Cornering Camp Gear

While this may appear to be a duplicate post of our previous Kodiak tent where I posted the infamous words of " the last tent we'll ever buy ," this is a new tent for us. While cleaning our Field&Stream tent after our trip to Kolob, I managed to destroy its rather delicate fly. It wasn't long for the days of our adventures, and for the price, I can't complain. So, with its plight, I replaced it with a Kodiak 10X10, six-person canvas spring-bar tent. And I couldn't be happier. Watertight, breathable, durable 100% cotton duck canvas, craftsperson stitching and construction, six and-a-half foot ceiling, a reinforced coated floor pan, doors front and back, YKK zippers, and a quick and easy deployment make this, dare I say it again, the last tent I'll ever buy. I've learning my lesson. It's downside, it weighs 74 pounds. I've done the math, though, and in calculating the full weight of our vehicle load against its capacity, we have a...

Our kitchen kit took the biggest hit in reduction in order for us to get it all to fit in the H3. Cargo capacity restrictions have been a very good thing in reducing and simplifying our gear, replacing the green Coleman double-burner classic with two Brunton stoves , along with a JetBoil . This very compact alternative has given us all the heat we need with which to cook. Along comes the Helio pressurized water system, and I'm thinking we need something with a little more BTUmph to heat water for enjoyable showers. The size of the Bruntons just didn't seem like they'd heat large amounts of water quickly. Enter the Camp Chef Mountain Series butane stove, a compact, but standard-size single burner that fits perfectly into the remaining space in our camp box. There are a number of knock-offs out there and from what I've determined, choice just boils down to brand and color. For under $25, you can't go wrong. The Camp Chef comes with a black plastic case that f...

As much as we love our Exped Synmat sleeping pads, we don't love sharing the floor with two perpetually shedding Golden Retrievers, so we've opted for something to get us up and out of the hair haze. We've used a double cot before, but were uncomfortable with the bar the protruded down the middle. This was our set-up when we had our first spring bar tent. All this previous kit was sold with the sale of our Montero, and we're re-gearing with lessons learned, the most important of which is the quality of camping is directly related to the quality of sleep. To this end we picked up a Coleman Queen Airbed Cot. Its stout construction gets us up off the floor with a very stable footprint eliminating any wee-hour-of-the-morning struggle to get one's feet. It comes with an air pump that quickly inflates and deflates the air mattress. The mattress slips into an integrated cover and stays put. It maintains its pressure, though a little bump is needed when air temps ...

ALPS makes a quality 20-degree mummy bag with TechLoft+ insulation, two layer offset construction, insulated chest and zipper baffle with a 210T polyester outer fabric and 210T polyester liner. The bag comes with a compression stuff sack. Fully deployed zippers are covered with a hook-latch flap.  I sleep hot while she sleeps cold, and yet these bags seem to be the Goldilocks choice with both of us reaching comfortable levels we've yet to find in any other bag. 

Camp tables seem to exist on only two of three legs - compact, sturdy, lightweight. For every table we've tested one of these was compromised until we discovered the GCI Compact Camp Table 20 and 25. The 25 pictured above is a 25"x25" table with a height of 27.5 inches and folds down to a two inch thick 25"x24" stackable platform. It's constructed of aluminum and weighs under six pounds. It holds up to 60 pounds and deploys in seconds. It uses a handy spring-lock dowel that compresses when the legs are folded and gently squeezed making the retraction of the legs effortless. This patent-pending design is simple and brilliant. The 25 is large enough to seat two comfortably and four very close friends. The 20 is identical in design, but smaller in size, 20"x18" with a height of 24 inches, perfect in the tent for a cot-side or utility table. It weighs four pounds. We picked up one of each for our last outing and will be going back for at least ...