UL in Finland - Thank You Dear Reader!

Its the last day of 2009, and I'd like to use today to thank my readers for reading my blog, and keeping me motivated to write and report about my UL adventures here in beautiful Finland. Without you and your comments and questions, Hiking in Finland wouldn't be as successful & interesting as it is. It is very rewarding to get the positive feedback that what I do inspires others to lighten their load and get familiar with the UL philosophy. I's also like to thank my fellow outdoor bloggers, because they inspire me with new ideas and to push my own boundaries in terms of writing, photography, trips and getting more skillful and lightweight with my gear.

I started out in April and what went from a few posts per month grew to a few posts per week, with improvements in photos and writing. Lately I also have been fiddling around with videos, which I do enjoy quite a lot because it gives the opportunity to illustrate things much better, so I will continue with these in the future. What else can you expect in 2010 from Hiking in Finland?

Well, obviously there will be more trips. A winter tour in the beginning of February with UL backpackers from Germany, in late May I will visit Sweden to meet up with fellow Scandinavian outdoor bloggers, as well as an April trip to Ruka, close to the Russian border. Summer and autumn will see me hopefully in Lapland, be it on the Nordkalottleden or in one of the various beautiful National Parks is not set yet. I'll spent hopefully some weekends on the Pirkan Taival trail, and also visit parts of the Satakunta Reitti.

Writing about gear, making videos about it and taking good and interesting photographs, will be another part of this blog in the coming year. While 2009 saw me going from a "normal" backpacker to a lightweight/ ultralightweight backpacker, I want to try to push my boundries, increase my skills and go SUL in 2010. A new backpack from Laufbursche will be the foundation, further gear I will showcase and review after objective testing on the Finnish trails =)

Also there will be more interviews with cottage manufacturers, these give me the opportunity to give something back to the UL community and showcase the people behind the gear. There will be a wild mix of US, UK, Canadian, German and French cottage manufacturers telling their tale in 2010, so I'd suggest you subscribe to the RSS feed or become a follower to stay tuned!

Once more, thank you dear readers for a very enjoyable year 2009. Without you and your continuous support and interest in my writings, this blog wouldn't be the same =) I wish all of you a good start into 2010, and may your trails lead you some day to Finland!

Video: BushBuddy Ultra in the Snow

And the final test of a wood burning stove in winter conditions, this time the BushBuddy Ultra - my first wood burning stove - enters the fray. Conditions were similar to the previous tests, the temperatures were -12°C and it was snowing and windy.

My BushBuddy Ultra weights 134 g, and the TT 1100 pot it can be nestled in is 141 g including the lid, plus the orange packsack which is 18 g, all together a mere 293 g. However, in comparison to the Ti-Tri Inferno and the Bushcooker LT II the BushBuddy only can burn wood, whereas the other two can burn alcohol and Esbit. With my 6 g MYOG Top Burner stove I have a good back-up, though, and the Ti-Tri Gram Cracker should also work just fine with it.

What I like is that it fits into the pot, is small in size and thus doesn't use a lot of space. The Inferno is great, though I really dislike needing to carry the caddy. Good thing that a smaller Inferno is available nowadays, one which fits into the pot, as Roger showed. Anyhow. That should be it with testing wood burning stoves in the snow for a while, maybe that I revisit the Bushcooker LT II and use proper dry wood for a test, but that won't be too soon as I don't have it with me here in Vaasa. I hope you found this interesting and educating, and that it shows that given good fuel using a wood burning stove can be a real alternative for melting and boiling snow/ water in the winter.

Video: Trail Designs Ti-Tri Inferno in the Snow

My second video of the Trail Designs Ti-Tri Inferno wood burning stove, this time in winter conditions. Temperature outside was -12°C and it was windy, however, I was able to use dry wood from the shed, which made all the difference in comparison to the Bushcooker LT II where I used wood from the forest, which was moist and icy. The dry wood and good kindling made all the difference, and the Inferno once more lived up to its name.

Trail weight of the Inferno is 232 g and that includes the Caldera Cone, Inferno insert, Fireplate, Titanium stakes and the caddy - however, this does depend on which pot you use, and as I have a big pot the weight is a bit heavier than if you have a smaller pot. Its more heavy as the Bushcooker LT II, and also is a lot more hungry, i. e. it needs a lot of wood. However, I reckon that once you have it going the wood can be icy or moist and the Inferno will still work fine, as it has a lot of power. The time of boiling a cup of snow (that's a Tibetan Titanium 1100 pot, in case you're wondering, and weights 141 g including the lid) is really fantastic, as you can hear in the video, I'm rather excited about it! That leaves the BushBuddy Ultra for a winter test, and I guess Sunday or Monday could see it coming =)

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