• Ignore that 10 basics list, it kinda sucks.
  
  
• Before doing any big trips, be sure to test your gear and figure out where the shortcomings are for your comfort, and just how much of what you packed isn’t necessary.
  
  
• Don't drink water directly from the stream--treat it first. Giardia can cause dehydration from diarrhea, neither of which are pleasant, you don’t want to be the person that poo poo themselves to death. My goto filter for the last two years is the BeFree, but be aware of your area and water restrictions. Eg Arsenic and heavy metals mine runoff in parts near me render the water untreatable by portable filters.
  
  
• Gear is always some combination of light, cheap, and/or effective. Pick two.
  
  
• How you pack is very important for how heavy it actually feels:
  

  Rime posted:

  Heavy at the bottom is bad mojo, here's a good illustration of optimal packing:
  
  
  

  
  
• Drink plenty of water! Dehydration sneaks up on you fast. You'll feel better throughout the day if you drink a quart of water when you wake up.
  
  
• If you don't like the taste of water, True Lime is awesome stuff, it's cold crystallized lime wedges in a small packet and it's just like having a wedge of lime in there.
  
  
• Cotton kills: it absorbs water (which is why towels are made out of it), and will make you freeze, or give you blisters as it holds water against your skin, and make your life generally miserable. Especially socks. Hell no to cotton socks. Same as jeans. It's all cotton. Disclaimer being region specific, such as deserts.
  
  
• You want water wicking, not water absorbing materials. Stuff like artificial fiber (polypropylene, nylon, spandex, etc), or wool. Wool is better at absorbing odors and delaying bacterial odor buildup. Articial fiber works great but by howdy does it (and you) smell after a few days outdoors.
  
  
• Sometimes the best time to go hiking is in the rain, don't let inclement weather predictions disrupt your plans--forecasters are usually off anyways, especially if you're visiting a mountainous area.
  
  
• The colder it is outside, the more likely it is you'll have to pee in the middle of the night. Don't hold it in and suffer, just do it, your body is trying to expel the water because it takes a lot of energy to heat up. Yeah it sucks when it's four degrees out, but you'll feel a lot better when you do.
  
  Bugs and Ticks
  

• Morbus posted:

  Permethrin works for mosquitoes, or really almost any insect. It's a straight up neurotoxin rather than an irritant like DEET or picardin, so it won't necessarily have a repellent effect but will prevent biting by making insects spaz out and die on contact. Its main advantages, aside from its lethality, are that it's easy to apply all over clothing or gear in a persistent way that has no odor or residue. Treating clothing or other gear in this way with DEET or picardin is much less practical, and requires frequent re-application due to the volatility of those chemicals. Permethrin and DEET/picardin complement each other, so both are usually used as part of the best anti-insect strategies.
  

  Sierra Nevadan posted:

  Don't use Permethrin around cats.
  

  
  

  OSU_Matthew posted:

  For ticks, you only get Lyme disease after they start regurgitating into your bloodstream, about 24 hours after latching. So, if you inspect yourself thoroughly after hiking, you can pry them off with a tick key and not suffer any harm.
  
  They don't jump, you have to brush up against a plant to catch one. Also be sure to inspect places like your waist band, inside your knees, etc. Ticks love those spots. Also watch out for love star ticks, they carry Alphagam disease, which is basically an allergy to red meat
  

  
  

• FogHelmut posted:

  Someone can tell me I'm wrong about everything or add to this:
  
  Tent Brands:
  
  Ozark Trail - very inexpensive, cheaply made, do not expect it to last, would avoid wet weather, otherwise functional
  Coleman - standard car camping gear, been around forever, pretty functional, generally reliable
  Kelty/Alps Mountaineering/Eureka - priced above Coleman, better materials
  REI - comparable to some premium gear at a good price
  MSR/Mountain Hardware/North Face/Big Agnes/etc - premium tents, premium price
  
  Note: Tent sizes are deceiving. They do not count any extra space for gear in their sizing. A two-person tent fits two people side by side sleeping opposite head to toe. A four or six person tent follows the same sardine-packing rules. Get a larger tent if you are keeping gear or dogs inside the tent. Vestibules do not count towards person-space. They are useful for storing gear out of the rain but also out of the tent interior. There is typically not a floor in the vestibule.
  
