Ultimate Camping Thread

nice! post details when you have it done! The Grand trunk is probably one of the best investments I have made... I was pleasantly surprised when I got in it and saw that it was actually a lot more comfy than my almost $200 Hennessy.

I use the camelback cleaning kit with cleaning tablets. just fill the camelback up with water, drop the tablets in there and let it sit. they fizz and bubble. Then i take the brushes and clean the hose and bladder. dump the water, refill and dump again... good as new

we had a beetle around here for a few years that killed a lot of pine trees. I have not heard of any rules around here about firewood but I always go by the impression of leave no trace. I try my hardest to take dead stand wood and not cut anything down.

 

we had a beetle down here a few years ago the destroyed our pine population. they would bore down into the tree and the tree would eventually die. but the plus is easy to reach fire wood. and a lot of it!

 

ALPS are decent tents, won't last as long as a higher end one but definitely a great value.

And it depends... If I were you I would kick the third out and make 'em get their own tent. Unless... yeah maybe go with that two person tent.

Seriously though if you're 6'2" and are 'car camping' with three people I would pick up a four person tent or bigger. General rule if you don't have to carry the damn thing is subtract one from the manufacturer's occupancy guidelines. Then you have at least a couple inches between your bags or space for the dog and whatnot.

Check out Big Agnes sleeping pads! 3 inches thick, super comfy as you can let air out until it's just right, and the best part is they pack up to the size of a big water bottle, will be nice when you start backpacking! Oh, and they're cheaper than a lot of the competitors. I've been using them for years and the only time I've had punctures is when I sleep out in the dirt/rocks with it.

Awesome thread!

 

We're getting hit hard in Colorado too. Millions of acres of dead Pines. We've already had more wild fires in 2011 than we did the year of the Hayman fire, the most destructive fire year on record in CO. The scary part is that the Forest Service has pretty much no budget for wildland firefighters this year and the amount of standing dead and accumulated fuel is unbelievable. Stupid beetles.

 

Yeah, Mark's right. CO is hit hard. My brother lives on the hillside in Big Thompson canyon, surrounded by now dead trees. Every time I hear a report of a wildfire near Loveland or Ft. Collins, my heart skips a beat. Stupid beetles? I don't think so. Too many winters where the temperature doesn't get cold enough. Not a hard enough freeze to kill the larvae and keep the insect in check. It's not the beetle's fault: it just does what it does.

 

True, not their fault. The beetles are native and just doing their thing, but still, I like pine trees more than I like beetles.
I hear they're starting to transition to the Ponderosa.

 

x2 I have the Pacific Outdoor pad but is basically the Big Agnes. Such a nice pad!

 

finally got a pic. of the 2 hammocks set up together. G.T. Skeeter Beeter, left. Hennessy Expedition, right.

 

awesome

 

My buddy was woke up by a bear spinning him around in one of those. Id be careful where you camp with them. Its a good thing we heard him and made the bear go away. It was funny for us.

 

A bear on the outside of the tent is bad enough. Waking up to it spinning you around omfg.

 

Yeah I mean he could have been doing it to a tent just as easy but he was poking him with his snout and it spun him around he was yelling as quiet as he could. Think of a whisper yell haha. Then he ran sat up on the hill and was looking at us like what I just wanted to play!

 

Whisper yelling reminds me of the funeral scene in The Other Guys! haha

 

Yea, I have an ALPS tent, and I love it. It has all the features the $300+ tents have, even made of the same material, but half the cost. Alps Zephyr 2 is what I have.

X2 on the Big Agnes pads, I have the Air Core and its great! I can't believe me or my dog hasn't punctured it yet. I would go for the insulated air core if I were to do it again tho. Either way, you can't go wrong.

 

i totally would have pooped myself if I were him. lol funny thing is... I am going to be doing a trip out in Montana probably this summer where the grizzlies are. I will make sure I am sleeping with my bear mace

x2 lol

 

well it looks like im sleeping with bear mace now

 

That is what I take when I am down in any area with bears.... I was dicking around with a smaller can of it once and it shot out in the wind... yeah.. right in my f'ing face... I couldn't see crap for hours!

These also go with me. I usually have about 6 of those little square ones in my pocket with a lighter if I need to scare something off. they are also fun to screw with people around camp.

 

lol every time im camping i have fireworks. Does any one know how a pair of BDU pants are supposed to fit?