TheSamba.com :: View topic - "Product Reviews" any and all are welcome?

Sat Jan 07, 2012 12:17 pm

Read a few product reviews here on the samba. I thought that you'd have to really be looking
for them if you do a search for somethime inparticular. Maybe putting them in one thread may
get more eyes on the reviews, kind of like a pot luck of reviews.

I'd like others to share their reviews of products that they use or have used in their Vanagons/Westys.
Maybe give a person a leg up on a certain purchase or to stay away from certain items?

Sat Jan 07, 2012 12:33 pm

GSI Pinnacle 10" fry pan. I thought this fry pan was alittle on the expensive side, $29 from Beans.
Turns out it may very well be worth the money from my initial use of the pan. I wanted to cook up
something that I knew may burn on the pan but also if it didn't tatally burn up I knew that I would
want to eat. So, the first meal in my new fry pan was Chunky Chili and Chili Cheese Brats. I've
got to say I am impressed with the cooking ability of this pan, it heated evenly and even though
it looked like the chili was burning on it didn't! The brats cooked up real good too, nicely toasted
and not scortched. It made a really nice lunch on a fine New England winters' day.
Though I was a little disappointed, that the pan would not fit into the sink like my not-so-good coleman
does. That's ok, no flakey teflon in my meal after the first usuage and clean up was equally easy.
I'd give this fry pan two Beers Up!
http://www.llbean.com/llb/shop/59877?feat=2-SR0

Sat Jan 07, 2012 2:09 pm

CiP1 repro Vanagon grills: very poor fit and finish-it turn's out you do get what you pay for.

Sat Jan 07, 2012 2:19 pm

Two of the best accessories I have bought for the van would be...

#1-Gowesty Rainfly
#2-Eureka Northern Breeze dining shelter

A third item I have had for quite a few years is the MEC Supertarp. Multiple uses all to keep you dry!

I must be hungry...that unhealthy plate of cheese and goo is actually making my tummy rumbly! :D

Brian.

Sat Jan 07, 2012 2:25 pm

Tencentlifes Vacuum Switching Module. Installed quickly, well written instructions included. No adjustments ever again. Works as promised. Have had it installed for 6 months. Eliminates one potential problematic variable for the wbx.

Now I'm hungry too after reading about those brats...

Sat Jan 07, 2012 2:57 pm

I'm also a fan of GSI products. I've got a hard anodized pot and pan set that I've had for years. They have a huge product line and with their background in the backpacking community, most of their stuff is space/storage efficient. I also live their dual sided salt and pepper shaker.

Wham-o frisbee: plate, cutting board, make-shift dog bowl, rolling station, human toy, dog toy....

Wed Jan 11, 2012 5:05 pm

seanjenn wrote:
Wham-o frisbee: rolling station....

What are we rolling?

Wed Jan 11, 2012 5:14 pm

Another GSI product. Backpackers toaster. Really compact, meant to be used for an individual
by the size of it. Can make one slice or piece at a time. As far as compactness goes, it
can't be beat. Folds flat and is tucked away in it own case. The toasting part will take several
slices to prefect. My first try was with a flat everything bagel, I did't want to burn it so I kept the
flame down low. It took awhile to get to the point of toasty, but didn't burn and it tasted
pretty good. My dog Rooney was pretty excited about the bagel, cream cheese is one of his
favorite food groups. Here are some pic of the toaster in action.

In its case

All folded up

Toasting the bottom half of the bagel, the piece on top was unaffected.

Wed Jan 11, 2012 6:26 pm

Timwhy wrote: I'd give this fry pan two Beers Up!

Kinda hard for me to trust the culinary judgment of someone who can bring himself to eat chili out of a can and margarine.

Richie

Wed Jan 11, 2012 7:13 pm

Timwhy wrote:

Timwhy I would like a review on your "Westy Camper Life" can sleeve. :D :D :D :lol: :lol: :roll: :lol: :wink:
Where did you get it?
What colors does it come in?
Can you please product test it with an IR gun every 10 mins up to 1 hour? What is the outside temp.? :lol:
Your reviews are so great I can't wait for the next one. :lol: :lol: :lol:
Great thread! 8) :D :D

Thu Jan 12, 2012 4:34 am

70coupyel wrote:

Timwhy I would like a review on your "Westy Camper Life" can sleeve. :D :D :D :lol: :lol: :roll: :lol: :wink:
Where did you get it?
What colors does it come in?
Can you please product test it with an IR gun every 10 mins up to 1 hour? What is the outside temp.? :lol:
Your reviews are so great I can't wait for the next one. :lol: :lol: :lol:
Great thread! 8) :D :D

The can sleeve is from Go Westy, they sold them a few years back on their ebay site.
Not too sure if they are even available anymore. I can't conduct any product review on
the koozie as I am lacking an IR gun, and besides every 10 minutes up to an hour would
be stretching it. Let's just say, in the summer months the koozie will keep two consumable
beverages cold long enough in that hour for you to enjoy.

Thu Jan 12, 2012 4:51 am

Direct from Koozie.com.

"The Koozie is guaranteed to keep you can of beer at or near the temperature it starts at until the temperature starts to increase and not a second before!"

