Camping and Backpacking GEAR thread

If you don't care about a floor (it really isn't a big deal) then the BT-2 from seek outside is a light and roomy option for 1 guy.

http://store.seekoutside.com/beyond-timberline-2-bt-2/

If you really need a floor and bug screening you can add the nest but that will up the weight. I haven't needed a nest or a floor in my 4 man yet.

 

I'm sure Henry Shires has a TarpTent that fits those needs for under $500.

 

Thanks, guys. Will research next week. Camping tomorrow.

 

That ProTrail is really catching my eye. Almost twice the weight of the ZPacks tent, but also less than half the price

I've been queued to Enlightened Equipment's Down Quilts, by a member as well, over ZPacks. Again, more weight, but significant cost savings. Thanks, all!

 

Hennessy Hammock.

 

+1

I love my HH.

For those folks that say its for warm weather only, I have slept comfortably in the high 20's low 30's. I have a home-made under quilt.

Double Black Diamond Down Throw - $20 from

Double Black Diamond Packable Down Throw - Ultra Light 60" X 70", Stuff Sack Included (Navy Blue)

Costco
Minimal sewing is needed to create a great under quilt or even a quality top quilt.

 

It's expensive but the Hilleberg Enan is decent. You can go both ways- use it as a standard tent or you can pull the inner portion in a few seconds and just have the shell. I've set it up without the inner tent and used it as a shelter and I loved it. It's normally a one man but when you pull the inner portion you can sleep two because it has a decent size vestibule.

Like I said it is expensive, especially when you're going strictly for a shelter type setup. Mountain Hardware use to make a really light shelter, I think it was called the Hoopster?

 

Thanks for the heads up.
Looks pretty identical to a couple of the TarpTent designs in size and weight, except twice the price.

 

What about just a bivy shelter? Do you want something you can sit up in? Store your pack in with you (versus using a vestibule)? Give us some more parameters of what you want from a "shelter".

 

Who said they were only for warm weather? Without an underquilt, they are. It's just that weight-conscious backpackers don't also want to haul a quilt along with hammock, tarp, slings, sleeping bag, and probably top quilt. Cold weather backpacking usually isn't too lightweight.

 

Cool for a costume or chairlift skiing in negative temps. Worthless for a sleeping bag.

 

Sierra Designs Backcountry Bed, search over. Best nights sleep I have ever had camping, I'm going to buy another one thats rated to cooler temps and never suffer in a mummy again

 

Go to an rei or someplace that carries them, you might be surprised. I sleep on my side bent and i have no problems with it.

 

Selk bags are amusing, and not useless.

Not winter weight bags, and are gimmicky, but they don't work any worse than any other comparably rated sleeping bag. In fact, they should work better as there is less dead air space.

 

They are much less efficient than a mummy bag because they maximize surface area and increase convective and radiative heat loss. It is the same reason that mitts are warmer than gloves and big animals hold heat better than small ones.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Allen's_rule

 

Without real numbers, I don't care. I'd be willing to bet a traditional 50* bag of similar fill and construction to a 50* Selk bag is not head and shoulders more efficient under identical circumstances.

 

Your hunch conflicts with well substantiated physics. All other variables held equally (e.g. insulation fill weight), the bag with the greatest surface area will lose heat fastest. Surface to volume ratio plays a major role in how well organisms shed or retain heat.

Here are some real numbers: http://physics.stackexchange.com/questions/100280/surface-area-volume-and-its-relation-with-heat