I wasn't trying to set any record. I just kept going out every couple weeks, sometimes just for a Friday night after work. When I added it up in December I was shocked. 40 nights. That's more than I slept in a tent in my whole 20s combined. Back then I was too busy with work and life. Now at 57 I'm making time for it. The gear is better sure but I think the real change is me. Anyone else notice they camp more as they get older?
The wind ripped through our site around 3am and my Coleman 4-person just gave up on life - pole snapped in two places and the fly flew off into the dark somewhere - has anyone else had their gear just totally fail on a trip and what'd you do about it?
I set up my REI Half Dome 2 in what I thought was a perfect spot near the Hoh River trail. Woke up at 3 AM to find 2 inches of standing water inside because I didn't check the ground slope. Has anyone else dealt with unexpected puddling and found a good solution for leveling out a tent site?
I was out at Lake Tahoe last weekend and one of the fiberglass poles just cracked in half during setup. I ended up using duct tape and a stick to get it standing for the night. Anyone else had Coleman poles fail super fast like that?
I always just threw my bag on the tent floor and froze until I borrowed a friend's insulated pad in Shenandoah last month. The R-value makes a huge difference, I went from shivering to actually comfortable. Anybody else skip this and regret it?
I was in line at the Seattle REI last weekend and this dude was telling his friend he saved $40 skipping the footprint for his tent. Then he woke up in a puddle after a light rain. Has anyone else used a tarp as a cheap alternative and had it work out?
Half the campsites had those big inflatable mattresses now instead of sleeping pads. You guys seeing this replace foam pads everywhere or is it just the popular spots?
I was camped at Devil's Lake State Park last June when a sudden thunderstorm rolled in around 2 AM. A gust of wind snapped one of my aluminum poles clean in half and the whole tent collapsed on me. I ended up duct taping the broken pole to a tree branch and slept the rest of the night half in my rain fly lol. Has anyone else had to MacGyver their tent back together in the middle of the night?
I spent like 5 years pounding stakes straight down into the ground (you know, like a normal person) and wondering why my tent would shift in the wind. A random guy at a campsite in Moab last fall pointed out that stakes should go in at a 45-degree angle pointing toward the tent. Has anyone else had that moment where a simple angle change fixed everything?
Neighbor Dave swore by those cheap tent stakes from the dollar store. He told me last summer that $1 plastic stakes were just as good as my MSR groundhogs for car camping, so I tried his advice on a three-night trip to Shenandoah. After a windy night and a thunderstorm, I woke up with my tent basically folded over me because three of those stakes snapped clean in half. Has anyone else had a well-meaning friend steer you wrong on gear that seemed like a good deal?
I was camping near Buena Vista and woke up to a sudden rain leak in my tent that drenched my down bag. Had to sleep in my car with the heater on and it was miserable. Anyone have a good waterproof bag they trust for wet trips?
He said he just patched a hole with duct tape and kept using it for 8 years while I'm on my fourth tent because a zipper broke or a seam gave out, so has anyone else ditched the expensive gear for the boring stuff?
I was camped up near Big Sur and the sky just opened up at 2 AM. I had always rolled my eyes at people who brought extra tarps and paracord, figured it was overkill. Well, that $30 tarp kept everything bone dry while my buddy's high-end tent got a puddle in his vestibule. Has anyone else had a cheap piece of gear totally save your trip?
I grabbed a $45 tent off Amazon last summer for a weekend at Lake Shasta, thinking it was a steal. First night of light drizzle and the rain flap leaked all over my sleeping bag, plus a pole snapped when I tried to tighten the guy line. Anyone else learned the hard way that spending a little more upfront saves you from a soggy miserable trip?
Last fall I was camping up near Flagstaff and it rained for two days straight. My buddy Dave had this old synthetic bag that got soaked through. He just hung it up in his garage when we got back and forgot about it for like a week. When he pulled it out for the next trip it had this musty smell that never really went away. I told him he should have tossed it in the dryer on low with a couple tennis balls to fluff the insulation back up. He looked at me like I was speaking another language but tried it anyway. Worked way better than he expected and now he does it after every wet trip. Has anyone else had a bag get ruined from just air drying too slow?
Picked up a cheap blowdown nozzle at a garage sale in Missoula for $5. Used it on my old two-burner and the flame control was way better than my pump. Going back to the pump felt like a downgrade - anyone else ditch their stove's stock setup?
I saw this tent had like 4.5 stars and figured it was a steal for $120. First night out in Shenandoah, one of the poles snapped during a light breeze lol. Tried to return it but the seller ghosted me after 30 days. Ended up buying a used tent from REI for $80 that's held up for 2 years now. Anyone else get burned by those random brand tents on Amazon?
Guy in the next site said I needed 8-inch shepherds hooks for anything over 20 mph winds and once I switched I haven't had a single stake pull out even in a thunderstorm, anyone else had to learn the hard way about stake weight?
My Walmart tarp let water pool underneath my tent and soak through the floor, but a $25 footprint with grommets kept everything bone dry on the same soggy ground last weekend - any recommendations for a durable footprint brand that won't break the bank?
Spent $80 on a tiny titanium stove because I thought it would save weight, but the thing takes forever to boil water on a windy day. After a trip in the Smokies where I waited 20 minutes for lukewarm coffee, I switched back to my old $25 Coleman and it works way better. Anyone else regret trading performance for a few ounces?
I always thought you had to air out your sleeping bag every morning to prevent moisture buildup. But last weekend on a 4-day trip in the Smokies, I tried just leaving it stuffed and rolling it up tight the whole time. Honestly, it stayed just as dry and took way less time packing up. Now I'm wondering if all that morning airing was just a waste of energy. Has anyone else tested this and seen a difference in bag performance?
I used to swear by isobutane canisters for backpacking trips in the Smokies. Then last month I tried white gas on a 6 day rain trip and realized how much waste those little cans create. The MSR WhisperLite Universal I borrowed let me refuel from a big bottle and saved like 4 half empty canisters from the landfill. Anyone else made the switch and found a good multi-fuel stove that isn't a brick to carry?
I was camping near Elkmont for three nights. Second night a storm rolled in around 2am with winds I guess around 40 mph. My old Coleman tent just folded over on one side and the pole snapped. I spent the rest of the night in my car with the seat leaned back. Made me think about how much I rely on gear working when it actually matters. Has anyone else had a tent fail on them in bad weather? What do you look for now that you didn't before?
I was three miles into the Lost Lake trail when a sudden storm dumped on us for two hours straight, and my so-called waterproof bag left everything soaked including my sleeping bag. I spent that night shivering and realized I needed to test all my gear in actual rain before trusting it. How do you guys check if your stuff is really waterproof without getting stuck in a bad situation like that?