Camping/Backpacking/etc gear nerdyness

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Camping/Backpacking/etc gear nerdyness

Postby self-deleted_user » Apr 29, 2011 4:57 pm

Okay just curious what ya'all use :)

I (currently) have to travel so much to cave I'm slowly working my way down on how much I need to take with me, especially since caving clothes and gear take up so much space. I mean, I did the fall TAG cave-in in just my overnight duffel, I thought that was freakin' awesome for a 5-day weekend with cave gear and cave clothes, but now that I have vertical gear that ain't happening, it was a tight duffel as it was (it could be larger even and still carryon for airplanes, it's a weekend duffel but it's what I have).

One thing I noticed is my towel takes up SO MUCH space. I started taking just a hand towel along and making do. It was enough to get my body dried off from a shower and I could get my hair so it wasn't *dripping* but it takes forever to dry and is still large and I just found this at REI, a medium size towel but it's so tiny! it's a little larger than my hand towel and so I figure it should do. OMG it is soooo tiny! that will save a LOT of space.

I also havePitotubes which are sized for airline carryon and are clear and nice and compact so I can just put whatever shampoo and stuff I want in that. I also tend to just keep a Lush godiva bar handy (solid conditioning shampoo, also works as body soap) so one-bar-does-it-all in a tin can so if I'm lazy i can just toss that in my bag and am good to go. I am really bad at forgetting a razor though so luckily people tend to not care when you're camping if your legs are prickly haha. It just annoys the heck out of me because I am a fan of smooth.

So far that's all I got...my sleeping bag is pretty compact, it was an REI clearance item, it's a mummy bag but not down or synthetic down stuffs so it's not teenytiny. I'd LOVE one of those bags, but funds prohibit it. My tent sucks, a $20 craigslist buy, because I needed something fast and cheap. It works but really only good weather camping.

One thing that I'd like to add to my gear is eatery stuff...you know, bowl, cup, plate, silverware. I have spares i take when I camp but it takes up space. Are those "flat" ones that "pop" up really any good? They seem like they'd be hard to clean.

I guess I'm trying to figure out what are the cheapest and therefore easiest things to work on compacting first?

Is there any such thing as a good but not expensive backpack to pack everything into that still fits airline carryon rules? I mean I see packs...for like $150-$200. :rofl: yeah RIGHT.

So...share your cool gear here! :D
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Re: Camping/Backpacking/etc gear nerdyness

Postby wyandottecaver » Apr 29, 2011 5:10 pm

Amy,

one thing to consider, you could pack your good poly pro and a single set of clothes, then buy locally at goodwill for a set or two of cavin clothes and just throw them away. Solves the decon/cleaning issue too :)

Ive seen the true fold flat cups. They worked good, but you needed to be an origami expert to use it.

If you want to go real light, then get a fleece sleeping bag liner and put it in a big 55gal heavy duty trash bag (or 2). fine for mild weather, fairly waterproof, and packs up very small. Not much for padding though.
I'm not scared of the dark, it's the things IN the dark that make me nervous. :)
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Re: Camping/Backpacking/etc gear nerdyness

Postby self-deleted_user » Apr 29, 2011 5:20 pm

I have sucky time finding clothes and I hate shopping haha. I find something that works I buy multiples and use it until it dies. I'd waste all my caving time trying to find cave clothes if I did that!

My cavepants I like (they are actually cold weather yoga pants, they are like a thick polypro kinda, but not skintight like polypro is) do really well but not when scooting on sharp rocks haha I have stitched up some small holes in the arse-area already! I don't care though I like them. They are as flexible as I am which is what I need. The bad thing is the waistband isn't really that snug and they may have slight fallingoff issues... luckily my undies never have such problems xD and it's the price i pay for hating cavesuits. I should probably get those caveshorts to wear over them, that'd be a good idea. But $40 for something I don't need...or need enough, I should say.

I am great at origami, by the way.
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Re: Camping/Backpacking/etc gear nerdyness

Postby wyandottecaver » Apr 29, 2011 5:28 pm

I'm not scared of the dark, it's the things IN the dark that make me nervous. :)
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Re: Camping/Backpacking/etc gear nerdyness

Postby LukeM » Apr 29, 2011 5:43 pm

Amy, you should regularly check http://www.steepandcheap.com. I use their browser plugin to get alerts for all the deals, which rotate about every 20-30 minutes or so. Just click the "alerts" link for more info on that.

Some of my favorite deals so far: PT Quad headlamps for $15 a pop, $40 for a great 3300 cu in. frame pack, and last but not least, a full, Hyperflex, 4/3mm wetsuit for $55.

