What do you guys think about this tent for a casual hiker/ car camper?

Weighing in at 3lbs 14oz and its freestanding i think its a pretty good value.

Im about to pull the trigger tonight.



http://www.amazon.com/Eureka-2627626...9451314&sr=1-1

everything else ive taken out once so far, and have done well with some this new gear.

Ive also been getting more into "lightweight" bacpacking. i just bought a new northface terra 45 and i bought a titanium spoon and evernew titanium pot from backcountry.com.

pic of pot,



new pack, old one was 5.5lbs and much more liters, but since im going lighter this new one will work great. (3.5lbs after trimming off excess straps)




And finnally my new TNF cats meow, 2.9 lbs, synthetic. Since my old bag was 6 lbs this one will be nice.




And almost forgot this little guy, has a built in Piezzo ignition for $15 shipped off amazon. (3.9 oz) one of the lightest stoves i found.

What do you guys think of my gear?

If you want to get into ultralight, buy a tarptent. www.tarptent.com. Prices are $200-300 but worth it. I have a Moment that weighs 30 ounces. LOL. It was $215.

Get a lightweight stove and use denatured alcohol. You can make one out of a cat food can or buy an Esbit Alcohol Burner. It's about $20 and weighs maybe 2 ounces. You can boil a cup of water in about 5 minutes.

I prefer just a tarp with a breathable bivy, but for people that want the extra protection of a tent those tarptents are great.

I also love alcohol stoves, but my favorite is the Caldera Keg. It's only 6.3 ounces for your stove, windscreen, pot, and a carrying container that doubles as a mug and bowl. People complain about the $60 price but imo it's a bargain considering everything you get.

It will boil 2 cups water (just the right amount for most noodles/rice/freeze dried meals) in 8 minutes with 20 to 25 ml alcohol depending on water temps.

http://www.traildesigns.com/stoves/c...f-stove-system

Btw i appoligize for being arrogant earlier in this thread.

Since im not going to be doing any serious miles (20+ day) the extra 1-2 pounds of a fully enclosed tent is worth the weight to me. In addition, usually with tarp tents you need multiple guy outs and stakes and not to mention trekking poles (which i dont have) to set up.

The problem with that is what do you do when you are on rock in the desert? There wont be any trees to hook on to or any soil to pound stakes into. Having a self supporting tent is something that is worth the extra weight to me. Benifits include an incredibly short set up time, because stakes and extra rope can all be left at home, which makes the weight between the two more insignificant.

Obv if i was doing to Appalacian trail and trying to fastpack it then a tarp would be ideal, but i like to have a nice, secure, and warm place to sleep at night, especally where i live, Utah.

The canister stove is something that is worth the extra weight, it takes less time to set up and is probably just easier and faster to use.

What is your guys's base weight? before food and water? I am probably going to be around 15, ill know in about a week though exactly.

My current base weight for 3 season hiking is 6.1 pounds. I use this kit in New England in all conditions (rain, etc.) down to lows of around 30 degrees. Once the expected lows get much below 30 I need to carry more insulation. My base was down around 5 pounds, but I added back some luxuries like a wider quilt and an air mattress instead of closed cell foam.

I've not hiked much out west with the exception of some brief overnight bivies on rock climbing trips in Yosemite. If the ground is really too hard to drive nice solid titanium stakes (which will go into some pretty hard ground) then people usually resort to tying off their guylines to rocks.

There is nothing wrong with a 15 pound base weight. That is plenty light to get some serious miles in.

cool thread hiking in nz
did routeburn 2 weeks ago with sis was pretty easy but good warm up/good for her route
stewart island 10 day nw circuit was next pretty remote ate way through heavy pack highly reccomended
going to do mueller hut/mt cook rees-dart milford and keplar in coming will will post pics

Anyone have good suggestions for hiking/trekking for April time frame? I'll go anywhere in the world. I was originally planning on doing Mt Whitney but I think there will be too much snow and I don't want to deal with that.

hiking in the winter, which includes snow, is the best time to go. Trails that are inaccessible at other times become safe. No bugs, super clean & clear air, and incredible views. MSR snowshoes, crampons, and an ice axe are relatively lightweight.

Just read and be aware of avalanche zones and reports.

