Kit thats come and gone ...

[cbr6fs]

So basically you're using it as a water holding device, only it weighs 10x more than a bladder and it has no way of stopping the flow.

You guys should try something like a Evernew 2L bladder together with a Sawyer filter.
The full sized filters have a push top that stops the flow, on the mini's you have to get a bit more creative as there is no stop tap.
I use a binder clip to hold the outlet let shut.

Works great, is easier to find and a millbank bag, actually filters water to a state of being drinkable (in the UK at least) is light weight and works a million times better than a old duff millbank bag.

Failing that just try a platypus or evernew water bladder.

 

[tom.moran]

So basically you're using it as a water holding device, only it weighs 10x more than a bladder and it has no way of stopping the flow.

You guys should try something like a Evernew 2L bladder together with a Sawyer filter.
The full sized filters have a push top that stops the flow, on the mini's you have to get a bit more creative as there is no stop tap.
I use a binder clip to hold the outlet let shut.

Works great, is easier to find and a millbank bag, actually filters water to a state of being drinkable (in the UK at least) is light weight and works a million times better than a old duff millbank bag.

Failing that just try a platypus or evernew water bladder.

looks to me like he is filtering melted snow through it?

 

[ex-member BareThrills]

So basically you're using it as a water holding device, only it weighs 10x more than a bladder and it has no way of stopping the flow.

You guys should try something like a Evernew 2L bladder together with a Sawyer filter.
The full sized filters have a push top that stops the flow, on the mini's you have to get a bit more creative as there is no stop tap.
I use a binder clip to hold the outlet let shut.

Works great, is easier to find and a millbank bag, actually filters water to a state of being drinkable (in the UK at least) is light weight and works a million times better than a old duff millbank bag.

Failing that just try a platypus or evernew water bladder.

You are preaching to the converted, At home i use the sawyer mini or sawyer 3 in 1 with various bladders or inline gizmos or even pop bottles. In the pic above its being used as a pre flter. They dont hold water or it would sort of defeat the point

I generally will only treat water that im consuming cold for drinking, everything else just gets boiled. I dont use my milbank often as i generally pack light but on winter trips where you have to baby a filter excessively it makes sense to pre filter and boil.

 

[santaman2000]

looks to me like he is filtering melted snow through it?

Why would you do that though?

 

[ex-member BareThrills]

Why would you do that though?

The boreal forest deposits a lot of crap in the snow that sits beneath it. Its just a front line pre filter that removes the bulk of the crud from the snow. I dont like surprises in the bottom of my brew

 

[santaman2000]

The boreal forest deposits a lot of crap in the snow that sits beneath it. Its just a front line pre filter that removes the bulk of the crud from the snow. I dont like surprises in the bottom of my brew

No, I suppose not. I'm just used to simply scooping up snow directly into a bowl, adding a bit of flavored syrup and eating a home made snow cone (when we're lucky enough to have it here, or when I go somewhere else) But NEVER! NEVER! Never eat the yellow snow!

 

[rg598]

So basically you're using it as a water holding device, only it weighs 10x more than a bladder and it has no way of stopping the flow.

You guys should try something like a Evernew 2L bladder together with a Sawyer filter.
The full sized filters have a push top that stops the flow, on the mini's you have to get a bit more creative as there is no stop tap.
I use a binder clip to hold the outlet let shut.

Works great, is easier to find and a millbank bag, actually filters water to a state of being drinkable (in the UK at least) is light weight and works a million times better than a old duff millbank bag.

Failing that just try a platypus or evernew water bladder.

Yeah, I have a pre-filter for my Sawyer that weighs one ounce, and doesn't slow down the filtering rate.

Outside of the UK you can't even find a Milbank bag any more.

Sent from my SCH-I535 using Tapatalk

 

[ex-member BareThrills]

Yeah, I have a pre-filter for my Sawyer that weighs one ounce, and doesn't slow down the filtering rate.

Outside of the UK you can't even find a Milbank bag any more.

Sent from my SCH-I535 using Tapatalk

yep i use an inline fuel filter, they work great

 

[sunndog]

yep, i think a basecamp snow melter is where a millbank bag comes into it's own....thinking about it, i reckon that the only time i'v used mine

 

[rg598]

I find Milbank bags very difficult to use in winter, even if you can find running water. After it's used, it immediately turns into a block of ice. You then have to spend the time defrosting it when you need it again. I usually just brush away the top layer of snow, and melt the rest.

