Camping Equipment Recommendations?
May 22, 2011 2:06 PM Subscribe
Please recommend three items of camping gear: A light weight compactable sleeping bag for a man 6'-2"/200 lb, a Thermarest for packing, and a head lamp. I'll be traveling 370 miles down the Connecticut river in my Adirondack guideboat.
Best answer: What's your budget? How cold do you need the sleeping bag to go down to temperature-wise? Do you want down or synthetic? How big of a concern is weight? Here's an article on choosing a bag that will help you narrow down what you're looking for. Perhaps an REI Sub-Kilo or North Face Cat's Meow would work--they get recommended a lot. This site and others will let you shop by choosing your temperature rating and whether you want down or synthetic. Don't skimp on the temperature rating. You don't want to be cold. I also like one with a full or nearly full length zipper so I can regulate my temperature better. Shorter zippers save weight, but I don't like them as much. Otherwise, look at the specs to see what size you need. For most brands, you'll probably want a "long" but check because some of them differ in where the height cutoff is. If you have a choice between a bag for someone who is 6'2" and one for someone 6'6", you'll probably want the longer one just to give you some wiggle room. The manufacturers also give shoulder circumference in case you're wider there than average. I've been shopping for bags a lot in the past couple of months, so if you let us know your budget and whether weight is a big factor, I can give you more specifics.
For a pad, I just got the Exped Synmat Ultralight, and I think it's the most comfortable mat I've used, though I haven't been able to test it too much yet. It's insulated but holds a lot of air, too, so it's the thickest mat I've used for camping, and it's less than a pound. If you're an REI member, you can get a coupon to bring down that price. I've also used various thermarests. The NeoAir is the newer one, but I thought it was too loud, so I bypassed it. The Prolite is good but not particularly thick. I paired it with a cheap $6 blue foam mat from Wal-Mart part of the time to make it more comfortable. If weight and size don't matter as much, look at some of their thicker base camp or car camping models.
For the light, I have this Petzel headlamp and really like the red-light option that helps you preserve night vision (you don't see spots after you turn it off and you don't have to wait for your pupils to re-dialate). It's tiny, but as bright as some other bigger lights I've had before and comes with a case and an emergency whistle.
And for a bonus, here are exped's dry bags to pack and compress everything. You might be interested in the shrink bag in the middle of the page since it has a purge valve.
posted by BlooPen at 2:28 PM on May 22, 2011
For a pad, I just got the Exped Synmat Ultralight, and I think it's the most comfortable mat I've used, though I haven't been able to test it too much yet. It's insulated but holds a lot of air, too, so it's the thickest mat I've used for camping, and it's less than a pound. If you're an REI member, you can get a coupon to bring down that price. I've also used various thermarests. The NeoAir is the newer one, but I thought it was too loud, so I bypassed it. The Prolite is good but not particularly thick. I paired it with a cheap $6 blue foam mat from Wal-Mart part of the time to make it more comfortable. If weight and size don't matter as much, look at some of their thicker base camp or car camping models.
For the light, I have this Petzel headlamp and really like the red-light option that helps you preserve night vision (you don't see spots after you turn it off and you don't have to wait for your pupils to re-dialate). It's tiny, but as bright as some other bigger lights I've had before and comes with a case and an emergency whistle.
And for a bonus, here are exped's dry bags to pack and compress everything. You might be interested in the shrink bag in the middle of the page since it has a purge valve.
posted by BlooPen at 2:28 PM on May 22, 2011
You do have dry bags, right? All of your gear should be kept them!
posted by jbenben at 2:53 PM on May 22, 2011
posted by jbenben at 2:53 PM on May 22, 2011
fennokin is right about the pad and the tikka, though the Z-lite won't be all that comfortable. I think a Big Agnes bag and sleeping pad combo might be right for you; they're sized for guys your size (too big for me at 170 and 5'9" to work for a mummy bag). Then decide if you favor weight/compressability or the ability to stay warm when wet; that will give you the right answer when choosing between down and synthetic bags. I'm a down fan myself, but if you're going to be on the river the whole time, you might want synthetic, even with dry bags.
posted by craven_morhead at 3:00 PM on May 22, 2011 [1 favorite]
posted by craven_morhead at 3:00 PM on May 22, 2011 [1 favorite]
I like the Zipka headlamp. It's the same lamp as the Tikka, but much more compact. It fits in a pocket easily, for example. It's still comfortable to wear. I've had one on for hours at a time without problems.
