# Obsolete camping advice **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [June 29, 2016, 7:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obsolete-camping-advice/758732 "2016-06-29T19:39:05Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 7
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2024, 8:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obsolete-camping-advice/758732/121 "2024-07-24T20:37:59Z")
> [@scudsucker](#): > > A spoon can function as a can opener, a flint to light fires, Most spoons can do neither. ---
**Author:** ![thorny\_locust](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thorny_locust/32/431_2.png) [@thorny\_locust](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thorny_locust)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2024, 9:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obsolete-camping-advice/758732/122 "2024-07-24T21:32:36Z")
Yeah, I’ve been trying to figure out how one opens a can with a spoon. ---
**Author:** ![Palooka](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/palooka/32/2902_2.png) [@Palooka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Palooka)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2024, 10:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obsolete-camping-advice/758732/123 "2024-07-24T22:36:29Z")
Maybe if it was one of those cans with a pull tab on it. ---
**Author:** ![Lumpy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lumpy/32/446_2.png) [@Lumpy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lumpy)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2024, 10:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obsolete-camping-advice/758732/124 "2024-07-24T22:49:57Z")
I Googled it, apparently it can be done but it doesn’t look easy. ---
**Author:** ![thorny\_locust](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thorny_locust/32/431_2.png) [@thorny\_locust](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thorny_locust)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2024, 10:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obsolete-camping-advice/758732/125 "2024-07-24T22:54:26Z")
Good grief, you’re right. I’ll use the canopener on my Swiss army knife if the situation comes up, thanks. (That’s not easy either, I’ve done it, though not recently. But it’s got to be easier than working at it with a spoon till the lid gives up.) ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2024, 12:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obsolete-camping-advice/758732/126 "2024-07-25T00:22:23Z")
> [@thorny\_locust](#): > > I’ll use the canopener on my Swiss army knife if the situation comes up, thanks. (That’s not easy either, I’ve done it, though not recently. It’s not that bad, but yeah, not as easy as using a rotary can opener. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2024, 12:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obsolete-camping-advice/758732/127 "2024-07-25T00:48:14Z")
Which is why there is always a P-38 in the camp kit along with an OXO manual can opener. Although we try to either bring stuff with pull-tab tops or repackage pre-trip. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2024, 3:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obsolete-camping-advice/758732/128 "2024-07-25T03:10:36Z")
> [@silenus](#): > > Which is why there is always a P-38 in the camp kit The P51 is somewhat superior- they are still issued in fact. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2024, 3:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obsolete-camping-advice/758732/129 "2024-07-25T15:18:55Z")
A Swiss Army knife can opener is more work than a new, sharp rotary can opener. But I’ve been in situations where there were multiple rotary can openers available in the kitchen, but they were all so old and dull that the tool on my pocketknife was the easier solution. ---
**Author:** ![Lumpy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lumpy/32/446_2.png) [@Lumpy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lumpy)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2024, 3:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obsolete-camping-advice/758732/130 "2024-07-25T15:21:47Z")
I’m a fan of the safety can openers that don’t produce a sharp lid, but it’s disappointing how quickly they become dull. ---
**Author:** ![hajario](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hajario/32/171_2.png) [@hajario](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hajario)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2024, 3:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obsolete-camping-advice/758732/131 "2024-07-25T15:25:23Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > But I’ve been in situations where there were multiple rotary can openers available in the kitchen, but they were all so old and dull that the tool on my pocketknife was the easier solution. I hope that you threw them away instead of leaving them for the next victim. ---
**Author:** ![thorny\_locust](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thorny_locust/32/431_2.png) [@thorny\_locust](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thorny_locust)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2024, 3:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obsolete-camping-advice/758732/132 "2024-07-25T15:29:32Z")
The next victim might not have a pocketknife. I suspect even the ancient can openers were better than a spoon. Give that kitchen a nice new can opener, maybe? The hand ones aren’t that expensive. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2024, 3:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obsolete-camping-advice/758732/133 "2024-07-25T15:44:59Z")
The kitchen in question was at my church, and the next time a can opener got donated to the church rummage sale, it went straight to the kitchen instead of being put out on the Housewares table. Which was probably how the previous can openers got there, too, but that was before my time. ---
**Author:** ![Mama\_Zappa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/71e660/32.png) [@Mama\_Zappa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mama_Zappa)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2024, 4:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obsolete-camping-advice/758732/134 "2024-07-25T16:02:24Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > Well, it wasn’t just urban legend. Avon actively marketed it as a tick repellent, for a while. I think they marketed a version that had an actual repellent added, for a while. No clue what that repellant was, but it was a step up from regular SSS. They could not have marketed it thus, otherwise. ---
**Author:** ![Lare](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/53a042/32.png) [@Lare](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lare)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2024, 4:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obsolete-camping-advice/758732/135 "2024-07-25T16:18:10Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > The P51 is somewhat superior- they are still issued in fact. I had to Google this to find out you weren’t making a reference to the P51 Mustang _aircraft_ which, although in fact superior, seems it would destroy the cans. ---
**Author:** ![DPRK](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4491bb/32.png) [@DPRK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DPRK)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2024, 4:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obsolete-camping-advice/758732/136 "2024-07-25T16:36:38Z")
> [@thorny\_locust](#): > > The next victim might not have a pocketknife. I suspect even the ancient can openers were better than a spoon. Spoons are dull. Can openers, including the one on your Swiss army knife and that 19th-century tin opener in your kitchen drawer, are sharp, so guess which kind is more likely to open a tin like magic. Unless they are not sharp, in which case they won’t work so well. ---
**Author:** ![BippityBoppityBoo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bippityboppityboo/32/5745_2.png) [@BippityBoppityBoo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BippityBoppityBoo)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2024, 5:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obsolete-camping-advice/758732/137 "2024-07-25T17:35:44Z")
It is Picardin that Avon adds to their Skin-So-Soft insect repellent, as reported in @DrDeth’s post #117 above. Consumer Reports was not impressed. [replying to @Mama_Zappa] ---
**Author:** ![echoreply](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/echoreply/32/3641_2.png) [@echoreply](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/echoreply)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2024, 6:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obsolete-camping-advice/758732/138 "2024-07-25T18:25:10Z")
> [@DPRK](#): > > Spoons are dull If you’re camping, bored, and have access to the right rocks, this can change. If you plan ahead you can fix the dull spoon problem in the garage with your electric grinder. You pack a first aid kit, right? ---
**Author:** ![Lumpy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lumpy/32/446_2.png) [@Lumpy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lumpy)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2024, 7:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obsolete-camping-advice/758732/139 "2024-07-25T19:12:47Z")
Heh. I have a large barbecue spatula that is so thick that I had to bevel the edge before I could get burgers off the grill with it. Now it would probably serve as a makeshift machete. ---
**Author:** ![Mama\_Zappa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/71e660/32.png) [@Mama\_Zappa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mama_Zappa)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2024, 10:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obsolete-camping-advice/758732/140 "2024-07-25T22:00:15Z")
> [@echoreply](#): > > If you’re camping, bored, and have access to the right rocks, this can change. If you plan ahead you can fix the dull spoon problem in the garage with your electric grinder. Aren’t spoons commonly used to create makeshift shivs in prison? Seems like that skill would translate to camping… [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obsolete-camping-advice/758732.md?page=6) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obsolete-camping-advice/758732.md?page=8)