Anyone have a recommendation for air camping gear? How about a favorite tent or sleeping bag you own or have seen. What about cooking... baked potato's in foil jammed between the cylinders or a travel stove?

I know the built-in search is not so great. The secret is to use Google constrained to the backcountrypilot.org domain.

http://www.google.com/m/search?oe=UTF-8&client=safari&hl=en&aq=f&oq=&aqi=-k0d0t0&fkt=1228&fsdt=5015&q=camping+gear+site%3Abackcountrypilot.org

Of course it never hurts to have updated conversations, but it is easier when they're tacked onto the end of the old one.

Cabelas

I think you have to narrow it down a bunch. Like how many are going, how primitive, what general area, in a Mooney Mite or 206, etc. A week at Sun n Fun with your wife is a lot different than one night by yourself somewhere on Big Creek in November. I might not know what to buy, but I know a bunch of stuff that doesn't pack it.
Jack

TJ, I found some cooking gear threads:

Backcountry Pilot - Cooking / Eating gear
Backcountry Pilot - Multi-Fuel Camp Stoves
Backcountry Pilot - Airplane Camping

Camping/survival gear:
Backcountry Pilot - Light weight survival/camp gear

More suggestions are always welcome.

Z

Maybe camping needs it own place in the board index. Sense it comes up on a regular basis and no one finds the old treads, Just an idea.

Any time I plan to sleep on the ground, I make sure to pack a Therm-A-Rest pad. They are to backpacking pads what the Oregon Aero cushions are to aircraft seats.

If you are flying in the Lower 48 and mostly camping under the wing of your plane most any inexpensive three season camping tent will do. Pick the one that fits your budget, your needs for floor space and head room, weight, and stuffed size (some fit just right into the baggage compartment, others are a little bit too long). If you are doing winter camping in cold climates I'll defer to the folks who do that regularly.

There are lots of sleeping bag options in terms of size, insulating material, and construction. Your choice will probably by factors like cost, stuffed size, weight, and temperature rating. If you are camping at Johnson Creek during the spring or fall you will probably want a bag rated for 0F or slightly colder. Maybe I'm cold-blooded, but I find I'm more comfortable in a bag that's rated for temps much lower than what I actually encounter. I typically use a flannel bedsheet as a liner: this keeps the nylon bag fabric from sticking to my skin, and it keeps the inside of the bag cleaner for a longer period of time. If you are not camping in the mountains during cool times you can probably use a bag rated for 32F. I find mummy bags least comfortable, and oversized rectangular bags most comfortable, but I still use a mummy bag all the time because it's what I have.

A ground cloth (or "footprint" as they're commonly called today) is imperative. I make mine from 5 mil plastic bought at Lowe's.

A folding camp chair sure is nice to have. I like the designs that have head and footrests. They take up more space in the baggage compartment, and they wiegh more, but they sure are comfortable when you're relaxing around the campfire.

Eric

Credit Card and Marriott Rewards card.

Barring that there is some pretty well regarded stuff for sale here.

I echo what PA-12 said..sounds exactly what I use for camping. I also put in some of those large chemical heat pads (6"X6") in case my back gets cold. I like to carry a Cabelas cot but my space is limited. I tried a mummy bag but they are too restrictive for me..I need to turn over every now and then..so I just have two large rectangular bags..one is good to 0 F the other is good to -10 F..never take the -10 F bag in the summer, it's too warm and takes up more space.
HC

Resky wrote: A week at Sun n Fun with your wife is a lot different than one night by yourself somewhere on Big Creek in November.

How come you should know what a week at Sun n Fun with his wife is like?

Last year I upgraded from a 2 man back packing tent to a 3 man tent. The 2 man had total caver rain fly with a vestibule. It was just great but was showing wear and leaked a bit. The 3 man has a rain fly with mostly open ends. The second time I used it was at Austin last year. Remember the thunder storms. Well the wind blew the rain under the tain fly so I was wet half the night.

Pick your tent very well. A hundred saved is not worth being wet. Glad it was Austin and not in a survival situation.

I am now looking for a 3 man tent with full rain fly. Any sugestions.

Tim

Much as I hate to admit it, Tim is 100 % right on with his last post. I have found that you can't have too weatherproof a tent at ANY time of the year. I've camped in some really miserable weather in mid summer. Not cold, but WET and WINDY. And not just in Alaska. Oshkosh comes to mind.

