Can we now just go back to just calling it “car camping”?

One day it will be there.

I worked in Europe for 12 years. Been to 38 Countries, 64 liberty ports, climbed two of Germany's tallest mountains and Trained with the National Ski Patrol in Austria, Switzerland and Germany. Walked through Rome Airport the day after they bombed it, blood still on the walls. Survived Chernobyl with 100mr hr. (I have a green liver) Ahahahahahahha.
That bridge would help but I'm done. LOL.
Oh, went to a 5 day school in London too. Fun Fun Fun.
Zim
 
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One day it will be there.

I worked in Europe for 12 years. Been to 38 Countries, 64 liberty ports, climbed two of Germany's tallest mountains and Trained with the National Ski Patrol in Austria, Switzerland and Germany. Walked through Rome Airport the day after they bombed it, blood still on the walls. Survived Chernobyl with 100mr hr. (I have a green liver) Ahahahahahahha.
That bridge would help but I'm done. LOL.
Oh, went to a 5 day school in London too. Fun Fun Fun.
Zim

Is there a reason you missed out France
 
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I’m going to keep it short. If you are calling it car camping you are doing it wrong.
 
@bear_den_overland I sleep in one car that I use on pavement to tow another car that I use off pavement. Methinks this be car camping, perhaps I am doing it wrong.

(Seriously, I cannot be brought to express how much I thoroughly disdain camping.)
 
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Is there a reason you missed out France
France was great. Paris to see Morrison's grave, Monte Carlo via Genova Italy by train and inport with the USS Orion. Best port was Toulon because of the smash sandwich just off the pier. LOL.
I got thrown out of the American Casino in Monte Carlo for taking advantage of the free drinks. LOL
Zim
 
Not all car camping is overlanding.
Not all overlanding is car camping.

For me, travelling to new places to experience new environments, people and things is overlanding.

Driving down the highway for an hour or 2, and camping at the next Big4 (KOA for those in the US) and returning the next day probably doesn't fit my definition of overlanding.

Going to a remote place to see it and staying in a guest house or country pub would qualify. Generally, we mix camping and other accommodation on longer trips and even the next RV park as a step in a longer journey.
 
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Maybe not so much a US issue, but in the UK we can touch the sea from any point in less than 100 miles.. And a real journey requires you to cross the sea. Well that's my opinion.. Anyway.

We have a load of wannabe (Overlander's) that have brought all the gear, strapped it to something, then leave home and drive to the next sudo wild camp down the road for a weekend, stay there and then go home again... Which is just camping with a car.

To be a real overlander you need to become captain pugwash..

View attachment 266524
We have the same deal living on the island of Tasmania, although you Brits have it easy with multiple routes. Our shipping is a 10-hour 450km (280 mi) ordeal across the often very rough Bass Strait.
Our Island does have some great places so leaving to make it an overlanding trip isn't required.
 
Pretty funny...


Some gems:
Vanlifer - Owns a bidet that shoots coffee instead of water

Jeeper - Only parks on curbs

Fordie - Spends 40% of his income on gas

Roverhead - As rich as he is dumb
 
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Outdoor clothing in general is WAY overpriced for what it is. The GoreTex craze kinda killed it. When that was marketed as the end all, be all outdoor fabric, EVERYONE had to have a GT jacket.
I used to do a lot of alpine climbing, and, for us, it actually worked well. Of course, the weather was often sub freezing, and that was ideal for that fabric. I recall then North Face was a small brand, and I paid a hefty penny for their jacket and pants.
Then spent 3 nights sleeping outside, in the winter, on the side of a hill, in little more than a trench with a tarp over the top. And, well, it worked.
Then, EVERYONE jumped on the hype, and marketed GT as a miracle fabric. And charged exorbitant prices for a jacket that, honestly, 95% of people would wear going to and from their vehicles, during their daily chores. As for us, the jacket and pants were part of our sleep system, so we kinda relied on it to stay alive, lol.
today, I have a Helley Hansen rain slicker, totally not breathable, which serves me well. 100% waterproof. Cost me $40. have had it for 6 years, no issues. Its oversized, to put a sweater on underneath. No fancy gimmicks, no fancy names, just a regular old school rain coat (but not in neon yellow).
The "overland" tax is big these days. Slap that onto literally any product, and charge a premium.
 
I have a Helley Hansen rain slicker, totally not breathable, which serves me well. 100% waterproof. Cost me $40.
The "overland" tax is big these days. Slap that onto literally any product, and charge a premium.
that's why i search for "marine grade" when buying gear...
i was introduced to helley hansen over 20 yrs ago when the drillship i was on got contracted to work off the coast of nova scotia in wintertime. it was a gulf of mexico rig where offshore winter temps rarely get below 60 degrees, so nobody onboard had cold weather gear. guys were going to academy and buying camping and hiking jackets and stuff and bringing it up there and it wouldnt last a single hitch. i got an opportunity to shop locally in dartsmouth and that is when i saw the helley hansen brand and loved the quality...and price. after that experience, i have always looked for "marine" gear or something made well for a specific industry when i buy gear like this.

i find a lot of the "camping/overlanding" gear already has a similar counterpart out there that is just as good if not better and is a lot less expensive
 
that's why i search for "marine grade" when buying gear...
i was introduced to helley hansen over 20 yrs ago when the drillship i was on got contracted to work off the coast of nova scotia in wintertime. it was a gulf of mexico rig where offshore winter temps rarely get below 60 degrees, so nobody onboard had cold weather gear. guys were going to academy and buying camping and hiking jackets and stuff and bringing it up there and it wouldnt last a single hitch. i got an opportunity to shop locally in dartsmouth and that is when i saw the helley hansen brand and loved the quality...and price. after that experience, i have always looked for "marine" gear or something made well for a specific industry when i buy gear like this.

i find a lot of the "camping/overlanding" gear already has a similar counterpart out there that is just as good if not better and is a lot less expensive

I bought a lightweight yellow goretex jacket from Northface and it' been great for 30 years. It's just not goretex anymore. I've got a Carhart jacket now.
I'm a fashionista. LMAO
Zim
 
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Well, as to the rain jacket situation…yes and no. My $99 Marmot Precip basic rain jacket has served me well for most rainy days. But this spring in the Rockies, as cold rain and marble-sized hail poured down on me while hiking, I was thankful to have the far sturdier and significantly more expensive Arcteryx Beta LT. When your survival may depend on it - buy once, cry once.
And FTR, I still call it car camping.
 
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