Consolidating and restrocking the gear...

[Happy Joe]

Started sorting through the camping gear to get rid of less useful/used equipment;
removed; a military rubberized poncho, the small shaving mirror, An MSR bowl, and the a MSR alpine pot, along with the Trangia alcohol stove (the pot support was too unstable)...

Made enough room with some rearranging to include;
the Flip4 Bluetooth speaker,

the larger re[placement mirror

A larger, more stable , stainless, Chinese, alcohol stove (with more alcohol)


Also picked up some more wooden clothes pins (to reclose chip bags, at wally mart....
Restocked the fabric band aids and aspirin in the kit.

Enjoy!

[MacGyver]

Re: Consolidating and restrocking the gear...

I've been staring at pretty much the same Word file for well over a month now. I made for a list for cold weather camping and have juggled gear and Pelican cases around at least 20 times. I'm still in "take more in less space" mode - added an AquaQuest 20x13 nylon tarp to the mix to replace the poly tarp I used to take for my smaller tents. (Love a large covered porch!) I also finally figured out how to transition bungee cord to paracord using hog rings and shrink tubing, so now all my tarp tie outs are one piece and compact.

Now if life wouldn't keep getting in the way, maybe I'd have a chance to actually put it all into use. I'd even go in this below zero weather we're getting hit with.

[Happy Joe]

Re: Consolidating and restrocking the gear...

I finally gave up on list-looking; to get the best consolidation I opened up the 2 cases then started shuffling the gear between them; actually have a small amount of unoccupied space in both cases now.

...might start on the dreaded cook kit/missile container, consolidation, this weekend... already picked up the, somewhat bigger, case for it...

Have yet to make a decent covered porch (other than a free standing canopy (or the 24x24 "community center"); either of which adds too much to the load)... have some good ideas using tent poles and collapsible paint roller extensions, but need motivation.

Enjoy!

[MacGyver]

Re: Consolidating and restrocking the gear...

Oh - I definitely need lists. Even with a list in front of me, I still manage to leave something behind every trip. Not sure how that works, but I just chalk it up to having early senior moments. But we're on the same wavelength with the paint poles idea. But I'm only considering them for the nylon tarps. The poly tarps are a lot heavier and I have my doubts as to whether or not the friction collars on the poles will hold up. I've looked at poles that have incremental snap locks, but I've seen too many reviews that say the locking mechanisms fail, so I doubt their durability as well.

I don't know what size tent you're looking to make a porch for, but if it's not anything too large, the 20 x 13 AquaQuest might be something you'd consider adding to your gear. They fold up way smaller and weigh a lot less than a poly tarp of the same size. If you still need to go big (and have the wallet for it) Oware has 20 x 20 that only weighs 52 ounces. They call it the Grand Tarp.

[Happy Joe]

Re: Consolidating and restrocking the gear...

I typically use one of two tents; either the 9x9 Eureka dome (for quick trips). since its advantage is ease of setup I forgo the canopy/awning/porch and make do with a shade tree.


...or the 10x10 stand-up/canopy tent (for longer stays- more involved setup/breakdown). since its for onger stays I can justify the additional effort of a porch/awning.


Both have the same size approximately 9.5x9.5 corner stake positions. and I use the same ground tarp.

Tried the light weight hiking tarps and they worked relatively well (actually used the last one to tatters).
However for the next awning, on the cubical stand-up tent, I expect to use a heavy sliver tarp.
My adjustable leg poles (modified) have spring pins for adjuster and are quite sturdy/well proven.

I expect to use 2 of these for the outer legs and two for the "stringers" to run from the tent to the outer legs.
I have accumulated a couple of adjustable paint roller extensions (from Lowes) for the cross poles.
and have a hand full of 3/8" fiberglass bungee corded dome tent poles to use for a corner to corner cross to hold the center of the roof tarp up/taut in a slight dome.
I only need to order, and modify, some 3 way PVC corner pieces/elbows to attach the poles, tarps and guys to form the outer corners.


The attachment to the standup tent will be straight forward; drilled holes in the leg poles for bolts to attach cast pipe hangers (Lowes again) which will hold the second roller extension.

While this will be quite heavy, I expect it to survive the occasional high winds and hail/snow/graupel that we can get in the mountains at altitude (even in the summer).

Enjoy!

[toedtoes]

Re: Consolidating and restrocking the gear...

I've got to re-work my FnR gear towards traveling and having visitors drop by for meals. When I retire, i'll be taking it on road trips. So I have a long list at Amazon for things I'll need to buy over the next year. And I need to go through what's in there now to see what I can eliminate.

With the clipper, I need to do my yearly clean out. I think there's a lot I can eliminate this time round. Taking it out in March so need to do that this month.

[Shortpants]

Re: Consolidating and restrocking the gear...

