Camp Gear

 Now that I’m dangerously close to turning 60, I find myself looking back at all the years I’ve spent in the outdoors and how camping has changed. I’m amazed at how gear and clothing has evolved. I can remember when I was very young we used to camp in a smelly and mildewy canvas tent. My sleeping bag was an old army surplus mummy bag that had seen better days. Sometimes I’d just sleep right on the ground under the stars with just a small tarp underneath me. Our cooler was one of those old Coleman steel coolers that had that little latch on the front to lock it. Of course, we didn’t really bring a ton of food along. Most of the food we ate was what we caught that day. We’d catch so many fish that we could feed a small army! I don’t remember packing a lot of clothes back then. I think we’d just wear the same pair of jeans or shorts until they practically fell off of us from so much dirt. And I’d mostly run around the woods barefoot back then. No fancy boots or hiking shoes. The soles of my feet were like solid wood. We were never really prepared for bad weather. We just dealt with whatever Mother Nature threw at us. I can remember one time waking up to an inch of water in the tent after a heavy downpour during the night. It didn’t seem to faze me. I went right back to sleep! Comfort didn’t seem to be a priority back then. I mean, all we wanted to do was be out in the woods away from it all, right? Of course, we still want that today. But now we want the comfort as well. Clothing now is all about “layers” and fancy materials like merino wool and synthetic blends to keep us warm and dry. I used to hunt in just a t-shirt and jeans. Now I don’t go out hunting unless I’m layered up and wearing fancy Kuiu or First Lite clothing. My boots are waterproof and will keep my feet warm even in snow. Tents now are double walled nylon or some other material that can withstand all 4 seasons. And they have to be super lightweight, light enough to fit in a pack. My cooler is one that will keep ice from melting for about a week. And that means now I pack more food. I still catch fish, but it’s nice to have other options. I eat really good at camp these days. And back then I seemed to have this crazy sense of direction, like some kind of internal GPS. I always knew where I was in the woods and could find my way anywhere. Now I don’t go out without my Onx maps in hand guiding me where to go. I feel lost without it. It was much simpler when I was younger. I thought less about what I brought to camp and thought more about being outdoors. Don’t get me wrong, I’m definitely not complaining about how everything has changed. In fact, I’m really enjoying it. I just find it interesting how we have all of these new gadgets and put more thought into what we bring along. We focus on what is going to make us more comfortable and safer. I’m sure it’s me getting older that makes me think about this stuff. Looking back, I can’t believe that I survived all those trips without the gear that I bring now. Recently I went to the Overland Expo PNW and was amazed at all of the new products that are out there to make trips outdoors a better experience. Knowing I have this gear and I’m more prepared makes me worry less so I can spend more time enjoying my trip. So that brings me to why I got my Lone Peak. I spent almost 2 years shopping around before I pulled the trigger on buying one. My body can’t handle sleeping on the ground anymore. I did spend a lot of time sleeping in the bed of my truck under a Softopper to get myself off the ground. But that started to be uncomfortable because of the limited room I had with all my gear and sleeping area in the back. I really liked that I could have room to stand up in the camper without having to put the bed up. Now with the Lone Peak I have my sleeping area elevated above the truck bed where my gear is stored. I love being able to be more “mobile” by not having to take down a tent and pack it away if I wanted to travel to a new spot. All I have to do is close the lid and I’m off. But I still keep things pretty simple like I did years ago. I don’t like to pack a lot of stuff if I don’t have to. My LP build is pretty minimal. I opted to not get the Juicebox or the power panel. I’ve been using an Ecoflow River 2 Pro for all my power needs since I mostly just need it for charging my phone, tablet and headlamps. I do have a 200W solar panel for the Ecoflow but so far I haven’t needed it much. The rest of my interior lighting is from the Kingpin lights I installed and they run off a 100ah LiPO4 battery. For storage, I do have the Gear Vault to store some small gear that is always with me in the truck. And I also have a couple of hanging storage organizers that help keep gear and my clothing off the floor. But again, I’m kind of a minimalist. So I’d love to hear from fellow Lone Peakers on ideas to improve my rig. Tell me about your experiences with gear that you like and why. What are things you feel are a “must have”. I like gear that is lightweight and won’t take up a lot of space. Maybe you have some interesting gadgets that just make camping more interesting? There are so many products out there now it’s hard to know what would be useful and what is just a waste of time. Feel free to comment!    

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