Ultimate Camping Thread

bass pro shops is accually very well stocked and sleeping bags. there Ascend bags come in about a billion different sizes colors and shapes. and best of all there accually affordable

 

i have been looking at that bag for awhile, since most of my camping does not involve backpacking great distances it may be an option. however the double bag system that i devised has yet to let me down, except for it being a little short...

 

Ya go check out bass pro and lay in them. You will know you found the right one.

 

Yes, sleeping bag shopping is hard, I'm currently doing it now! I'm thinking about going with the Big Agnes Horse Thief, theirs two really good deals on Geartrade.

Anyone have experience with the BA Horse Thief?


Not sure if I'm going to get it molded, its honestly really comfortable the way it is. Are you talking about Benchmark outfitters? I saw they had a machine up there. I'm going to see if I can find some comparisons on a molded vs. unmolded hip belt, maybe it'll help me make a decision.

 

Forgot you were a local. Yeah Benchmark is the one I saw the machine at. I really dont know if it would be an advantage or not to have the mold done. I have never had one done and have been just fine.

 

i have never even heard of molding hip belts

 

http://www.ospreypacks.com/PackTech/CustomMolding/

Osprey is the only company I know of that does the moldable belt system

 

Seems like a lot of people take guns camping with them. Whats everyones thoughts on that? (almost warrants a separate thread...) Personally I can't afford to be carrying the extra weight on many of my excursions. Mace i think can be effective if used correctly. I've been in one situation where my hiking partner used his mace. Wasn't needed, however we had them out with safety caps off. He stumpled (wearing snow shoes and jumping a water bar) while retreating and sprayed the mace. Any wind and you better be holding your breath getting out of the way of that red cloud! That said I reserve the mace as an absolute last resort, right before a knife!

What I prefer is a well trained dog, and bear bangers. The best part of the bear banger is it doubles as safety flares which is a big plus! For those unfamiliar, here is a link.

http://www.truflare.ca/Signal Kits.html

Also fun around the campsite for you shit disturbers.

 

I am not a fan of mace do to the wind issue. I have sprayed bear mace and there was just a slight wind and i could see right for a couple of days. If i know im in bear country and its LEGAL i will carry some kind of gun. Its just extra security ya know. I dont have a problem with people carrying guns as long as they are responsible. most people i run into on the trail have some kind of protection with them and you would never know it unless you endangered there life, but thats just being responsible. and x2 on the dogs

 

I have no issues with people carrying guns... as long as it is legal and they are responsible. I had some people staying across the river from me one time (river was about 100 ft wide) that were shooting at stuff on my side of the river. I could hear the bullets hitting branches about 50 ft from me. Needless to say I didn't take too well to that but they were respectful enough and went somewhere else. my guess is they couldn't see me.

I am not too big on the mace but carry it anyways. Like you, I would use it in a last resort scenario. I have a Smith and Wesson revolver that I will carry if I am going to be in a potentially dangerous area but I doubt that .38 will do crap to a bear. I may invest in some of those bear bangers though... the fire crackers I carry work pretty well too. plus they are fun to use on the guy who hasn't crapped in a few days.

 

My sportz 3 truck tent just came in the mail. I couldn't wait to go camping to test fit it. So i busted it out in the drive way tell me what you all thinks?

 

Is there bear mace? Or is that the same as pepper spray? I know of bear pepper spray, tends to be effective on grizzly's - however tends to not be effective on black bears, so keep that in mind.

 

yes there is bear mace. it is supposed to be super super strong. i think its like 2% caipsin. and its in a bigger bottle with more pressure so you can spray farther.

 

that looks like it has to be a total biotch to set up and take down!

 

I never carry a gun in the backcountry (except for when I camp while hunting, mind you). I go out there to get away from everything "civilized" and I really can't stand the extra weight. My thought process is that if I get eaten by a bear, then I was stupid for not preparing myself better.

Plus, I think going down fighting a bear is a pretty cool way to have to leave this world. Better than crapping yourself in a nursing home watching reruns of Matlock.

I do carry bear spray in summer and fall sometimes, though.

 

you mean preparing yourself better by carrying some device that would repel a bear? something like.... a gun??

 

So is it the capsaicin that repels the bear, or some other ingredient? Asking since pepper spray doesn't really work on black bears, neither would the mace IF it's only the capsaicin that's the active ingrediant.

 

For me it depends. If I'm in the backwoods with just me and the dog, I'll usually CC a pistol or bring a can of bear spray, as much for the two-leggers as the four. We don't have very many dangerous wild animals around here.

Backpacking, it's bear spray if I'm in a small group, or nothing if I'm in a large one.

Car camping, I'll CC the pistol.

I don't necessarily think I'll need any of it, just nice to have as a backup. Most of the time I just forget its there and enjoy my time in the woods.

 

The concentration is higher and the spray method is vastly different.

You open up a can of bear spray, and it goes 20-30 feet in a huge cloud. It also can end everybody's trip in a hurry, because it's pretty unpleasant stuff.

But the goal is to assault the bear's sensitive nose, as I understand it.

 

Agreed about how it works, etc. I'm still wondering what the active ingredient is, because as of a few years ago, the standard bear spray they sold is quite ineffective on black bears, so all these people carrying it are getting quite a false sense of security. I'm just wondering is the 'mace' version has other ingredients in it that are effective on black bears.