The top of my to-do list once the snow melts is to get all the gear pulled out and reorganized, waterproof treat tents, and totally reorganize and restock the camping bins. They were pretty well set up last summer, but then they got scavenged for paracord, grill lighters, and random stuff after our big house move since it was the only place I knew stuff was and could lay hands on it quickly.
Would really like to set up a better and pared down kitchen system. We picked up a two burner propane standing stove earlier this winter, and if I can figure out a good way to transport that, it might join our ancient Coleman duel fuel as a cooking option. While I try to do most cooking over the fire, having the gas stove for coffee in the morning, breakfast, and cooking in the rain certainly is handy.
Might also invest in some good bedding/sleeping bags for our whole family this year too. We've done the sleeping bag for each person thing, the blankets and sheets thing, and every combination of the two, and I just haven't hit the mark yet. The girls are really fine in their sleeping bags, they don't complain, but hubby and I are at an impasse. I am 5'3" and he is 6'6", so what is fine for me is not enough covers for him (feet hanging out) and while I really like the idea of a double sleeping bag for us, not sure they make a "big and tall" version. Still pondering a solution for this.

[terasec]

Re: Consolidating and restrocking the gear...

gear is always a struggle
used to have lots of gear,
when it was all stolen i went minimalist, everything i owned/needed for the outdoors fit in 1 backpack,
i liked not being burden down by gear,
as my son gets older and do more scout outings i am back to accumalating more and more gear,
have gear at home, in the car, at work, at my weekend home,
several tents several sleeping bags,
i absolutely hate it,
trying to find the balance of right gear for various outings without having so much gear i dont even know what i have
its been a constant struggle

[Happy Joe]

Re: Consolidating and restrocking the gear...

Yep! Gear is always a struggle and balance(finding the "just right" point) is not always easy.

By not using lists and packing (storing) the STUFF in dedicated containers the choices, for me have been pared down. I know that I will likely be cooking so the cooking container goes, I know that I will have miscellaneous needs so the miscellaneous container goes. The sleeping bag is a layered arrangement so it with the pillow, pillow case and stocking cap all inside of a the wet weather bag, goes.

Non refrigerated food fits in, plastic jars in a couple of ammo cans

Pretty much everything fits either tent so the tent selection is not a big influence.

The same is largely true for vehicles everything fits in the smallest so the trail choice determines the vehicle.

...While switching to the larger cook kit container/case I decided that it now time to retire the old Svea 123R stove; after near 50 years of faithful service...

(Pic from troop850seattle.com...Thanx!, mine is not nearly so clean).

If I become bored I might even polish it up and put it on the museum shelf) alongside the candle lantern...(ordered an Iwatani butane burner which should improve the stability issues that the old stove has).


Enjoy!

[Happy Joe]

Re: Consolidating and restrocking the gear...

...well the stove was too big to fit the space available...
Ordered a smaller version GasOne (dual fuel butane/propane) this time.

Enjoy!

[MacGyver]

Re: Consolidating and restrocking the gear...

...well the stove was too big to fit the space available...

That's just the sort of thing that made me stop building chuck boxes. I actually remember going shopping with a ruler to make sure some new bit of gear was going to fit a particular cubbyhole.

[Happy Joe]

Re: Consolidating and restrocking the gear...

That's just the sort of thing that made me stop building chuck boxes. I actually remember going shopping with a ruler to make sure some new bit of gear was going to fit a particular cubbyhole.

Yep! The premade cases are better than the boxes that I have made (mostly lighter) but neither my boxes nor commercial cases seem to stretch well.

The second, stove that I got fits and seems to work ok.


https://www.amazon.com/Propane-Stain...ywords=gas+one

At around 7,000 BTU it has roughly 50% more heat output than the old SVEA 123R... plenty for morning coffee... or a burger or eggs and bacon...
Its a bit taller than I wanted but I don't have to mess around adapting it for propane; the adapter hose is included.

Enjoy!

[James.]

Re: Consolidating and restrocking the gear...

That's just the sort of thing that made me stop building chuck boxes. I actually remember going shopping with a ruler to make sure some new bit of gear was going to fit a particular cubbyhole.

I've only built one and never had a problem with that. I knew what I wanted in it and made the cubbies to fit...and made it monstrously big. Thing weighs a ton (actually 100+ lbs empty) but is on wheels and I can load it and set it up alone. It also helps that I have an F150 longbed so space is never an issue.

[Happy Joe]

Re: Consolidating and restrocking the gear...

I basically gave up building boxes when I stopped, commercial, metal working; until then I had free materials (small pieces of drop) and access to a good assortment of aluminum MIG and TIG welders, power shears, power brakes, saws, punches etc... still have a flair assortment of; electric and pneumatic, hand tools, 'though he MIG welders are, currently, setup for steel.
Used to help build these, walk in signs, among other things.;






My biggest problem is that the outside has to be small enough to fit in the back of a Jeep (CJ, YJ, TJ), but big enough to hold what I need whle staying light enough loaded for one old f**t to easily carry, lift and handle.
Small suitcase sized cases and medium to largish sized ammo boxes; work pretty well...as long as I can remember to measure before buying...

Enjoy!

[Happy Joe]

Re: Consolidating and restrocking the gear...

Here is a pic of the loaded kitchen kit (minus the fry pan, might try to squeeze a small griddle in underneath it all)...




Enjoy!

For some reason the pic is not showing... click on attachment... tried again google chrome might be a part of the problem.