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27 October 2016

A rare thing! Gear review: G-Works Gas Saver R1

We've all got one. A cupboard of shame. 

Open the door and stuff spills out over the floor. Stuff you haven't seen for quite some time. Back then, a long time ago, there was a reason why you put it in the cupboard. It's just that right now you can't remember what it was.

Two pairs of very expensive, but bloody useless, walking poles. A bag you can strap around your waist in case your rucsack and trouser pockets aren't big enough. Make that two bags. A dozen multi-coloured nylon stuff sacks - all with holes or pulled stitching. A rucksack. (Where on earth did that come from?) Two hydration systems - both bloody useless. Three anoraks. A dozen mis-matched merino socks. Six (yes, SIX) pairs of walking trousers that have barely seen the light of day. And so on. And on.

And then right at the bottom of the cupboard, rolling around like wild things, are these boys:


Eight cans of gas. All with varying sloshes of gas inside. Some are virtually empty, some half full. But: Eight of the blighters. Each could tell a story of a trip, a few dimly remembered, others as vivid as a nuclear flash.

Much to everyone's surprise, Lord Elpus recently had a dalliance with Social Media. It didn't go well. He has now closed down his Facebook account. Miss Whiplash tells me the night sweats have now stopped and he is once again back in his happy place. 

But this post celebrates the wonder of social meeja. For it was on twitter that an enterprising fellow walker put up a link to the little chap below:


And here he is again:


He comes from Korea (South, not North. The North's the place with soldiers in extraordinarily big hats) and weighs in at just over an ounce. And now instead of eight canisters of gas of varying sloshiness, I am the proud owner of two completely full tins of gas, and six empty tins that can finally be tossed away. The spreadsheet below (there has to be a spreadsheet or it isn't a proper gear review, right?) shows what can be done.


It comes with absolutely no instructions. At all. Once upon a time I was an Engineer and so I worked out what to do by myself. There are a few Youtube videos, in various languages, to help as well. These give you a steer, but have varying degrees of oh-so-wrongness about them. Indeed, some offer potentially dangerous advice. But I'll let you work that out for yourselves. It's more fun that way.  But here's a tip: Don't heat up the top canister on your stove. There's a love.

I paid for this with my own money, just before Sterling went into freefall. It was about twenty quid plus a bit extra to tie it to the foot of a carrier pigeon.

I love it.

And now, in the spirit of Old Mortality, some music: (But please read my important edit below the music!)



IMPORTANT EDIT! (Added 28th October 2016)

It *is* possible to overfill the receiving gas canister. This is NOT a good idea. I've seen a chap on one Youtube video saying he overfilled a canister by some 20% (and was mightily pleased about it) to then find that the concave bottom sprang outwards.

This, is definitely NOT GOOD!

Okay. As you were...
posted from Bloggeroid

24 comments:

  1. Well, that's the first time I've read a gear review and gone straight out and bought the product. Thanks.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Oh dear. Oh deary deary me.
      :-)
      I've just noticed that you have an excellent blog! How I missed that I really do not know. Now added to my list.

      Delete
  2. Those things (canisters) act as a kind of barometer of my twisted "logic" when it comes to gear. I've frequently paid over the odds for some inappropriate or over-specified piece of kit, just because... let's be honest here - just because I liked the look or the sound of it.

    But if I feel that I've somehow failed to squeeze the very last atom out of a four quid gas canister, it really grates with me.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Egg Zackerly, Sir! Me too.

      But it means so much more! Free gas from abandoned canisters on the TGO Challenge from folk who can't be arsed to carry an almost empty one on the last day. Small top ups from found bothy canisters (just a top up, mind - important to leave some for a more worthy / needy person.)

      Or sharing out gas to a walking companion who could be a little low on gas as he's been making you lunchtime cuppas all the way across Scotland.
      :-)

      Delete
  3. I have absolutely no need for this now since I don't use gas, so I shall be purchasing one anyway. ☺️
    10 cans in our garage. All with some gas. I'm surprised the bomb squad haven't been round.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. All this faddy stuff with meths - an old technology. You'll be coming home to a warm home soon Andy. One ablaze from all those gas canisters in the garage!
      :-)

      Delete
  4. Thanks Alan! This is something I haven't got (yet!). Paul M

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. A true addict, Paul.
      But you can control it. Honestly.
      :-)

      Delete
  5. Hi. A great idea, something that should have been made years ago! Unfortunately I can not use it as the airlines take a dim view of me carrying fuel home. So I will continue to give my partially used, and sometimes unused one, to the nearest person when I reach the Park.
    William

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. It can be useful for just the Challenge itself, William.
      Nicking some gas from another Challenger when you're running out, or vice versa.
      :-)

      Delete
  6. Hi Alan, what an excellent piece of kit. I've had a look on line and the suppliers seem to be based all over the globe.
    Which supplier did you use? I'm not averse to buying from overseas but I would prefer to avoid any surcharges such as import duty and the like.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I bought mine from
      Basecamp
      12/16 Gaeun-Dong 396-16
      Wonju-Si
      Republic of Korea
      Tel: 010 9159-5462
      (That's what it says on the envelope they sent)

      I didn't have any import duty to pay.

      Delete
    2. Cheers Alan.
      I've placed my order.
      Regards Geoff

      Delete
  7. Must get me one of these gadgets. Not so much for hill-gas, but to empty a few more blow-torch canisters for my cunning plan.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. As an engineer you can figure out the recipe, but the ingredients are as follows: a few empty canisters, some heat-proof tape, a catalytic converter, a local yob with a busted backbox and the opinion that it makes his uninsured MOT-failure car sound like a rally-car, some residents who complain that it sounds like a V1 doodlebug, a lack of effort from the authorities to do anything about it, and an urban vigilante pissed off with being woken at stupid o'clock on a regular basis when the miscreant comes home after peddling illicit substances.

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    2. I can't help thinking that the pissed off urban vigilante might do better with full gas canisters.
      ;-)

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    3. "You're only supposed to blow the bloody exhaust off!"

      Delete
  8. I'll see your 8 canisters and raise you 10! I scoured the cupboards and found loads of the blighters. I might have to order one of these for no reason other than I've never bought anything from South Korea before. Transferring high pressure gas from one canister to another using a device from across the world with no instructions. What could possibly go wrong!

    ReplyDelete
  9. Did a quick search for this after Laura messaged me yesterday to say she's going to visit tomorrow, with her gadget and half empty canisters. I am now utterly terrified. And yet kind of excited about reoganising my own small collection and being able to set off with one full instead of two half empty canisters in May.
    I think.
    Help.

    ReplyDelete
  10. Replies
    1. Jolly well done!

      Your first comment arrived as I was collecting the keys for the new place. Computer now all put back together, so much easier to review and answer comments.
      I wonder if it's possible to condense fifty big cardbox boxes into a couple...

      Delete
  11. Ooo, welcome home! Ah. The cardboard box thing. We have a garage full. But then, we do intend to move again at some point.

    ReplyDelete

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