Our little family has enjoyed tent camping trips for years, loading up the truck, putting the canoe on top, getting the grilling gear and fishing poles and heading out into the wilderness for family time and communing with nature. We are used to taking the kitchen sink, if you know what I mean... (okay, MY stuff fits into a single backpack, but the girls...)

My wife and I are planning to make it to our first fly-in ever at Garden Valley in late June, and I'm trying to put together a separate set of gear and a gear checklist that is specifically for fly-camping, say, for three adults in a Cessna 185. I know we'll have to pare down what we usually take pretty significantly, but we're willing to do that to get to enjoy some of the settings we've seen on here and other sites catering to the fly-camping elite (c:

I'm wondering what kind of tricks and wisdom some of you might be able to pass along to a neophyte in this pursuit - and some of the "I'll never do THAT again" stories you might have as well to head off potential problems! Also, what is your minimum airplane/personal emergency gear? I always fly with a survival vest in the 185 and Bush Hawk (even on local flights so I maintain the habit pattern), so I'm looking for other things like "extra spark plugs and the wrenches I'd need", etc.

Thanks in advance!

i stuff a sevylor inflatable canoe up in the wing and rarley has it ever gone unused! good thing about there better quality fabric is it doesnt hold any water so it doesnt get heavier post use!

Great thread idea, Mike! My wife and I are interested in airplane camping once I'm in a position to buy, but in a smaller plane like a pacer or 170.

We usually take my 3/4 ton ford and the bed and back seat of the crew cab are usually full of tough boxes full of stuff, so we suffer the same overpacking that y'all do!

DrifterDriver wrote:i stuff a sevylor inflatable canoe up in the wing and rarley has it ever gone unused! good thing about there better quality fabric is it doesnt hold any water so it doesnt get heavier post use!

Ha ha, up IN the wing, I get that , many won't, a great feature of a ultralight rag and tube wing, lots of in wing storage
I had what I thought was a cheap Sevlor 1 man raft (they called it 2 man, two kids maybe), at least it was inexpensive, I used it for years in my Pterodactyl cross countries. I took it down some knarly white water many times, once swamped it got real stable! It held up great, best 30 bucks I ever spent.

Go to a back backing site. They know the lightest and most compact equipment. I have am lucky to have a great back packing store near me to go visit and ask about things. Also read up on dehydrating food. We have replaced the hard plastic cooler with on of the soft 18 packs coolers as it will flex to fit the airplane better. We also use a second cooler to store the cooking equipment in

Camping in a Champ is different than camping in a 182. Aluminum Dutch oven or cast iron is the difference.

I noticed from another of capt mike's posts that he has access to a 185. just stuff it with as much stuff as you can and go have a ball. Also if you go to Garden Valley you can barrow the airport car and drive to town and restock.

Tim

Mike, I wondered the same thing and got a lot of really good advice here:

https://www.backcountrypilot.org/forum/gear-question-plane-camping-vs-backpacking-9528

RanchPilot wrote:Mike, I wondered the same thing and got a lot of really good advice here:

https://www.backcountrypilot.org/forum/gear-question-plane-camping-vs-backpacking-9528

RanchPilot, I should have added the line you had at the bottom of your OP... Sorry about reinventing the wheel all over again! I've been going back and reading old threads and hadn't run across this one yet.

Lots of good advice!

First thing to do is to (ruthlessly) go through the gear you take camping, and figure out what you ACTUALLY use, as well as what you actually NEED. Now, for plane camping, dump all the stuff you don't use, and most of the stuff you don't really need.

Now, visit your local backpacking/camping store, and search for lighter, more compact versions of stuff you need. I think you'll be surprised at how light and compact a kit can be.

But, ensure comfort....if you or your souse don't sleep well, camping won't be fun. I'm a big fan of air mattresses...they are a little bulky and heavy, but comfy. Kelty makes a pretty compact and light six inch thick one that is great.

A REALLY good tent is also essential. I've seen a lot of "three season" tents blown down in summer thunderstorms, while my North Face VE 24 was no worse for wear. For a bigger tent, I've used REIs larger tents in tough conditions as well with no problems. Friends nearby at OSH a couple years ago had their brand new Big Agnes "uber tent" flatten and soak everything in a standard Midwest T Storm......

One of those deals and wife and kids can get turned off airplane camping.

MTV

mtv wrote:But, ensure comfort....if you or your spouse don't sleep well, camping won't be fun.

Truer words were never spoken. This is the ONE THING my wife will always bring up about airplane trips/camping. You can put people through a lot: Eating reconstituted astronaut casseroles from a bag, carbonized wieners, mosquitos... But all can be forgiven with a good night's sleep in a cozy nest.

