Camping/Overlanding Gear and Packing Recommendations (1 Viewer)

[Washingtontaco]

I have a Oz Tent RV-2. Great tent for base camp, setting it up with the awning, guy lines and staking it in 10 minutes I have my doubts. Our swag is a two person so extra wide again comfortable and good for day to day moving. Just big when rolled up. Picked up a small Gazelle tent for a small base camp tent for use at the Northwest Overland Rally this year decent quality but will need a cot. This will be good for teaching on site.

For getting dressed my Quick Pitch En Suite is clutch. I camped at Expo PNW in the vender booth area last year. When the line for a shower was 5+ people deep at 5:30 am I deployed the En Suite took my shower and was dressed in no time!

 

[doru]

Those Klymit are ridiculous expensive for a pillow.
I use small down pillows. If space is needed I can use a compression bag.

 

[TeCKis300]

Those Klymit are ridiculous expensive for a pillow.
I use small down pillows. If space is needed I can use a compression bag.

Guilty as charged. They've earned their place in my gear even for the camper, being really high on comfort and convenience.

 

[Idaho Savage]

This may border on indulgent, but has some great practicality. I'll spend more on gear that keeps excellent utility with compactness.

Pillows can take some good space, especially when I travel with all 4 family members. Here's a compromise of a great pillow, but also one that can be compacted within its own protective sleeve.

Amazon product ASIN B082116CML

X2.

Having even a rudimentary pillow is the difference between well rested and not for me. I might order that thing up!

 

[BVE]

The Silky Gomboy is awesome, also check out the Silky Nata. It’s a machete/hatchet combo and unless you are processing a bunch wood it’s all you need when camping.

 

[FrazzledHunter]

So, this might sound silly but 25+ years of camping & trailering has us not leaving without a small plastic dustpan & brush. It's great for sweeping out the tent/trailer and brushing off feet before entering tent, trailer etc.... We love camping at the beach but HATE sand in the tent as it ALWAYS winds up in the beds. Same goes for grass & dirt in wooded areas.

 

[Tex68w]

So, this might sound silly but 25+ years of camping & trailering has us not leaving without a small plastic dustpan & brush. It's great for sweeping out the tent/trailer and brushing off feet before entering tent, trailer etc.... We love camping at the beach but HATE sand in the tent as it ALWAYS winds up in the beds. Same goes for grass & dirt in wooded areas.

We are at the beach often, we only live 15 minutes from the Gulf of Mexico. I have been using a horse brush to clean off our feet and legs for years now and it works wonders for keeping the sand to a minimum.

 

[TeCKis300]

So, this might sound silly but 25+ years of camping & trailering has us not leaving without a small plastic dustpan & brush. It's great for sweeping out the tent/trailer and brushing off feet before entering tent, trailer etc.... We love camping at the beach but HATE sand in the tent as it ALWAYS winds up in the beds. Same goes for grass & dirt in wooded areas.

I've already been called out and going to get further judged here. Then again none of can claim to be purists driving around 200-series?

I usually bring along a compact Dewalt vacuum. Depending on occasion, will bring a leaf blower too. Leaf blower is great for sand, but has also been clutch to light fires with wet wood.

 

[UPR LC]

I've already been called out and going to get further judged here. Then again none of can claim to be purists driving around 200-series?

I usually bring along a compact Dewalt vacuum. Depending on occasion, will bring a leaf blower too. Leaf blower is great for sand, but has also been clutch to light fires with wet wood.

While we're at it. My favorite lazy-man's-fire-and-BBQ-starter: Folding Torch - https://www.snowpeak.com/products/folding-torch

I use it for the backyard weber charcoal chimney and to start camp fires, works amazing!

Pro-tip: starting the top of a charcoal chimney coals first will eliminate heavy smoke when the coals first start to light (don't use fire starter at the bottom of the chimney). The torch works perfect for getting the top coals burning hot.

 

[Artie]

I've already been called out and going to get further judged here. Then again none of can claim to be purists driving around 200-series?

I usually bring along a compact Dewalt vacuum. Depending on occasion, will bring a leaf blower too. Leaf blower is great for sand, but has also been clutch to light fires with wet wood.

No judgement, this vacuum lives in my trailer tow box. I use it on floor mats as well as the high traffic area in my camper while camping. What can I say, I like to keep things tidy.

That brush handle that’s visible is also indispensable.

Camping doesn’t have to be dirty.

 

[Tex68w]

Yea the mini pear burners are clutch for camping. We keep a real pear burner on a large propane tank at deer camp for the fire.

