Ultimate Camping Thread

i have one of those bags, works great

 

I really like it.

The only thing I'm not a huge fan is the fiberglass poles. All the aluminum poles for my Kelty tent are lighter then the 2 fiberglass poles, but that is very minor.

Its been a good tent. Made it through a lot of rain in NH and did well. The only water than came in was because I didn't center the rain fly good enough. The double vestibule is nice cause if you have two people, both of their gear is protected. Just want to pack a small piece of plastic for a vestibule floor. From what I have read, its on the larger side of a 2 person backpack tent which is good since most 2 person backpack tents are more like one person or two if you're really good friends lol.

 

Sub'd, read through most of this book. Lots of good info in here

 

Picked up a army cot from a friend of mine fairly cheap. Gonna try it this winter vs. last winter sleeping on the ground. I folded it out today to test it and actually fell asleep on it. Very comfortable!

Looks like this.


I need to pick up a 2 person tent my gear and cot will fit in so when I go camping alone I dont have to drag out the big 5 person one. Anyone have any suggestions? Not looking for anything too pricey.

 

This... It will be just like sleeping in a hammock. You will still want something under you. Even though the tent will block the wind from under you, there will still be some cold air. Even lok at one of those closed cell foam pads at walmart or something. They are cheap and will do the trick.

 

I have one of thos self inflating bed mats with the foam in them, just open up the valve, let it sit for 5 mins and close the valve and its about an inch of cushion. when your done just open it and sqeeze the air out and close the valve again, works great and folds up smaller than some other mats

 

Ill have to look into the pads, Im still going to try the cot though. Might place a pad btw me and the cot.

I have a 0 degree mummy bag. It keeps me fairly warm, The lowest ive slept was about 12 degrees, it was a very cold and long night. Its usually just my feet that get cold. Another thing im going to try is warming some water over the fire then putting it into a bottle and slide that into the sleeping bag.

 

http://www.thinkgeek.com/gadgets/travel-outdoors/d8a2/

Zippo hand warmer, its designed to work in your pocket for 12 hours, with barely any air... figure it would work for your feet too

 

Cot wouldnt be bad at all. Just grab a cheap foam pad to throw under you. You will be happy you did. I got cold in july sleeping in the hammock and wished i had something under me. The bottom of the sleeping bag will collapse through the night from your body weight so eventually there wont be any cusion or insulation under your back side

 

another good trick to staying warm is to take them foot warmers and stickthem on you inner thigh by your groin. that heats the blood in your femoral arteries and will warm you body.

 

You aren't kidding...hand warmers kept me alive when I camped a few weeks ago without my down sleeping bag!

 

Here are a few pictures from Huntsville State Park a few weeks ago.

If anyone has any suggestions for where I can do a little offroad camping around Houston I'd appreciate it. Somewhere in a 2-4 hour drive from Houston would be preferable.



It's nice that the bikes will sit on top of the gear, that way I still have the full bed to haul gear with.



We're still in a burn ban down here so I had to resort to propane for all of our cooking. I did however treat myself to a new camp chef stove. This thing is amazing. It has two 30,000 btu burners. I also added their griddle.



I was able to make a peach cobbler in the dutch oven with this foil lined cover. It turned out perfect.

 

Those fajitas look damn good!!!!!

 

Pretty fancy cooking for being outdoors! Props!

 

I honestly believe that they saved my life in 15 degree weather when i had nothing but a tarp and a el cheepo synthetic summer bag. god i never wanna relive that situation

 

Well...I took the plunge. Sierra Designs Vapor Light 1 on the way! Found a killer deal, $120 shipped. I went with it because of the larger vestibule and the light weight. Came in at 2.14 lbs. I would've gone with a 2 man but I'll probably end up having to get a 3 when I have a partner anyways.

Here's what it looks like:

 

thats a tent i have had my eye on. ill be waiting for a review I think the spitfire has a little bit more floor space though. great deal btw

 

Indeed, the spitfire IS roomier inside. It's an awesome deal too at $80 shipped on Amazon. I was really torn between this one and the MSR Hubba. Let's hope I made the right call

 

i hear great things about the hubba but like you said...its hard to beat 80 bucks