv med tillhörande mutter.

Efter några omgångar av filande och testande hamnade MSR-tamojen på 31 gram, och funktionen var så gott som opåverkad även med tungkastrull. Jag började misstänka att kontruktionen är kraftigt överdimentionerad. Åtminstone för mindre kastruller/mindre vikt.

Ny tamojprototyp: Nästa steg blev att bygga en helt ny tamoj från scratch i en tunnare godstjocklek. En mätning visade att MSR-tamojen var tillverkad av 2-millimeters aluminiumplåt. Jag gissade på att en millimetersplåt skulle kunna räcka. Det vore i alla fall spännande att se hur en sådan skulle fungera. Jag passade också på att korta ned designen och göra den smalare.

MSR-tamojen var ca 120-130 mm lång från början. Jag kortade den sedan till 112 mm (överdelen). Underdelen kortades ännu mer. Den nya blev 105 mm lång, men kan säkert kortas ytterligare beroende på hur man använder sin tamoj (att hålla en full kastrull för att äta ur den kräver en viss längd för att göra det bekvämt).

Bredden på MSR-tamojen är 24 mm, exklusive stödvingarna längst fram. Den nya lättviktstamojen blir 18 mm bred.

Som material använde jag röret från en gammal skrotad dammsugare. Godstjockleken var 1 mm och känns stabilt. Det räckte att kapa av 2 gånger 12 centimeter av röret, klippa upp det och börja forma med skruvstäd, tänger och hammare. Sedan var det dags för finlir och borrande. Efter en del arbete såg delarna ut så här:


De två plåtämnena har fått form och flera hål för att få ned vikten. Vikt: ca 18 gram.

Efter ännu mer filande och borrande ser det nu ut så här:


Ihopmonterad och måttligt lättad tamojprototyp. Vikt: 16 gram.

Resultat: Den nya tamojen väger 16 gram, och är så gott som lika stabil som MSR-tamojen i höjd- och sidled (med 1-2 liter). Funkar utmärkt att hålla i kastrullen då man äter en stor måltid ur den, eller då man häller vätska ur en full kastrull. Det kan hända att den blir vinglig/vek vid stora kastruller (3 liter eller mer). Jag har ingen kastrull att testa med nu.

Slutsats: De vanliga tamojerna är överdimensionerade. Åtminstone för de mindre kastrullerna. Det vore intressant att testa denna design (eller liknande) med ännu tunnare plåt i titan. Det skulle inte förvåna mig om man kan få till en stabil titan-tamoj som väger under tio gram.

Cycling with skis: Day one

2008-05-27: Trosa - Lake Mälaren (97 km)

I had most of my gear packed the night before departure, but I had some experimenting to do with fixing the skis. If they're tied too low they get stuck in the front panniers while turning. If they are positioned to far back the bindings get in the way of my thighs. I found that there was only one option for how to place the skis (see photo in previous blog post).

I filled up water and fuel bottles and left around noon. The weather was perfect. After 25 kilometers I chose a smaller road in the countryside. At Kattnäs I made the first mistake. I took a chance on following a local bike trail, but it didn't go where i guessed it would go. I ended up on the west side of lake Klämmingen. No big deal. It was also hard to find the right way in Åkers styckebruk, and in central Strängnäs. I cooked some macaroni after crossing the first bridge across lake Mälaren, and camped just before the second one.


The first camp site on an island in lake Mälaren.

Cycling with skis tied to the frame was a bit odd at first but I soon got used to it. I had to readjust the straps at one point, and going fast on bad bumpy dirt roads did not feel safe.

If you have Google Earth you can follow the route for day one with this: norway_2008_tour_day1.kmz

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