Amen Zane! People have snickered when they see my Mr. Heater, but when it's chilly outside, I can preheat the tent for Dee and the kids when they get out of their bags. Consequently, I'm taking my sister-in-law and a friend camping with us this weekend to JC. Since her sister isn't much of a camper, and it's early in the season, I've got to bring my A game for keeping everyone warm so she won't be turned off on it.

Mike, great talking to you! Here are a few items that we have and love:

- Exped SynMat 7 sleeping pads (very small, compact, and light. Pump built in). I had the name wrong when we talked.
- Coleman 3 in 1 cooking stove
- Folding aluminum table. One that folds to lie flat, the other is the type that the top has bungees between the slats and rolls up.
- Me. Heater
- Whisper light MSR stove
- Good light weight tent for when it's just me, Columbia big tent for the whole gang.
- Purdy Neat Stuff Stealth double zippered duffles are great for packing. Dee and I each have one for our clothes. Then another for cooking gear. They fit perfectly under our middle seats.

If I think of anything else, I'll post it here. Looking forward to meeting you...maybe again!

My 2 cents.

Don't crash and don't mess with wx.

Cash, credit card, gun, phone, SPOT, 406PLB, Leatherman, Jack Daniels, chair, cup, plate, fork, Mountain House freeze dried food, coffee, Jet Boil. Sleeping bag, pillow, pad. This is my minimum, never leave without.

Cheers...Rob

These are the sleeping pads I and the Mrs will be using this season:

http://www.exped.com/usa/en/product-category/mats/mega-mat-10-lxw

http://www.rei.com/product/829239/rei-f ... r#specsTab

These chairs are great, 1lbs 12 oz each and pack up super small. They are surprisingly comfortable and durable.

Forgot about Jetboil. Very cool thing to have. Also, those chairs Zane used from Carbon Cubs looked like must haves in the future.

a couple of these will make you both happy:
http://www.moosejaw.com/moosejaw/shop/p ... fgodqFcAiw

then click and watch the setup video.

The jetboils are awesome. I almost bought one but I like having the option of burning avgas if I have to, which my single burner Coleman will do in a pinch if you run out of white gas. You can also cook other things on it using a lightweight pot and pan set. I have a GSI set that all nests together in one small package and includes the following: Set includes 4 polypropylene plates, 4 bowls, 4 insulated mugs, 4 Sip-It lids, a 2-liter pot with lid, a 3-liter pot with lid, a frypan, a pot gripper and a stuff sack

http://www.rei.com/product/830828/gsi-o ... er-cookset

I think the term "jetboil" like Kleenex, is a brand name that is ubiquitously used to describe all isobutane stoves nowadays. I used a MSR stove that uses isobutane canisters from MSR, Jetboil, and whoever else brands those things. They are super convenient but once the can is empty, you're burning avgas or wood. I've huffed a lot of exhaust in my time, but I still can't get too excited about breathing leaded fuel exhaust.

Grassstrippilot wrote:Also, those chairs Zane used from Carbon Cubs looked like must haves in the future.

If you're thinking of the CubCrafters branded chairs we had on our Alaska trip, they are exactly the same as the ones Robw56 linked from REI above.

We've been using a GCI chair in the Sport Cub the last few years that just folds flat, is pretty light, though not as light as the "burrito" chairs. The ergonomics of it are nice though, it provides a low but comfy position and doesn't waver under a 220 lb static loading.

Grassstrippilot wrote:- Folding aluminum table. One that folds to lie flat, the other is the type that the top has bungees between the slats and rolls up.

I've got a roll-up table like that. Gets pretty small, weighs next to nothing, and is SUPER handy!

Zzz wrote:I think the term "jetboil" like Kleenex, is a brand name that is ubiquitously used to describe all isobutane stoves nowadays. I used a MSR stove that uses isobutane canisters from MSR, Jetboil, and whoever else brands those things. They are super convenient but once the can is empty, you're burning avgas or wood. I've huffed a lot of exhaust in my time, but I still can't get too excited about breathing leaded fuel exhaust.

Grassstrippilot wrote:Also, those chairs Zane used from Carbon Cubs looked like must haves in the future.

If you're thinking of the CubCrafters branded chairs we had on our Alaska trip, they are exactly the same as the ones Robw56 linked from REI above.

We've been using a GCI chair in the Sport Cub the last few years that just folds flat, is pretty light, though not as light as the "burrito" chairs. The ergonomics of it are nice though, it provides a low but comfy position and doesn't waver under a 220 lb static loading.

Oops! My bad memory.

The whisper light covers me on all fuels, but I don't always have it with me. I also have their cooking kit: pots, frying pan, pan holder...along with plates and folding spatula and big spoon that doubles as a measuring cup. Same with our drinking cups.

Oh, and another good thing is a good quality water filter.