  
  Backpacking Tents:
  
  Regular tents:
  Cheap - cheap, heavy, takes up a lot of space
  Mid-price (this is actually a big range that I don't know how to break up) - depends on brand, lighter weight and still sturdy, better packability
  Expensive - premium space materials, ultra lightweight, loses some durability
  
  Ultralight tents: minimal design, often uses one or two trekking poles as the tent support
  
  Hammock: it's a hammock. May or may not include a rainfly or be a self contained structure. You should have trees around to hang it from.
  
  Tarp: ultra light, requires skills
  
  Note: Watch out for listed weights as it can become hard to compare as some of the lighter ones do not come with tie-downs or footprints.
  
  
  Car Camping/Overlanding:
  
  Ground tent:
  See brands above. Use whatever tent you like that fits you and your gear/group. No need to worry about weight or size, depending on your car space.
  
  Roof Top Tent
  Pros:
  - off the ground
  - built-in mattress
  - camp anywhere you park
  - looks cool
  
  Cons:
  - off the ground is in the wind
  - off the ground makes it hard to get out at night to pee
  - off the ground isn't great for getting your dog in and out
  - can't drive anywhere until you pack up the tent
  - very expensive
  
  Swag:
  This is a one person heavy canvas bivy style tent with its own built-in foam mattress. They're heavy and big when packed. Rare in the US, popular in Australia. Feels like sleeping in a coffin.
  
  Pop-up trailer:
  A small trailer that unfolds into a camper. Canvas walls, usually has a kitchen and seating.
  
  Overland Trailer:
  A basic trailer with big tires to hold your gear and probably has a rooftop tent on it.
  
  Teardrop Trailer:
  Small, lightweight, enough room to sleep, built in exterior kitchen.
  
  Travel Trailer:
  Many sizes, many prices, often comes with bathroom and kitchen, may be had with air conditioning and heating.
  
  Truck with bed cap:
  Protected, not as roomy as a van, but your truck may have other uses.
  
  Van:
  Driveable. Room for murals on the side.
  
  Truck Camper:
  Sits in the bed of your truck. Generally need a larger truck to carry these.
  
  Camper/RV:
  Self contained home on wheels. Ranges from the size of an ambulance to the size of a bus. Some expand to palatial sizes.
  

  
  
  

• khysanth posted:

  The Duplex is the darling of 2017 but you pay a huge premium for the Zpacks brand and for the fabric (DCF/Cuben). Unfortunately there aren't a ton of comparable 2P, single-walled, trekking pole supported shelters. The Duplex will set you back $600 before tax and ultimately weighs in around 23-25oz after you factor in guylines and stakes.
  
  The best alternative (and the one I would likely get) is the Gossamer Gear The Two. The bathtub floor is a 10D silnylon and the tarp is a 7D. This tent (and The One) have survived many people's thru-hikes without durability issues. $289 and 29-31oz total. The deep bathtub and the angle of the walls at the head/foot mean you'd probably find it comfortable at 6'4".
  
  If you like to calculate it, it's about $30/oz saved to opt for the Duplex... on the really high end for most people.
  
  Another option I would consider is the Six Moon Designs Lunar Duo Explorer. On sale until 12/31 for $260 (reg. $325). It's a little heavier than the others at 41oz, but is generally regarded as one of the roomiest shelters for 2P and a palace for one tall hiker.
  
  One more option is the TarpTent MoTrail. This is a front-entry shelter however, which isn't everyone's cup of tea. Costs $259 and weighs in at 34oz. You'd have plenty of room with the vertical end walls.
  
  Personally I'm 6'3" and went with the SMD Haven Tarp and NetTent combo. I prefer the modularity and breathability of a double-walled shelter. I can just bring the tarp or the net depending on weather and bug pressure. The tarp alone comes in around 19oz, and the net 15oz. I feel like it is a good fit for me at 6'3". On my sleeping pad, when I lie down or sit up, the tips of my hair BARELY brush the net, which means I still have another ~4-6" of clearance to the tarp. Plenty of room for me and my wife, and a TON of room if I'm solo. Here are some pics of it set up.
  
