I’m bringing too much

OTH Overland said:
That's awesome! Michelle and I have allways camped together since we met, we love to travel together and have hiked, camped from a motorcyle or vehicle in all seasons and weather. To allways have someone you trus and can work with seamlessly and to enjoy both adventures and missfortunes toghether with is priceless.
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Thanks, same to you. We pulled off the road after 7 years, never spending more than an hour apart, which was rare and usually due to bureaucratic things like when we were shipping the van and only I could enter the shipping yard etc. We were anxious about returning to work after being together for so long but remote jobs are much more common now, so after a bit of luck, we both work from home.
 
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Having now spent some time around different adventurers I think as others have said, find what works for YOU!.

Ask yourself :

  • Do you want/need cooked meals ( some people need their bacon! ), are you ok with the freeze dried?
  • Are you solo or with a family - little kids and significant others will affect the choices you make...
  • Are you just a sandwich person? or hot dog over the fire or stove?
  • Are you willing to put in some pre-roaming effort and cook before hand and bring it along and just re-heat or add on??
  • Do you want to pack a fridge, or just a cooler? Do you want a cooler at all?
  • How much space, weight, $$ do you want or can afford to put into it?
  • How long will you be gone ( 2 days vs 3 weeks will make a difference.?
  • Or do you mind driving into some little town or local haunt to get a brew or a burger?
  • Are you going where there is fishing? Hunting? and is that your jam?
Depending on how you answer these and other questions will determine what type of set up you go out with...


For me, I want less when I am out, my life is cluttered, demanding and full of grown up responsibilities...
My answers :
I am usually solo, I do not mind a melted cooler ( everything goes in plastic ), I am concerned about weight so I keep it light ( started out originally a motorcycle camper, so I kept ALOT of the stuff I carried on the bike ), I cook at home for the family - so don't mind freeze dried stuff and am pretty creative when it comes to using fire and my little MSR burner...( yes you can make toast, roast hotdogs and make some yummy marshmallows with it )

I want simplicity, ease and more time to take in the world around me.
- A small MSR isobutane, GSI halulite cooking ware and pot, a bag of utensils, a cooler, a box of tricks ( coffee/salt/pepper/mayo, chili pepper..) and some freeze dried meals, and I am well.... a happy camper...

And on that special occasion, when I come across that unique meat market in some little town, selling bison, yak and elk steaks...
well a rock and a fire do me just fine...
IMG_3755.jpeg

ps. that elk steak was the best steak I have ever had... Elk is now on the menu!
 
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For the ultimate minimalist you can buy your own freeze dryer and make your own freeze dried meals. You don't even need hot water as room temperature water will reconstitute them, just takes a bit longer. The freeze dryer could set you back a few grand so maybe just eat raw ramen noodles and carry some summer sausage and cheese. While I am mostly joking around the sausage and cheese bit works quite well and I'd be lying if I didn't confess that I would love to play around with a quality freeze dryer, as long as someone else bought it. Motorcycle travelers definitely know how to carry little and eat quite well. The ones we've come across have freaked out about all of our cooking equipment, run to the store, then proceeded to use almost everything we carry to cook an extravagant meal. We never minded as we got to eat for free.
 
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Aaah, I knew I forgot to list something. We always have a backup stove with us. A small folding stove that can run on Esbit or small pieces of wood. Fits in the backpack too.
 
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John and Mandi said:
We use cup sized jars as drinking glasses and when we need to store something like opened coconut milk in the fridge. We bought a cheap pack of women's socks and slip one over each jar for transport/storage (not in the fridge). Our fear was breaking one while going down the trail and having to deal with all the glass in a small space. In all of the places and all of the years the only ones we have broken are the ones we have dropped, fortunately never in the van. Does our sock system work, who knows but we still are doing it today. Now, we have had a dozen eggs smash on the floor twice. We have a decent system for them too but it only takes forgetting one latch or stay, doh!
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The socks thing is a good idea. Thanks for the tip. I do something similar with the mentioned whiskey glass. Have something tinkered for that. Will take a picture of it later and show you guys.
 
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I have an oven mitt with a plastic cup inside. In that cup is two sets of silverware and a pair of scissors. I also bring a spatula and a long spoon. One pot. One pan. A lid that fits both. Paper plates make cleanup easy.
 
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Gear:
-x1 Stainless skillet and lid for primary use
-Single burner stove (propane/butane)
-x1 nesting hike/camp pot set w/kettle
-x1 2 bowl cookset (work as bowls or cups)
-x1 spatula
-x1 wooden spoon
-misc silverware (X1 pair/person)
-x2 collapsible wash basins w/soap bottle
-Wash rag, dish towel, sponge, paper towels, paper plates.
-always have multiple gallons of water for misc use aside from drinking.

Portable water filter is next on my list.

*Edit to address coffee

We either purchase or premake cold brew coffee for our trips. Packets of Starbucks via are also packed for a pinch. But cold brew heats well if a hot cup is needed.
 
