There is a few things that I focus on when I’m about to purchase new gear. Simplicity, sleekness, and easy-to-clean or store. When it comes to cooking gear easy-to-clean becomes very important. Light My Fire is one of those companies that is getting it done in my book. And the Spork is their signature item. It even won some gear award (leave a comment and tell me what it says if you happen to understand Swedish).

I got one of these bad boys a couple of years ago. It is extremely light and very easy to clean. I’ve eaten syrupy pancakes with it, went and played a quick game of Bocce ball then came back and the syrup and buttery goo that had been sitting on there came off with ease with just water. I’d recommend soap if you have it though. The fork side of it is perfect for getting into the tight corners of the tuna packet for that last bite. Then flip it around and stir your hot chocolate or your soup or your herbal tea or your…dang it, I’m trying to think of something that goes good with tuna. Not a whole lot coming to mind.

There are only two downsides that I can think of. One is what makes it so great in the first place - the fork/spoon combo. If you happen to have brought a big slab of meat that needs some cutting, there is no holding the meat with the fork while you cut with the knife. Impossible with this guy. But if your bringing T-bones, you’re probably car camping, which means you’ve probably also brought that 5th stainless steel silverware set you got for your wedding that you’ve turned into camping gear. The second downside is that it is short. Shorter than your usual fork or spoon. I haven’t tried this, but my guess is that if your trying to reach the bottom of your Jet Boil stove to stir up the soup, you might burn your finger. But if that’s a problem, get the longer spork.

If you own a pet that enjoys the woods as much as you, ticks are sure to be in your future. A few weekends ago my dog Brie accompanied us on a walk to Vickery Creek Park in Roswell. About a week later we found two ticks in her ear. After much debating and research on the matter we decided the best bet was to just get the tweezers and tug. They came out ok. After a thorough search we found 4 more on her body, two of which had blown up. Talk about the willies. I felt like I had ticks all over me for the next week or so. So here’s a few tips from research and experience:

1. Don’t use Vaseline or a match or any other crazy method you’ve heard about. That only irritates the tick and may potentially cause it to regurgitate in the host.

2. Just get your old fashion tweezers and grab as close to the head of the tick or skin of the dog/person and pull very slowly. You might hear a little pop and see a tiny bit of skin that came off too. That is a good sign. That means you got the tick plus the head. If for some reason the head didn’t come, don’t worry too much the body will in most cases just take care of it naturally and not cause any problems.

3. If there is some scabby like substance left on the body also don’t worry. Ticks secrete a concrete type substance that helps them attach. This can be washed off easily.

4. If you go anywhere near the woods or an area of tall grass check your dog and yourself thoroughly for those nasty hitchhikers.

Hang on I think I feel one on my neck…

55 years ago today, May 29, 1953, Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay were the first to reach the summit of Mt. Everest. Since then close to 1500 people have made their way to the summit for the ultimate view. Panorams.dk has a nice 360 degree panorama view. Gratzi Google for the reminder.

I ran across a nice article a few weeks ago on Backpacker’s site: “Top Tips From Trail Pros”. I have been trying to refine the process of my outdoor adventures so that I can be on the road in a matter of hours (striving for minutes). I’ve already added a few of these tips to my travel log and they are starting to pay off.

I had high hopes for The Firefly but the boys over at GuyotDesigns let me down. They have great products but it seems as though they hired “ghost writers” to design this product. Not to mention the fact that I could not purchase a clear Nalgene bottle so as to maximize light dissipation. However, the lack of a clear Nalgene water bottle due to the plastic scare should not affect the rating of this design, or should it? I think it does because the two products are practically married. With all that stated, lets move onto the reasons why The Firefly has no room in my pack. Don’t get me wrong, this thing would be great for car camping but we don’t rate gear for the car, we leave that up to other folks.

Reasons to leave this product on shelves:

1. Battery Replacement - No biggie right? All things electronic need some sort of power supply. But you need a screwdriver to replace the batteries. Not only do you need a screwdriver, but you need an extremely small screwdriver. Fortunately for me I had one because of my computer background. For you hikers you can stop here. For those still debating, read on.
2. Battery Operation - It takes 3 AAA batteries.
3. Light Emission - Needs to be brighter. If you do buy this make sure you use a clear water bottle.
4. Weight - Due to the fact that you need three AAA batteries and carry a screwdriver this is not light weight by any means.
5. Cheaply Made Electronics - The innards of The Firefly are not made well. When replacing the batteries you have to be careful not to pull the springs and battery contacts from the plastic bottom. I was surprised at this. I read other reviews of the firefly and most of them said it was made to last. While that is true for the outer shell, it is not true for the electronic components on the inside.

I would not purchase this for hiking adventures. The necessity of a screwdriver to replace batteries is an annoyance but cheap electronics on the inside makes it hard for me to purchase this lite for car camping. The good thing is that with a little redesign this product could be top notch. Hopefully we can get GuyotDesigns to read this post and make some changes.

First a little history. I can remember the day it all began. June 18, 2005. The three of us were on a trip to the beautiful Santa Rosa, Florida with our families. The idea was not brand new to this trip, but this was the first time that we all got together and decided to make it happen. It was then and there that we decided on creating Global Hiker, the original name of Mundo Maps. We brainstormed the name, the logo, and the website around the kitchen counter of the condo we were staying in. As we were putting our ideas together, the chair I was sitting in completely disintegrated beneath me and I was on the floor amongst the splintered wood. I like to relate that experience to Doc Brown hitting his head on the toilet seat and coming up with the flux capacitor. But I digress.  We would then go out on the kayaks and let the idea marinate while we soaked in the famous gulf coast sunshine. Roughly two years later we changed the name to Mundo Maps. We also expanded the company to include map production as well as the original idea of a community trail sharing site. About a month or so ago, with the help of Gary Milkwick Jr, our financial advisor and tax guru, we made the company legit by incorporating. We are now Mundo Maps Inc.

REI’s biggest sale of the year starts today and ends May 11th. This is their 70th Anniversary Sale. They may have to drag me out at the end of the day. An additional bonus, is the Grand Opening for the Kennesaw, GA store. There will be a continental breakfast one hour before the store opens on May 2nd, 3rd, and 4th and some free stuff for those who show up early. We will be there sporting our Mundo iron-on tees. Pretty soon everyone will be wearing one.
Remember… it’s your MUNDO. See you there.