I might be going slightly in the other direction on multi-use things next year. I thru-hiked the PCT this year, and carried a snow/sand stake as a trowel, and it worked well enough, but the aluminum stake bent a couple of times, and more importantly, I used it as a trowel almost every day for months, whereas I used it as a stake a couple of times total and could easily have done without it. I'm thinking now that a very light trowel (something designed primarily as a trowel) is better, especially if I could multi-use that at need as ... a stake. TBD for me.

I only carried denatured alcohol on this trip as my tolerance, need, desire for drinking alcohol was low, and I also saw a thread here or elsewhere talking about how pure alcohol has to be thinned to safely use it as any sort of hand cleaner. Thinking about this --- if it's already thinned then it's no longer a backup fuel, can only be used as a sanitizer --- in that event I might as well carry a purpose-made sanitizer, purell or whatever (which I did). If it's not already thinned, then --- like the trowel, this was something I used day after day for many many days. Thinning it on the spot for each use struck me as more time and hassle than it would be worth.


Brian Lewis
http://postholer.com/brianle