The OCD side of me gets "stuck on stupid" trying to keep everything as light as possible... titanium cookware, and silverware ( I hate plastic forks and knives), MSR Whisperlite, light sleeping bags ands tent.
The one thing I really like having around, but haven't found a "light" one of good quality, is camp chairs. I currently have a bazzilion typical ball game chairs, but none of the good ones are particularly light. Any suggestions out there?

OH BTW

qmdv wrote:I like to fix crepe's for breakfast on the first night, thats a thin French pancake. Probably the last good thing that they have invented. Have to have the whip chream and boysenberries. I usually fix enough for whowever is nearby.
Tim

mtv wrote:Holy Guacamole!!!
A cooler for the beer.
Do not, under any circumstances, clutter up that cooler with food items. Cooking?? Criminy, this is supposed to be fun .
MTV

I may wander over to MTVs for the evening fire, but definitely camping near qmdv!

I borrowed an old Whisperlite for a number of years and thought it was a great little stove. About 4 years ago I bought my own and was very disappointed. The thing kept going out on me. I'd have it pumped up and roaring and the damn thing would go out. About 30 sec later the gas would start flowing again, I'd relight it, and I was in business... until it went out again two minutes later. I meticulously cleaned it several times and still had the same problem. Maybe I just got a bad one, but it appears that the quality has gone down since the days when they were THE stove to buy. I ended up returning it and buying a MSR Dragonfly which I LOVE.

The neat thing about the Dragonfly is the valve design. Instead of controlling the liquid going to the stove you control the vaporized fuel. You can adjust it from a little candle flame all the way to an eyebrow-searing torch and it is still stable. It still is a multi-fuel stove with a shaker jet. The downside is that is a touch heavier and bulkier than the Whisperlite.

I know the MSR international will put up w/ leaded gas ( 100LL ) but don't know if the Dragonfly will deal with it.

I keep all my cook gear and camp toys in two duffel bags. When I get back I refresh matches, clean cook gear, and wash what needs to be washed and stick it back into the bag. The weight does not change for that or the tent and air mattresses. the only variables are food, "beverages" , ice, and the pilot weight.

I bought some little do dahs at Arlington a couple of years ago which have a disk with a loop and attach point. The disk pops out goes on one side of a tarp or 3mil plastic and the loop goes from the other side and fits into a groove in the disk. There are elastic loops w/ black plastic balls which go with this rig which creates a spring line between the tarp or plastic sheet and the tie off point.

Quick trip to a local hardware store for some 3 mil plastic and these little do dahs and you got a rain or sun shelter.

TD

I've got several stoves, but the one I like best is made by SVEA. It's about 50 years old and made from solid brass. It's fool proof, just fill it with fuel and put a little fuel in it's cup. As it burns, it heats the stove and the heat builds pressure. Thing sounds like some kind of blast furnace when it get's going. Will simmer nicely and packs into a cook set. I think I like it because it was the one my father used to use airplane camping a long time ago.
This is the type, http://cgi.ebay.com/SVEA-123-CAMP-STOVE ... dZViewItem

I had a Svea 123 when I was in high school. I really liked the form factor, but the Whisperlite blows it away, mostly because the Whisperlites have a pump that you can use to pressurize the fuel bottle, instead of relying purely on pressure from heating the generator.

You're right -- that thing sounded like a turbine heli! And more than a few times my buddies backed away from camp in anticipation of a white gas explosion while I was starting it.

iceman wrote:Depends what your plane can carry. In my Tipacer I had 175 pounds of camping gear behind me give or take a few pounds. I take my 4 man tent a cot, Propane stove 2 Sleeping bags, 3 coolers, to pack stuff in for the trip, Two fly rods, Tarps for over the picnic table, Two chairs, A portable emergency stove, Pots and pans for cooking, two plates, knives and forks, Rain gear, Emergency gear, A steak and potato for the first nights meal... Anything else I buy there the second day on a supply run. In the Maule I have added a few things cause there's more room and it can carry more.That's about all I can think of off hand.

Iceman's right, depends on the plane. Here's what we take when we're packing light for a little over-nighter.

My airplane camping gear is the same as my backpack camping gear. I fly a 150 after all. Mountain house is a staple for me. Camping is a 2 man dome tent, high density foam pad and my Wiggy's sleeping bag. Camp chair is the 5 gal bucket I keep my gear in (also handy for hauling water ).

I use an old Colman Apex detached burner stove. So far never had a problem with it. But it's also kind of fragile and getting pretty beat up. I'll probably replace it soon.

Phil

iceman, that stove idea is sweet, my wife is gonna love it when i mention it to her.

Now i may have a little tunnel vision but the first thing i thing of when camping or "aircamping" is sitting by a whitemans fire and drinking my beer. That said i always bring my own firewood, airplane camping or car camping. I have found that about 110lbs of Juniper will give its airplane flying beer drinking campfire loving spectators about 8-9 hours of whiteman fire, so thats what i bring when aircamping.This gives me two night of 4-5 hours of fire fun. last time i went aircamping everyone laughed when i told them how much wood i brought but i was laughing because out of 30 airplanes and some 60 people camping Shortfielder, myself and my wife were the only ones enjoying a campfire, then the second evening about a dozen pilots came over to our site and drank by the fire.

oh yea besides a good steak i like to bring my kite. its a 9' wingspan DELTA Levitation with 500' of 20lbs test, it folds up real small. This is so i can enjoy the beauty of flight while drinking who said you can't drink and fly? Peter

Motorcitymaule wrote: who said you can't drink and fly? Peter

Well... I sorta remember a few 180/185 Club trips into Johnson Creek more than a few years back.