  If you can get away with a 1P shelter and a hammock if your GF ever joins, I'd look at the other single-walled 1P shelters from these same manufacturers:
  
  Gossamer Gear The One (2x trekking pole supported, 21oz, $299)
  Six Moon Designs Lunar Solo (1x trekking pole supported, 24oz, $180 til 12/31)
  TarpTent ProTrail (2x trekking pole supported, front entry, 26oz, $225)
  
  I don't consider the Zpacks Hexamid Solo (even the plus version) because I know several 6'3"+ hikers who say it is too cramped, your head will brush against the (potentially wet with condensation) tarp, it could get on your sleeping bag, etc.
  

  
  
• How to avoid your or your friends tripping over your guylines in the dark:
  
  

  BaseballPCHiker posted:

  I’ll do you one better, Lawson GloWire. Lights up like a Christmas tree when the light hits it.
  
  https://www.lawsonequipment.com/products/reflective-glowire
  

• If you're spending the night outdoors, you need insulation from not only the air, but also the ground because it acts like a giant heatsink and sucks all the heat out of your body. Yes, even in the summer you'll want some sort of pad or insulation from the ground.
  
  
• As far as the air goes, you need a quilt or mummy bag at the very least if you're going to be spending time outdoors. Don't buy anything that is flannel or rectangular, those are old and garbage. Thankfully those kinds of bags are harder and harder to even find anymore, they’re no longer ubiquitous.
  
  
• When buying a mummy bag, look for one with draft tubes along the zipper and hood to block cold air from coming in there. Also remember most temperature ratings just suck, because they're measuring a copper pipe's heat loss in a lab, not real world windy lovely conditions.
  
  
• Also pay attention to how the bag is made--baffles where it's stitched together create cold spots with zero insulation--avoid that! Unless it has compartment baffles with fabric in between so it's not pinched together--that's great.
  
  
• There are two basic types of sleeping bags to choose from, down and synthetic. Both have advantages. Down is light and super compressible, but really quite pricey and can lose loft (therefore insulation) when it gets wet. Synthetic bags are generally heavier, don't compress as well, but they're usually cheaper and will still keep you relatively warm and wick water if wet.
  
  When storing your sleeping bag in between trips, don't keep it compressed! Put it in a big loose mesh laundry bag in between trips to let it air out, and prevent the insulation from getting crunched up and compressed and degrading over time
  
  
• A popular option in the lightweight and hammock community are quilts! Basically the idea is that you only need fluffy top insulation, because anything underneath you is getting compressed and doesn't offer much in the way of performance. Enlightened equipment and hammock gear are two of my favorite cottage quilt makers. Hammock Gear makes quilts right in Columbus, and they have an econ line of quilts that use a more affordable but similar fabric to shave something like a hundred bucks off the price tag
  
  

Boots vs. Trailrunners


• The basic idea is that boots offer better ankle support for heavier packs and uncertain terrain, and trail runners are lighter on your feet and quicker to dry out. There's a school of thought that one pound on your foot = five pounds on your back, so the lighter the shoe the better. I personally like the ankle support of my boots when I've got >30lbs on my back, but I never hit that anymore unless I need to carry more than a gallon of water (eg while in the Grand Canyon). There's also another school of thought though that locking in your ankles transfers the twisting to your knee.
  
  I really like leather boots because they're a natural wonder material. Warm in the winter, temperature regulating in the summer, it's just a great material. My favorite boots ever were Lowa Banffs, which the company even shipped back to Germany and resoled for me after the foam midlayer delaminated after 10 years.
  
  Anymore I’ve switched to trail runners. Find something you like to fit your style. One guy I hike with even uses sandals.
  
  

  Verman posted:

  From the light end of the spectrum to the heavy. The size of your body and your gear load will probably make a difference as well. I'm only 160lbs and have backpacked with a 50lb pack in trail runners with ease but other people only backpack in trail runners if they carry light loads. It all depends on you and it takes some experience to figure out what works best for you. Personally I feel like the less weight on your feet is more noticeable than less weight in your pack.
  