For a matress, I'm a convert to the z pad. They never leak, and they're quite warm and comfortable. They're a bit bigger than my old 3/4 guide pad, but not much heavier.
posted by bonehead at 3:26 PM on May 22, 2011
For a matress, I'm a convert to the z pad. They never leak, and they're quite warm and comfortable. They're a bit bigger than my old 3/4 guide pad, but not much heavier.
posted by bonehead at 3:26 PM on May 22, 2011
Seconding the Zipka. No mucking about with elastic straps, and it's way more comfortable. Also, since it's retractable, you can wrap the cord around a tree, or bike frame, or tent pole, and have a little miniature floodlight.
posted by twirlypen at 3:39 PM on May 22, 2011
posted by twirlypen at 3:39 PM on May 22, 2011
the Z-lite won't be all that comfortable
I sleep on the cheap and cheerful Z-Lite literally every night (both inside on the floor and while camping) and I find it acceptably comfortable, so I'd say this is a matter of expectations. It doesn't hold a candle to a real bed, of course, but I certainly don't feel like it compromises my sleep quality. I've also found that I tend to stay more firmly on top of it when I'm completely zipped in--something about the sleeping bag-Therm-a-Rest interface always leads me to squirm off of the pad in the middle of the night. The other huge upside to the Z-Lite is that it won't ever spring a leak, which (unless it's been overcome in the six years since I gave up on them) is the boogeyman of the air-filled pads. Seriously, they need to start shipping those things pre-filled with Slime or something.
posted by pullayup at 3:54 PM on May 22, 2011
I sleep on the cheap and cheerful Z-Lite literally every night (both inside on the floor and while camping) and I find it acceptably comfortable, so I'd say this is a matter of expectations. It doesn't hold a candle to a real bed, of course, but I certainly don't feel like it compromises my sleep quality. I've also found that I tend to stay more firmly on top of it when I'm completely zipped in--something about the sleeping bag-Therm-a-Rest interface always leads me to squirm off of the pad in the middle of the night. The other huge upside to the Z-Lite is that it won't ever spring a leak, which (unless it's been overcome in the six years since I gave up on them) is the boogeyman of the air-filled pads. Seriously, they need to start shipping those things pre-filled with Slime or something.
posted by pullayup at 3:54 PM on May 22, 2011
Preach it. I've had two or three Thermarests and they've all developed leaks eventually.
posted by bonehead at 8:00 PM on May 22, 2011
posted by bonehead at 8:00 PM on May 22, 2011
Headlamp: this Fenix model. Stupidly bright, three output levels.
posted by adamrice at 9:08 PM on May 22, 2011
posted by adamrice at 9:08 PM on May 22, 2011
I'll be traveling 370 miles down the Connecticut river in my Adirondack guideboat.
Definitely get some dry bags. Also, the fact that you'll be near water screams that the temp will drop, and you might get that bag wet, so you'll probably want a low temp synthetic bag. Be absolutely sure to get something warmer than what you'll need, or at least bring some clothes that you can throw on at night in case the temp drops to a point where you shiver. chattering the night away can ruin a trip very quickly.
posted by zombieApoc at 6:04 AM on May 23, 2011
Definitely get some dry bags. Also, the fact that you'll be near water screams that the temp will drop, and you might get that bag wet, so you'll probably want a low temp synthetic bag. Be absolutely sure to get something warmer than what you'll need, or at least bring some clothes that you can throw on at night in case the temp drops to a point where you shiver. chattering the night away can ruin a trip very quickly.
posted by zombieApoc at 6:04 AM on May 23, 2011
Zebralight series headlamps may have the edge when it comes to being waterproof.
posted by gallagho at 6:25 AM on May 23, 2011
posted by gallagho at 6:25 AM on May 23, 2011
Response by poster: I just received the Zipka lamp, and it is the bee's knees. I'll buy one of these for everyone in my family. I also got the Exped drybags with the purge valve -- perfect!
Thanks to all who troubled to reply.
posted by partner at 10:12 PM on June 11, 2011
Thanks to all who troubled to reply.
posted by partner at 10:12 PM on June 11, 2011
This thread is closed to new comments.
Sleeping pad: Thermarest Z-lite
Head lamp: Petzl Tikka 2
posted by fennokin at 2:19 PM on May 22, 2011