Hiking & Backpacking Megathread II: Still nervous around bears

The Something Awful Forums > Discussion > The Great Outdoors > Hiking & Backpacking Megathread II: Still nervous around bears

pissboy: Aug 21, 2004; Yeah for Twinkies!

Internet Explorer posted:

Not a whole lot of talk about the REI Anniversary sale. Anyone getting anything cool?

I picked up a Marmot Cloudbreak sleeping bag, Osprey Aether 70, and the 2 liter platypus gravity filter.

I then proceeded to go out and spend a couple days in the woods.

# ¿ May 23, 2013 03:29

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# ¿ Apr 19, 2024 03:03

pissboy: Aug 21, 2004; Yeah for Twinkies!

Are any Charlotte area goons going to be at the REI garage sale tomorrow?

I'll be looking for some hiking pants, picked up most of the other things I wanted at their anniversary sale.

pissboy fucked around with this message at 22:25 on Jun 7, 2013

# ¿ Jun 7, 2013 22:20

pissboy: Aug 21, 2004; Yeah for Twinkies!

marsisol posted:

I'd appreciate some suggestions on sleeping pads. It's a bit overwhelming with all of the choices, especially with all the similar names in the Thermarest line. I would like something packable and light, used for 3 season backpacking, and in the 40-80 dollar range. I see that the Trail-lite is available for about 55-60 at most places so that is at the top of my list currently.

I spent about an hour and a half or so setting up different ones at REI and testing them out. I would suggest the same to you.

# ¿ Nov 28, 2013 05:58

pissboy: Aug 21, 2004; Yeah for Twinkies!

alnilam posted:

Two thousand big ones you say?

Try $300 to start out maybe? Are you getting your bike prices from a super spandex racer squad? I'm all for you getting into hiking, but biking does not have to cost $2000.

I've biked for transpo just about every day for 7 years and haven't spent more than $600 the entire time, including replacing many a lost blinky light, and the one time my bike's frame broke and I had to buy a used frame and build most of a whole new bike. I am not a rich person.

Granted I save money by knowing how to repair my bike, but (1) you, too, can learn this skill pretty easily, and (2) my friends who pay for repairs have probably spent something like $9 to my $6. Still not breaking the bank even after years of riding almost every single day.

Beyond the cost itself, depending on where you live, biking is empowering in a way that hiking is not - you can use a bike to actually get around town, do errands, get to work, etc. You can walk around town too (and I do), but you can cover a lot more ground on a bike.

The only bikes that cost $2000 are expensive racing bikes that rich people having mid-life crises buy, or people who are honestly interested in race biking. Anyone else can get by in bikes that are $300 new, or even better, $300 used (will likely be a better bike overall). If you watch craigslist a while, you can even get a nice old frame that needs some work for $50, and find someone to help you fix it up. After all the time and parts you spend it might end up being $150 + time anyway, so probably forget about that option.

gently caress, I made fun of my friend once for putting together an $800 bike once because it was so much more expensive than what any of my friends had. (It was a pretty awesome bike though, but it was a bike geek's bike and we were just poking fun)

Sorry for the bike rant but holy poo poo I can't read "biking is a gently caress-off expensive game for rich people to play" and stand idly by.

edit: Obviously as I post in the Hiking and Backpacking Megathread, I also love hiking and backpacking, and I don't mean to put it down in favor of biking or anything.
No idea about keen shoes.

I guess like anything else you do have both ends of the spectrum. My cheap commuter bike I have maybe $350 into it, but on the other end of the scale I have a ~$1400 fork for my downhill bike (I bought the bike used and only have ~$1200 total into it). For what I picked up, I did get quite a steal on the downhill bike. Backpacking seems to be similar, you can pay out the nose for the lightest and smallest of everything, or sacrifice an ounce or two here and there and save quite a bit of cash up front.

# ¿ Mar 13, 2014 01:03

pissboy: Aug 21, 2004; Yeah for Twinkies!

Somehow I have around $88 in dividends.. not sure what I need to pick up though.

# ¿ Mar 24, 2014 04:56

pissboy: Aug 21, 2004; Yeah for Twinkies!

