Gear

Gear talk: UCO Original candle lantern accessories

The UCO Candle Lantern has been around for decades. It may be thought a little surprising that UCO have not produced more accessories in the past forty years. But what can you add to a candle lantern? Three Points of the Compass has a glance at what there is.

Electronics

Gear talk: Olight Obulb

The Olight Obulb is a small rechargeable LED globe lantern that provides 360° of soft light. It has a wide range of possible applications. The light weight and size, weather proofness, warm low light and runtime also makes it suitable for some backpacking and camping application.

knife

Knife chat: 84mm of Victorinox excellence, a Cadet with a difference

Victorinox do like to release limited editions of their standard range of knives. Normally these will simply be a special colour for the handles. In 2022 Victorinox took the Cadet, one of their most popular knives and changed the handle material. This enabled them to add a couple of tools. Careful scale design has also made this an extremely attractive knife that pays homage to many of the iconic sights to be found in its country of origin.

Gear

Gear talk: the BRS-55 gas powered ‘Dream Candle’ lantern

Three Points of the Compass has previously looked at a couple of small and light lanterns for use in camp or home. One was candle-powered, the other was gas-powered. As an alternative- the little BRS-55 is a gas-powered 'candle' lantern.

map measurer

Map measure of the month: John Hand & Sons “Miledial”

This map measure is a quality instrument from a well-known French manufacturer, but with a twist. The Miledial was especially made for export to the US market, to be sold by one of the premier retailers of nautical instruments

knife

Knife chat: Victorinox’s Flagship Store in London

On their 125th anniversary, Victorinox opened a new Flagship Store in the UK. Three Points of the Compass ventured into London to see what was on offer.

Gear

Gear talk: the Primus Micron gas lantern, with steel globe

Winter is around the corner. Three Points of the Compass went rummaging through the gear locker to see what there was for lighting the long dark nights. An old favourite was found. Time to put it back into service.

Gear

Gear talk: the UCO candle lantern

Three Points of the Compass has a lingering fondness for this piece of 'old school' technology. Undoubtably these lanterns still have a place today, if only as a means of embracing old technology that compliments new. The UCO lantern I have used most is the Original Candle Lantern+LED. Unsurprisingly, this is powered by… candle.

Gear

Gear talk: repairing holes in tent mesh

Backpacking the Pembrokeshire Coast Path this year, I camped at a farm site one night. While I was away from the tent, the farm cat decided to rip holes in the mesh side of my tent. I took time out this week for repairs.

Electronics

Gear talk: Nitecore NB10000 Gen2 powerbank

The NB10000 Gen 2 Quick-Charge USB-A/USB-C 10000mAh Powerbank was released by Nitecore in summer 2022 as a generational improvement of the original NB10000 that astonished the lightweight backing community in 2009. Nitecore have now released a second generation of the NB10000 with just a handful of welcome upgrades, while continuing to ignore a few other areas that could do with improvement.

Gear

Gear talk: the Leica 8×20 Monovid- probably the best quality small monocular ever made

Carrying a small optic can add a great deal of enjoyment to many a hike. However, the weight and size of binoculars can be an issue for many. If you can accept the limitations, a monocular may suit. The Leica 8x20 Monovid is probably the best quality small monocular ever made.

map measurer

Map measure of the month: the Sakurai centimetre curvimeter

The Japanese made Sakurai centimetre measure is simple and attractive but has lost the capability for very accurate measurement over the past couple of decades.

knife

Knife chat: the SwissBuck Legend- obsolete, but still a good choice

The 65mm SwissBuck Legend is an interesting little tool that may suit those looking for something just a little different. It was the result of a collaboration between Swiss knife maker Wenger and one of the oldest knife makers in the US- Buck Knives.

Electronics

Gear talk: Pad-Pal, the world’s lightest electric sleeping pad inflator

A pair of lungs is lighter than the little inflator looked at here, but the Pad-Pal is, by far, the lightest electric sleeping pad inflator in the world. It is doubtful that anything lighter could be made.

map measurer

Map measure of the month: Harvey Maps 25k and 40k ‘map-measure-go!’ laces

It is not often that a new design of map measure appears on the market. Harvey Maps bucked the trend in 2022 and released a fun little product- boot and shoe laces complete with printed scales to suit their most popular map scales- 1:25 000 and 1: 40 000.

Gear

Gear talk: the Pembrokeshire Coast Path- post-hike gear review

Three Points of the Compass has just returned from backpacking the Pembrokeshire Coast Path. Two September weeks in Wales threw at me varied weather conditions- from strong wind and horizontal rain, to hot sunny days and cold nights. This is a post-hike look at the lightweight backpacking gear I carried.

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