  Trail runners
  Saucony Peregrine (whatever model they are up to now) these are one of the most popular I see on the trails
  Brook Cascadia
  Merell Agility Peak flex (I currently wear the older model All out Peak)
  Solomon XA pro's seem to be pretty popular as well as the speed cross
  I almost went with la sportivas but the soles didn't seem very grippy
  
  Light duty boots
  Merrell Moab Mids are crazy popular, probably one of the boots I see most on the trails
  Salomon X ultra/quest boots are also really popular, the 2nd most popular on the trails
  keen targhee
  
  Backpacking boots
  Lowa renegade
  Asolo fugitive
  Salewa Alp/mountain trainers
  
  
  There's obviously a ton more but it sort of depends on your feet. Certain brands just don't fit certain feet so its worth going into a place with a knowledgable staff and try stuff on. I really enjoy trail runners for most day hikes and warm weather backpacking. I feel lighter, my hips are less sore, and they dry out much faster if they do get wet. They also breathe 10x more than any boots I ever had. The only time I wear boots is if its going to be insanely rough rocky terrain, or if I'm going to be in snow/cold for an extended amount of time.
  
  I would be careful with "minimalist" shoes as a lot of them have varying degrees of drop which can take some time to get used to and you will likely have to change your stride to accommodate not walking on your heels. I've heard of people having knee pain and discomfort from unknowingly buying minimalist shoes that were essentially barefoot shoes with no heel padding.
  

  Feet slipping around in your shoes? Try this one weird trick!
  
  

  Internet Wizard posted:

  Get a cheap foam sleep pad and cut off a strip and put it between the tongues of your boot and the laces
  

  
  
• Dress in layers so you can strip down/add layers to regulate your temperature to the environment around you. You need a base water wicking layer, a thermal layer (eg fleece jacket), and an outer shell (like windbreaker or rain jacket)
  
  
• Side note on rainjackets and Goretex, when it rains you will get wet. Even with a rain jacket, you'll still be sweating away inside there soaking your body from perspiration. Yes, goretex is supposed to be breathable... but I've had limited luck with that and honestly my philosophy is that you're gonna get wet, so you may as well get wet and just dress to dry out quickly afterwards. Pit zips only work for climbing, because your arms are reaching up and acting as baffles. They help a little, but not much with backpacking or most other stuff in my experience.
  

• Chemical treatment - Stuff like aqua mira kills all micro-organisms. Calcium hypochloride is what most municipal water departments in the US use to treat their water, so you can feel good about using it. I carry a few individually sealed tablets in my first aid kit just in case my water filter clogs up again.
  Pumps- The new MSR Guardian pump is crazy expensive, but claims to filter down to something like .01 microns, which would actually filter viruses, and it's supposed to backflush itself with every pump. Kinda cool!
  
• Iodine tablets are bad for you, it concentrates in your liver and causes health problems later in life if used over a long period of time. A bunch of park rangers got sick because they used to use it in the seventies, which is why it's not used anymore.
  
• Iodine Crystals - Polar Pure sells a kit which is really interesting, it's effectively reliable unlimited water treatment. Basically you treat a little bit of water in a container with the crystals, then add that treated water to a bottle to treat the water in there. The crystals then recharge another ounce of water which is ready to treat another liter after 20ish minutes (temperature depending). Works great, doesn't have much of a chemical taste, and doesn't fail.
  
• Sawyer squeeze- cheap squeazable and light hollow tube filter membrane. This, like a bunch of other filters these days, use dialysis filters. Doesn't do viruses, but that's usually not an issue in North America. Can be a bit of work squeezing the bags though, and don't forget to backflush it after every use!
  
• BeFree - Same filter as the Sawyer, but it's completely immersed so it has more surface are so it's significantly faster and easier to clean. It's what I use nowadays.
  
  

  meselfs posted:

  I have one of these and think highly of it. Backflushing isn't enough though - they recommend nuking it with bleach now and then. The idea is that it'll destroy all the organic matter stuck in there, but it's hard to find fragrance free bleach, and even if you do it's gunna be stinky unless you really put effort into clearing it out.
  