You also might want to look at getting compression sacks for your clothes and sleeping bag.
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Re: Camping/Backpacking/etc gear nerdyness

Postby self-deleted_user » Apr 29, 2011 5:51 pm

I have a compression sack for the sleeping bag =) but it doesn't compress a *ton* it's a lot smaller than my old backpack as a kid but there's only so much a non-down type one will stuff. Awesome link, thanks!
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Re: Camping/Backpacking/etc gear nerdyness

Postby ct1 » Apr 29, 2011 5:57 pm

well I dont know what you are doing wrong packing, because I just packed for 10 days in Puerto Rico with all my vertical gear along with a life vest in a duffle and a personal item for the flight. Helmet and vertical gear fit along with clothes for the week and two sets of caveing clothes becuase they were wet after just about every trip. One pair of boot that I wore and a pair of sandles. And the carry on included a sleeping bag a 40 degree lafumee that cmpresses pretty good.
The best thing I have found to cave in is jeans they last a good long time and in the tight crawls and they do not fall off. You can also pick them up for about $15.00 from walmat ( and before you say it COTTON DOES NOT KILL Just resting to much so that you have a chace to got cold; kills.)
As for packing there are many good back packs that fit the measurements for a carry on. I got a good one from REI last year and it is a Mount Smith I like it as a pack and I think I got it on sale for around $50.00. Just check out what is on sale and your local Good will is a great place to find things that you would not expect to find there.
Other than that learning how to pack your vertical gear small enough to make it through the cave is something that you are going to have to master if you want do get down and dirty and move through the cave carrying your water food and other equipment you are going to need for exploration, or survaying or what ever other reason you are going. If you can not fit it in you carryon you are not going to get it through the cave. Im just saying.
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Re: Camping/Backpacking/etc gear nerdyness

Postby self-deleted_user » Apr 29, 2011 6:23 pm

ct1 - well one thing that takes up a good chunk of space is my dSLR and lenses...
>_>
<_<

And vertical gear does fit into a carryon as well as a TON of other stuff...it takes up only half the pack aaron is letting me borrow for it. Not sure where you got the idea it doesn't fit into a carryon size. Yeah I need a better pack for it, but borrowing for as long as I need is free, and he has a new landjoff pack he loves so i doubt he'll care if this one is mia for a while haha.
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Re: Camping/Backpacking/etc gear nerdyness

Postby JR-Orion » May 12, 2011 1:16 pm

I'm a big fan of having some sort of pad under my sleeping bag. Even something like this helps a lot-

http://www.amazon.com/Wenzel-Convoluted ... 02&sr=8-14
Letting the days go by / water flowing underground
Into the blue again / in the silent water
Under the rocks and stones / there is water underground.
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Re: Camping/Backpacking/etc gear nerdyness

Postby mgmills » May 12, 2011 2:06 pm

Sungura wrote:I have sucky time finding clothes and I hate shopping haha. I find something that works I buy multiples and use it until it dies. I'd waste all my caving time trying to find cave clothes if I did that!

My cavepants I like (they are actually cold weather yoga pants, they are like a thick polypro kinda, but not skintight like polypro is) do really well but not when scooting on sharp rocks haha I have stitched up some small holes in the arse-area already! I don't care though I like them. They are as flexible as I am which is what I need. The bad thing is the waistband isn't really that snug and they may have slight fallingoff issues... luckily my undies never have such problems xD and it's the price i pay for hating cavesuits. I should probably get those caveshorts to wear over them, that'd be a good idea. But $40 for something I don't need...or need enough, I should say.

I am great at origami, by the way.


Amy, a cheap fix is men's swim shorts over your pants. Usually can be found at a thrift store real cheap. They protect your "main pants" and if they tear it is no great loss. Here in TAG I wore them for years over polypro until I finally broke down and bought some "real caving shorts".
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Re: Camping/Backpacking/etc gear nerdyness

Postby mgmills » May 12, 2011 2:13 pm

Sungura wrote:I have sucky time finding clothes and I hate shopping haha. I find something that works I buy multiples and use it until it dies. I'd waste all my caving time trying to find cave clothes if I did that!

My cavepants I like (they are actually cold weather yoga pants, they are like a thick polypro kinda, but not skintight like polypro is) do really well but not when scooting on sharp rocks haha I have stitched up some small holes in the arse-area already! I don't care though I like them. They are as flexible as I am which is what I need. The bad thing is the waistband isn't really that snug and they may have slight fallingoff issues... luckily my undies never have such problems xD and it's the price i pay for hating cavesuits. I should probably get those caveshorts to wear over them, that'd be a good idea. But $40 for something I don't need...or need enough, I should say.

I am great at origami, by the way.


Amy, instead of the expensive caving shorts (which don't compact well) try going to at thrift/second hand store and buy some men's swim trunks. They pack small and will protect the seat of your polypro pants from rips in the cave. They don't hold water so don't get heavy on you when you come out of a wet portion of the cave. This has worked well for me for many years.
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Re: Camping/Backpacking/etc gear nerdyness

Postby self-deleted_user » May 12, 2011 3:12 pm

That is an amazing idea! <3 thanks!
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