[Boost-users] iterator_adapter conversion to base iterator?

Hello everybody! Please don't blame for beeing foolish - I'm using the iterator-adapter class for the first time. I converted a standard iterator from a std::vector with the iterator_adapter stuff into another class random_set_iterator. But at certain points in my programm I need the random_set_iterator converted back to the original iterator class from the vector class. I noticed the base()-function which basically does the job, but I think there should be a more elegant and clearer way to do it. Am I wrong or shouldn't an adapted iterator almost always be convertible to it's base iterator? I'm sure, it should not hard to implement somthing like this, but how? Thanks in advance! Greetings, Sebastian