rangerreece
RangerReece
3 seasons? Is there a season that gets below freezing? This coming from a guy who slept in an ice cave in Alaska with a candle, with the ceiling 4" from his exhale.... Hence I live in the south.
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Your thoughts on Tents, Sleeping Bags, Pads and Pillows
- Thread starter nelliott
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- pads pillows sleeping bags tents
3 seasons? Is there a season that gets below freezing? This coming from a guy who slept in an ice cave in Alaska with a candle, with the ceiling 4" from his exhale.... Hence I live in the south.
johnwoodsrides
New member
Yep, ride prep season, riding season, and ride story telling season.....
lee
Debbie's Servant
Good point and it's one reason we never had a tent where the top half was screen.
When we used to camp on bike trips most of our trips were in the spring and fall and nights were cold.
I liked tents that had a few screen vents at the top to let air and moisture out on hot nights, but have the option to close the vents on cold nights to hold body heat in.
Also used a candle lantern hung from the ceiling to warm the tent before we went to sleep. Never trusted letting it burn all night.
rangerreece
RangerReece
That's funny John. Real funny.
36654
New member
Ever work registration at the MOA national rally, especially on a hot day? That registration tent is the perfect low profile tent for trapping heat.
pglaves
#13338
Excuse me if I appear to be a cynic. But can this be that complicated?
A decent tent. Water resistant., East to set up. A sleeping pad. Comfortable if not exquisite. A sleeping bag. Warm enough. I have had at least a dozen solutions to this probelm over the years..
Currently- a $49 dollar tent from Walmart. Big Agnes bag and mattress.
You all can over think this. You can over argue this. But in the end - there isn't a single answer on the Internet. You will actually need to think this through for yourself. And try a few variations. Ouch.!!!!
A decent tent. Water resistant., East to set up. A sleeping pad. Comfortable if not exquisite. A sleeping bag. Warm enough. I have had at least a dozen solutions to this probelm over the years..
Currently- a $49 dollar tent from Walmart. Big Agnes bag and mattress.
You all can over think this. You can over argue this. But in the end - there isn't a single answer on the Internet. You will actually need to think this through for yourself. And try a few variations. Ouch.!!!!
weschmann
Kawa Afterthought
Tents are like autos and motorcycles. Some folks are quite satisfied with driving bargain basement vehicles like Chevy Chevettes or entry level Bikes, and some want a little more out of their adventure. For some it's just a place to spend a couple of dark hours of rest, and for others, it's another part of the adventure. For me, it's important at my age to be both comfortable as much as possible on both the bike and off the bike, so I don't mind searching out for equipment that supports both parts of the adventure.
The advantage of my Big Agnes Wyoming Trail 2 tent is that it is tall enough (6') to stand up while dressing in the mud room (garage) but the poles fold up relatively short, making packing the tent not erroneous on a bike.
My Wyoming Trail 2 tent, although tall enough to dress in the mud room, has a low, small sleeping area allowing it to be warmer than a much larger tent.
However, having said this, there is no one tent that will be perfect for everyone.There is a lot of trial and error involved finding one that is perfect for your needs. I actually prefer my low Eureka, coffin-like tent when spending each night in a different location. It quickly goes up and down and packs taking up virtually no space. However, I prefer a larger tent when spending several days at one location.
I went for a redverz and love it. Best feature is the design basically keeps the rain fly always attached so you can set up solo in the rain and the inside isn't wet - brilliant! Next choice is a war bonnet hammock - LOVE it. Super light, comfy, two minutes to set up.
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Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Rod Sheridan
New member
Hi, I like the Redverz tent because it gives me a large separate room for gear, getting dressed/undressed etc.
There's nothing as nice as coming in from the rain, shedding your wet clothes inside the "garage" portion of the tent, without getting any water or dirt in the sleeping portion.
Same for storing your wet and dirty gear, or sitting in your Kermit chair in the garage watching it rain outside.
as for cooking, I normally keep it very simple with 2 nesting pans and a Primus multi-fuel stove. Cooking while riding is really simple for us, making tea, or soup or home made stew, or something like a stir fry. We eat out of the 2 pans, carry 2 mugs, cutlery and a multi-spice bottle and a small bottle of dish detergent and cooking oil.
Sleeping is 2 sleeping bags, one a cold weather one, one a warmer weather one. When it's cold the warm weather bage goes out flat on top of the air mattress, then the cold one on top, hot weather is the reverse.