Has anyone camped out at Shackleford Banks? I'm looking to go in early May. I plan on putting in our kayaks at the boat launch in Beaufort, NC, paddling over to Shackleford Banks as the tide is going out, hiking around the island for the rest of the day and the next day, and paddling back as the tide is coming in. I see that there are water tours and taxis out to the island, but hopefully they aren't too busy or annoying while school is still in session. I'll have to pack in all my water, but since we're paddling out, it shouldn't be too annoying. It looks like as long as I can find a place to park for a few days, and leave a float plan with the park I should be good to go. Any recommendations for staking my tent (http://www.rei.com/product/810115/rei-passage-2-tent) in sand with windy conditions? I have some snow stakes and it was recommended that I tie my lines off to the middle of them and bury them, but since weight is not really an issue this time, I could bring something larger/heavier.

# ¿ Apr 7, 2014 04:54

pissboy: Aug 21, 2004; Yeah for Twinkies!

pissboy posted:

Has anyone camped out at Shackleford Banks? I'm looking to go in early May. I plan on putting in our kayaks at the boat launch in Beaufort, NC, paddling over to Shackleford Banks as the tide is going out, hiking around the island for the rest of the day and the next day, and paddling back as the tide is coming in. I see that there are water tours and taxis out to the island, but hopefully they aren't too busy or annoying while school is still in session. I'll have to pack in all my water, but since we're paddling out, it shouldn't be too annoying. It looks like as long as I can find a place to park for a few days, and leave a float plan with the park I should be good to go. Any recommendations for staking my tent (http://www.rei.com/product/810115/rei-passage-2-tent) in sand with windy conditions? I have some snow stakes and it was recommended that I tie my lines off to the middle of them and bury them, but since weight is not really an issue this time, I could bring something larger/heavier.

I might have been better off if I didn't bury my question in a wall of text.

I plan on camping on an island which will have 9-25MPH winds. Any recommendations for staking my tent (http://www.rei.com/product/810115/rei-passage-2-tent) in sand with windy conditions? I have some snow stakes and it was recommended that I tie my lines off to the middle of them and bury them, but since weight is not really an issue this time, I could bring something larger/heavier.

# ¿ Apr 8, 2014 12:43

pissboy: Aug 21, 2004; Yeah for Twinkies!

Krogort posted:

They also have Moose, Boars and Wolverines.
Moose might be more dangerous than Bears.

Wolverines only attack communists I thought?

# ¿ Apr 27, 2014 00:10

pissboy: Aug 21, 2004; Yeah for Twinkies!

Bottom Liner posted:

Thanks for the look over, some good ideas. A lot of the issues you raise are my fualt for not formatting my list better, but I'll answer your concerns best as I can.

-Altoids tin is my first aid kit, and has duct tape wrapped around it. The tin is inside the drysack and the toiletries are in a ziploc baggie with it. I should list it better.
-I have some lint/vasoline in there with the magnesium starter, works great.
-Cookset is 2 piece: stove and pot. For shorter trips I don't take it and just eat trail mix and bars.
-The multitool is really basic, one of those credit card things. I really only use it for the can opener, and it weighs as little as military style can openers.
-Bug spray definitely needs to be downsized.
-Nook isn't a tablet, it's an ereader like a kindle. It helps me go to sleep much faster more than I actually use it for entertainment, haha.
-Battery pack and phone cable are for recharging phone. I take a lot of pics and like to have an emergency battery just in case.
-Might try out gatorade bottles, that would save a lot of weight.
-I definitely plan ahead for weather more specifically, but for most local trips this is all I take besides what I wear.
-Completely forgot sleeping pad, it's rolled up in tent, forgot that when I weighed it. It's a Neoair Trekker.
-Ground sheet is to protect tent more than keep dry, but I'll redo my whole sleep system for a tarp and bug net eventually.
-Trash bag is in pack, haven't been able to find a compactor bag yet.

Does the hydration bladder really weigh 14 oz? That seems a bit high as my 2L platypus says it weighs 3.5oz. A pair of gatorade bottles is definitely under 14oz.

# ¿ May 4, 2014 17:50

pissboy: Aug 21, 2004; Yeah for Twinkies!

Donald Kimball posted:

The gf, dog (65 lb), and I are looking to hike and camp overnight, but we have no equipment except for shoes. These are going to be one-day hikes, and I was hoping to get recommendations for tents, packs, and anything else we might need.

