Camping from a Kayak

Have to agree
The one thing I would NOT improvise on are my dry bags. NOTHING sucks worse than everything (tent, sleeping bag, clothes, matches, etc) being wet. You can sleep in a $20 sleeping bag in a $10 tent… unless your sleeping bag is wet and you have no dry clothes to change into. Galyans has a great selection of drybags ranging from $15 to about $25 that will hold everything you need.



P.S. Plastic trash bags don’t work, don’t even think about it.

as for
iso/butane stoves.I have 1 and use it year around camping in N. MI . You do have to shake the fuel canister and warm it under a coat to get the full burn from it so yes cold does effect it. Of course this was in 20deg. and below weather. Personally I would spend little on gear until you really are sure ya wanna camp alot. Otherwise you are gonna have lots of gear that isn’t used and wasted money.get a sleeping bag a mil. surplus tent a cheap stove or use a fire. Come up here and camp with me and you can see lots of fun gear in use, then decide how much ya need it.

iso pro issues
Yeah, I know that iso pro doesn’t flow well when it gets cold, but I figured that because he was just getting into it, he wouldn’t likely be camping when it’s 20 or below very often. And like a previous poster mentioned, all you’ve gotta do is warm the canister in your coat to get it working again.



FWIW, I have a stove that will run on iso or white gas (among others) for those times when iso isn’t the ideal fuel. But for fair weather campers, iso is the quickest, easiest way to go.

Isopro difficulties
Hehe! unless I decide to go for a long paddle upstream I won’t be running into any weather below 30 except in the middle of the night in January :). I live in central TX (near Austin) and so I don’t see much of that weather. It is all very good info though! Thanks for the info.



Pygmyt

Sometimes…
for a one night trip I’ll bring food that doesn’t need to be cooked. Pre-made sandwiches, Pop Tarts, fruit, raisins, granola etc… A good quality thermos can keep coffee hot for 24 hrs IF you keep it full and don’t open it until the AM. If you insist on drinking a little that night then it’s not hard to reheat some in the AM using a military style canteen cup and a few coals from the fire. Viola! No stove.



Gotta have a hot meal? Try wrapping a potato in aluminum foil and throwing it in the coals til it’s cooked. Of course you’ll have pilferred a few lil packs of butter from Waffle House to put on your tater and you probably brought some lil packets of Ranch dressing too. Again, no stove.



Don’t get me wrong. A stove is very nice to have. I just don’t list it as “required” equipment.



The lil fleece sleeping bags work fine for most months in our southern climes. A $20 pup tent from Walmart isn’t your best or lightest option but it’ll do in most cases. You can upgrade later and the kids will always have fun destroying the pup tent in the back yard. You could also check your classifieds, E-bay and with your local camping supply stores and ask about individuals posting used equipment on their bulletin board.



An Army surplus store will have rubber lined bags for waterproofing your sleeping bag and other gear. They aren’t a perfect and permenant solution but they seem to fit the needs of a lot of soldiers. Last time I bought one I think I paid $8 for it. Again, you can upgrade later.



Air mattresses are nice but not neccessary (until you’re over 40).



I have one of the military style jungle hammocks too. It’s not the same quality as Hennessey but it works OK. It replaces the tent AND air mattress. My old poncho liner suffices during the warm months as a blankey. Any old cheap blanket will do. I carry an extra 8x10 tarp when I use the hammock as extra protection from rain and sun. With a smaller tarp beneath it you can depoly the hammock at ground level and use it like a lil tent but if you do you’ll be wanting the air mattress again.



My bare minimum list for an overnighter might look like this:

*Soft sided cooler w/ 4-6 premade sandwiches kept cool w/ lil blue thingies. Wrapping the sandwiches and the blue thingies in newpaper adds extra insulation.

*Thermos full of presweetened coffee (boiling hot).

*Other misc snacks that don’t need to be kept in a cooler.

*A gallon jug of water per day.

*First aid kit.

*Cell phone.

*Jungle hammock w/ extra tarp & blanket ($50) OR cheap pup tent w/ cheap air mattress and fleece sleeping bag ($20+$20+$15).

*DEET

*Toilet paper

*Waterless hand sanitizer (sand & river water will remove grime).

*Waterproof bags (2 @ $8 ea)

*LED headlamp ($12 Ray-o-Vac) (extra batteries)

*Short Blackie Collins machete ($20)

*Leatherman and/or pocket knife

*100’ of parachute cord ($6).

*A good book



Assuming you already own the things I didn’t put prices next to, you’re ready to go camping for barely over $100.










Be glad you multiply by two!
Be glad your girlfriend shares your interests. I am into backpacking, birdwatching, bicycling, and kayaking, and I can’t get my husband to move off the couch! The only time he does it when he’s at work, which is a lot. When I go play, he goes to work!

Be Glad! was for Mtnbikernate
Got my “Be glad” post in the wrong sequence.

kayak camping
You must ask yourself if you are just going to buy these camping gears for kayaking use only or are you going to use these stuff for backpacking as well.



If your answer is for the later, be ready to shell some serious money for lightweight, even decent weight gears. On the other hand, if you are solely buying these equipments for kayaking use, there is no need to spend much $$$ to go lightweight gears. I would just go to wal-mart, sears …etc and get the most luxurious camp items that i can afford (read: go to the car camping section).





one thing that i learned over the years is that,


  1. Shelter is very important. depending on your location and time of year, condensation might be or not be a problem. There is nothing worst than not getting enough sleep and being tired and lethargic the next day.