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Camping Stuff

GeoffMiller

New member
Last night I dragged out the old tent from the storage area. A 4 man Hillary from Sears nearly 20 years old. Needless to say, not much left at this point. At my ripe old age I don't see myself doing a lot of camping (can you say mini-bar?) but I am thinking about going to my first National this summer. I'm looking for recomendations for both a 2 person tent and a sleeping bag. I don't want to spend tons of money. Hopefully fairly easy to fit on a bike. No, I won't be using it in the Himalayas or in a hurricane. If it can be bought in a discount store, all the better. Summer weight, keeps me dry, enough room to throw my bags in with me and be able to sit upright. Thanks
 
Paul and I are very please with our 60 second set up tent:
http://www.campmor.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ProductDisplay?memberId=12500226&productId=12223
Sixty Second Set-Up Dome 2-3 Person Tent
Item Number: 24450

And Campmor has a great deal on a light goose down sleeping bag:
http://www.campmor.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ProductDisplay?productId=103216&memberId=12500226
Campmor 45?? Down Lite Tapered Sleeping Bag
Item Number: 40064

Then all you'll need is a sleep pad:
http://www.campmor.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ProductDisplay?productId=39081&memberId=12500226
Slumberjack Family Camper Self-Inflating Camping Mat
Item Number: 64401

Or you can wait till you get there, go to a local store that sells camping gear and get stuff not designed for packing small. Don't forget a camp chair.

Camping at the National. The only way to go!
Voni
sMiling
 
You could take a short trip to Prairie du Chien and check out the Cabela's that is there. Plus I believe there is a Gander Mountain in LaCrosse. Neither of these places is too far from you.
 
Geoff Miller said:
If it can be bought in a discount store, all the better./QUOTE]

Here's what I got...

http://www.campmor.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ProductDisplay?productId=39163585&memberId=12500226

...but I got it at Wal-Mart ($74.97), along with an air mattress and pump. My $25 sleeping bag was from Gander Mountain. The tent is available in a 2-person size, but I like the extra room. I can't make any claims for these items, since I've only camped at one rally (dry, 50-75 degrees) since I got them last year. There won't be any rain at the National this year, anyway - right? :D
 
Go to your local Wal-Mart and check out their Coleman tents. I've had mine now for three years or so and it does a great job. It should be pretty cheap. At Charleston when all of the North Face and Eureka tents were busting their poles in the tornado, the only damage I had was a wet sleeping bag because I hadn't zipped my flap up. Wal-Mart should also have the other stuff that you need as well at reasonable prices. If you find that you enjoy the whole camping thing, then you can start to spend some of the big bucks on stuff.
 
Tent Preference

I have been using Coleman tents for many years.

They are a good cross between the expensive well made tent and a $29 throw away.

I prefer a 7 x 7 Sundome and have been in some rotten weather and survived quite well.

I just bought the new 7 x 7 Sundome with 4 sides of windows and many other upgrades for $35 at the local Sport Chalet. WOW what a nice tent, especially for the money.

BTW- I heard but have not verified that Coleman makes a lesser tent for Walmart...

For a slightly bigger tent I highly recomment the 10 x 10 or 12 x 12 Sundome. I spent a night in one (10 x 10) at about 9,000' in a high wind and surprisingly the tent held up.

I paid $49 for my frst 7 x 7 and have had it for 6 years now.
 
A Good Rule of Thumb

If the tent info says, its a two person tent, then it will sleep one comfortably, if it says it sleeps four consider it a three person tent and so on and so forth.

And remember to make sure it has the bath tub style bottom. :thumb
 
Geoff Miller said:
(can you say mini-bar?)

Yes, I can and I usually set mine up before I set up the tent, that way other people will help with setting up the tent.

Actually a visit to REI or Cabela's or any sporting goods store is a good start. The one plus I will give you about getting "backpacking" or "hiking" tents is that they pack well. I know that I can fit my three person tent in the left saddlebag of my RT with the ground cloth, and a stove and coffee pot.
 
I just went today and bought my first round of camping gear at Popular Outdoor Outfitters. Got a Coleman 5x7 Sundome tent for $32, a Slumberjack Superguide 30 degree sleeping bag, a 40 degree Coleman sleeping bag for my son for back yard camping, a small battery-operated lantern, and an eclipse 2 clip-on led light. We're going to give the tent a dry-run in the back yard tonight, but it's small enough when packed that I can bungee it to the back of my bike. I think I'll be set for the road runner rally in May. I still want to get a therma-rest matress, a stool, a back-packing stove and mess kit. I don't think I need to buy a stove and mess kit before the rally because the $35 I paid for the rally includes dinner for two nights and I think they'll be selling breakfast and lunch there as well. If not I know a good little restaurant in Pine Top......

