Inside Outdoor Spring 2016

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it at base camps like on Everest,
where there are piles and piles of
gas canisters because there is no
one to take the trash; take the litter
where it’s supposed to be properly
disposed of,” states Park. “With that
in mind, Kovea felt like there was
a need, as a company of the out-
doors who’s somewhat responsible
for these types of gas canisters, to
showcase something to the rest of
world that says, ‘Hey we’re not just
building a product, but we are also
thinking about the environment.’”
While working with the research
and development department in
Bucheon, Park noticed, “they had
this EZ-ECO prototype from awhile
back, and I was like, ‘Why aren’t
we doing anything like this?’ It’s a
great concept.”
The initial reason was, the EZ-
ECO was designed for the Korean
outdoor market where day hiking is
the norm, similar to the done-in-a-
day crowd here in North America.
Because of that, the fuel tank was
designed to brew up 500ml/18oz of
water six to eight times, not sizeable
enough for the backcountry gourmet
who might be cooking real meals on
overnight trips.
Yet that is not what really got
Park’s attention. It was the fact the
EZ-ECO can safely and easily be re-
filled by the consumer.
“If you ask any backpacker out
there how many gas canisters they
have in their garage, they’ll prob-
ably say they have over 20 or 30
half-empty gas canisters,” says Parks.
“They keep them stored in the garage
because they don’t know how much
fuel is left. They don’t know whether
or not they can use it for a day trip to
just boil some water for coffee or to
have a quick hot meal.” The EZ-ECO
solves that problem and one more.
For one, it uses up the remaining fuel
in orphaned gas canisters. Secondly,
it makes it safer to recycle empties for
everyone involved.
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Inside Outdoor | Spring 2016 28