I spent the winter in Afghanistan so I'm trying to avoid snow/wind/cold as much as possible.

Just got back from havasupi in Arizona, pretty and awesome. But I have no respect for people who get their pack helicoptered in.

Southern Utah is hard to beat imo. I hiked up and over the La Sals past Moab thru CNP to the Colorado River, jumped on a raft and rode the river for a week. Ended up at Lake Powell. Many moons ago. 24 day trip. Best thing I've ever done. No tent. Just a tarp. Had two food drops along the way. Iodined the water that we would come across. Peanuts, saltines and peanut butter. Ramen noodles. Cheese. That about it. That part of the US is just stunning to me.

I haven't been there but I met a friend in Vegas right after he did a long hike through southern Utah, including Moab, during late April and early May. He said it was one of the most beautiful areas he has ever hiked, and he lives in Banff, Canada. There's not a lot of mountain hiking available during that season even in the south, so I support this recommendation.

I went on a small journey yesterday. I've got a few pictures and some questions.

What creature built this?



What made this paw print?

Bigfoot

how bout, i dunno, a *continent* to constrain our guesses?

my first guesses are "human" and "dog".

Anyone have any experience with 2 person sleeping bags? I really want to get one for winter camping. Any recommended brands/models? All the ones I see online seem to be for casuals (i.e. weigh more than 2x a regular sleeping bag and are rated for like -5)

I would look into joinable bags. ZPacks will put a separating zipper on any of their bags so that they can be joined together. If you're looking for a 30 degree F single bag, then for joined bags two 40 degree F bags should work well considering the extra warmth from 2 people in it. (I know you probably use Celsius but his stuff is listed in Fahrenheit.)

http://www.zpacks.com/quilts/sleeping*******tml

I don't own a ZPacks sleeping bag, but Joe has made me several pieces of custom cuben fiber gear and it's all very high quality, so I'm sure his bags are great as well.

There are also other companies out there that make joinable bags.

Hey, going camping in a few weeks and looking for some shopping advice. I will probably only end up going camping in warmer (55+ Fahrenheit) weather. Ease of setting it up is probably more important to me than weight. I will be using it mostly for casual trips with friends as opposed to serious hikes in the woods.

Would this sale on Woot suit my needs?
http://sport.woot.com/offers/genesee-4-person-tent

I see people mention a ground sheet and other floor supplements. Think I should look into one?

Thanks for helping out a newbie.

That looks fine for casual, non-cold weather use. Looks like it has a lot of ventilation, which is nice when it's warm. Note that it won't sleep 4 comfortably (only gives 24 inches per person). Definitely get a ground tarp, but you don't have to spend lots on one.

bump.

what kind of backpacks are people getting these days? obviously different packs are used for different hikes/etc. what size/etc would you guys recommend for a 5 day hike >?

also, if you want to repost your suggestion in the travel backpacks thread, i'd be appreciative

http://forumserver.twoplustwo.com/92...pment-1253736/

It all depends on your baseweight, which is uaually relative to the volume you mayneed.

First step, get the pack last after you have trimmed the weight off everything else.

MLD, zpacks, SMD, HMG, and ULA are a few cottage companies that have lightweight packs.

All excellent advice.

You've come a long way since your first posts in the thread!

Thanks. I have a 45L pack that I've used for day trips and such...but I'm thinking I'd probably need a larger pack in general.

It really depends on your gear.

For example, 45L is about 2750 cubic inches. I use an 1800 cubic inch pack for up to 5 days without re-supply (Assuming I don't need to carry a bear canister).

For 5 days food assume about 800 to 1000 cubic inches of food. Pack all your stuff in your current bag and see how much room you have left. Depending on the result, you could then either purchase a larger pack, or you could spend the money you would have spent on a new pack purchasing some lighter and less bulky gear and plan to use your current pack.

(Ultralight packs are cheap though when compared to high quality sleeping bags and tents/tarps so your options might be limited.)

Thanks bro, I actually read some of them and wtf was I thinking.

But in all honesty I have been hovering around 6-8 baseweight latley.

Right now I have a 27L pack that weighs 21 ounces, planning on replacing that with a MLD Burn possibly or a Zpacks zero.

Take a look at my gearlist and let me know what you guys think. http://www.geargrams.com/list?id=8993