2 Kermit chairs complete the gear....................Rod.
There's nothing as nice as coming in from the rain, shedding your wet clothes inside the "garage" portion of the tent, without getting any water or dirt in the sleeping portion.
Same for storing your wet and dirty gear, or sitting in your Kermit chair in the garage watching it rain outside.
as for cooking, I normally keep it very simple with 2 nesting pans and a Primus multi-fuel stove. Cooking while riding is really simple for us, making tea, or soup or home made stew, or something like a stir fry. We eat out of the 2 pans, carry 2 mugs, cutlery and a multi-spice bottle and a small bottle of dish detergent and cooking oil.
Sleeping is 2 sleeping bags, one a cold weather one, one a warmer weather one. When it's cold the warm weather bage goes out flat on top of the air mattress, then the cold one on top, hot weather is the reverse.
2 Kermit chairs complete the gear....................Rod.
Good gear pays for itself
Tent:
Have a three person Sierra designs. Excellent, small, good access but can't stand up.
Redverz - awesome. The rain fly is always attached so you can put this tent up in the rain and the sleeping area doesn't get wet - really nice. Then you have a dressing area for taking off wet gear. The garage takes the place of a motorcycle cover. And is a good space to play cards during a storm. I love the tent - only negative thing the size/weight.
War Bonnet - I have their large hammock - double bottom. Very small and light, goes up in 5 min or less ( if trees present). And is SO comfortable. Absolutely dry in heavy rain. Not great for storing things but great for sleeping and no worries about level smooth ground. Highly recommended. Keep it in a side case as an everyday carry item.
Sleeping bag:
marmot trestles 30degree. Comfy and packs small. Synthetic so stays warm and doesn't clump like down.
Cot - experimenting with a new cot - so far it is good but large to pack.
Too soon to report. Haven't found a good inflatable. And nothing is as comfy as the hammock.
Pillow - haven't found a great one.
Chair :
Helinox - smaller and lighter than Kermit. But no arms. Very comfy.
Black diamond lantern and headlamp. Great.
Camp towel - a version of a divers towel. Bought at MOA rally - awesome. mcnett tactical.
GLOCk folding shovel/saw. Small and light and awesome.
Fiskars hatchet. Excellent. Light and effective.
Travelers fly rod from llbean - nice feel and very portable.
Cutter insect repellent.
Outdoor research goretex rain hat. Never leave home without it.
Enjoy!
Tent:
Have a three person Sierra designs. Excellent, small, good access but can't stand up.
Redverz - awesome. The rain fly is always attached so you can put this tent up in the rain and the sleeping area doesn't get wet - really nice. Then you have a dressing area for taking off wet gear. The garage takes the place of a motorcycle cover. And is a good space to play cards during a storm. I love the tent - only negative thing the size/weight.
War Bonnet - I have their large hammock - double bottom. Very small and light, goes up in 5 min or less ( if trees present). And is SO comfortable. Absolutely dry in heavy rain. Not great for storing things but great for sleeping and no worries about level smooth ground. Highly recommended. Keep it in a side case as an everyday carry item.
Sleeping bag:
marmot trestles 30degree. Comfy and packs small. Synthetic so stays warm and doesn't clump like down.
Cot - experimenting with a new cot - so far it is good but large to pack.
Too soon to report. Haven't found a good inflatable. And nothing is as comfy as the hammock.
Pillow - haven't found a great one.
Chair :
Helinox - smaller and lighter than Kermit. But no arms. Very comfy.
Black diamond lantern and headlamp. Great.
Camp towel - a version of a divers towel. Bought at MOA rally - awesome. mcnett tactical.
GLOCk folding shovel/saw. Small and light and awesome.
Fiskars hatchet. Excellent. Light and effective.
Travelers fly rod from llbean - nice feel and very portable.
Cutter insect repellent.
Outdoor research goretex rain hat. Never leave home without it.
Enjoy!
sagerat
Boxers uber alles
Sleeping quarters
I've used a Hennesy Hammock when in timbered country. Can get cold as air moves all around you; used rain fly but never got to test it, lucky me.
Eureka bivvy sack: worked really well and kept me very dry and comfy during monsoon downpour at Sipapu, NM, rally and other drenchings. Cramped quarters and it's like getting dressed/undressed in a coffin. Small vestibule in front for gear. Cost about $100 as I recall. Met its demise at Salem, OR rally when pole for front loop broke, because dumb me was convinced it was the shorter pole for the smaller, rear loop. Used that bivvy for years and years and still miss it, although at 57 changing clothes prone can be amusing. I have stood up in campgrounds and said "to heck with it, I'll never see these people again."
