Bug Out Breakfast- Oatmeal Solo Stove Style

My Bug out Cooking setup. A day's worth of food, trusty Solo Stove and Solo Pot 900. The case is for the camera, not sure why it's in the picture.

I cannot claim credit for this idea. Stole it from Viking Preparedness some time back. My food bag contents is 2x oatmeal, 2x top ramen, 2x tuna, a half dozen random granola type bars (whatever we had), 1x big snickers bar, 1x peanut butter, a few instant coffee packs and some various munchies. My food setup is pretty 'bar' heavy. Generally in the field I don't stop to eat. Tend to snack a bit during the day then eat a big meal before going to bed. Aside from mild personal taste differences the only difference between Pastor Joes setup and mine is that I put the accessories into the day's bag. The reason I did that is so I could put the day's food into a side pocket or other more accessible place and go all day. Also it helps IMO to keep a day's munchies separate so you can make easier rationing choices and not all of accidentally eat the last day's munchies.  Don't think there is a right or wrong there, just different techniques.

 

 

My cooking tools. The Solo Stove and Solo Pot 900.  Like this setup a lot. The stove not having the fire rest on the ground is good in dry terrain like the desert where I currently live. I would be comfortable scraping away a small spot (or finding a rock to set it on) then cooking, albeit carefully, with the solo stove. For packing it really helps that they nest together. An MSR type 1qt pot and some other sort of stove would function similarly but take up a lot more space since they would not nest. When the stove is inside the pot there is some empty space. I'm thinking about putting together a little spice and condiment bag to keep in there. It would give me some more options for flavoring.

Breakfast and the pot it goes in. Simple and easy. I did not go with the instant coffee, sticking to the normal drip instead. The reason for this is that instant coffee sucks. I know it sucks and do not feel a need to practice drinking it when an option I like is available.

The measurements on the side of the solo pot help you measure water which is nice.

Didn't bother to take pictures of myself cooking with the solo stove or eating oatmeal. You all know what that looks like. Anyway all was well on the chow front, my oatmeal tasted like oatmeal.

Today I learned a couple thing about my bug out/ whatever food system. 1) Need a plan for washing dishes. A little thing of soap plus a sponge is probably the answer. 2) Before I do this for lunch a fork would be really nice. A spork might be the long term answer.

Probably going to do my bug out lunch tomorrow. The reason I am doing these individually, aside from lunch getting away from me today, is to evaluate the meals individually before putting it all together. This way if for example I feel a bit weak or hungry I will know a given meal (the only change from my normal diet) was the problem instead of it being something in the overall food plan. After testing all 3 meals I will do a day of bug out food.

What are your cooking and food plans? Have you tested them? If so how?

Product Review: Solo Pot 900

I talked about the Solo Pot 900 awhile back. After some more use I feel familiar enough with the Solo Pot 900 to do a review. While the Solo Pot 900 is made to nest with and generally fit the Solo Stove it is an outstanding product in it's own right. So without further rambling we will get to the usual format.

The Good: It nests with the Solo Stove really making a great combination. The fit and finish are excellent. Also attention to detail is evident in small features like the pouring spout and the pot lid that is easy to grab with a stick, spoon or multi tool. The measurements on the side are a really nice touch.The Solo Pot 900 is just the right size for most 1-2 person simple outdoor type meals which is really useful.

The Bad: The handle on the stove absorbs/ retains heat. I like this fold out style better than the long fold out ones as it is much more stable and easier to pour from but it gets hot. To grab it after cooking you need to use a leather glove or a wadded up rag or something. Not a deal maker for me but sort of annoying.

If I could make a change for the hypothetical Solo Pot 900 V2 it would be a small bale that could be grabbed with a notched stick or multi tool.

The Ugly: Nothing, it's a great product.

Overall Assessment: I consider this product a solid buy. The Solo Pot 900 equals or beats out the common competition. It has a place in my BOB with a solo stove nested inside of it even though there are a variety of other options in the inventory. You will not be disappointed with a Solo Stove and Pot.

What Did You Do To Prepare This Week?

Things were pretty crazy here getting used to having the new little one at home. All is well with child #2 but it is a lot to adjust to.  Still managed to get a few things done.

I sold a revolver to free up some cash and make room for a new gun. Leaning pretty hard towards a smaller stainless .357 magnum but we will see if something cool pops up. Then again I am going to re look what is on the gun/ defensive accessory list and maybe just wipe it out.

Spent some time more with the Solo Stove and think I've pretty much figured it out. Just got to fiddling with the Solo Pot 900. Pretty psyched about that combo.

This weekend a lot of time went into working on my systems. The EDC bag was totally stripped down. After taking all preparedness stuff out of it I reinserted a personal survival kit, one of those heavier space blankets, a cheapo first aid kit and a pouch for a steel water bottle. Need to pick up a bottle of water purification tablets to go in there and it will be good to go.Will probably talk about it this week.

The rest of the stuff plus a bit more went into a commercial hiking style backpack. I added a few more things and it is shaping into a pretty decent heavy get home bag/ bug out bag. Need to go over it again and plug a few small holes then things should be good to go. We will talk more about this once I finish the last little bit.

Coming up next week I am going to order a few odds and ends. Also plan to keep working my systems and talk about the stuff in my EDC bag. Speaking of EDC bags Teotwawki Blog is doing a series on them which should be interesting. May change mine a little bit based on stuff that comes up there. Also Wifey said I should go shooting so that will probably happen early this week.

What did you do to prepare this week?

A few things to share just to clear out some tabs:

Teotwawki Blog noted that CDNN investments has (had anyway) PTR-91's at sane prices.

