I was just wondering what tents and stoves people are using these days. Im looking to purchase both soon. Any help is good help. Thanks
backpacking stuff
what I use
for coastal camping in FL winter season is a Sierra Meteor Light tent and a Trangia stove (alcohol) that is virtually indestructible and immune to sand/salt. Always works but slow…who’s in a rush?
For places I have to portage gear through, will use my ultralight backpacking equipment. Tent is actually a Hennessy Hammock ultralight A-Sym and still use a homemade alcohol stove that is very lightweight.
Different circumstances require different gear. Where are you camping? List location and season perhaps there are some here that could answer the question better than I.
I’ve used the Hennessy too
It’s great. It’s comfy and lightweight. The only caution I can give about it, if you’re in a group of people with them - we had 4 or 5, it’s sometimes hard enough to find enough trees. I know it sounds funny, especially in Quetico, but you have to find them the approximate correct distance apart, but not to close to others so the tarps don’t run into each other. And you need to have it clear underneath so you can get in - which can sometimes be hard without bush-whacking first - which I try to avoid.
another website
– Last Updated: Aug-02-07 10:25 AM EST –
for canoe wilderness trippers...there probably a zillion combinations.
www.myccr.com Go to Forums: equipment and I hope you have a day off. Or its raining..there is alot to sift through.
What kind of canoeing do you do..portages? How long, do you need light and perhaps expensive, do you need a cushy air mattress or a light pad, how many nights, where will you usually go, when in the season will you go.
Lots of variables here...I have a couple of tents a hammock a few sleeping pads, a few sleeping bags..etc..there is alot we still need to know.
If you are going to the tundra, the hammocks would be a problem! (especially with a grandchild)
MEC Tarn 3 Tent, Whisperlite Stove (NM)
where n when
I canoe in Ontario and am looking for 3 season tent, I paddle with my wife and next year I hope my 3 year old grand daughter.
henry shires - tarptent
check out his website great tents/tarps that are crazy lite. www.tarptent.com
i use the double rainbow that way i have room for my dog too. if you are portaging its something to consider. my two man tent is less than 2lbs. sometimes i use an eureka, but mostly for car camping. their tents are inexpensive and work nicely.
Depends…
Ah’ means dependin’ - not adult diapers - if ah’ want ta go light, ah’ use me real old North Face VE-24 (when they were still made in de US an’ had snow tunnels) an’ an’ ancient 35+ year old Optimus 8R white-gas stove. If ah’ go heavy an’ want ta act like Bill Mason, ah’ use me canvas baker tent.
Dis winter ah’ got a Eureka K2 4 season tent fer cheap, so ah’ jus’ might retire de ve-24.
FE
MSR whisperlite / Sierra D Lightning
The Whisperlite is a nice, portable & cheap stove that uses white gas and a few other fuels. You can get white gas pretty much anywhere in North America so that’s somewhat of a bonus. Uses refillable fuel containers so there’s no waste of those terrible 1 time use canisters that fill up landfills.
http://www.msrcorp.com/stoves/whisper_shaker.asp
I’m on my second Sierra Designs Lightning tent. The first one had a major design flaw with the zippered doors. I live and mostly camp in Northern Ontario and Northern Minnesota and when I’d wake up, I’d be covered in all kinds of insects because of the door flaw. Not too mention the constant mosquito buzzing that kept me up most of the night. Sierra Designs was really good and sent me an updated version of the tent which fixed the design flaw with the door. So now, I don’t get harassed by mosquitos or noseeums all night and I don’t wake up covered in bugs. I love it! The trail weight is only 3lbs
http://canada.sierradesigns.com/tents.display.php?id=47
MEC
How do you like the MEC tent? I’ve never had one or know anyone who has. I was thinking about getting the North Wind 4 season tent this winter.
I was using a
Coleman single burner dual fuel stove, but I vas given a Fold n’ Go 2 burner propane for Fathers’ Day. It is pretty light and folds over to the size of a 10" fry pan. Its great if you have to cook for a lot of people like I normally do.
We use a Kelty Vortex 4 for summer.
This is replaced by the Kelty Gunnison, also a nice, roomy tent. If night temperatures may drop below 30, we take our Sierra Designs Omega, a 3-4 season tent where panels zip in/out of the screen openings to control temperature. There is a 3 person version in the SD line.
For cooking, we either use our 39 year old Coleman or our 38 year old Svea 123. We have a nice butane stove, but I seem to be too dumb to light it consistently.