REI Half-Dome: Two-man tent that will hold two guys and their mc gear in a pinch, although I did wake up in Great Basin Nat'l Park with my left foot stuck inside my Schuberth C3. Bought footprint for it; set's up quickly with color-coded poles and instructions on stuff sack for when I am too stupid after a long days ride to remember how to set up my own tent. I use the Big Agness light LED light string inside for a festive touch. Always use rainfly, which has kept me dry the few times it was has rained on me.
Sleeping bag
Blue Kazoo rated to 15F, down mummy bag, which normally I unzip and use more as a blanket. Thermarest 3/4 sleeping pad, which sometimes I actually wake up on in the morning.
Chairs
Kermit chair if going to a rally or be in one place for any length of time; collapsible 3-legged stool from local sporting goods store if I'm moving every night.
Cooking
MSR Pocket Rocket which replaced my WhisperLite. Seals went bad on WhisperLite and we dang near had our own IED at the campground when the fuel kept spurting out and the flame on the burner would not extinguish. Convinced me I was done with white gas stoves. Nesting pots are REI, I think. Admittedly, about the half the time we eat dinner at a diner to save time in terms of cleaning pots, pans, dishes.
Camping gear bag
Bright yellow Texas Sports bag from local Army surplus store. Has kept all my stuff dry in lots of heavy rains. Best $25 I've ever spent.
My philosophy is I'm there to sleep and then move on in the morning, so I emphasize speed in set up and take down and keep gear to a minimum.
I will second WarBonnet's hammock and gear. I was at a Ural rally in Eugene and guy next to me had a Blackhawk which was the bomb.
I've used a Hennesy Hammock when in timbered country. Can get cold as air moves all around you; used rain fly but never got to test it, lucky me.
Eureka bivvy sack: worked really well and kept me very dry and comfy during monsoon downpour at Sipapu, NM, rally and other drenchings. Cramped quarters and it's like getting dressed/undressed in a coffin. Small vestibule in front for gear. Cost about $100 as I recall. Met its demise at Salem, OR rally when pole for front loop broke, because dumb me was convinced it was the shorter pole for the smaller, rear loop. Used that bivvy for years and years and still miss it, although at 57 changing clothes prone can be amusing. I have stood up in campgrounds and said "to heck with it, I'll never see these people again."
REI Half-Dome: Two-man tent that will hold two guys and their mc gear in a pinch, although I did wake up in Great Basin Nat'l Park with my left foot stuck inside my Schuberth C3. Bought footprint for it; set's up quickly with color-coded poles and instructions on stuff sack for when I am too stupid after a long days ride to remember how to set up my own tent. I use the Big Agness light LED light string inside for a festive touch. Always use rainfly, which has kept me dry the few times it was has rained on me.
Sleeping bag
Blue Kazoo rated to 15F, down mummy bag, which normally I unzip and use more as a blanket. Thermarest 3/4 sleeping pad, which sometimes I actually wake up on in the morning.
Chairs
Kermit chair if going to a rally or be in one place for any length of time; collapsible 3-legged stool from local sporting goods store if I'm moving every night.
Cooking
MSR Pocket Rocket which replaced my WhisperLite. Seals went bad on WhisperLite and we dang near had our own IED at the campground when the fuel kept spurting out and the flame on the burner would not extinguish. Convinced me I was done with white gas stoves. Nesting pots are REI, I think. Admittedly, about the half the time we eat dinner at a diner to save time in terms of cleaning pots, pans, dishes.
Camping gear bag
Bright yellow Texas Sports bag from local Army surplus store. Has kept all my stuff dry in lots of heavy rains. Best $25 I've ever spent.
My philosophy is I'm there to sleep and then move on in the morning, so I emphasize speed in set up and take down and keep gear to a minimum.
I will second WarBonnet's hammock and gear. I was at a Ural rally in Eugene and guy next to me had a Blackhawk which was the bomb.
ricochetrider
Out There Somewhere
All I ask for in a tent is that it keep me dry no matter what sort of rain falls. The new 3 season tents are darn good at this but nothing beats a 4 season mountaineering tent for fail-safe weather protection.
Sleeping bags, change from season to season. Down is nice IF you can guarantee it won't get wet.