  What I recommend is buying some 35% hydrogen peroxide off Amazon (go ahead and get food grade), mixing it 1:2 with boiling water (CAREFUL), and squeezing that through. You'll be surprised how easy your next squeeze will be. It will leave no residue, flush with a bit of normal water and it's like new.
  

  
  
• Gravity Filters - Fast and do a large volume, a bit heavier. Great for groups.
  
  
• Important note about hollow tune membrane filters like Sawyer and Befree—if they sit for awhile and dry out at home, be sure to soak them overnight before your next trip. The pores close up when they dry out, and it takes awhile for them to rehydrate. I’ve been unable to filter water during a trip because my filter had completely dried out over winter, and I thought the thing was clogged when it just needed to slowly rehydrate the membrane.
  
  

I went over this briefly before, but it stands to mention again:


• Cotton -- You should not be wearing anything cotton. Jeans, tube socks, you name it. Cotton absorbs water, so it causes you to freeze when it's cold and blister when it's warm. You can't win, just don't try it.
  
• Down -- Light, compressible, but expensive and doesn't work hardly at all when it's wet. Don't let your down bag get wet. Also doesn't wick water very well, eg when used in mid layer winter jackets.
  
• Synthetic -- Wicks water exceptionally well, not as compressible as down, stinks after a few days. Includes Nylon, polypropylene, spandex, etc. Nylon stretches, poly type materials do not. You see ripstop nylon used in everything from packs to pants, to urethane or silicone coated nylon (silnylon) in tents, tarps, hammock. Parachute nylon is used in hammocks and other stuff. If you're looking for artificial fiber clothes on the cheap, try Academy.com for hiking pants, or goodwill for performance golf polos, or gym shorts are usually some flavor of eleven herbs and artificial fiber blends
  
• Wool -- Doesn't stink like synthetic fibers do, keeps you warm even when wet, wicks water decently well but not as well as artificial fiber stuff. Merino is a breed of sheep in New Zealand/Australia, and generally has a very fine wool. Great for socks and t-shirts. Also very expensive, try checking eBay for deals on used gear.
  
  
• Darn tough socks are also pretty great, just thought they deserve a special mention. They have a real lifetime warranty, I've literally seen people pick them out of the trash and get brand new ones back
  
  
• Goretex and other "breathable" waterproof membranes essentially have outer weaves too tight to allow water in but do theoretically allow water out. Might as well get it since there's nothing better I'm aware of, but I haven't had much luck with the breath-ability promise. Silicone coated and urethane coated gear is not breathable.
  
  
• Cuben Fiber - Crazy light, crazy expensive.
  It's basically a laminated dyneema material, so it has a strong waterproof structure even with the loose weave, which also means it can be effectively repaired with tape. Check out Zpacks for great dyneema/CF packs and stuff
  

My favorite topic by far! I personally use a Warbonnet Blackbird with Hammock Gear cuben tarp and quilts. Easy to set up and tear down, and ridiculously comfy to sleep in. https://tgo


• The key with hammocks is that you lay completely flat by laying at a slight diagonal. Also, it's virtually impossible to fall out of a gathered end hammocks--the only reason some hammocks are unstable are the spreader bars at the end which only exist because someone a hundred years ago couldn't figure out how to draw hammocks, and then some other dude tried making them by looking at this idiot's drawing and here we are a hundred years later with terrible misinformation and misunderstanding of hammocks.
  
  
• With a hammock, you need suspension, a tarp, optionally a bugnet or hammock sock in the winter, an underquilt or pad for bottom insulation, and a top quilt or sleeping bag for top insulation. That's it! I really love 12' of poly webbing (because polyester/polypropylene stuff doesn't stretch out like nylon does) and cinch buckles for quick easy adjustable suspension.
  
  
• Also make sure you hang your hammock at ~30* angle, for maximum comfort.
  

bringer posted:

First aid kit chat: Hypothermia is a real killer. In addition to a basic day kit like in the OP, I carry a cheap survival bivvy bag (one of those plastic/Mylar ones), a waterproof/goretex shell, and a fleece/down jacket everywhere.

