BCB crusader

One of the best cookers for heating up your food or sterilising water on is an alcohol stove. The alcohol stove is good as the fuel is more compact than a gas cooker's gas canister. the alcohol stove is also easy to maintain meaning that you wont get any malfunctions like you can get in a gas stove. This is why the alcohol stove is the best way to get hot food down your gullet in a remote location reliably.(nothing is worse than cold food when it is pelting down with rain and you've been hiking all day.

the BCB crusader is a small (8x5inches when packed)camping/backpacking alcohol stove. The video gives an detailed review on the practicalities of the cooker.




specs

the BCB basic kit contains not including some of the kits that you can buy which contain things like fire steel and alcohol gel.

- a case in British army camo green with two pouches inside(see video)

- a cooker and pot stand

- a steel cook pot 750ml capacity ( do not fill over 0.5l see video why)

- a plastic mug 0.5l capacity

- a plastic black military style water bottle

- a plastic lid for the cooker (should only melt if used on an open fire)

weight: it weighs around 1 kilogram but for all of the things that you can fit in there it is ok ( this is the weight without the water bottle filled)

boil time : this varies due to the weather and the amount of water but a good average is between 6-10 mins ( not as good as some gas stoves but it is a trade of for simple design)



My thoughts on it- over all it is solid cooker that will do its job well and will be good for remote locations where a mechanical failure would be annoying or dangerous. The only maintenance that you would need to do is cleaning the stove and pot.



useful links:

ebay seller who i brought from (hast112211) only £36 http://myworld.ebay.co.uk/hast112211/?_trksid=p4340.l2559

ebay item http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/COMPLETE-BCB-CRUSADER-COOKING-UNIT-WATER-POUCH-BOTTLE-Stove-Mug-/120853703168?pt=UK_Collectables_Militaria_LE&hash=item1c23712a00

i have looked at hast112211's other items they are all bushcraft/camping items and they are all a good price
NB the kit he sells does not include any fire steel or green heat gel fuel so if you want that you will have to pay more ~(SRP £42)
if you want to buy with a fire steel and ethanol gel pack try here http://www.quartermaster398.co.uk/index.aspx?pageid=965528&prodid(it seems to be the best value not includeing shipping)

The scout pit

The scout pit is an underground survival shelter that is camouflaged and is almost undetectable by the untrained human eye. This is not a long term shelter as it is very small and if you need to stay in the scout pit for an extend period of time then sanitation may become an issue. The size of the scout pit will depend on the size of the person making it a good size I think is that the length should the height of the person planning on staying in it and if you have a rucksack then add an extra 2 feet. This is a good shelter if you want to remain undetected however if you are planning on sleeping in it for more than one night then you may want to line the floor with evergreen tree bows to prevent heat loss to the ground.

How to

step one :

you should select your spot and remove around 6 inches of top soil and make it to the and make it to the length that you want ( save this soil as it will be used to cover the roof later)







step two:

dig this hole deeper in to the ground to around hip height(you can discard this soil but if you are trying to remain undetected then make sure the soil is well hidden)








step three:

dig a ledge all the way around the hole about six inches deep and six inches wide this will hold the roof logs






step four:

line the top with logs that are long enough to span the gap that you have made and rest them on the shelf leaving a hole for you to get into.





Step five:

line up the logs around the entrance like this to leave a small square hole large enough for you to enter.








Step six:

take the top soil that you saved and place it over the log roof and leave the entrance hole open






once you have done this cover it in leaf debris and enter your hole.

550 paracord the cobra stitch

directions

1) Make a loop with the short piece of string and lay this half way over the straight, long piece as shown in video

2) take either end of the long string and pass it over the doubled over piece of string

3) take the other end of the long string and lay it over the piece of string that you just pulled over

4) take this piece and pass it under the loop of string

5) pull this end through the loop on the other side of the doubled over string and pull tight

6) repeat this process starting with the string on the other side

remember over,over,under,through

this is a useful thing to have as it can be undone easily and used as cordage in an emergency situation