Based on ambient outside air temperatures and the barometric pressure differentials at sea level the koozie might actually make your beer colder than when you open it. At ten minute intervals one would have to take into consideration the alcohol content of the beer as well as the flow rate past the lips combined with the core temperature of the consumer. All things considered I would buy this product without hesitation.

I hope this helps.

P.S. don't look for the site.

I need a coffee.

Brian.

Thu Jan 12, 2012 4:58 am

Next up for me is the GSI coffee grinder. A few people have said that they own this product.
A few have said that they have a hard time grinding the beans as there"s no handle to grab on
to. Hard to get a good grip on the grinder while grinding from the top?

Here's the grinder.

I absolutely love this grinder, so much better than my old backpackers' grinder that I got
years ago from Campmor. The grinder takes alittle time to use but does a great job of getting
the right grind for Perc'd coffee. You can adjust the grind for other types of makers ie. Expresso
and drip. The solution for me as to the hard to use while grinding, is to keep the hopper door
open. Being able to stick a finger or two in there to keep the grinder steady makes all the
difference. I also have a coffee cup that I only use to for the grinder, while grinding the beans.

Here's what the grinder looks like from above.

As far as compactness goes, the handle detatches and stores inside the hopper. It also has
a rubber cap for the bottom where the grinds come out so no mess there.

Handle detaches

Thu Jan 12, 2012 5:20 am

RicoS wrote: Timwhy wrote: I'd give this fry pan two Beers Up!

Kinda hard for me to trust the culinary judgment of someone who can bring himself to eat chili out of a can and margarine.

Richie

It was about the pan, Not the food.

Come on, our great country was built upon canned chili and margarine!

Thu Jan 12, 2012 2:33 pm

Timwhy wrote: RicoS wrote: Timwhy wrote: I'd give this fry pan two Beers Up!

Kinda hard for me to trust the culinary judgment of someone who can bring himself to eat chili out of a can and margarine.

Richie

It was about the pan, Not the food.

Come on, our great country was built upon canned chili and margarine!

At least it is all backed up by a decent beer, mass produced, but not swill.

Thu Jan 12, 2012 5:52 pm

86syncrowesty wrote: Timwhy wrote: RicoS wrote: Timwhy wrote: I'd give this fry pan two Beers Up!

Kinda hard for me to trust the culinary judgment of someone who can bring himself to eat chili out of a can and margarine.

Richie

It was about the pan, Not the food.

Come on, our great country was built upon canned chili and margarine!

At least it is all backed up by a decent beer, mass produced, but not swill.

I'll have to forgive you, Yuengling Lager (from America's OLDEST brewery) hasn't made it to Colorado.

Richie

Thu Jan 12, 2012 11:06 pm

Quote: I'll have to forgive you, Yuengling Lager (from America's OLDEST brewery) hasn't made it to Colorado.

I HATE YUENGLING LAGER.

For Yuengling PORTER, however, or Black & Tan, I would engage battle dragons, or at least bribe them, heavily. Those two beers were among the best things in my eight year's in Philadelphia.

Fortunately, so very, very fortunately, we have Old Chubb Scottish Ale from the Oskar Blues brewery in Longmont.

The ache is so much less, now...

:shock:

Best!

Sat Jan 14, 2012 4:42 pm

RicoS wrote: 86syncrowesty wrote: Timwhy wrote: RicoS wrote: Timwhy wrote: I'd give this fry pan two Beers Up!

Kinda hard for me to trust the culinary judgment of someone who can bring himself to eat chili out of a can and margarine.

Richie

It was about the pan, Not the food.

Come on, our great country was built upon canned chili and margarine!

At least it is all backed up by a decent beer, mass produced, but not swill.

I'll have to forgive you, Yuengling Lager (from America's OLDEST brewery) hasn't made it to Colorado.

Richie

Not much of a Yuengling fan either, the beer in my pic is Blue Moon? Which I think is from Colorado!

Sat Jan 14, 2012 5:13 pm

Next up is another backpackers product that works well in the limited space of a Westy.
The GSI Utencils were a must If I am ever to cook in the Westy, using my griddle and new fry
pan. I really don't want to hurt the finish using sharp utencils while cooking. I did that with
my coleman fry pan on the first use, then the teflon started flaking off with each use after.

Getting back to the folding utencils. There are just that,folding. The handle or handles
fold back upon themselves, making them ideal to store in the Westys' drawer. They are also
made of a hard plastic, which should not scratch any of the coated pans finish. So this being
Saturday, I gave two out of the three utencils a try out in the Westy. This time the dish of choice
was..................You, guessed it...............Chili. Chili with a catch! Not from a can but from scratch.

The utencils are a spoon/laddle, spatula, and tongs. The tongs are the main thing for me.
I won't have the need to grab a fork to pick up a piece of chicken or steak from a pan.
Here's two of them in use with the tongs folded up.

Here's all three unfolded.

Here's a pic of all three folded up and stored in the drawer.

These utencils came as a larger kit, included was a pot/pan scraper, four compartment spice
shaker and some cleaning items. Sorry no link to LL Beans website, seems they are sold out.

Mon Jan 16, 2012 11:15 am

^^^ that chili looks FANTASTIC! ^^^