You can't rely on a cell signal in the mountains around here. If you're out on a simple 3-4 hour loop and someone goes down near the halfway point with a mobility injury it might be another 4 hours before they can be evacuated -- able bodied person will need 2 hours to get to the trailhead where they can hopefully place a call, then another hour or two for rescue if they decide you rate a helicopter. Longer than that if you get lost or they need to walk you out.

I also keep an extra Bic lighter and a couple waxed cotton balls in a ziplock in my first aid kit for that same wait-for-rescue scenario.

If you wear contacts you really should have a couple spare disposables in your kit as well, and a glasses repair kit if you wear those. Busting a pair of glasses and not being able to repair them is a good way to find out how useful the rest of your first aid kit is after you blunder into easily avoidable hazards.





ASSTASTIC posted:

One piece of equipment that always goes into every single med kit I have is a roll of athletic tape. Get GOOD tape (johnson&johnson). If you get a nice gash out on the trail and have bullshit tape in your kit, it won't stick to poo poo if you sweat. I was hiking one time and hit a section of jagged rocks. Tripped on one of the rocks and got a nice gas on my shin. Wasn't horrible enough that I needed stitches, but wasn't fun either. No way a bandaid would be able to close up the wound, but I did have a roll of tape.

Made a makeshift absorbent pad (with the tape) and taped up my shin. Only issue I had after that was the lack of hair from removing the tape afterwards. Athletic tape is great because it not only sticks well to skin, and sweaty skin, but to itself extremely well.






OSU_Matthew posted:

Unless she's taking a backcountry first responder course, realistically there's not a whole lot you can do first aid wise. I bring liquid bandage, alcohol wipe or two and a little bit of gauze for bleeding, ibuprofen for anti inflammation and pain, moleskin patch for blisters, bendryl for allergic reactions, zinc oxide paste for irritation and chafing, a tick key, clippers, tweezers, and some ace wrap for sprains and junk. That's way over prepared in my book.


Someone who has recently taken a wilderness first aid course feel free to point out that I'm an idiot!

Catatron Prime fucked around with this message at 00:52 on Jul 4, 2022

If you want to save weight or are just getting started, you don’t really need a stove. Between clif bars, jerky, pb&j, fruit, pepperoni n cheese bagels, etc, you can eat really well without a stove. I bring a canister stove because I love morning cup o joe, and it’s a treat to have a hot meal at night.

Stoves by type:

• White Gas - heavier, but the stoves work really well in cold weather
  
  
• Canister
  What most people probably use. MSR Pocket Rocket is the gold standard. I personally user an Olicamp Ion that I love, especially with the Olicamp XTS
  pot which has heat absorber fins, similar to the jetboil.
  
  
• Alcohol
  

  CopperHound posted:

  Several months later I decided to do something about not having a pot stand for my alcohol stove:
  
  
  And it fits in the pot:
  
  
  I used this tool to draw the cone template for me: http://zenstoves.net/PotStands-Conical.htm#ConeTemplates
  

  
  
• 
  Fuels:
  Alcohol Fuels:
  

  meselfs posted:

  Both are toxic, but red HEET is isopropanol, a heavier alcohol which will burn with soot.
  
  Don't buy either, buy Klean Strip Green alcohol because it has the highest concentration of ethanol, which is the perfect balance of energy dense and being almost soot-free. Or Everclear if you want your fuel to be multipurpose.
  
  I've tried a couple stoves, including the pricier ones, and still love my Trangia best. Storing fuel in it makes it so easy I often take it on day hikes just to make tea.
  

  
  

  Ephphatha posted:

  Might as well expand a bit on fuels for alcohol stoves. Adventures In Stoving: What's the Best Alcohol for Stove Fuel? gives a decent rundown of the different types of fuels and the recommendations are solid, but it's good to be aware of the regional variations when it comes to sourcing your fuels.
  
  Edit: I should add that alcohol stoves are popular because they're small and cheap, Tetkoba's Alcohol Stove Addict is a great channel if you're looking at making your own alcohol stove.
  