Hennessey
and a Jet Boil stove.
yep, me too
Can’t beat the Hennessey, for price, comfort or weight, and the Jet Boil (combined with a home dehydrator) is about the best stove deal going. I’m even buying a second Jet Boil to carry as a spare and to heat meals for a small group.
Of course, Critter has a wife and children, so that may negate the Hennessey and Jet Boil. In which case I’d go with a Eureka Timberline and a Jet Boil Group Cooking System, the big one, including the skillet.
Canoe=Space
I like to be comfortable, so if the portages aren’t too long I’ll use my Coleman double-burner propane stove. Easy, convenient, can cook some great meals on it. Coffee and breakfast at the same time! On my most recent trip, Wickerbutt brought along a Jetboil, which worked GREAT, so I may look into that for a lightweight option. Billy brought an MSR pocket rocket, but it seemed tempermental, tough to balance properly, and you gotta bring the extra cooking gear (Jetboil comes with its own pot).
As for a tent, I dragged out my old LLBean 3-man dome, and it was perfect. Again, if the portages aren’t too bad, with a canoe you can afford some extra weight, especially for the added benefit of a large tent to hold gear, or be less confining if you are storm-bound for an extended time.
-rs
Coleman Exponent Line
Coleman’s (relatively) new line of gear, the Exponent line, is pretty good stuff. I’ve got a 2 man Exponent tent (I think it’s the TYL-X2), the single burner F1-Powerboost gas stove (with built-in ignitor switch) and one of their 5 piece hiker’s mess kits. The stove, 2 cans of fuel and the mess kit all fits into a padded lantern bag I picked up at the Coleman outlet store. The whole thing slips into a small dry bag and packs and travels very well. It’s probably no more than 3 or 4 pounds total weight. The tent is 5.5 pounds. If you happen to have a Coleman outlet store nearby check it out…usually 25%+ off standard retail.
It all depends on where you camp
I have to deal with unmaintained portatges so weight is an issue as well as field repair.
The boreal forest south of the tundra.
Tent Sierra Designs Meteor Light for 2 and MSR Hubba Hubba for one. Tent needs to be freestanding as often it cannot be staked and must be anchored to rocks.
Sleeping bag system: Marmot Arete with a bag liner. Temps can range at night from below freezing to 60 degrees.
Big Agnes Insulated Air core mattress for sleeping comfort though the Thermarest Prolite 3 works OK…often we can moss out the rocks. (this is wilderness and not a park setting…the Thermarest can be tough if you have to camp on gravel)
Stove a Coleman Peak Apex white gas stove with a detachable fuel bottle. I like to bake. I dont like the Jetboil or anything with a canister. You cannot pour fuel over wet wood if its in a canister. This was lifesaving in June after weeks (six) of rain and snow almost constant. We were able to find dead standing wood and split but it still needed a boost.
Tents and stoves
– Last Updated: Aug-03-07 11:53 PM EST –
I am presently using a Sierra Design Meteor Light CD tent. It is a very good tent that weighs about 6 to 8 pounds. Black Diamond tents are excellent yet unfortunately their tents are expensive. One of the Black Diamond tents called the Lighthouse is excellent yet it weighs less than 4lbs with vestibule. A good source for stoves, tents , and other reviews go to www.backpacker.com/. In addition to that,another good site is www.gearreview.com. Finally, the other site to check out is www.trailspace.com/. Buying ultralight tents is more money and some of these tents durability is an issue. So it depends on how much money you want to spend. The other stove that I use is a Optimus Nova stove that is an excellent stove that has never let me down. An additional stove that I have is a Trianga alcohol stove that obviously burns alcohol. The burn time varies but usually I have thirty minutes to heat the water or to cook food. Once the burner cools refill to the top with fuel and you are on your way once again. Finally, I hope this information helps you out.
Sincerely,
Brian
kayakmedic
if your are going through tough portages, you have to check henry’s tents. They make the MSR hubba hubba feel like a bag of rocks. As henry says “because a shelter is a terrible thing to lug”
last year i reduced the weight i carry backpacking by 10lbs. the tarptent saved me over 3.5lbs. the hubba hubba is just way too heavy. if you get a one person tent they are under a pound. the tents get great reviews on whiteblaze.net - its a appalachain trail forum - i have the double rainbow with the optional floor and i love it for backpacking.