Wisconsin Tacomas and bad financial advice + guitar talk

I mentioned I've been spending some nights sleeping out on our 3-season porch to test out some new camping gear I picked up. Last night it was 42 out there and I slept great. I feel like I'm in training for some cold weather camping.

I got a new sleeping pad and sleeping bag from a company that was new to me called Sea to Summit. Quality stuff!

 

I think I've seen some of their products at REI, or maybe online shopping for camping gear. I'll have to keep them in mind for future purchases.

 

Sea to Summit makes some good stuff. What's your full sleep kit (specific models/ratings if you got em)?

 

I wasn't really concerned with lightweight backpacking gear, as I mostly plan to use this for 3-4 season tent camping at campgrounds or while hanging with the doods here. So I went with base camp equipment.

$168 Sea to Summit Comfort Plus Self-Inflating Foam Sleeping Pad for Camping, Rectangular - Regular (72 x 25 x 3"es) -2021

This is the sleeping pad I got. 3" thick and self-inflating. It's more comfortable than I expected. I'm a side sleeper and my hip and shoulder would be on the ground with my old pad. Not so here.

Here is my new sleeping bag. I have a Marmot 30 degree mummy style bag, and I've just never been comfortable sleeping in it. I need more leg room and space to roll in it. This new bag is really nice. Zipper options are perfect and my Thermarest pillow fits right in the hood area. In more extreme temps I'd be covering myself with that hood I suppose, but I haven't yet tried anything below last night's 42 degrees. I had to go with synthetic over down filled for the bag because I get congested when sleeping with any down coverings or pillows. Mild allergy I guess.

So Sea to Summit just checked all the boxes for my requirements when I was shopping. Next up is a new tent, and this is the one I've been eyeing up.

 

Oh yeah those are nice, good choices. R value of 4.1 on that pad, wow. You’ll be plenty toasty down to some very cold temperatures.

 

https://chicago.craigslist.org/chc/pts/d/gurnee-2005-toyota-tacoma-4x4-parts/7581320155.html

 

If anyone is interested in these it’s right where I’m at, let me know and I can help with logistics or pickup or whatever.

 

42? Where do you live? I thought you lived in Wisconsin... Good for you! I have found I am pretty comfortable to about 10 degrees, then sleeping in the back is just frick'in cold. Warm I am, but at some point I have to get out and pee or cook or pack or whatever and that is generally miserable. I use a winter bag (-20) and two down comforters and I wear my down coat with a wool hat-oh and I try and park so the breeze doesn't just blow right in the back of the truck...

 

Just a little update (or lack thereof) on the tire guy for everyone. I still haven't heard back from him. I hope we didn't scare him away. The saying "if it seems too good to be true it it usually is" might have weighed heavily on his mind. I mean it isn't every day that you get free tires and free mounting and balancing from complete and utter strangers lol.

 

Every good deed comes with a curse, it seems

 

No good deed goes unpunished is how I was told...

 

I helped a lady at Fleet Farm the other day. She was returning something and she needed help getting the box out of her vehicle and on to a shopping cart.
She was very thankful
Then at Menards, 2 young men helped me load 2 sheets of plywood into the Tacoma.

 

Gotta give him a pass, he's not from around here.

 

Heh, it's an enclosed 3-season porch. Not quite as cold as outside, but still something like it would be in a winter tent I would guess. Last night it was 37 on the porch and I wasn't cold at all, but was bothered by a sore back so I didn't sleep great. I've just been wearing REI base layer pants, socks, t-shirt, hoodie and a knit hat. I could layer up some more in colder temps and still have plenty of room in the sleeping bag.

 

My daughter got a new bag last summer that zips out and has expansion capabilities... thought that was pretty cool! ROOM...

 

Cold weather camping setup

exped megamat 10
Enlightened equipment revelation 850 down 20 degree
Enlightened equipment revelation apex 40 degree

https://support.enlightenedequipmen...0588-How-to-layer-quilts-for-sub-zero-camping

Shorts and a teeshirt and I’ll still be warm to 0. Plus inside a tent will be warmer than outside.

 

I believe most, if not all of the Sea to Summit bags are designed to be zipped together so you can buddy up and keep warm with a partner. My wife has no interest in cold weather camping though, so I'll probably never get to try that out.

 

Looking to sell my RTT and bed rack to get a soft topper. I’d like to sell to someone here if there’s interest. Tent is a Tepui Autana 4 with annex. has a dent in the bottom, a small tear in the skirt, and some black spots that I neutralized last fall. Rack is victory 4x4 mid height and could use repainted as it has some surface rust. Anyone looking? I can take better pictures if someone is.

 

@Larry Dangerfield

 

https://www.foxbusiness.com/lifesty...ight-millionth-barrel-bourbon-prohibition.amp

Probably nothing special about that batch but the number put on it makes it seem so lol