My favorite tent for all weather conditions is the North Face VE 24 or 25 tents. They have been in production for over 20 years. I've had a Windy Gap (which was a VE 24 made overseas by North Face) for over 20 years now and with a few patches it's still the best thing going in a downpour.

Don't underestimate just how miserable a couple of days and nights in a torrential downpour can be if you don't have a really weather proof tent.

The North Face VE 24 and 25 have been to Everest, McKinley, and the poles. They are expedition tents, but easy to set up and very functional.

MTV

Sooo........I guess you guys are going to make this into a 5th thread about camping gear????

Citabriacowboy wrote:Maybe camping needs it own place in the board index. Sense it comes up on a regular basis and no one finds the old treads, Just an idea.

I do have a solution for this. I'm going to have a wiki in the new site. It will point to old threads along with distilled general information culled from forum topics. It will provide a much more structured and organized jumping off point for people with questions.

Thanks for your input... I appreciate your thoughts. Like you all, I hate to spend money twice. I would rather spend the money once and put the rest in the tank. Not only that but after 33 years of marriage my wife told me that she might like camping. If I mess this one up, I'm toast! Waterlogged, cold and hungry doesn't cut it.
Thanks again,
TJ

i didn't read all of the posts here but I've found more stuff that fits right in with airplane camping at rv supply stores.. They are more weight and compact conscious than say Cabellas or the other camping people..who seem to cater to the drive to the campground crowd. also Marine supply stores are in the same mode... There are some good products for boats that we could make good use of...and would fit in with our weight and size problems....

TJ Carr wrote:Anyone have a recommendation for air camping gear? How about a favorite tent or sleeping bag you own or have seen. What about cooking... baked potato's in foil jammed between the cylinders or a travel stove?

Remember Light and durable -Military stuff is a little heavier than "walmart " or camping suppliers ------
but is more durable. Price for Military surplus stuff is cheaper and basically only comes in Green colors but is very durable. Don't buy those cheapo Chinese knock offs unless you want to be replacing it very soon.
Packing it in airplane is important with light stuff going all the way back with heavier stuff closer to the front seats. Almost everyone removes the back seat when going to the back country . Be light . Went to several 180 /185 flyins and almost every airplane only had max of 2 people aboard coming or going.

Bill's post about military gear reminded me of one of my favorites.You can get Swiss military sleeping bag liners for cheap. I bought a couple of them, and they are great! My only complaint is that they are not the usual military green, instead they are a purplish blue. They would make a great super-light bag if you're sleeping in warm weather (50 degrees or greater), or a liner for your regular bag for the extra warmth. I bought mine from Cheaper Than Dirt for $6 each, and they appeared to be new and unused.

http://www.cheaperthandirt.com/CAMP145-1.html

Does anyone else think that the tech guy from CTD kind of looks like the Z-man?

I did a lot of research on this last year for a trip to Alaska. Here's what I came up with:
Tent -- Hilleberg Nallo 3GT http://estore.websitepros.com/1764795/- ... ...awesome tent, but kinda spendy
Sleeping Bag -- Wiggy's Ultima Thule with Overbag http://wiggys.com/category.cfm?category ... .guranteed, you'll never get cold with this combo
Ground pad ---Therm-a-rest NeoAir http://www.backcountrygear.com/catalog/ ... tID=CA1499
Bear fence -- Electro Bear Guard http://www.electrobearguard.com/Product.html
EPIRB -- ACR Rescue Fix...
and a bunch of other junk I really didn't need.

Screw the thermarest. For shear comfort I recommend an Exped down filled mattress. Spendy but well worth it. The weight isn't bad for what you get, either. http://www.exped.com. Thermarests are a good second but if you want to make it comfortable for your wife, go with thicker or double up.

Full rain fly on the tent is a must. One with a vestibule is even better. With a lot of tents it's well worth the time to go over all the seams with seamgrip to seal them up. My Hilleberg is an exception but how many people need a full four season mountaineering tent? They are good tents though. Bear in mind this is from my backpacking experience where getting rained on was a likely event.

As a general recommendation, stay away from the "Bargain" gear. It usually isn't. Most gear is worth the extra bucks you'll shell out.

Oh, a tarp. Doesn't have to be fancy, thick plastic with grommets will often do. There's a lot that can be
done to make a rainy camp much more manageable and pleasant with a tarp. Don't forget cord.