On second thought, never mind.

Yeah the cardboard oven really attracts a lot of admirers when we bake in it. You can bake just about anything you want that requires baking. Caseroles, and cakes if you want. But the brownies are an instant hit.

KISS...keep it simple, stupid. I tend to begrudge lugging crap around far more than I enjoy using it, so I try to pack as little as possible.

I'm with MTV in the cooking department...if I wanted to spend a lot of time cooking I'd stay home and use my kitchen. Though I will generally go as far as heating water and adding food items to it.

I've always been a big fan of Thermarest camp mattresses...from the smallest to the largest they have been the best sleeping investment I've ever made. For a lightweight chair there's a Thermalounger cover that folds a Thermarest into a chair...you sit on the ground, but it's very comfortable and weighs almost nothing.

I like to walk, so I bring good hiking shoes. I like to watch animals, so I bring a very good pair of binoculars. If there are trees around I bring a hammock. If weight is an issue (which it rarely is in a Cessna 140) I bring Lemonhart 151 proof rum. A MSR water filter will turn almost any water source into good drinking water, which is good if you've ever tried to drink 151 proof rum straight-up .

I've mentioned this before, but for a truly eclectic and excellent selection of innovative gear, look at the Aerostich website. It's a motorcycle clothing company, but they sell the damndest selection of gear you can imagine, and a lot of it fits the flying lifestyle perfectly.

As far as camping chairs go, last Christmas my sister gave us some of those nice chairs that recline like a Lazy Boy. I took a friend of mine to the BC for the first time in June. He tried to talk me out of taking them in favor of his smaller, lighter chair. Well, I spent the next couple of days trying to get him out of mine. I love them! Nothing like sitting by your plane watching other planes in a nice, reclined position.

Grassstrippilot wrote:As far as camping chairs go, last Christmas my sister gave us some of those nice chairs that recline like a Lazy Boy. I took a friend of mine to the BC for the first time in June. He tried to talk me out of taking them in favor of his smaller, lighter chair. Well, I spent the next couple of days trying to get him out of mine. I love them! Nothing like sitting by your plane watching other planes in a nice, reclined position.

Yep I have two of those myself. Got them at Home depot for $50 bucks each. Great for a nap under the wing on days you don't fly anywhere. Can't understand you guys who subsist on crackers and freeze dried food for a week. A steak on the barbie isn't cooking. Neither is hot dogs or a plate of spaghetti. Guess I'm just getting old and like good food. You probably drink bud light too.

jmtgt,

Hey, don't misquote me---I don't do freeze dried food . I said granola bars, potato chips, etc.

My philosophy is that if I'm in the back country, any time spent cooking is time I could be either flying or exploring.

Lots of places have an eatery nearby, and that's where you'll find me, momentarily.

Otherwise, I don't go to the backcountry for the gourmet experience.

To each his own, but my method sure cuts down on the junk you have to carry along, and lessens the liklihood of missing some vital component....

Now, if I were planning to spend a week out there at some really remote spot, I'd have to get a little better prepared, but for short stays, you can always fly out for more grub, and if the weather prevents that, I really need to lose some weight anyhow.....

MTV

Don't forget the Peet's coffee. That's the main purpose of bringing the stove!!

Kenny Chapman wrote:Don't forget the Peet's coffee. That's the main purpose of bringing the stove!!

Heck yeah, Kenny. In fact I may try to take this one step further for JC next year by bringing the backpacking espresso maker and some milk.

Dang it!!

See what I mean about forgetting details??? Yes, a pot to boil water in, and a french press, plus some decent gourmet coffee is essential.

I always travel with a small camp stove as part of my survival gear, as well as a pot to boil water in. I have, however, forgot the coffee on at least one recent occasion.

The coffee in the cafe in Malta, MT is really bad, by the way..... .

MTV

Kenny Chapman wrote:Don't forget the Peet's coffee. That's the main purpose of bringing the stove!!

Oh yeah. I have got to have my coffee in the morning. And bacon, eggs, potatoes, biscuits, gravy, etc.....

Fisherman wrote:

Kenny Chapman wrote:Don't forget the Peet's coffee. That's the main purpose of bringing the stove!!

Oh yeah. I have got to have my coffee in the morning. And bacon, eggs, potatoes, biscuits, gravy, etc.....

Oops! I forgot the grits!

mtv wrote:jmtgt,

Hey, don't misquote me---I don't do freeze dried food . I said granola bars, potato chips, etc.

My philosophy is that if I'm in the back country, any time spent cooking is time I could be either flying or exploring.



MTV

Well don't get me wrong, I don't spend the day cooking and preparing meals when I'm at JC or any place else but we usually return to JC from a days fly out just after sunset, which up there is around 9 PM or so. THat's when I'm talking about making the good meals, and sipping the single malt, and making my "white mans Fire", to heat both sides of canyon. And thanks for the invite John, Looking forward to it.....