Camping and Backpacking GEAR thread

Lol paddle faster! Weeeeee!!!

 

I picked up the Bivy stick earlier this year. Had to pay for four months of service, before I could suspend it.

I was fine with that, but now I've noticed that all my tracks & waypoints have disappeared. I'm assuming that once you suspend your account, that all your history goes away at the same time. That's really disappointing, since I didn't CXL my account, only suspended it for a couple of months since I don't have any any trips planned.

 

Just ordered a new Nemo tent. Fingers crossed i receive it before my trip in a week. With that I'm selling my softopper camper top tent (will work with any shell/canopy)
https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/softopper-camper-top-tent.768650/

 

I finally got to try out my Teton Sports ultra three person tent. It worked great with my Deepsleep pads and Teton Mammoth bag. I tried with the pads/bags oriented both ways but it worked best as shown in my photos. Enough room on the sides for clothes and miscellaneous items like my Bluetti battery and cpap.

 

Just found this thread! Anyone know a good place to sell a once-used tent besides Craigslist? I don’t do Facebook so that’s a no-go. Maybe another thread or should I post it here?

 

Buy sell- other in the buy sell marketplace. I just sold one on there.

 

Who’s rocking trekking pole tents?

I’ve been a hammock guy the entire time I’ve guided trips but now I’m hunting out west and want something as light but warmer than a hammock. I’ve got a nice 2 man REI tent but that thing weighs as much as my truck comparatively speaking

 

I use a silnylon 10 x 10 tarp with trekking poles, but I'm on the east coast so weather is not as variable at elevation here. Its a strictly a 3 season setup, of course. Zpacks, Gossamer Gear, 6 Moon Designs, and a handful of other UL gear companys make tents for use with the trekking poles. Pricey, but made of cuben fiber (Dyneema Composite) so they are feather light. I have an old Walrus Tent with full vestibule for winter camping. Its self supporting with the shock corded poles; Still only 4.8 lbs.

 

Frankenstein French Press for Overlanding

Problems: (1) My Bodum Chambord French press is perfect but it is glass - no bueno for an off road travel trailer. (2) The GSI French Press internals are cheap and the pour spout is inadequate (spills down the side). Out of this 1st world problem came my solution...




This is a Frankenstein mess of a french press and it is, in no way, cost effective but it does the job to my liking and suits my use case perfectly. Please note I had all of these different parts laying around. Parts:

1. GSI Outdoors 30 fl oz french press carafe and insulated carafe cover
2. Yeti Rambler mag slider lid with a 3/16" hole drilled in the center
3. Bodum Spiral plate, cross plate, filter plate and plunger from a Chambord 34 oz coffe maker

I found the spout on the GSI carafe to leak coffee down the side of the press if I didn't firmly place it along the lip of the cup I was pouring into. Why adjust my lifestyle with a simple fix when I can throw parts at the solution? I was downsizing my apartment to go full time nomad and was going to give my Bodum French Press to the local thrift store when I checked the plunger assembly (cross plate, filter plate, etc.) and they fit my GSI lid and carafe perfectly and were much higher quality than that the GSI came with. I still dripped coffee on the counter occasionally as I was pouring.

A few days ago I had the GSI carafe in the sink with a Yeti tumbler lid and they fit perfectly plus the Yeti tumbler's gasket is low enough to completely seal the GSI pour spout. I just had to drill out a center hole for the plunger assembly and notch the magnetic drinking hole cover on the Yeti.

Problem solved. I now have a shatter proof (or rather resistant) carafe from GSI, a quality filter plate and plunger assembly that I can buy replacement parts from Bodum, that does not leak coffee down the side when I pour because of the Yeti lid. If anything happens to the GSI carafe, I can use my Yeti tumbler as a carafe since the plunger and lid will fit - the plunger just will not go all the way down as the Yeti tumbler tapers about 2/3 of the way down.

 

Lol.
‘first world’ problem solved.
nice work!

 

"This is in no way cost effective" should be middle name. Love the ingenuity here.

 

Anyone use these?

my wife is currently on a kick of a (go box kit) it’s always been on my mind also. I have several items In mind but not to a dedicated kit.

I know there are hundred of brands and certain filter types but anyone have any real world experience with these? Doesn’t have to be this brand*

 

Lifestraw I’ve used. Work well but every one I’ve used on semi dirty water has clogged fairly quickly to the point where it’s really hard to move water through it.

so don’t expect it to last unless you’re filtering fairly clear water most of the time.

msr makes the trail shot which I’m testing this season while we are hunting in Montana and Colorado. I’ll try to remember to report back

 

Just picked up a Kodiak Canvas FlexBow 10x10 Deluxe for fall/winter truck hunting/camping. As much as I like the Gazelle T3X (and all the simplicity with setup), the awning on the Kodiak is just invaluable. Nothing beats having a dry entry/exit point and a place to set a chair and have coffee in the morning while being protected. Will use a Mr Buddy for heat.

 

Hey man, the 2 best water filters on the market are the Sawyer Squeeze, and Katadyn BeFree.
Biggest difference is the Katadyn is a .2 micron filter vs a .1 of Sawyer squeeze. The design is different too but those are the most popular for PCTers.
I have a Sawyer Mini I bought before I knew what the hell I was doing, and it also works great but you want something you can hook up to a bottle and filter dirty to clean style.
Way more effective than trying to drink out a stream.

 

Any experience using the Katadyn Pocket?

It’s pricey and I’m sure it’s heavier & takes more space. But, from reading online reviews...the thing looks to be a great product.

 

Nice FrankenPress

 

I’ve used most every Katadyn filter aside from that one. Based on my experience with the others I wouldn’t hesitate.

For ultralight setup I’ve got the msr trail shot (I think that’s what it’s called) and I filtered some pretty nasty water with it with success.

 

I have a tarp tent and a seek outside that are treking pole tents. I also being a western hunter.

I’m aways learning how to be more efficient and there’s always new stuff that comes out, but in general you are probably going to have to take the extra weight. The tarptent I have is a floorless system. Horrible when it rains, and it’s not always possible or safe to be on high terrain.

The seekoutside guardian is decent, not horrible in price, and does work well with a good insulated sleeping pad. I got the nemo tensor.

The down side, is again, the bathtub floor isn’t great for extreme inclement weather. It’s 29 ounces, which puts it close to a lot of poled 1P tents, and you most definitely need to tie it down to some type of solid anchoring if you’re out west. If you’re bivy hunting, it might not be a huge deal, but if you pack in and set up a base camp…it could become a parachute.

I personally like vestibule tents, like linked below, and you can see that the claimed weight isn’t much different.

 

Good intel! Thank you!

I ended up packing my 2 man and I think I settled same as your thinking of t being lighter doesn’t necessarily mean it’s gonna be better out there. Nothing worse than a tent failure in a storm. I had it happen once for a week long trip and it was miserable.