(refer back to tent)
BUT there are any number of synthetic fills which may not compress as well but work better under adverse
conditions. I use a heavy synthetic fill bag for cold weather (winter) and any summer/spring/fall camping, I take my 40 degree rated down bag.
Sleeping pad, I use a self inflating, 2" pad. Never slept better.
Pillow, I use a tiny, compressible pillow that seems as if it's filled with small bits of foam.
I also have a massive MSR Parawing "tarp" thing I've toted around on many excursions, but a simple tarp will do- I like to have protection from sun/rain in camp- but I'll forego this luxury if not staying a few days. Unless it's really raining hard.
Sleeping bags, change from season to season. Down is nice IF you can guarantee it won't get wet.
(refer back to tent)
BUT there are any number of synthetic fills which may not compress as well but work better under adverse
conditions. I use a heavy synthetic fill bag for cold weather (winter) and any summer/spring/fall camping, I take my 40 degree rated down bag.
Sleeping pad, I use a self inflating, 2" pad. Never slept better.
Pillow, I use a tiny, compressible pillow that seems as if it's filled with small bits of foam.
I also have a massive MSR Parawing "tarp" thing I've toted around on many excursions, but a simple tarp will do- I like to have protection from sun/rain in camp- but I'll forego this luxury if not staying a few days. Unless it's really raining hard.
The_Veg
D'OH!
Depending on your individual characteristics, yes, it can be complicated. It took me a LOT of trial-and error to figure out my sleeping pad. I'm a big, broad fella, wide through the shoulders and hips, but not so wide through the middle...and I sleep best curled-up on one side, so pressure points at my downward shoulder and hip can be a real problem. I can bring a gigantic air-mattress, but I want to be able to pack other things on the bike too. I eventually settled on an Exped Synmat, but I've never been happy with it's inflation system, and at Das Rally one of the internal seams between the 'tubes' came loose so I've now got a little bit of a hump in it.
The side-curling thing makes sleeping bags more complicated too. 'Mummy' types have some pluses, but work poorly for side-sleepers. Since I live in the southeast and most moto-camping is in the warm part of the year, I often don't even bring a sleeping bag, just a Coolmax bag-liner and a fleece 'sleepsack' thingee. Good down to about 55F, and I can augment that setup with one of those wispy airline blankets (pilfered from a flight a few years ago) to get a few more degrees.
Tents: as tall as I am, I'd have to bring a GP-medium to be able to stand up in it, so as long as the tent is at least waist-high on me I can work with it. Big, easy doors matter to me, as well as having enough floor-space for my mattress and my gear and a little room to crawl to the door when nature calls. My brand-new REI Half Dome 2+ really did the job at Das Rally, replacing an REI Taj III that I used for a dozen years. I like durable tents, and the REI tents are easy to set up too. Got my first one after finding that my brother's twenty-year-old Sears catalog tent kinda sucked when I used it for my first moto-camping experience.
Pillows: Also important to side-sleepers, for proper head-support. I tried the ball-up-my-clothing method for a while and found it to be miserable. Then I found a small (about 10" x 10") pillow at Ikea for $1, which worked sorta well until I found a real camping-pillow that packs noticeably smaller than the Ikea pillow. Small packing was the only reason I went for the fancy camping-pillow.
rangerreece
RangerReece
I think it would be safe to say that all campers who had a tent up Tuesday night at the national when those 70KT winds came through and didn't have to pound in stakes at 0130 or had to find a new shelter in the morning may be at least a little qualified on tents. That was some wind storm.
+1
I'm lucky in that my wife drives a sidecar rig, so we take a 6 person Marmot tent with big hefty alum poles. We slept right through the Weds night storm, comfortably on our Go-Kots....
QUOTE=rangerreece;1055714]I think it would be safe to say that all campers who had a tent up Tuesday night at the national when those 70KT winds came through and didn't have to pound in stakes at 0130 or had to find a new shelter in the morning may be at least a little qualified on tents. That was some wind storm.[/QUOTE]
I'm lucky in that my wife drives a sidecar rig, so we take a 6 person Marmot tent with big hefty alum poles. We slept right through the Weds night storm, comfortably on our Go-Kots....