  
  
• Cooking over a campfire:
  

  OSU_Matthew posted:

  Tons of people don't bring a stove! Just pick food you don't need to heat up. A lot of dehydrated meals will re-hydrate just fine cold, or pack granola bars, jerky, trail mix, peanut butter, tortillas, etc. Heating water over the fire is a tremendous pain in the rear end and I guarantee will not turn out well. One, building a fire takes a lot of time and energy. Two, a cooking fire needs to be hot coals, which takes hours to build up to. Orange flames make for a terrible cooking fire, it's not very hot at all. Lastly, how are you going to suspend your pot over the flames to boil the water? And now your pot is going to get blackened and nasty from the fire. Hot Dogs and smores are good over the fire though, but I wouldn't get too ambitious otherwise.
  

  
  
• Solid fuels - Esbit tablets are popular lightweight options. They also make great firestarters and are pretty cheap, but don't smell great and leave a residue on your pot. They also don't boil very fast like a canister stove. But they're super cheap, super light, and super reliable.
  
  

• FogHelmut posted:

  I'm in the car camping headspace because I'm going next weekend.
  
  Cast Iron:
  
  Cast iron pans and Dutch ovens are sturdy and reliable. You can throw them straight in the fire on the coals or over a burner with them. They are super heavy and should normally be used for car camping.
  
  Ozark Trail - these are inexpensive and made in China. Cast iron is basically just cast iron so they cook just as well as anything else. HOWEVER, the seasoning that comes on the pans is garbage. It's about as rough as 40 grit sandpaper, and often flakes. They are thinner than other brands, but not prohibitively so, and this may be an advantage if you're concerned about weight. The pans themselves have short handles and may get hot quickly and this may also make them more difficult to cook with. If you are willing to put in the effort of stripping, sanding, and reseasoning them, you cannot beat the value.
  
  Lodge - this is the standard brand that everyone has. Made in USA. You can cook in them right out of the box without need to reseason. They are thick heavy and sturdy and well-made. These are going to cost you about 2-3x as much as Ozark Trail. Only the extremely anal people will need to modify these to make them smoother.
  
  Bespoke small batch farm to table modern cast iron - I guess there's a bunch of people who dress like 1930s train conductors and call themselves artisans and live in Brooklyn and make cast iron pans like the vintage ones but they cost hundreds of dollars each.
  
  Vintage cast iron - Before the 1950s, cast iron was the standard cookware. There were many major brands in the United States selling cast iron pans. The manufacturing process was different and took several days to complete, vs around 90 minutes as it is today. These came unseasoned and it was expected that you would season them at home. They came with a smooth as glass finish, allowing you to do all of the things you do with your non-stick pants today. These are still around and can be found at garage sales, auctions, flea markets and second hand stores for reasonable prices. Brands include Griswold, Wagner, Lodge, etc.
  
  Cleaning - this is a contentious topic because it became popular a little while ago to tell people not to use soap in their cast iron pans. Sorry to tell you, your grandmother used soap in her cast iron. It did not ruin the seasoning. In fact, the seasoning is just a layer of polymerized oils that protect the iron and keep things from sticking to it. It is not a layer of rancid oil and old food that gives flavor to your new food, or at least I hope it shouldn't be. If your seasoning job is worth half a poo poo, you can use some soap and a rag or sponge to wash out your pan without ruining it. Just don't let it soak for hours in Dawn or something like that. Dry quickly after a washing and don't let water sit on it.
  
  If you still believe the hype and are paranoid about soap, you can scrub out your pan with kosher salt, a stainless steel brillo, or one of those silly chainmail wash cloths.
  

  
  
  

2020 Dehydrated food chat starting here:


xzzy posted:




MoldyFrog posted:

In terms of what to pack and eat anymore thanks to America's laziness there are tons of cheap "instant" meals open to you if don't mind putting it all together yourself. On the better side so to speak there's places like backpackingpantry and others that have put together quick to make solid meals.

If you are a diy fan then aim for at least 100 calories an ounce. Then you can budget about 1.5lbs a day for food. That gives you enough to be at a small deficit. I shoot for 3000+ calories myself a day, about 2lbs, as to minimize weight loss on a longer trip.

For good quick options you got any of the knoor brand side dishes. Things like flavored mashed potatoes, rice and broccoli, chicken and rice. There's instant macaroni, look for the stuff with the tiny noodles. They'll cook faster and more completely than regular sized mac noodles. Bear creek soups are pretty good and pack some good calories.

