The observant amongst you will have noticed in yesterday’s picture two ice cream tubs. Unfortunately, I’ve not found a lightweight way to transport ice cream. However, they are a great way to protect food from being crushed in your pack.
For the past three years, I’ve been using a 4L locking food container (no longer available) from Lakeland (see above). Some readers have suggested this is overkill, but I like some protection against food such as sandwiches getting crushed. It also keeps out pesky rodents and ants, which can be a problem. I’ve not suffered from mice (or hedgehogs) but I know people who have. I have experienced some issues with ants.
I now have a lighter replacement: some ice cream tubs from the M&S Cornish Ice Cream range. While they are not quite as sturdy as the Lakeland container, they are still quite robust. To ensure the lids don’t come off, I used an elastic band, but the lid is quite firm anyway. The ice cream tub is 1L and weighs 56g, while the Lakeland container is 4L and weighs 345g.
Even if I used four ice cream tubs (the equivalent of the Lakeland box), I would save 121g. However, I found that two tubs were enough, as some of the food could be relocated into stuff sacks without risk (e.g. dates, nuts), so I actually saved 233g. The other neat thing about the ice cream tubs is that they stack. Even the lids will stack on top each other. This means that if all the food is used in one box, I can collapse the tubs down into one, saving space. It also means I could carry three if necessary for a longer trip but expand and contract the storage as necessary.
From now on, this will be my crush proof storage system. I’ve left the labels on for the moment as they seem to be water-resistant and they help to differentiate the boxes. Perhaps other ice cream tubs are even better. Let me know if you find any. The experimenting could be fun!
blogpackinglight 
Great idea Robin – I’m currently testing all the different Ben & Jerry’s tubs – but so far none of them are suitable – I had to test Phish Food twice though just to be sure 🙂
Ben & Jerry’s is better ice cream 😉
You keep your camp neat. My small rucksack’s contents usually end up filling the entire inner with a two foot-high jumble. Some kind of Tardis thing, I think.
Do those gaps under the side panels cause problems? They make the Trailstar breezy.
What would you say are the main advantages the Duomid plus inner has over an Akto?
Cheers.
I’m a sad obsessive!
My main cause for concern with the Duomid was the gap between the door panel and the ground. The sides and rear panel reach close to the ground. So far I’ve had no problems. Even wind driven rain doesn’t get very far. The porch is huge, so there’s no problem moving gear away from the edges.
Versus the Akto. My combo is lighter (1.36kg vs. 1.6kg). Sean will make me a lighter inner saving around 250g, I will probably get a cuben fly (now that they are not white!) which will save another 250g. So my final iteration will be much lighter than the Akto. The inner is a similar size, but has a lot more height (which I like). The porch is substantially bigger. So big that you can comfortably change out of wet clothes in the porch. Relative stability is difficult to assess, but I think it’s comparable, although the Scarp is THE tent if it’s very windy. For me, the choice is between the Duomid and the Scarp, rather than the Akto (which I’ve given away) or the Laser Comp (which I probably should give away). I’ll do a post some time on the comparative merits, if that would be useful.
Cheers, Robin.
The Akto’s big advantage over the Scarp is that I already own one, although doors either side are tempting. Did you see that TGO gave the Scarp and the Akto the same stability rating?
Having owned both, the Scarp is definitely more stable than the Akto and more roomy. It’s not perfect but is very good. With the crossing poles it’s a true 4 season tent. You should have a look at one if you get the chance, then you can decide.
Careful, Robin!
This is the slippery slope to Darren’s famous plastic bag thread…
🙂
The content are tasty to test.
Are you moving to worpress?
Moving to WordPress…Thinking about it, but looking at the pitfalls as well.
🙂
Probably not worth the bother. Nothing wrong with wordpress but if you are used to Blogger, then I’m not sure there’s a significant reason to switch.