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[pct-l] Nut Butter Carrying System -Long Post
Thanks, Cupcake! I missed the part at the ADZ last year where you used a
portion of the rigid baby bottle exterior (with its threaded portion) to
seal the liners. Consequently I wasn't able to achieve a good seal with
just the liner and the screw-on lid. thanks for clearing up the mystery!
Christine "Ceanothus" Kudija
"Never measure the height of a mountain, until you have reached the top.
Then you will see how low it was." Dag Hammarskjold
----- Original Message -----
From: "John Brennan" <john@frozenpoodle.com>
To: "PCT List" <pct-l@mailman.backcountry.net>
Sent: Tuesday, February 04, 2003 10:48 PM
Subject: [pct-l] Nut Butter Carrying System -Long Post
Cupcake here. I am far behind on this list, but I have gotten a couple of
alerts that hikers want to know about my NBCS. Search no further!
Following is information about a .7 oz system for carrying nut butters using
baby bottle parts and liners. Long post.
The Nut Butter Carrying System: A .7 oz no-mess solution to shipping and
carrying nut butters on long backpacking trips.
NBCS uses rigid plastic baby bottles and pliable baby bottle liners to make
a fairly neat way to carry peanut butter, almond butter, or any other thick
oily paste you may want to hike with.
*The Parts*
-Hike: One 4-ounce "Platex Disposables Original Nurser" (baby bottle)
[Modify and carry on the trail.] Has a body and a screw-on lid.
-Ship: Two (or more) 8-ounce "Platex Disposables Original Nursers" (baby
bottle) Has a body and a screw-on lid. [Use to ship nut butter safely.]
-Seal: Orthodontic Nipples with Sealing Discs (need only the sealing discs)
Seals the lid and replaces the nipple. [This is the secret.]
-Dispose: Ready-formed and Disposable Bottle Liners 4- or 8-oz [Throw away
the mess.]
*Cut the Weight*
Cut the 4-ounce bottle bottom to reduce weight. Make it so that the lower
clear part has just enough to grip: with the screw-on lid on, about a thick
finger's width below the lid. Mine ended up being at the just below the
second-from-the-top grip. Basically, you end up with the threads plus a
section to grip.
*The System*
The modified rigid bottle, a liner, a retainer ring, and a sealing disk are
the four parts.
*How it works*
Receive liner full of nut butter in an 8 oz container (shipping container)
in resupply box.
Transfer full liner to modified container (hiking container).
Return shipping part to home base.
Alternately, if you are resupplying along the way, you just need to find a
way to get baby bottle liners to yourself. Bounce them or carry a few.
They are very light.
*Notes*
Hike with system in zip top bag, just in case.
Playtex will send you additional sealing discs at no charge, but it takes a
while. 800-222-0453
Here's a URL you thought you'd never see on this list:
http://www.playtexbaby.com/ Look for disposable bottles. There's an
illustration on page two of a pdf:
http://www.playtexbaby.com/bottlesandpacifiers/howto/pdf/DispStartSetBroc.pd
f.
Get rid of the nipples and the opaque snap-on caps from the sets you buy.
*Post-Trip Evaluation*
The NBCS pretty much worked for a thru-hike, and I'd definitely use it for
short trips. The biggest hassle was returning the shipping portion back to
my Dad who was coordinating my resupplies. Post offices don't keep
thru-hiker hours, so many times I had to go through my resupply quickly so
that I could turn around and send the now-empty shipping parts home.
Sometimes I'd just have to carry the empty parts to the next town stop with
outgoing mail. Luckily, the parts are light.
The baby bottle liner split a couple of times on the trail, most notably
after a failed rock bear hang. The system never failed during shipping.
I always kept the system in a zip top bag to keep the oils isolated and to
keep the almond butter contained should it want to come out. When the
system failed, which I would say was probably 4 or 5 times on a 5-month
trip, it was a big mess in the bag (but still yummy). Otherwise the system
let me eat the almond butter fairly easily AND NEATLY. It was nice to be
able to throw out the dirtiest part, the liner, and just have small plastic
parts to clean.
I had four or five of the 8-oz shipping containers because boxes got
delayed, or I was delayed in sending them back.
There's a photo of me holding a liner and the hiking container (minus the
lid) at the 2002 ADZPCTKO at
http://www.cupcakewalk.com/photos/cupcake.html#adz. I'll bring the system
to 2003 ADZPCTKO.
If you are still confused? Contact me off-list, or go to a store and look.
It will make sense.
John B./Cupcake
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