They also linked to an excellent site Congress.org that makes it super easy to write all of your federal or state representatives in one shot (instead of looking them up and wading through their websites). So click on this link and tell them what you think about the current hysteria and the Second Amendment in general. If you are not sure what to say Ruger put together an excellent blanket letter. Send it to your federal and state reps today. I did and it took like 5 minutes.

Apparently 100k people joined the NRA in the last 18 days. I was one of those. If you are not a member join the NRA today. They are not as extreme (in a good way) as GOA but they actually have clout. Join GOA also if it makes you happy.

$19 30 rd AR mags IN STOCK. I can't vouch for this company or the mags but if you need AR mags at this stage in the game beggars cannot be choosers.

Solo Pot 900 Trial Run

The Solo Pot 900 and Solo Stove as packaged. The stove fits right inside of the pot. This is huge as it saves a whole lot of space in your bag. While the Solo Stove and Solo Pot 900 are both nice pieces of kit how they work together is what matters. The combination is far more valuable than the two parts are on their own.

It comes in this very nice little bag. The bag will be useful to keep the inevitable soot that will gather on the stove from getting on the other things in your bag. Just one of the many well thought out touches that exist in the Solo Stove and Solo Pot 900.

The pot handle.

The top of the pot, it has a lift tab to grab to open it. There is a little recess in the piece that attaches the tab to the lid that lets you keep it upright.

The Solo Pot 900 has a pour spout which is really nice. This is a huge advantage over the various competing products.

The pot has volume markings which are very useful for following recipes and such.

The lift tab set upright.

In assessing any product I think you have to look at other comparable products. Sitting beside the Solo Pot 900 is an MSR pot that is pretty representative of that size of light weight hiking type pots. As you can see the Solo Pot is much taller and looks significantly larger. The other pot is short and far more like a tuna can while the Solo Pot is taller and thinner like a Campbells soup can.

The Solo Pot 900 inside the MSR pot for a size comparison. The solo pot has a tiny bit larger capacity (like an ounce or two) but they are essentially the same size. Note the different handles.

The tools for the test. Solo Stove and Solo Pot 900, my Pathfinder Trade Knife and Cold Steel Pipe Hawk. The hawk was really handy for processing a larger piece of wood into the little finger sized pieces that seem to be the best way to feed the stove. The more I use this thing the more I like it. The trade knife and pipe hawk are looking like a very nice combo for realistic field and camp cutting tasks.

Getting the stove going. Used some fire starters I made back in boy scouts. They still work really well. After the stove got going I put the pot of water on. Tonight I am making a pot of tea because we already had dinner.

The stove cooking away. Not sure why this pic turned out so much better than the rest but here it is.

The flames from the stove engulfing the pot. The only weak spot here is that the handles get hot. You need to use a leather glove or folded up (not synthetic) piece of clothing to grab the pot handles. This is the only sad face that has jumped out about the Solo Pot.

The tea doing its thing. Not sure what is up with the yellow at the bottom of the pic.

My knife and the oven mitt used to grab the pot off the stove. It seemed like a nice picture so I included it.

Letting the fire die down.

The Solo Pot 900 after the cooking was done.

It is a touch early to do a full review on the Solo Pot 900 but from what I have seen it is a pretty neat piece of gear. Just the right size, nests with the stove and has a lot of well thought out useful features. A significant part of my BOB cooking plan for sure.

You would be well advised to consider purchasing a Solo Pot 900.

What Did You Do To Prepare This Week?

With having another kid and all not a lot happened this week. Did pick up various extra hygiene stuff and OTC meds. Also replaced some batteries that had been used.

Also I did some tweeking to my GHB. I think at this point it is going to slide from a true EDC to a lives in the car GHB. Adding that $20 brand new USGI gore tex and a couple light weight tops, 2 spare mags for the Glock, 100 rounds of 9mm,100 rounds of .22 and about 2k more in calories in food. It was annoying to haul for my few strictly EDC things but now I don't really want to haul it to class and whatnot. If I was going in someone elses car or whatever I would put my few EDC things in it but otherwise it's just going to live in the vehicle/ near me. Will likely get another bag to fill the EDC in the near future.

I'm working on swapping another gun or two. Noticed two interesting phenomenons worth discussing. The first are folks who think that they can get new gun prices for their barely *cough they are all barely used come selling time cough* used gun. Sorry folks, when you take it out of the gun shop it becomes used. Period. END OF STORY. The second are the people who send you a note asking what the absolute lowest price you will take is. Most smart folks build in some bargaining room to their asking price so there is some wiggle room but come on. If you are too lazy to bargain you pay asking price or walk. Anyway these two things have been annoying me lately.

Also as a bonus I almost appreciate the guy who sends an email offering half the going price of guns. Helll no I won't sell him a Glock for $300 but can't blame the guy for trying. Guess he is sort of the used gun equivalent of the dude who asks every woman he meets if she wants to have sex. Even if the rate is 3% if he asks 100 folks week he does pretty decent.

This coming week I am getting back to eating right and serious PT which is good. Planning to review the Solo Pot 900 also. Will put some work in on my BOB and just maybe talk about my GHB.

What did you do to prepare this week?

Solo Pot, Perfect to go With Your Solo Stove

The good folks at Solo Stove have got a pot to go with it called the  Solo Pot. They look like a solid piece of kit which is to be expected considering the source. Aside from being stainless steel and generally well made another big plus is that the Solo Pot can nest with the stove inside it. The capacity is 900 ml AKA just a bit less than a liter. Right about perfect for 1-2 person cooking of simple dishes. The pour spout and volume markings in ounces and liters are also nice touches.

I really enjoy using my solo stove and am looking forward to testing the companion pot in the near future. Maybe I will use it test some more survival food. Likely the pot will go right alongside the stove in my bug out bag. Anyway I figured you all would want to know about this cool product.