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We are heading out for a while in a couple weeks. I think our kit will have the following
-Colman white gas single burner
-Firebox G2 folding wood burner as backup
-Pot for water boiling
-Carbon Steel or Banks Fry-Bake aluminum pan with lid, not sure which
-Silverware
-Coffee Cups of some sort of plates
-Water Filtration
-Water Bottles
-Collapsable bucket for dishes etc
-10 gallons of water storage
-Cleaning rag and microfiber drying towels

Plan on eating mostly dehydrated food (some homemade and some purchased) and likely stop in a town every few days so probably cook that evening since we won't have any cooler or refrigeration.
 
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I’m taking the teardrop trailer on more trips, but I still pack my kitchen gear like a backpacker: Nearly all of my dinnerware (3 settings) nests into one circular plastic container. That’s dinner plates, dessert plates, small cereal bowls, soup bowls, 2 mixing bowls, cups and a splatter screen for the frying pan. Another small rectangular plastic container holds eating/cooking utensils, can opener, cutting board knife sharpener, butane lighters, etc. The only loose items are a pot w/lid, skillet w/lid, and coffee pot/cup. Expensive? Nope…Walmart, Target, Goodwill, Homegoods. Maybe $50-$60 total. All of this easily fits in a $12 Plano box if I’m using the ground tent. Dollar Tree is a good resource, too, for items that will wear out, such as rubber kitchen gloves (great when it’s cold outside!), sponges, etc. Pop up wash bins are great space savers.
Keep a list of your gear and add/subtract as you go along. I’ve used various packing lists for 20 years, both for work and personal travel. I need a system that’s idiot proof, lol.
Also, inspect your gear when packing and upon returning home. Repair/replace items as needed, rather than bringing duplicates.
Note that a lot of places in bear country advise against burning used paper plates or other items that have come into contact with food in your campfire. A bear’s olfactory sense is so sensitive that this debris can still be enticing. I wash and then dispose of the gray water away from camp.
 
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ZombieCat said:
I’ve used various packing lists for 20 years, both for work and personal travel.
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Excellent recommendation! Being in the Apple-o-sphere I use Apple notes with checkboxes for my different lists (solo camp, family camp, base camp, driving camp, cabin, etc.) and check things off as they make it into the truck. Bonus - they sync across devices so I always have an up-to-date list whether I am at home, the store or on the road. I just wish they had a tri-state checkbox to represent not-packed, staged/piled and in the truck.

As far as finding "nestable" stuff on the cheap I have had awesome luck at thrift stores. I _never_ go to brown bear country without an overly powerful firearm and always carry something smaller; never had a problem but sleep a little better at night knowing I can at least defend myself.
 
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When you're a packer, you're forever a packer...but do you practice pack? I might have a slight undiagnosed case of OCD.

On the subject of packing. We quickly realized it was better to organize gear by usage and not necessarily by type. We too have a bin system but our less frequently used kitchen items aren't stored in our kitchen bin, they are relegated to the catch-all or "junk" bin as we call it. For us, the amount of time getting things became the priority. Every now and then we have to search a little for something since it has been shuffled over the years but overall it has worked exceptionally well, just an idea.
 
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It took me a few trips to stop spazzing and find my groove. I now treat packing like a game of Tetris, making everything fit as efficiently as possible. I have a logical system as to where things are stored in the truck and can find them quickly.
I lay everything out weeks before my trip, using a printed packing checklist. Then I question if I REALLY need each item or if another piece of gear/clothing can suffice. An example would be do you really need two full sized can openers? Why not take a much smaller P40 as your backup, which is super small/light and will do in a pinch. If you bring a waterproof hardshell jacket, it serves as a lightweight windbreaker for cool afternoons, insulating outer layer over a down puffy/fleece for cold mornings and a raincoat for wet/snowy days. I just went 2 months with three pair of shoes: Hiking boots (I hike a LOT) , running shoes and flip flops (for bumming around camp and showering). For trips of more than a week, I either research ahead for laundromats or just bring clothing that can be washed in a ziplock bag or a bucket and will dry quickly. Then I can pack less. BTW, you can find single laundry detergent packets at Walmart, they take up very little space!
 
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John and Mandi said:
Every one should have, and know how to use, a P-38 can opener. A stainless set of 5 on Amazon is around $9. One of the best everyday carry items out there.
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This is the type of can opener I take with me on trips. NOT these particular ones as, like a lot of things these days, I expect these to be cheap with weak gears but if you can pick up an older one they are fantastic. Easy to pack and work like a charm.

Robot or human?

www.walmart.com
 
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Oh well, I wanted to show you what I made to keep the whiskey glass safe. Take a stubby cooler, a cardboard tube, some duct tape and a dish towel - haha. I know, over-engineered, but it works and I can still use the individual components elsewhere.

DIYglas_protection.jpg
 
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