DutchWare

Author: Dutch

  • Chicken Curry Rice

    Chicken Curry Rice

    This recipe is to make Chicken Curry Rice.

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  • DIY Bridge Hammock

    DIY Bridge Hammock

    In this tutorial article you will see how to make a bridge hammock.

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  • Country Style Cheesy Scalloped Potatoes and Meat

    Country Style Cheesy Scalloped Potatoes and Meat

    This recipe is to make Country Style Cheesy Scalloped Potatoes and Meat.

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  • DIY Winter Tarp Tutorial

    DIY Winter Tarp Tutorial

    In this tutorial article we will show you how to make your own winter tarp!

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  • Couscous Sundried Tomato and Pine Nuts

    Couscous Sundried Tomato and Pine Nuts

    Recipe and Instructions for Couscous Sundried Tomato and Pine Nuts!

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  • Philly Cheese Steak Wrap

    Philly Cheese Steak Wrap

    This recipe is to make a Philly cheese steak wrap and was provided by Backpacking Adventures.

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  • No Sew Cuben Fiber Double End Stuff Sack

    No Sew Cuben Fiber Double End Stuff Sack

    In this tutorial article, we are going to show you how to make your own no sew Cuben Fiber double ended stuff sack.

    Dyneema Double Ended Stuff Sack-0

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  • Make Your Own Titanium Windscreen

    Make Your Own Titanium Windscreen

    In this tutorial article our friend from Backpacking Adventures is going to show you how to make your own titanium windscreen.

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  • How To Build Alcohol Stoves

    How To Build Alcohol Stoves

    Our friend from BackpackingAdventures explains how to make two lightweight alcohol stoves that function great and won’t break the bank. Check out the video below.

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  • Freeze Dried Food vs Dehydrated Foods

    Freeze Dried Food vs Dehydrated Foods

    Although the terms are often used interchangeably, the two main processes of drying foods couldn’t be more different. Those processes, Dehydrated and Freeze Dried, both remove moisture but the way they accomplish it are opposites. ancient

    One thing that is certain, one of the best ways to remove weight from your backpacking meals is to remove the water and hydrate or just eat dried on the trail. Drying food makes it lighter and prohibits bacteria growth.

    Man has dehydrated food as early as 12,000 BC and the Incas freeze dried potatoes as early as 1500 years ago. From noodles to fish to beef, man has removed moisture to prevent spoilage since the beginning of civilization.

    Today eating dried food has become a cuisine and industries upon themselves. Most pasta is dried, we regularly pick up dried meat sticks packaged in plastic at the gas station, and fruit is added to our cereals and oatmeal.

    For backpacking, removing the water from your food is a great way to reduce your pack weight. Also, it preserves your food so you are able to get much needed protein on your trek.  The most common methods for backpackers are dehydrated and freeze dried.

    Comparing Freeze Drive & Dehydrated Foods

     

    freeze dried vs dehydrated chart

    The Food Dehydration Process

    One of the most common methods for dehydrating food is applying heat for many hours and evaporating the moisture.  This removes about 80 to 90 percent of the water and also cooks the food.

    The cooking process changes the food cell structure and removes some of the nutrients.  Anyone who has had beef jerky can attest it changes the texture also.

    You can buy an inexpensive food dehydrator and start drying your ingredients, meals, or your sauces.  You can even dry your food using your oven although it is not as efficient.  It is good to vacuum seal your food in meal portions and freeze them until you are ready to hit the trail.

    It is important to make the size of the food thin or chopped small or it will take a long time to dehydrate and rehydrate.  This is a fun practice to do between hikes and if you cook a little extra with your evening meals, you can dehydrate a portion or two and have something familiar out in the piney woods.

    Dehydrating will reduce the size of the food after it is dried.  This is good for pack size but it is a sign of how you are changing the food structure.

     

    The Freeze Drying Process

    In order to freeze dry food, you need very special equipment.  The food is frozen on large trays and placed in a vacuum.  As the water evaporates it turns to vapor and the cell structure is kept intact.  Also, the taste and the texture are preserved, and up to 98 or 99 percent of the water is removed.

    You can buy commercially prepackaged freeze dried meals like Mountain House.  They are prepacked and you just pour water in and let steep for 10 minutes.  You can also purchase freeze dried ingredients and make your own meals up for hiking.  Freeze dried food can last as long as a 25 year shelf life because almost all the moisture is removed.

  • Plastic Hardware Materials For Backpacking

    Plastic Hardware Materials For Backpacking

    There are many different plastics that are used in plastic hardware for backpacking gear.  We will take a look at the two materials that are used in over 90 percent of the hardware produced and what properties each have along with how the environment affects these materials.

