I recently received some Cobrabraid 550 paracord bracelet samples to review. The bracelets I received were made of study paracord. In a pinch, the cord can be unwound and used for any number of uses:

Paracord is the ultimate survival tool. It can be used as a tie down, tourniquet, animal snare, boot lace, clothes line, fishing line, and hundreds of other things!

The bracelets are well made. They have a velcro closure, so they fit just right. That is important for me. I have twig like wrists for some reason and often can’t get bracelets that fit.

I like the look of the bracelets and my sons liked them also. They immediately put them on and declared them “cool”.

Cobrabraid has a number of products available. They also offer keychains and kits for making the bracelets yourself. I think the kits would make a great Craftsman project for Webelos. The products come in a number of colors.

They also offer a fundraising option. You can purchase the items in bulk at a discount and then sell them for your pack, troop, or crew. You can learn more about Cobrabraid products, get the details about their fundraising program, and see all of the items available at their website.

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I recently received a Woodgas Camp Stove to review. This is a self contained camp stove which burns twigs, charcoal, wood pellets, etc. It has a small battery powered fan to draw air. The model I am testing is the small LE model. There is also a larger XL model.

ZM (who is 10) filled the stove with small twigs and some pine needles and lit the pine needles. He was able to get it started with one match. Once lit, we put an open pan with 3 cups of water. It was hot enough for hot cocoa (his favorite camp drink) in less than 10 minutes. He did have to replenish the twigs, but I think this is a pretty good result for a cooking fire made entirely out of tinder, especially on a cold, windy day.

Next, ZM and LC cooked a two egg omelet in a small 8 inch cast iron frying pan. This time they used larger chunks of wood and 4 charcoal briquets. The omelet cooked quickly. They did not have to refuel the fire.

The fan has two settings, low and high. You can exercise some control over the temperature by changing the setting. The only downside to the fan is that you have to move where the fan is plugged in to change the setting. I was a little concerned about the boys burning themselves while switching the fan, but in fact, the outside of the stove never got hot, at least for the short cooking sessions they did.

Bottom line – this is a great little stove. ZM and LC had a lot of fun cooking with it, and it was simple enough for a 10 and 12 year old to use without much supervision. The LE model is a perfect size for one or two people. For cooking larger dishes, check out the XL model which burns longer.

One other thing I considered is that our council requires that any youth using pressurized fuel be supervised by an adult with Toasted Chit training standing right next to them. Since this stove does not use gas, they can cook more independently, without an adult hovering over their shoulder.

You can read more at the company website at http://www.woodgas-stove.com/

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I found out recently that one of the perks of being a blogger is that companies occasionally send you products to review. Who knew? Anyway, the way I found out is that the folks at Columbia sent me an Omni Heat Mighty Lite Jacket to try out. It arrived earlier this week. Just in time for the 20 degree highs we’re getting.

I like to walk every day, even in cold weather. It helps me clear my head and stay in shape. Columbia claims that this jacket, despite its light weight, is extremely warm. So I wore the jacket while I was out walking this week. The temperature during my walks ranged from the teens to the mid twenties with wind chills as low as the single digits. Here is what I thought:

Pros

As claimed, this jacket is lightweight but warm. When I went out walking, I only wore a lightweight polyester long sleeved shirt under the jacket – no other layers. I was very cozy despite the cold temperatures. I was suprised, since the coat I normally wear in this type of weather is much bulkier. So it was very warm for the weight, as advertised.

I liked the fit a lot. It is snug along the torso, so the cold air doesn’t creep up through the bottom. The arms were well fit and sholders were roomy and I did not feel at all constrained. It was very comfortable to wear while taking a brisk walk.

Cons

I want to give a balanced review, so I have to find something I didn’t like. I guess I’d have to say that the downside would be the price. Like a lot of Scouters, I don’t have piles of money laying around. I often buy off of the clearance rack. So if I were going to purchase this coat, it would be a splurge. But if I could find it at a good price, I would get it.

Here is a link to the jacket on Amazon below so you can see what it looks like and the current price.
Omni Heat Mighty Lite Jacket

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