LivingOverland.com's Camping and Travel Gear Reviews

[flyfishexpert]

With our expanded focus onto general travel and 4WD topics, we will be providing reviews on camping and travel products.

First up is our review of Reliance Products' Fold-To-Go camp toilet.

Fold-To-Go in Valley of the Gods, UT

We are strong believers in the 'Pack it in Pack it out' philosophy of back country travel and for several years we toted around the Reliance Products Luggable Loo and their Double Doodie Waste Bags with Bio-Gel. The system is simple and effective but the size of the Luggable Loo took up a fair amount of space in our 4Runner and after the sleeping platform was installed we decided look for a new setup. After contacting Reliance Products, they were kind enough to send out their Fold-To-Go toilet for review.

Specification
Length: 14.50 Width: 4.50 Height: 14.50
Weight: 4.50lbs
Price: $42.99

Our Thoughts:
We have been using Reliance products for several years we were excited to try out their folding toilet on our trips. The toilet uses their standard Double Doodie Waste Bags and the system can be setup, ready for use in less than a minute. The three legs easily fold out and click into place, providing a sturdy and stable platform for sitting. At 260 pounds, I never felt like the toilet would collapse beneath me, even when placed in an off-camber position. The size of the toilet worked well for storage behind the driver's seat and below the sleeping platform.

For the rest of our review, visit our blog at www.LivingOverland.com, or click here.

 

[Enigma]

I've had the same unit for a bit now. Wife likes it, kids like it, therefore I like it.

 

[flyfishexpert]

If the wife and kids are happy it has to be good!

 

[flyfishexpert]

Review of Stanley NINETEEN 13 Water Bottle

Review of Stanley NINETEEN 13 Water Bottle



Specifications:
Materials: Stainless Steel and BPA Free plastic
Capacity: 24floz
Price: $15.00

Our Thoughts:
It can be tough finding a water bottle that fits the small cup holders on the 4Runner. It is even harder to find one that is easy to open while driving. Past experience has seen me placing a water bottle between my knees, unscrewing the cap, placing the cap in the hand holding the steering wheel, and then taking a drink of water. You can see how this can be dangerous, taking your attention from the road can lead to an accident.



We were excited when we were able to pick up a pair of their NINETEEN 13 1-Handed Water Bottles at the 2012 Outdoor Retailer Summer Market. The pair have traveled with us for 4 months now and they have become our go-to water bottles. The one-handed push-button lid is easy to operate and the bottle's fit securely in the cup holder. The only complaint I have with the water bottle is the stated capacity. I think they could have hit one out of the park if they had listed the capacity as 26floz/750ml instead of the 24floz/710ml. You see the first thing I thought about when I saw the bottle was a 750ml bottle of wine and how this would be the perfect complement to our GSI Outdoors wineglasses. It wasn't until I verified the capacity that I realized it would in fact hold a full 750ml bottle of our favorite wine.

For the rest of our review, visit our blog at www.LivingOverland.com, or click here.

 

[flyfishexpert]

Review of Mountainsmith Parallax

Review of Mountainsmith Parallax
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Specification:
Internal Dimensions: 17.25'' x 10'' x 14.25''
External Dimensions: 18'' x 11'' x 15''
Weight: 5 lbs. 6 oz.
Volume: 1952 cu. in.
Material: 100% recycled PET
Price: $189.95 MSRP

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Our Thoughts:
Traveling with camera gear can really be a hassle, especially when your gear includes more than just a camera and lens. We love our mix of travel, adventure, and food photography but it comes at the expense of several unique pieces of equipment. On our trip to New Zealand we had our Nikon D90 body, spare battery, 4 lenses, SB-600 speedlight, eight AA batteries, memory card holder, and tripod all inside of or strapped onto the camera bag I cobbled together from an old Kelty lumbar pack. Needless to say, it didn't leave much room for anything else and it wasn't very organized. We were constantly moving things around to gain access to the items we wanted. We needed a better solution as our lenses have been getting better and our gear list keeps expanding.

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Enter in the Parallax Pro Daypack by Mountainsmith. Their website says it is a 'daypack designed to hold a true pro-sumer's kit worth of photo/video/audio gear'*, and this pack really is designed with the pro-sumer in mind. When we first un-boxed the Parallax, we immediately noticed the large size of this pack. We were able to take everything out of our lumbar pack, place it in the Parallax, and still have gobs of room left over. The main compartment opens from the back, a feature we really like, and can be done so without completely taking off the bag.

