FlipFuel® on The Hammock Hangers Podcast

FlipFuel® on The Hammock Hangers Podcast

Podcast Host Paul "Skunkape" Collins recently invited FlipFuel Founder Eric Flottmann to be on The Hammock Hangers Podcast. It was a great conversation covering backpacking, Boy Scouts of America, bear protocols, and so much more. We really enjoyed the experience and always love the opportunity to take part in the hammock-camping community. 

About The Hammock Hangers Podcast - HangCon

In fact, you probably already know Skunkape and his co-host Pheonix from the hammock and hiking worlds and their work with HangCon, the largest hammock gathering in the country. The event takes place annually in Florida. 

The Hammock Hangers Podcast is another awesome outlet for all-things hammock-related and an opportunity to stay in touch with the community throughout the year. The hosts put out regular episodes to share tips and tricks for setting up that perfect hang, tell stories of outdoor adventures, and explore the latest trends in hammock camping and relaxation.

The Hammock Hangers Podcast is brought to you by the Hiking Radio Network, which features shows by hikers about hikers for everybody. 

Eric is featured on Episode 69. You'll find the first 10 minutes or so of the interview highlighted below in this blog. You can also listen to the full podcast episode on YouTube here.

Guest Introduction: Eric Flottmann, Founder of FlipFuel.co

Skunkape: I am your host Paul Collins or also known as Skunkape. Our co-host, AJ, known as Pheonix, is on vacation this week.

I want to introduce you all to my guest this week. He is the co-founder of the FlipFuel device.

I don't know how I went as long as I did without one. It's an awesome little device, which we will talk about here in a little bit. But first off, let's get to know Eric a little bit.

Skunkape: How are you doing, Eric?

Eric: I'm doing great. Thank you for having me on the show.

Backpacking Background: Phoenix, Boy Scouts and More

Skunkape: OK, let's get started. Tell everyone a little bit about you, and how you got started into camping? 

Eric: So as a young man, I was a Boy Scout out here in the Phoenix area and was actually aligned with a couple of different troops here. We spent a lot of time out on the trail, and that's kind of where my introduction came from.

And all of [my outdoor experience in the Boy Scouts] culminated for me with a pretty big trip to a place called Philmont, which is in Northern New Mexico. We spent two weeks on the trail. Did about 70 miles in total on that trip. 

Then, I finished being a Scout, went off to college, kinda moved away from being outdoorsy. And you know, at a later point in life, with a couple of young kids, I started reconnecting with it. Started fly fishing a little bit. Started wanting to go further out in the wilderness. Started backpacking. 

I also used it as a means to stay serious about a fitness regime. My friends and I put a big trip on the calendar, 8-10 months in the future. We did a couple of trips up in Washington. We’ve been to Rocky Mountain National park. We did a trip in Glacier. 

What I found was having a trip like that, kinda looming over my head, on my calendar…meant that, on those mornings that I didn’t want to get and get to the gym or get out on the trail, I’d tell myself:

“Well, that trip’s coming one way or another, so I better be ready.”

So I use it as a tool to keep myself moving and active, and I’ve just fallen deeper and deeper in love with it. 

Fast forward to now, I’m the Scout Master for a troop here in the Phoenix area. It is my son’s troop. We do a lot of camping and backpacking, and things have come full circle.

I’m currently working with a crew to go to Philmont this summer. So it will be my return trip, but obviously for these scouts, it will be their first trip. Again, we’ll spend two weeks out on trail and have that whole Philmont experience. 

In the meantime, I’m working on a trip to Grand Canyon here in a few weeks, and spending as much time as I can out on the trail while balancing work and life and everything like that. 

Kids and Their Relationship With the Great Outdoors 

Skunkape: So, now, do you just have one son?

Eric: I have two kids. My older daughter is about to graduate high school. She was a Girl Scout. She’s a fantastic backpacker in her own right. 

My mother was actually her Troop Leader for her Girl Scout Troop. 

My younger son is a Life Scout now. He’s working on his Eagle Rank. He is as smitten with the outdoors as myself. 

Skunkape: Okay, all right, so you handed it down to him and he's enjoying it just as much. That's awesome. That's awesome to hear. 

It's great seeing kids, you know, getting outdoors instead of just sitting inside all the time. I remember when I was a young kid, we pretty much lived outside. But a lot of kids now, it's like the closest they get to outside is cause they're playing a video game. 

Eric: You know, it’s funny, being a Scout Master has been a really interesting look into the lives of a bunch of young men. 

What I've found that’s been surprising – and maybe reassuring is the word – is a lot of these young men recognize themselves and have the understanding that their time outside is important. 

I’ve heard them even make comments. [For instance, scouts will] bring their phones on a trip and I’ll overhear one scout say, “well, let’s play this game on our phones.” And I’ve heard [the other] scouts say things to the effect of:

“You know, this is the time that I get to be outside, and I’m going to use it. While I’m at summer camp, I want to be at summer camp.”

It’s been super exhilarating for me to be able to see that. There’s an understanding that these young men have about its importance. 

Favorite Backpacking Trip Highlight: Glacier National Park

Skunkape: That’s pretty awesome. OK now that you’ve talked about the trips that you’ve led with the Scouts, do you have a favorite trip? 

Eric: Honestly, we’ve done a lot of amazing trips and been to a lot of fantastic places. Probably the one that looms the largest for me as the most beautiful when I flip through pictures was Glacier National Park.

We went into West Glacier up in the northern section and did a loop (Chapman to Bowman Lake) and went through a place through Hole in the Wall Falls. Above the treeline. And that place is untouchable. It’s just unbelievable. The scenery there. And just being there. It’s really otherworldly.

Some part of that might be that it is grizzly country. You're not necessarily at the top of the food chain. You’re on full-time bear protocol the whole time. 

But even looking back at photos of it, it's absolutely stunning. And probably one of the places at the top of my list to go back to. We try not to do repeats, but I would go back in a heartbeat and do that loop again. Because it really is incredible. 

It feels prehistoric even. When you’re out on the trail, you feel like you’re on ground that no one’s even walked on before. It’s really quite unbelievable. 

Listen to FlipFuel® on The Hammock Hangers Podcast

If you've enjoyed this snippet, be sure to check out the whole interview. Available on the Hiking Radio Network, YouTube, or wherever you get your podcasts.

Once again, a big thank you to Skunkape and The Hammock Hangers Podcast for having us on and being such a supporter of FlipFuel 🤘