Camping and Backpacking GEAR thread

Most of it's in the cellar on a shelving unit I built. Some of it's up overhead in the garage, over my workshop. I'll try to remember to get a shot of the indoor stuff tonight, but it's doubtful.

 

Well, my garage is in severe disarray right now because we're putting away Christmas stuff, so ignore the clutter. I normally have it clear so I can park inside, alongside of my wife's car. My RTT usually goes against the wall under the kayak in picture 2, but I had it out of the way to store Christmas boxes behind the stairs.

This pic shows the main wall of gear. There are 5 of the large Plano sportsman's trunks full of gear (far right shelves, behind RTT). I have 4 of the midsize Plano trunks (some in view), 6 tan ammo crates (some in view - great for the small backpacking items), and those 5 army shipping trunks (used to have foam inserts to ship laptops, now they're full of long term food storage, camp food and various gear I don't use as often). 2 large fishing pole cases are in the very right by the garage door. Other items on the shelves include some extra tools like a table saw and overflow from my dad's house when he passed away. Top of the shelves has my sleeping bags, tents, tent cot, and duffels of bags and blankets.


This is the other corner where I usually have the RTT, my coolers, the kayak, and some other fishing gear stored. There are 5 of my larger packs back in there that are usually stored off of the ground.

 

I'd love for my garage to be that organized! That shelving unit is looking good

 

Sorry for the lousy shots, but I didn't feel like hauling everything out and unpacking it, lol.
Shelving unit:

Shelf #1 is mostly sleeping bags, pads, tents, lanterns and cookstoves and some of my fuel storage.

On the floor are boxes of gear & spare parts for gear, some more fuel, and other random stuff.

Most of the fuel is in the garage, along with a pair of totes full of gear.
The problem is that this shelving unit is sort of a catch all, so it's got a lot of non-camping stuff thrown on there too.
Nothing fancy, just someplace to stuff it.

 

I keep my gear in my pack(s) and ready to go. Just throw it in the car and done.

 

I used to do that, but it was a hell of a surprise one time when I got to where I was going to camp for the night and started pulling gear out and found out that a family of mice had decided to take up residence in my bag since I had put it away.
This way I can check things over as I'm packing them to make sure the haven't developed any functionality issues since I put it away.

 

im torn between jackets... ive never owned a down jacket before, but I really need to cut down on my pack weight and how bulky all my normal crap is. so as far as jackets go, I have it basically narrowed down to the Columbia Diamond 890 TurboDown Jacket, and the Mountain Hardwear hooded ghost whisperer as these are the ones in my price range that ive come across. so any of yall have any personal experience with either of these? again, ive never owned anything down so im down illiterate. shits also expensive so I don't want to have to buy another one in a year or so because the fabric sucked and ripped.

 

I think you'll find the Ghost Whisperer to be one of the best down jackets out there. My only qualm with it when I ordered and tested one was the look of the material. I'm much more about function than fashion and can easily overlook an ugly product, especially for the field. But it's not ugly, it's like...pretty or something haha. It's so stinking shiny. Felt like a fruity Michelin man. But, that said, it's one of the lightest full function jackets on the market, so if you like it and find a good price go for it.

 

ive been looking at that one for a year now and just haven't pulled the trigger. yea the ones ive seen are like disco era shiny. has the fabric held up pretty well? have any ember burns or briar tags in it?

 

Have you looked at Outdoor Research? They make some pretty great stuff

 

I have not yet, but ill do a quick looky here

 

I keep all my gear pretty much stored in storage crates. I have the crates sorted by activity. Climbing stuff is in one tote, car camping in another, hiking in another...you get the idea. Makes packing for trips simple as everything is in its tote. When I'm go I g skiing, I can grab the tote and know my boots, goggles, pants, socks, midlayers, and act beacon are in there.

Packs and some misc items are all that stay out of totes. Like the Mr. Buddy heater that can be used for multiple things.

I will say being organized is great. Want to go hiking, pull the tote, pick pack based on trip length, and know everything is pretty much there minus clothes and food

 

well im liking the reviews so far on their stuff. thanks for the input on OR!

 

I have 2 pairs of pants and 2 tshirts from them, love them so far!

I dont have a puffy at all though because of how little use it would get.

 

Seems like people got some good stuff for Christmas. We're still waiting no our stuff to show up. We recently picked up two new sponsors, and are waiting for the gear to show up. Should be getting a decent amount of goodies from Snow Peak, and a couple quilts from UHG.

 

I wish I could get out enough to have sponsors!

 

Thanks and yea I could tell by the descriptions you were using that you were well versed in the eddie bow bow spiel! I have eyed up their stuff but I guess when I was looking, it was still priced above what I wanted to drop on a product type that I had zero experience with. ill check it out again. eddie bauer makes some quality stuff. ive got a couple of duffels I use for travel and they hold up like champs.