Camping and Backpacking GEAR thread

I've been trying to find it online but it doesn't show up. I know my local store has some. I'll try to get a pic in the next day or so.

 

Seems I need to make a recon trip.

Gotta find someone with a Sams Club card first.

 

I recently had to do that for some seat covers from Costco.

 

I believe that number of people make it a group site, or you will have to use multiple campsites.
Rim to rim ... 3 camps to stay at. Indian gardens, Bright Angel, and Cottonwood. Dorms or cabins at Phantom Ranch but they are reserved separately from the campsites.
As soon as you get to the bottom, check at the Phantom ranch store for availability of meals. Breakfast and dinners are awesome. Hiker stew A+++.

 

I did this last year with three of us...just not rim to rim. Yes, eight people means you apply for a large group permit. The problem is that there is only one large group campsite in two of the campgrounds. I don't think they'll split us into two separate campsites.

I know you can make reservations for a meal at Phantom Ranch. We spent two nights at Bright Angel campground last year, but we decided to pack everything in that we needed.

 

I got meals at Phantom and still carried my meals out.

I have been there plenty of times. (Not an expert though). Last time was a hundred miles, mostly on the Tonto, 2 weeks, solo. I loved that trip.
Hermit to Boucher, then Slate, then back to Hermit. Continued all the way to Hance rapids and came up New Hance.
I don't do the corridor anymore, too many people. I have gotten all of my recent permits by showing up at the BIC and asking for a permit. There is almost always somewhere to go.

Consider Hermit to Bright Angel. 4(quick)-7(slow) days. Flexible campgrounds and days.
Hermit Creek or Hermit Rapids. Monument, Monument Rapids, Cedar Springs, Salt Creek, Horn Creek, Indian Gardens.
Water at all of them most of the year. Water at Salt is questionable, Water at Horn is not recommended.
The story about water at Horn is if you drink the water at Horn you won't need a flashlight.

Ken in NC

 

Wow, I'm impressed! I'm nearing retirement and just getting back into doing this. Not quite ready yet to do any "primitive" camping. It is something I'd like to do, but I need to work up to it. Right now I don't have the vacation time to do anything longer than about a week away, and that includes driving there and back.

We went in October last year, and although we did see quite a few people on the upper parts of the corridor trails, there weren't a lot in the canyon itself. Over half of the campsites at Bright Angel and Indian Garden were vacant.

I've already told a couple of my friends that next year I want to go to Bryce Canyon. That looks like it would be fun.

 

Camp partner people!

Not sure if you realized, but i just found out that the gas fitting on the stove is "custom" and won't adapt to anything off the shelf per camp partner.

I need a 90 degree fitting to make the stove work in the current location.

Just got off the phone with them and they said there's nothing they can do "it's a bad design that hasn't been changed for 30 years, sorry"

Because i drilled those holes in mine, they won't do anything for me... Not even a suggestion of helping me out with a custom fitting for their stupid custom line.

Their hose end has the nipple part that needs to be depressed to work, think I could get a different hose without that?

I don't want to be in the middle of nowhere and need a hose for some reason and be a sol because they used a special hose and fitting just to be a pain in the ass.

Let's just say I'm not happy with this purchase!

 

ClassicCampStoves.com

The site is moving to a new server, so my be inaccessible right now, but it is the go to place for stoves.

 

Nov & Dec are great months to go. Way less people.
Oct is one of the busiest moths.

 

Any idea if it has a special fitting for these?

 

I would go there and ask a question. There are a few members that do some really cool mods.

 

Site seems down right now like you said.

The issue is i am quickly running out of time to get a working stove. Never in a million years would i have guessed such a well rated stove would be comprised of a bunch of one off stuff instead of using off the shelf gas parts.

I'm leaning toward getting rid of it one way or another before i use it since the issue itself and "customer service" already did it's job of leaving a bad taste in my mouth. Already a little salty after it being so much heavier than expected.

 

Yeah, but November and December are my busiest month. Maybe next year.

 

You can get a free 1 day pass https://help.samsclub.com/ci/fattach/get/151974/0/filename/One+day+pass+2017.pdf the only thing is everything cost 10% more.

 

February may still be cold but March can be ok. April is the busiest. October second. May it gets HOT.

 

Well that changes things.

 

Just my opinion... take it with a grain of salt. Had I been informed of this, I would have walked away from purchasing this stove no questions asked. I dont want others to make the same financial mistake since I know a lot of people have these stoves on their "to do list".

A few weeks ago, I was looking for a camping stove. My main want was something that was built well and would last for a lot of time on the trail. After everyone raved about Camp Partner Steel stoves, I sucked it up and paid the outrageous price figuring it would be worth it.

First impressions... heavy AF. Built well, not much to it to go wrong, but they really could cut down on the weight if they cared. On each side, there are two large holes, I'm guessing for air flow. The gas line is placed in the front right corner hole (not sure if you can change this by custom ordering).

I overlooked the weight and installed it by drilling 4 small holes in the rear to mount it to a swing out so the gas line could be permanently affixed. I planned on getting a 90 degree elbow to make the gas line run along side the grill instead of sweeping way out to the side and hitting the tailgate.

Thats when I got bad news. Camp Partner custom makes the fitting in house "a bad design, but its the way we've been doing it for 30 years" per the fella I spoke to. Cant get an elbow fitting, cant get a replacement hose off the shelf if something happens to yours when you're on the road, you are without a stove until you get a replacement hose from them, not sure if they even offer a hose extension... my guess would be no.

So, instead of using off the shelf gas parts, they custom make stuff for no reason (which correlates directly to the overpriced stove).

The last thing I want in the middle of nowhere on my trip (or any camping trip), is something to happen to the gas line and be out of a stove simply because they decided to continue making the stoves with a "bad design from 30 years ago".

Just my rant, they said they would not do anything for me since I drilled the small holes in the back of the stove. I'll be returning it one way or another and getting something that is actually built for time on the trail and not "expo" points. Support US built products and small businesses they said... Sure, its my fault for drilling holes in it, if I hadn't, they'd take this piece of junk back without questions; but its also my fault for assuming they would use standard gas fittings...silly me.

 

Sorry to hear about your bad experience with Partner Stove. My understanding was they would build a custom hose, if requested.

Have you tried to look for a fitting to build your own hose? They might use a "custom" fitting in regard to propane, but I'm sure you can find a matching fitting in the non-propane world. Check out https://www.mcmaster.com/#

I am really surprised about their lack of customer service. I have always heard they were a stand-up company.

If you are able to build a new hose (which I hope you try to do) I think you will be very pleased with the stove. Sure, it's heavy - heavy duty. It should last your lifetime.

 

Also if you live in a major city there is going to be a place that makes custom hoses. Usually they specialize in hydraulic, gas and most any kind of pressure hoses. I would bet they will be able to make up a hose to do what you need.