If any local stores have a good bulk section you can get instant refried beans, quick cooking oatmeals, hummus powder you reconstitute and toss onto some wraps you can bring. Hard cheeses and most sausages will keep a few days. There's always the ever popular snicker bars and pop tarts for calorie boosts. Bring a few ounces of oil in a bottle. A lot of extra calories an ounce there and most foods will easily take the oil.

For a wider variety of options you can get into dehydrated "survival" foods at Wal-Mart. Then you get into dehydrated eggs and fruits. Instant milk and such as well. Dehydrated cheese and freeze dried meats can be added to almost anything to bulk them up and add calories.

The freezer bag cooking website has a bunch of recipes. There's really a lot you can do anymore. Personally I'm a fan of soups. Harder to scorch a soup and the extra water is generally always welcome. Makes clean up easier too. I generally try to build 600 calorie blocks. One each for breakfast, lunch and dinner and than two snack blocks.

At the end of day you're going to build around rice, beans or a pasta. Grab some noodles and cheese sauce and you got mac and cheese. You can add chicken or bacon easily to change it up. Switch the noodles to a thin noodle and swap the sauce for a dehydrated white sauce and you have fettuccini. Meat additions are the same. Swap out the white sauce for powdered tomatoes and spices and you got spaghetti. Toss the noodles into a bunch of water and make chicken noodle soup.

Only difference between home cooking amd outdoors is that outdoors you're going to end up most likely with one main dish. You're probably not going to make food A and then make a food B side dish. It will be a big helping of something and maybe some left over snack foods.


meselfs posted:


YES TO MAKING YOUR OWN! If I had the time and energy I'd make my own thread on this. I recommend to anyone: buy a cheap (or not) dehydrator and make your own jerky. It's so easy and soooo good.

Another idea is a bit obscure: make sujuk, a weird kind of half-dried sausage, somewhere between "normal" cured charcuterie and jerky. I haven't tried making it yet but will soon. It's dense, compact, moist enough, and is really satisfying to slice with a knife.

You can do wacky dried fruits too on the cheap. My daughter and I are real fond of kiwi chips, which I've never seen for sale.

When I just started backpacking I figured along with all the other sacrifices one makes to be in the glorious outdoors, awesome food can be one. I'm consistently wrong. I take the most comforting lightweight food possible with me, and also copious tea with my stainless steel double wall bottle.

Inspiring resource: http://www.theyummylife.com/Instant_Meals_On_The_Go


• Check out packit gourmet for great dehydrated meals!
  
• If you like to make your own, I like Pad Thai, which is just dehydrated chicken, rice noodles, pb2 peanut butter concentrate, Knorr dehydrated veggies, and sriracha to flavor after cooking the rest rehydrate in boiled water for 7 minutes
  
  
• Also, Tasty Bites Madras Lentils are loving awesome, especially with a pouch of chicken, corn, quinoa, and hawaiian rolls. Fried onions on the top for extra flavor!
  

• Who else desperately wants an Oru folding kayak?
  (Update — Bought one a few years ago, they’re pretty great, but stupid expensive. Held up great for almost 4 years, then got too fat and wanted a more capable boat so I sold the ORU for close to what I purchased it for and bought a Jackson Tupelo. Roanoke River trail is incredible if you like kayak camping)
  
• There's a whole kayaking thread in TGO!
  

• Looking for affordable used gear?
  

  meselfs posted:

  seems like a good opportunity to bring up http://www.geartrade.com/
  

  
  There's a lot of information out there, but not all of it is good. For instance, outdoorgearlab is just an advertising schill that completely ignores a lot of great stuff. But I also appreciate the testing on stuff, so
  
  After every trip, make sure to pull out all your gear and let it air out. Yes, even if it didn't rain, it got wet from sweat, condensation, etc, and mold will absolutely destroy that nice shiny new 500$ tent. You can pack it back up after a few days, but take care of your gear!
  
  
• Clean your shoes, especially if they're leather. Oil your boots. Don't leave a banana in a bear canister, I did that once for a few months, and it was like a million spiders shat all over everything
  

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