Camping Gear Review

In forty years of camping I’ve seen the canteen replaced by the plastic water bottles like these Nalgene water bottles. Canteens (remember them?) were opaque, narrow mouthed, heavy and had a metallic taste with overtones of whatever drink mix one last used. Washing them out thoroughly was hit-or miss because you couldn’t see inside. I did not like canteens. My first wide-mouthed Nalgene bottle was really kind of miraculous. I could see how much water it contained; I could wash it out thoroughly, and it never ever leaked....

Walter Underwood has posted a great review of the Mountain Laurel Design’s two pound Speedmid shelter: It is plenty roomy inside. I’m 6’ 3” and my tent buddy is nearly as tall, and we both had room, with our gear inside. The tent walls do slope at a pretty low angle—the heavy nighttime rain was surprisingly close to my head and a little distracting. This was a very exposed campsite and it was uncomfortably windy and...

My old Mountainsmith lumbar pack bought used on eBay a few years ago served me very well and it’s time to replace it. I bought a newer, smaller Mountainsmith lumbar pack for my son to use a while back and I like the updated version even more than my older one. A lumbar pack makes a great ‘day bag’ when canoeing for all that one needs to access easily throughout the day (camera, binoculars, rain gear, etc....

This review was first published in 2008. I still carry and highly recommenced my Big Agnes setup! For many years I carried my trusty Gerry goose down sleeping bag on Troop camp outs. My father bought it for me in 1976 prior to an extended trip to Alaska. At the time it was among the best bags he could afford (or ill-afford). But even the best sleeping bag may have be retired after twenty or thirty years of faithful service....

Picture from George Griffin at BackpackingGearTest.org The Tilley LTM6 Airflo Hat is quite a piece of engineering. I have worn one now for a few years and I recommend it highly. My faithful, cheap,(ten bucks at a hardware store) straw hat gave up after three years of canoeing in Canada, summer camp and carpentry. In searching for a replacement I decided to check out the much touted Tilley hat. After some research I decided on the LTM6 Airflo and hoped it would be equal to the rather steep ($70....

I have used Campsuds for many years. Do you really need special camping soap? Yes, you do, it does make a difference. Camp suds has lots of cleaning power in cold water, is environmentally responsible and super concentrated- you don’t need more than a few drops. I have yet to empty an eight ounce bottle shared by a group of 7 over a week of canoeing. The one gallon size is handy for refilling smaller containers and costs less per ounce than the smaller sizes....

I have been using a pruning saw for camping like the Corona RS-1720 instead of bow saws to cut firewood. There are any number of similar brands and styles available but Corona has an excellent reputation for fine tools. A number of sportsman’s saws made along the same design are available, they are more expensive, shorter and straighter than pruning saws. The shape and length of a good pruning saw will cut a large stack of firewood much quicker than a sportsman’s saw....

Silnylon has been taken the backpacking world by storm. Lightweight ripstop nylon cloth is impregnated (as opposed to coated) with silicone creating waterproof featherweight material for packs, tarps and other gear. I have used 10 X 12 foot silnylon tarp for the past few years instead of a tent. Offered by Campmor the tarp has three ties along the center seam and plenty of grommets along the edge offer many options for pitching....

Scouts must learn to use a compass and map together in order to advance in rank. It follows that they need a compass, but which is the best Scout compass? Base-plate compasses like the Silva starter 1-2-3 are the best all-around, least expensive and durable compasses. Resist the temptation to purchase a cheaper knock off – there are some significant differences: Dampening – the capsule (the round container with the magnetic needle) of a quality compass is filled with oil that slows or dampens the movement of the needle....

Normal camping tarps have some weaknesses; grommets may tear out in heavy wind, there are never enough points to tie onto and while most people use a center pole to hold the tarp up it typically falls down when the wind picks up. Cooke Custom Sewing’s Tundra Tarps solve these problems and incorporate several other valuable improvements in coated 1.9 oz. nylon or 1.1 oz (a 10×14′ tarp weighs 24 ounces) silconized nylon-...

I discovered NEOS overshoes (New England Overshoes) working on a film outside in cold, wet, snowy weather all late fall and early winter. Several members of the film crew wore NEOS and spoke highly of them. A gusseted opening makes them easy to get on or off, and a drawstring closure snugs them up around the ankle to keep snow out. As the name implies NEOS are worn over shoes or boots....

I have a hard time finding comfortable footwear. If I “watched my diet and exercised every day” I suppose my feet wouldn’t get so sore. But that’s the breaks. I bought a pair of Keen Newport H2 sandals because they sported an enclosed toe. They looked like the perfect thing for canoeing and two weeks on the waterways of Algonquin Provincial Park proved it. I was concerned that they wouldn’t be heavy enough for walking long portages, but I was wrong, they were great on portages of a mile or more and my feet didn’t hurt at all....

Some means of signaling help is part of the ten essentials of camping and whistles are an inexpensive, effective choice. What’s the best Scout whistle? The Storm Whistle is the loudest whistle in the world; 75% louder than your average whistle. I haven’t tested the claim that it can be heard fifty feet under water, but I believe it. I used one of these to signal a canoes that were separated from our group a half a mile or more away and out of sight....