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Opening the main compartment reveals a somewhat standard array of felt and poly covered camera/lens organizers. There are nine compartments, allowing us to securely store our Nikon D90, three lenses, three speedlights, flash triggers, AA batteries, battery chargers, filters, computer mouse, computer AC adapter, and there is still loads of room for additional gear. The flap, which rests against your back when wearing, provides two clear organizers with zipper closures. These are handy for the batteries and users manuals.

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For the rest of our review on Mountainsmith's Parallax, visit our blot at www.LivingOverland.com or click here.

 

[flyfishexpert]

Bergans of Norway Wiglo LT4

Specifications:
Persons: 4
Season: All
Weight: 8lb 13oz (Outer Tent) 4lb 6oz (Inner Tent)
Footprint: 157.5” x 135.8” x 70.9”
Sleeping area: 59.2 sq ft
Price: 549.90€ ($725.77)

Our Thoughts:
It isn’t every day we come across a tent that makes us stop and take notice. The Bergans of Norway Wiglo LT4 is one of those tents. The design is unlike any other we have seen here in the US, and it is for a reason. The Wiglo LT4 is based on the Lavvo-style Norwegian hunting tents and it incorporates a center pole design with three flexible tent poles running radially to provide taller walls and a more open floor plan compared to other tents. The tent provides plenty of room for four people and all of their gear, an invaluable feature, but definitely not an industry standard for four-person tents. There was so much space that we could fit Gus, his big bed, our packs, both of us, and would have had enough room one more person. The almost vertical walls in the tent made the difference; Krista was able to stand up in the center of the tent and had plenty of space to move around near the edges of tent.

Click here to read why we would recommend this tent.

 

[cruiserpilot]

DAMN!! That is an impressive tent. My 20+ yr old Moss tent just died, and here is it's replacement.
Perfect, thanks for all the other info. Look forward to following along with you. J

 

[flyfishexpert]

Zippo Outdoor Utility Lighter

Zippo Outdoor Utility Lighter

Lighters are one of those often overlooked but essential pieces of camp cooking gear. Nothing can bring more frustration when attempting to light a stove, while surrounded by a group of hungry campers, than a malfunctioning lighter. Inexpensive barbeque style lighters are not refillable and their piezoelectric ignitions often fail to ignite the fuel. In light of this, we were excited to see Zippo’s new Outdoor Utility Lighter at the Outdoor Retailer show. The lighter offers a wind resistant dual-flame design, a refillable fuel reservoir, and rubber handle.

Our Thoughts:
The first thing any lighter should do is ignite, and the Outdoor Utility Lighter does that very well. The dual-flame design ignites the fuel upon the first click of the lighter nearly every time. The only time we experienced difficulty igniting the fuel was when the lighter had been sitting outside in the cold, and we attribute this to the lower fuel pressure seen at lower temperatures. The lighter’s wind resistant dual-flame works well in the windy conditions we often experience while camping in Idaho and Wyoming. We only noticed the flame extinguishing under the most sever wind, and even then our camp stove had a hard time staying lit.

Click here to read why we would not recommend this lighters.

 

[flyfishexpert]

DAMN!! That is an impressive tent. My 20+ yr old Moss tent just died, and here is it's replacement.
Perfect, thanks for all the other info. Look forward to following along with you. J

The only problem with Bergans is they just reentered the US market in 2012 and have a limited number of vendors. You can go to www.bergans.com click on 'About Us' and select 'Find a Store' to find one near you.

 

[merryweather]

Zippo Outdoor Utility Lighter

Just added this to my wish list.

 

[flyfishexpert]

Just added this to my wish list.

Don't... If you read my review you would see that I do not recommend purchasing this lighter.

 

[Godwin]

Don't... If you read my review you would see that I do not recommend purchasing this lighter.

Then why to a half-way review in this forum that leaves the impression that this lighter is worth the purchase?

 

[merryweather]

Don't... If you read my review you would see that I do not recommend purchasing this lighter.

I just read the portion you inserted here, thought it sounded like a good purchase. I've been looking for a good utility lighter for camping and general purpose outdoor use. I looked at this lighter's reviews on Amazon after I posted here and decided against it.

 

[flyfishexpert]

Then why to a half-way review in this forum that leaves the impression that this lighter is worth the purchase?

I just read the portion you inserted here, thought it sounded like a good purchase. I've been looking for a good utility lighter for camping and general purpose outdoor use. I looked at this lighter's reviews on Amazon after I posted here and decided against it.