JQ
 
Camping

After trying and failing at motorcycle camping I did a little research online and found many articles from others who have faced similiar problems. I found an Alpine tent from SportsMart that folds up in a 6X12 in., square and comes with its own storm case. Since space is always a premium for us this worked out quite well. Vonnie is right, you will need a pad, a tarp and a decent sleeping bag. I used to carry around a 40 degree bag until I camped in the Tetons on the way to the 04 rally in Spokane. Being from California I thought its summer and won't need more than that....WRONG!!! I froze in Yellowstone even with my Firstgear riding pants and Kilamanjaro coat on. I then purchased a 20 degree bag and all my cold problems are solved. If its too hot I merely sleep on top which is nice because the 20 deg bags are thicker and add more padding underneath. Personally I think if you spend a bit more you get a bit more....kinda like the bikes we choose to ride. :)
 
The thing you get at places like REI besides quality stuff, is real good advice. Buying a $32 tent to travel in the back of your SUV is one thing,traveling with them on the back of your bike is another. There's plenty of good tents out there, but not all pack up real small and real light.
 
Geoff there is a REI store off of 494 by bloomington, may be worth a stop just to see if they have any bargains.
 
campmore.com, they are located in new jersey, but they do mail order. they have a great assortment of camping equipt (one of my favorite catalogs ) they have all the demensions and weights for you to make a knowledgable decision. their prices are very good. i tend to get backpacking stuff, they are lighter, pack smaller and more durable. they also tend to cover a wider range of temps. they sell a great cot that packs nicely, these ol bones appreciates being raised 6" off the ground. i will use a thermarest pad, if i am going from one camp site to another, but the cot gets used for those weekend rally's :clap

pete
 
Paul Sibek said:
I have been using Coleman tents for many years.

They are a good cross between the expensive well made tent and a $29 throw away.

I prefer a 7 x 7 Sundome and have been in some rotten weather and survived quite well. .
They also make a copy of a Eureka Timberline. One of the best long-term tents.

Paul Sibek said:
BTW- I heard but have not verified that Coleman makes a lesser tent for Walmart...
I've heard that about Walmart, Home Depot and a few others. That what looks like the same product is actually made cheaper. Might be true, might be urban legend and could also be becuae the big chains buy in bulk at huge discounts. Maybe the manufactures dump their sub-par products in bulk.
 
MarkF said:
I've heard that about Walmart, Home Depot and a few others. That what looks like the same product is actually made cheaper. Might be true, might be urban legend and could also be becuae the big chains buy in bulk at huge discounts. Maybe the manufactures dump their sub-par products in bulk.

Actually they are probably all really similiar products, it is expensive for manufacturers to make lots of different products, however to simply repackage something is relatively easy and is a great sales & marketing tool. Think about all of the "we will match any price" protection items, however how often can you actually match model numbers across the major retailers? The exact same product is simply rebadged to allow this practice.

Yes, there are some manufacturers that will grade their products, but that is typically done on more small run products, cause after all how does one grade a tent quality during the build?
 
Eureka

I have owned the same Eureka Timberline tent for 25 years. I have camped in this tent in some of the worst weather imaginable. On one occation this tent withstood a 60 mph wind and rain and kept everything completely dry. The Timberline is a fantastic tent.
 
Camping Gear tip

One invaluable tip I learned from an old Airhead friend is;

All my camping gear goes into a large side opening duffelbag. My sleeping bag, tent, air mattress, stove etc. The tent is stuffed in, a preferred way similar to a sail, it all fits neatly and just today I took everything out to check, like I do a couple of times a year.

Then when I am packing the bike to leave for camping, I simply attach the duffelbag to the rear rack, use the hard bags for clothes and food and I am off.
 
I'm with bklyn pete on the use of a cot ..when I travel all the itis bros. come along,arthur,burs,tendon...also my go-kot has never deflated on me :brow
 
Paul Sibek said:
One invaluable tip I learned from an old Airhead friend is;

All my camping gear goes into a large side opening duffelbag. My sleeping bag, tent, air mattress, stove etc. The tent is stuffed in, a preferred way similar to a sail, it all fits neatly and just today I took everything out to check, like I do a couple of times a year.

Then when I am packing the bike to leave for camping, I simply attach the duffelbag to the rear rack, use the hard bags for clothes and food and I am off.

One thing I learned was to keep stuff that might be wet seperate from stuff that should never be wet. This is really important on trips where you might camp in several locations. Therefore my cot, sleeping bag, pillow and thermarest are in one waterproof bag. While my tent and ground clothes are in a seperate bag. If your tent is wet from rain or dew it doesn't help to pack it with your sleeping bag or pillow.
 
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