[pct-l] Pack weight?

[Kevin Cook]

You guys put this crazy idea in my head!!!!!!
I contacted a balloon vendor here in AZ to ask some questions about the
feasibility of this.

For all of you laughing at me, that's OK. I'm laughing at myself too.
Problem is, I'm still not sure why this wouldn't work. Hopefully the balloon
guy will set me straight :p

On Thu, Mar 10, 2011 at 3:45 PM, 'Sourdough' Foster <
athruhiker2006 at yahoo.com> wrote:

> WoW....and thinking of the backpacking multipurpose philosophy a bit more,
> you could use a longer cord and suspend your food 100' in the air at night
> avoiding any and all bear encounters, loss of food and/or having to carry a
> canister. Hmmm :-)  Wonder if the Ranger would still write you a fine cause
> it wasn't in a canister?? LOL
>
>
>
>
>
>  ------------------------------
> *From:* Kevin Cook <hikelite at gmail.com>
> *To:* Timothy Nye <timpnye at gmail.com>
>
> *Cc:* pct-l at backcountry.net
> *Sent:* Thu, March 10, 2011 4:53:12 PM
>
> *Subject:* Re: [pct-l] Pack weight?
>
> Just calibrate your balloon to suspend your base weight. You can at least
> carry your food and water ;)
> How will you refill the hydrogen you cooked with at town?
>
> My concern would be the balloon blowing around.
>
> You did bring to mind another benefit this might provide. For a nobo hiker,
> the balloon could provide shade since the Sun is usually at your back.
>
> I know this was all in jest, but now I'm curious. Has anyone tried this? I
> did a quick search and can;t find anything. I wonder what the problems are.
> Maybe changing elevation causes issues? Would helium escape (hydrogen would
> make me nervous)?
>
> On Thu, Mar 10, 2011 at 10:59 AM, Timothy Nye <timpnye at gmail.com> wrote:
>
> > >
> > >  Ron,
> > >
> >
> > The preferable approach is the Gourmet pack lightening / stove fuel
> > combination system.
> >
> > I've purchased a surplus weather balloon which I've inflated with
> hydrogen
> > and attached at the top of my pack with about six inches clearance.  The
> > amount of hydogen used is calibrated to offset the weight of the pack.
> The
> > balloon is fitted with a valve and a flexible length of tubing that I've
> > hooked up to the fire ring of an old Coleman camp stove.  The beauty of
> > this
> > approach is that as your pack gets lighter with the consumption of your
> > food
> > the then excess hydrogen is utilized to cook your meals.  Of course, no
> one
> > has to worry about fuel spills causing wildfires either.  I've submitted
> a
> > prototype to backpackinglight.com for a review and expect to soon bask
> in
> > the resulting fame and fortune.
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