Sent from my SCH-I535 using Tapatalk

 

[MikeLA]

Helly Hansen wooly bear fleece jacket. And blue/white HH Lifa tops. (Happy days).

Anyone wear Rohan Bags?

Fully Agree "Happy Days" P.S still wear the Fleese jacket

 

[Mick721]

I still wear Lifa tops. Great bits of kit.

 

[vizsla]

I wouldn't change a thing for my use, I turn up at my spot fill the millbank with a quick dunk in the stream, hang it on a branch, let it filter into my kettle whilst I get fire sorted, then boil. I can't think how I could make a hot drink any quicker or easier, I fill the bag and it does the work and the waters gona get boiled either way wether from a stream or from home

 

[rik_uk3]

I wouldn't change a thing for my use, I turn up at my spot fill the millbank with a quick dunk in the stream, hang it on a branch, let it filter into my kettle whilst I get fire sorted, then boil. I can't think how I could make a hot drink any quicker or easier, I fill the bag and it does the work and the waters gona get boiled either way wether from a stream or from home

Just about sums the bag up IMHO.

 

[rg598]

I wouldn't change a thing for my use, I turn up at my spot fill the millbank with a quick dunk in the stream, hang it on a branch, let it filter into my kettle whilst I get fire sorted, then boil. I can't think how I could make a hot drink any quicker or easier, I fill the bag and it does the work and the waters gona get boiled either way wether from a stream or from home

I think that's a good description of the use of the milbank bag under optimal conditions. It's not for everyone. I hate drinking hot water. I prefer my water filtered and cold right out of the stream. I rarely have time to sit and boil all of my water, unless it's winter and I have to melt snow for it, in which case I don't need the bag.

In terms of whether it is going to stick around as a product, it already sees only marginal use. Like I said before, you can't even find them in the US at all. These days a gravity filter does the job just as fast and without the need to boil all of the water. A filter that doesn't really filter is a tough sell.

 

[Imagedude]

I reckon that we will say farewell to the closed cell foam mat before too long. Now that inflatable mattresses are becoming cheaper, lighter and more compact, the sight of the historically ubiquitous rolled mat on the outside of packs will fade and die. It's a pity, really, as the c.c.f. mat was - still is - a really good piece of kit: practical, light and puncture proof.

Still, the Vista Windlite was a great piece of kit that sank to oblivion...

The foam mat is essential kit for those trips where you can't return to your car/accommodation when things get rough.

 

[rg598]

The foam mat is essential kit for those trips where you can't return to your car/accommodation when things get rough.

With the quality of modern inflatable mats increasing, I think soon we won't see closed cell foam pads any more. A repair kit weighs an ounce or two, and even deflated, many inflatable pads offer as much insulation as a closed cell foam pads. A NeoAir XTherm has as much insulation as a closed cell foam pad when deflated (about R2) and when inflated offers as much insulation as three closed cell foam pads. There are some that do that even better. The numbers are just not in favor of closed cell foam pads.

Sent from my SCH-I535 using Tapatalk

 

[Imagedude]

Inflatable mats are great for day trippers but they will never replace foam mats for serious work as they will never be 100% reliable. I always carry a puncture kit but don't carry a kit that will repair tears or major de-lamination. One of the major disappointments of foam mats is that the stated insulation value does not take into account compression caused by body weight. This is made worse for those of us who sleep on our side due to increased pressure over a smaller area. A foam mat looses very little insulation due to compression. I still use a inflatable mat for comfort and insulation but also carry a foam mat to increase insulation and reliability.

 

[John Fenna]

Seems that folk think there is only one grade of foam mat!
There are thin ones that give minimal insulation and dense ones that give huge insulation.
They will always be more reliable than any laminated and air filled mat ... but never as comfortable!
They are also much cheaper, last almost forever and can be chopped up and the good bits reused for sit mats etc when they do fail.
I cannot see the military ever giving up foam mats for realy hostile environments - so they will be around for a while yet on the surplus market!
I do not often agree with Imagedude but I do this time

 

[santaman2000]

.....I cannot see the military ever giving up foam mats for realy hostile environments - so they will be around for a while yet on the surplus market!.....

I was never issued a foam mat in the military. Never even saw one outside a surplus store for the first 15 years. However, I was issued an air mattress.