QUOTE=rangerreece;1055714]I think it would be safe to say that all campers who had a tent up Tuesday night at the national when those 70KT winds came through and didn't have to pound in stakes at 0130 or had to find a new shelter in the morning may be at least a little qualified on tents. That was some wind storm.[/QUOTE]
MCMXCIVRS
More toys than space
I'm a side sleeper and like the roomier barrel shaped sleeping bags. They are a good compromise between the roominess of a square bag and the warmth of a mummy bag. Aside from wanting to roll onto my side, I don't like having my arms trussed up to my sides in a mummy bag. I have a troublesome shoulder and need to be able to get my arm positioned right to ease the discomfort in it at times. Can't do that in a tight sleeping bag. If it's warm enough at night, I will often just keep my arm out of the bag entirely to make it more comfortable.
For a pad, I just switched to a Sea to Summit Comfort Plus pad and love it, and also have the Sea to Summit Aeros Premium pillow to use with my Big Agnes sleeping bag. I am working on reducing my camping kits bulk and just got a new Big Agnes Copper Spur one man tent. Have not used it yet, but it is half the packed size of my previous Eureka Mountain Pass two man tent. It has a bit less room inside and a smaller single vestibule, but I'm pretty sure I can manage with that as I also have a tarp that I can set up for additional sheltered space for some of my gear. The new tent is a lot lighter material so will demand some care in handling for sure, but I typically have got at least a decade of use out of previous tents with no significant wear or damage.
lowndes
New member
Nelliot,
LOTS of very good info here. You may have settled on most of your gear by now, but thought I'd throw in my two cents for anyone else here considering gear. My son and I were in the Boy Scouts, we backpacked a lot of the AT and numerous trips to Boundary Waters/QUETICO. I got to be a gear aficionado by trial and error.
Tents - I have about 6, have sold/given away another 5-6, but the Eureka Timberland 4 is my go-to tent. You CAN stand up in it, it has Very good FLOW-THRU ventilation even on hot, sweltering nights, doors each end for exiting, Very roomy, stupid simple, dry in the rain, easy and fast set up even on a dark and windy nights. It's not the lightest or smallest, or the most hightech, but it is light and small enough, very roomy for two plus gear, and relatively inexpensive. You might try renting a few different tents to get some experience with different form factors, setups.
If you ride with others, you can share the load. If you camp with the wife, weight and size are most important.
Stoves - there are 8-10 on the shelf, from the MSR, Sevia's, to the old two burner Coleman, to home made 'penny' stoves; butane, alcohol, white gas, even a pine cone fuel stove. My go-to was the Peak1, fast and simple. Now its an elegant home made alcohol stove that a friend gave me.
Bags and mats are very 'personal preference' type gear. You'll need to try several to find what works best for you. As others have described here, the light weight bag liners give you more versatility/comfort. Down is the warmest and packs the smallest. Granite Gear makes very good compression sacks in a wide range of sizes that will get my 20 deg down bag to about the size of a softball.
http://www.granitegear.com/outdoor/packing-systems/compression-stuffsacks/event-sil-compression-drysack.html
Happy trails!!
Lowndes
LOTS of very good info here. You may have settled on most of your gear by now, but thought I'd throw in my two cents for anyone else here considering gear. My son and I were in the Boy Scouts, we backpacked a lot of the AT and numerous trips to Boundary Waters/QUETICO. I got to be a gear aficionado by trial and error.
Tents - I have about 6, have sold/given away another 5-6, but the Eureka Timberland 4 is my go-to tent. You CAN stand up in it, it has Very good FLOW-THRU ventilation even on hot, sweltering nights, doors each end for exiting, Very roomy, stupid simple, dry in the rain, easy and fast set up even on a dark and windy nights. It's not the lightest or smallest, or the most hightech, but it is light and small enough, very roomy for two plus gear, and relatively inexpensive. You might try renting a few different tents to get some experience with different form factors, setups.
If you ride with others, you can share the load. If you camp with the wife, weight and size are most important.
Stoves - there are 8-10 on the shelf, from the MSR, Sevia's, to the old two burner Coleman, to home made 'penny' stoves; butane, alcohol, white gas, even a pine cone fuel stove. My go-to was the Peak1, fast and simple. Now its an elegant home made alcohol stove that a friend gave me.
Bags and mats are very 'personal preference' type gear. You'll need to try several to find what works best for you. As others have described here, the light weight bag liners give you more versatility/comfort. Down is the warmest and packs the smallest. Granite Gear makes very good compression sacks in a wide range of sizes that will get my 20 deg down bag to about the size of a softball.
http://www.granitegear.com/outdoor/packing-systems/compression-stuffsacks/event-sil-compression-drysack.html
Happy trails!!
Lowndes