I see the Tarptent Double Rainbow is pretty highly recommended here, and I saw the REI 18 Flash too, but we'd like to do this ASAP.

Is this REI tent a solid investment?

For reference, we want to hit up Hanging Rock and later Roan Mtn.

I own that tent and it is a comfortable fit for one person and their gear inside the tent, or two people and their gear under the rain fly. I've done a few weekends in it with rain for a few days and slept in it down into the 40s with no issues. It is a quick setup for 1 person. That being said, fitting two people and a 65lb dog inside would be uncomfortable at best I think. Maybe if you were both side sleepers it would work? I suggest going into the store and getting inside the tent and getting a feel for how small it really is.

This tent may be more what you're looking for: http://www.rei.com/product/828150/marmot-limelight-3p-tent

# ¿ May 18, 2014 17:39

pissboy: Aug 21, 2004; Yeah for Twinkies!

Levitate posted:

Haha, it really is a thing. The problem with spaghetti sauce for backpacking is that it's hard to just kind of mix together out of dry stuff because most of the time it calls for tomato paste, and no one's going to take a can of tomato paste in their backpack and there doesn't seem to be a great substitute. So you pick your favorite spaghetti sauce (though better not to have one with cheese or lots of fat in it), puree it, then spread it out on some parchment paper in a food dehydrator and dehydrate it. It turns into "leather"...basically like fruit leather except spaghetti sauce leather. Some people then just break that into chunks and pack it, or you can freeze it and then put it in a food processor to turn it into powder.

The toaster oven I have works alright because it has a convection oven setting

So did you cook the spaghetti and dry it and then process the sauce as above?

TIA!

# ¿ Jun 8, 2014 21:50

pissboy: Aug 21, 2004; Yeah for Twinkies!

COOL CORN posted:

The Mountain-to-Sea Trail, yeah. But actually I'm not sure if it's finished yet or not! I'll have to look into it, I forgot about that.

Its not!

# ¿ Apr 21, 2015 04:27

pissboy: Aug 21, 2004; Yeah for Twinkies!

bunnielab posted:

Ok, I am about ready to begin my muggy mid Atlantic hiking/camping season. I think I have my gear sorted out but I am still looking for recs for a few things:

2) I wanna give trail runners a try. What are the best out there and what are some good socks to pair with them? I'm going to be fishing and crossing water a ton so I would like quick drying socks.

I second the previous suggestions of going to a store and getting some fitted. I went to a local running store and went through 6 pair of shoes before the store told me they would have to order something in my size (11 4D). I ended up with a pair of New Balance 1210s after going in convinced I needed to try a pair of Hoka One One shoes on.

tldr: The best ones for you will be the ones that actually fit you well.

# ¿ Jun 21, 2015 14:40

pissboy: Aug 21, 2004; Yeah for Twinkies!

Hypnolobster posted:

Nothing utterly definitive, but it's generally shown to be potentially unsafe.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DEET#Effects_on_health
sources, if you want them.

I'd probably still use the stuff if picardin didn't exist, to be honest.

e: to be fair, I'm coming from the place of needing to use a bug repellant 40 hours a week for about 4 months straight at a minimum. DEET as casual weekend use or whatever is probably not really a concern.

Seeing as I go into the woods and I'm in New England, I'll take a 1 in 100 million chance of a seizure, over any of the tick borne illnesses any day of the week.

30% DEET spray for me.

pissboy fucked around with this message at 20:29 on Jul 26, 2015

# ¿ Jul 26, 2015 20:25

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# ¿ Apr 19, 2024 03:03

pissboy: Aug 21, 2004; Yeah for Twinkies!

dms666 posted:

Are REI Garage Sales worth going to? I'm starting to build my set of gear for backpacking and didn't know if there are usually a lot of good deals or if it is completely random based on store. I'm not a member there either.

Some of the REI stores won't let you into the garage sale without a membership.

As far as if it is worth it to go to one? I picked up a new kayak whose bulkhead needed to be resealed. $800 kayak for $400 plus $8 in sealant. The higher ticket items will have paperwork attached to them that you'll need to grab before someone else does. You'll find some new items that are missing one or two small items for ~50% off.

# ¿ Aug 13, 2015 04:20

The Something Awful Forums > Discussion > The Great Outdoors > Hiking & Backpacking Megathread II: Still nervous around bears