 

[Heritage 2020]

Self-defense against predators, however you choose to define it. Have it on hand and pray you never need it.

 

[Idaho Savage]

Self-defense against predators, however you choose to define it. Have it on hand and pray you never need it.

You camping in Detroit or Kenai?

 

[1world1love]

I've already been called out and going to get further judged here. Then again none of can claim to be purists driving around 200-series?

I usually bring along a compact Dewalt vacuum. Depending on occasion, will bring a leaf blower too. Leaf blower is great for sand, but has also been clutch to light fires with wet wood.

I’m not going to lie. I am carrying more “shop” tools as alternatives. I have found that the batteries for cordless tools tend to be much higher quality and hold charge much better than ”consumer” battery packs. Plus, I already own them so why not use them.

for instance, I quit carrying a chainsaw and now carry a cordless dewalt compact reciprocating saw with a pruning blade. It’s very small but It can cut most things and if not, I can always winch it out of the way. It’s also great for firewood, though I don’t do wood fires anymore. I suppose it would also be good for these predators that have been mentioned

but the, I also have a dewalt cordless flashlight and work light that both run off the same battery packs.

and recently, dewalt put out a charger/adapter that lets you charge their batteries using USBc, but also lets you use the bsttery to power or charge anything else via USBc or regular USB.

and that brings me to a simple but pretty cool thing that we always do when camping, and that is to bring USB fairy light strands. I will hang them between the tent and the hanging out area as a guide at night and for general ambience. They are dim enough to not be obnoxious, but provide enough light so that you don’t need headlamps or flashlights around camp. Plug it into a dewalt 5ah battery and they will run for days.

but ideally you would recharge your batteries with a good folding solar panel, which is my other “can’t do without”

 

[1world1love]

Besides that, most things have been touched upon but here and I agree with using gear that leans toward backpacking style, with the exception of sleeping pad. We have every variety of backpacking pads and nothing comes close to our exped (or similar) and a good nights sleep is major when you are doing road trips. Otherwise, this is our general list:

- water and water filtration system (platypus hanging system)
- first-aid kit with epi pen and narcan
- tent
- exped sleeping mat
- sleeping bags
- sunscreen
- thermacell
- bug spray
- goal zero and solar chargers
- shovel
- saws
- fire extinguisher
- tools/fluids/tire repair
- hammocks
- propane stove
- GSI nesting cook set
- lighting (2 small but bright flashlights, 1 headlamp per person, 4 sets of fairy lights)
- recovery gear
- camp chairs
- roll-top table
- propane fire pit
- propane
- collapsible bucket
- lightweight fishing tackle
- 2 handheld radios
- Garmin in reach mini

These are the things that pretty much are always packed in the truck.

 

[TomEf]

Regarding camping toilets:

Surplus stores will have the military issue wag bags designed for PETT toilets, but they work great for the five gallon bucket with a seat too. If I remember right, they have the “business” bag with desiccant powder, a small thing of toilet paper, a wet wipe, and a larger main bag with a zip top to put everything in and seal up. I’ve gotten them at about $1.25-$1.50 each, where direct from the manufacturer they’re about $3 each. Maybe not a big savings, but a good source if you aren’t near an REI or similar.

 

[coleAK]

I do not keep food in the truck when camping in remote areas with bears. The food goes in bear proof containers. If no bears, then I'm good (raccoons are cleaver but no so cleaver).
I know many lock the food in the truck. But I would rather be left without fresh food for a few days (cans will do) than have the truck trashed by a hungry bear. Even if the hungry bear cannot get to the food it will scratch the paint and damage doors.

This.

I grew up in Tahoe and worked 3 summers in Yosemite. Back there the small black bears pull windows out of cars all the time even just to get a snickers or granola bar.

Now 14 years in Alaska bears will go through most things to get food.

So like above if you are in bear country the bears likely see vehicles as a good source and may pull a window out to get in.

As for bear bags. I have 2, only use them if I’m in an are where I can suspend them from a tree otherwise a bear can do a ton of damage to what’s inside. When I’m much above the Arctic circle (no trees) I use bear barrels.

As for water, like others have said water is heavy and takes up a ton of space. Even when we go backcountry with zero infrastructure for 2-3 weeks and with 3 or 4 of us I only take one 4 gallon Reliance “beverage buddy” and a 1L Nalgene and/or 3L camelback for each of us. Have a MSR guardian as the primary filter, it fills the 4 gallon without much drama. And also carry 1-2 MSR trail shots. I have lifestraws, have used them, but much prefer the trail shot. The guys I know that really like the life straw are ultra runners that carry a straw and no water bottle, and use the straw to directly drink from the source.
I remember this from a few years back, was essentially in my back yard.