    For backpacking hardware, plastics have made hardware more versatile and much lighter compared to its metal counter parts.  Today we take side release buckles, cord locks, and ladder locks for granted.

    plastic hardware for backpacking gear
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  • What You Need To Know About Amsteel Rope

    What You Need To Know About Amsteel Rope

    What Is Amsteel® Rope?

    Amsteel® is a samthane coated, non-rotational, 12-strand single braid that is known for its low stretch and high strength. It has a similar strength to wire rope with 1/7th of the weight. In addition, the product is flexible, lightweight, durable, and abrasion-resistant and resists flex-fatigue.

    Is Amsteel® the Same Thing as Amsteel® Blue?

    Amsteel Continuous Loop Blue-7/64-8 Inch-0

    They are not the same thing but are often confused. As an example, the average strength of 1/4” Amsteel® is 7400 pounds, while Amsteel® Blue is 8600 pounds. Samson’s Amsteel® is made from Dyneema® SK60. Amsteel® Blue is made from Dyneema® SK75. What is being sold by cottage vendors today is usually Amsteel® Blue, even if they don’t always call it that.

    Does Amsteel® Blue have 8 Strands or 12 Strands?

    It depends. The 7/64, commonly used for whoopie slings, has only eight strands, but diameters beyond that have twelve. The Samson documentation invariably lists Amsteel® Blue as a class 2 12-strand product. However, that documentation often does not include the 7/64 size because it is too small for the marine and industrial use that Samson serves. Class 1 ropes are manufactured from polyolefin, nylon and/or polyester fiber. Class 2 ropes (including Amsteel®) are manufactured from high-modulus fiber, such as Dyneema® Composite Fabrics.

    What Is High-Modulus?

    Samson defines Amsteel® as a “high-modulus polyethylene” rope. The high-modulus part means that Amsteel® has “low elasticity elongation,” or in other words, it doesn’t stretch much. However, this also means that this type of rope doesn’t like to be shock-loaded, so ease into the hammock! Safe working loads do not apply to shock loading.

    What Is the Safe Working Load (SWL) of Amsteel® 7/64?

    Working load (WL) is the load that a rope is subjected to during normal use. WLs are based on a percentage of the breaking strength (aka tensile strength) of new and unused rope. They are calculated by dividing the rope’s breaking strength (BS) by a safety factor (SF). The breaking strength of Amsteel® Blue 7/64 is 1600 pounds. Samson recommends that the maximum workload should be 1/5th, or 20% of the quoted breaking strength (safety factor = 5), and recommends a higher safety factor for uses that involve “life or limb.” The Cordage Institute recommends safety factors of 5 to 12 for non-critical uses, and 15 for lifelines. Here is the weight that a typical 7/64 Amsteel® Blue whoopie sling is rated to support, using the minimum safety factor recommended by Samson: SWL = BS / SF = 1600 / 5 = 320 lbs. Note: I had originally posted a calculation based on plain Amsteel, which gave rise to some of the responses below. Don’t get confused.

    What Size Bury for Amsteel® 7/64?

    Samson specifies that a fid is equal to the diameter of the rope x 21, and that an effective bury for Class 2 rope should be three and a half fids. The diameter of Amsteel® 7/64 is 0.11 inches, so for this rope, one fid is equal to 2.31 inches. So the recommended bury would be about 8 inches. Bury = fid x 3.5 = 2.31 x 3.5 = 8.01 inches. Note that the length of the bury is dependent on the diameter of the rope. Counterintuitively, the smaller the diameter of the rope, the shorter the bury needs to be. For example, a whoopie made with 1.75 mm Zing would only need five inches of bury (if following Samson specs), while one made with 1/8 inch Amsteel® would need nine inches.

    To Stitch or Not to Stitch?

    The eye of the whoopie sling is usually made with a locked Brummel, which does not require stitching. The eye, made in a variation of the “utility constrictor rope” (UCR), does require lock stitches (I like UCRs better than whoopies).

    Why Use Splicing Instead of Knots?

    Knots degrade the strength of the rope by up to 50 percent. A good splice should not reduce rope strength by more than 10 percent.

    Dyneema® Vs. Amsteel®

    Dyneema® uses ultra-high-molecular-weight polyethylene in its construction. This material has thin fibers that are long and straight, providing strength for the material. The industrial fibers originally began with a Dutch chemical company called DSM. Since then, other companies have started to produce similar products. Many manufacturers use Dyneema® to produce consumer goods, including ropes, tarps, nets, and other durable materials for outdoor use and heavy wear applications.

    On the other hand, Amsteel® is a rope that consists of Dyneema® fibers. Because of their Dyneema® construction, lightweight Amsteel® ropes have a high strength-to-weight ratio and extreme resistance to water and UV damage.

    Where Can You Buy Amsteel® Rope?

    Dutchware sells a variety of Amsteel® Rope and Samson Rope. Shop by the foot or by the stool!

    Shop Samson Rope

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