I apologize if my post was misleading. I updated the post to reflect our opinion.

 

[merryweather]

I apologize if my post was misleading. I updated the post to reflect our opinion.

No worries, I should have clicked through and read the whole thing.

 

[flyfishexpert]

Review: Cebe Wild Sunglasses

Specifications:
Ultra light frame (58g)
Anti-fog vented lenses
Interchangeable lenses: Cébé 1500 Grey Multilayer (Cat. 3) + Yellow + Clear (Cat. 0)
Adjustable and anti-slip rubber nose pads
Optical clip available

Sorry you have to look my ugly mug!

We were excited when we received an invitation from Bushnell Eyewear to sit down with them at the 2012 Outdoor Retailer Summer Market and learn about their Cébé line of sunglasses. The company, which was founded in 1892, has been known for its innovative winter eyewear. In 2009 the company was acquired by Bushnell Outdoor Products and 2012 marked Cébé’s launch into the US market. Bushnell, which also owns Bollé and Serengeti, offered us a pair of Wild sunglasses to test and we could not pass up the opportunity. Both of us have been long-time Bollé fans, and were excited to test a new pair of sunglasses.

Visit our website, www.LivingOverland.com, or click here to read the rest of our review and see why we would recommend the Cébé Wild for anybody looking for a new pair of ultra light sunglasses.

 

[flyfishexpert]

Review: Light and Motion Solite 100

Specifications:
Output: 100 lumin
Run Time: 2.5 hr -High; 5 hr - Med; 20 hr - Low; 100 hr - Read; 60hr - Flash
Battery: Rechargeable Lithium Ion
Charge Time: 5 hr (USB)
Weight: 149 gr. (with strap)
Price: $84.99 (color: Frost); $99.99 (color: Pewter)

Our Thoughts:
Spending days at a time on the road, traveling from one destination to the next, often means pulling into camp after the sun has gone down. True to form, I pulled into the campground after dark and still had to setup the tent and download the day's photos onto the computer. The Solite had been charging in the truck during the day's travels to replenish the batteries from the previous nights' usage and was now ready to go for another couple of nights. The best part is I no longer have to worry about keeping spare batteries for yet another device.

Visit our website, www.LivingOverland.com, or click here to read the rest of our review and see why we would recommend the Solite 100 for anybody looking for a new headlamp.

 

[titanpat57]

Thank you for taking the time to write this up....very informative !

 

[flyfishexpert]

Review: ALPS Mountaineering Guide Table

Review: ALPS Mountaineering Guide Table

Specifications:
Frame: Powder Coated Steel
Top: ‘Easy to Clean’ rubberized surface
Dimensions: 22" wide x 61" long x 30" tall (Standard Height)
Dimensions: 22" wide x 61" long x 42" tall (Extended Height)
Dimensions: 8”x9”x31” (collapsed)
Weight: 25 lb 7oz
MSRP: $99.99

Our Thoughts:

We have had our ALPS Mountaineering Dining Table since 2008 and it has traveled with us on nearly all of our trips. We have come to rely on the table as an essential part of our camping kit so we were excited when ALPS announced their new Guide Table in May of 2012. When I first saw the table at the Outdoor Retailer Summer Market, I immediately thought of it as great for cooking preparation and serving. The adjustable height allows for an elevated working surface, a feature I have long sought being 6’6” tall!

Visit our website, www.LivingOverland.com, or clickhere to read the rest of our review and see why the ALPS Mountaineering Guide Table has become our go to table for camping.

 

[flyfishexpert]

Review: BlenderBottle

Specifications:
BlenderBall® whisk inside
Secure screw-on lid
Embossed ounce and milliliter markings
Easy to clean—dishwasher safe
20 or 28—ounce capacity
BPA-free

Our Thoughts:
We love making marinades and salad dressings in the field. In the past this meant mixing the ingredients in a bowl with a whisk, adding to the amount of gear we have to store in the 4Runner. Those of you who attended our cooking demonstrations at the 2012 Overland Expo may remember us making a peanut sauce in a small bowl, capable of nesting with our cookset, and how we ended up spilling sauce onto the table. When we returned we began looking for an alternative and stumbled upon BlenderBottle at the Outdoor Retailer Show.

Visit our website, www.LivingOverland.com, or click here to read the rest of our review and see why the BlenderBottle has changed how we cook in the field.