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My cheap lantern died at Lake Ouachita and a stranger's coffee can saved the trip
Two summers ago I was camping at Lake Ouachita in Arkansas with a $25 LED lantern I'd bought off a clearance rack, and it died on night two right as it got dark. I was fumbling around with a dead flashlight and a phone at 8 percent battery when the guy two sites over walked over with this old metal coffee can. He'd punched holes in the sides, dropped a candle inside, and told me he'd been using that same can for 11 years because batteries always quit and candles don't care about cold. That thing put out a soft orange light that actually felt nicer than my lantern ever did, and I sat there reading a paperback by it until midnight. Next morning I drove to a gas station in Hot Springs, bought a $3 can of Folgers, dumped the coffee in a ziplock, and made my own that afternoon. It's been in my tote bag ever since, and I've used it maybe 30 nights now. I still bring a headlamp for walking around, but for hanging out at camp the can wins every time. Anyone else got a weird free piece of gear that outlasted the stuff you paid for?
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