Bear tears through valuable Shelby Cobra in Girdwood

A bear attacked a valuable convertible in Girdwood because a friend forgot about a Fig Newton, the car's owner says.

www.alaskasnewssource.com

 

[UPR LC]

This.

I grew up in Tahoe and worked 3 summers in Yosemite. Back there the small black bears pull windows out of cars all the time even just to get a snickers or granola bar.

Now 14 years in Alaska bears will go through most things to get food.

So like above if you are in bear country the bears likely see vehicles as a good source and may pull a window out to get in.

As for bear bags. I have 2, only use them if I’m in an are where I can suspend them from a tree otherwise a bear can do a ton of damage to what’s inside. When I’m much above the Arctic circle (no trees) I use bear barrels.

As for water, like others have said water is heavy and takes up a ton of space. Even when we go backcountry with zero infrastructure for 2-3 weeks and with 3 or 4 of us I only take one 4 gallon Reliance “beverage buddy” and a 1L Nalgene and/or 3L camelback for each of us. Have a MSR guardian as the primary filter, it fills the 4 gallon without much drama. And also carry 1-2 MSR trail shots. I have lifestraws, have used them, but much prefer the trail shot. The guys I know that really like the life straw are ultra runners that carry a straw and no water bottle, and use the straw to directly drink from the source.
I remember this from a few years back, was essentially in my back yard.

Bear tears through valuable Shelby Cobra in Girdwood

A bear attacked a valuable convertible in Girdwood because a friend forgot about a Fig Newton, the car's owner says.

www.alaskasnewssource.com

In the lower 48 have you had any issues with bears when outside an established campground (USFS or NPS)? If I am in a campground or near civilization, then I will take items out of my car and put them in bear lockers, the think is bears in these areas know that cars and campers are likely a source of food. But when I am in the middle of nowhere, I usually leave everything in the car since bears are less likely to associate cars with food and the likelihood of encountering a bear is less.

Just curious of others' experiences with bears.

 

[TeCKis300]

This.

I grew up in Tahoe and worked 3 summers in Yosemite. Back there the small black bears pull windows out of cars all the time even just to get a snickers or granola bar.

Now 14 years in Alaska bears will go through most things to get food.

So like above if you are in bear country the bears likely see vehicles as a good source and may pull a window out to get in.

As for bear bags. I have 2, only use them if I’m in an are where I can suspend them from a tree otherwise a bear can do a ton of damage to what’s inside. When I’m much above the Arctic circle (no trees) I use bear barrels.

As for water, like others have said water is heavy and takes up a ton of space. Even when we go backcountry with zero infrastructure for 2-3 weeks and with 3 or 4 of us I only take one 4 gallon Reliance “beverage buddy” and a 1L Nalgene and/or 3L camelback for each of us. Have a MSR guardian as the primary filter, it fills the 4 gallon without much drama. And also carry 1-2 MSR trail shots. I have lifestraws, have used them, but much prefer the trail shot. The guys I know that really like the life straw are ultra runners that carry a straw and no water bottle, and use the straw to directly drink from the source.
I remember this from a few years back, was essentially in my back yard.

Bear tears through valuable Shelby Cobra in Girdwood

A bear attacked a valuable convertible in Girdwood because a friend forgot about a Fig Newton, the car's owner says.

www.alaskasnewssource.com

Good stuff.

Do you have a recommendation on how to handle food gear that may still have odors? Specifically, cooktops or griddle stoves that surely still has bacon and food smells after cleaning, as they a risk to keep in a car? In a camper?

 

[Idaho Savage]

Good stuff.

Do you have a recommendation on how to handle food gear that may still have odors? Specifically, cooktops or griddle stoves that surely still has bacon and food smells after cleaning, as they a risk to keep in a car? In a camper?

I've spent some time in grizz country (though not as much as Cole) and the rule was if it has touched food or smells like food or perfume, it gets stowed. As an example, we'll stow our tooth brushes when tent camping in grizz country. No toiletries, food, napkins or anything that doesn't smell like a putrid human who hasn't showered in days.

While in AK, I once saw a mama griz tear the metal lid off a "bear proof" dumpster like someone opening a tuna can. It stayed with me.