What is something that you wouldn't bring hiking or camping but which would be more practical for them, so you could bring it? For me it's a great coat, after just getting a polish army great coat and testing it on a cold night. My god that thing would be incredible to have out and about on a cold day, if it wasn't so bulky and heavy. Though my dumbass still kinda wants to try.
What piece of clothing or item do you wish would be more practical for hiking/camping
Samwise Gamgee carried a frying pan and that tiny cast iron cauldron for making rabbit stew (sans potatoes), and he had to hike all the way to Mordor.
Saddest part of the book when he had ro ditch it toward the end
You can get anodized aluminum which is way lighter. I have an anodized aluminum Dutch oven (GSI) for canoe trips. Obviously still heavier than a backpacking pan though.
But the draw of cast iron is its high thermal capacity. Aluminum has a very low thermal capacity.
Yeah but the savings in weight is huge.
If you're cooking over a fire, it's good enough.
Have you looked into https://frybake.com/. It’s not cast iron by any means but has a lot of the qualities I love about cast iron but a fraction of the weight.
Wow, those look pretty nice.
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1mo
Sounds epic!
A 30 rack of natty light
That stays cold without a cooler.
A man of taste, I see.
Steel Reserve for me! 42 ounces of 8.1% alcohol! 😂 Seriously though, I really do like Steel Reserve!
Love to bring a nice barbecue grill ... or better yet a fridge full of food .. or better yet a cooler full of cold beers!
Maybe that's why I return home after each hike??
Seconding the cooler. An ice cold beer at the top of a big hike would be absolute perfection.
depending on how to define nice, their are backpacking grills. i have one that i really like. And just incase i can be a bastard an call it a fire pit :D
My real pillow.
During my conscription we did this often. Everyone was required to have a full back so a good trick was to fill it with something light, like a pillow.
That’s smart lol
The Trekology Aluft 2.0 is pretty good. It's extremely lightweight, it packs into a tiny stuff sack, and it has an elastic strap to go around your sleeping pad. It's obviously not as good as a real pillow. But, it's definitely more comfortable than using rolled up clothing.
About bulk and weight: After doing a couple of long (for me) hikes carrying a considerable amount of food, I take a very relaxed view into how much weight to carry on weekend trips and overnighters. I've literally taken a 3 lbs cast iron frying pan on a weekend trip.
Based on this, I encourage OP to bring that coat along for your next trip!
To the actual question: especially for someone wearing eyeglasses, the most compact binoculars out there are like peeking through a key hole. It would be cool if you could get a 'bigger picture' from the small ones (the 'picture size' does not equal magnification, it's how much of your field of view the image covers). I bring binoculars once in a while as I have a bit of an interest to bird spotting.
A cloak
in all fairness a cloak is still usefull, only problem is you either need to know how to make one or have a decent amount of money. Because god damn it, i want one again.
Oh yes, hella useful. But also too heavy and cumbersome to carry on a hike. And making one is not that hard of you have a sewing machine and patience.
heavy perhaps, but if it's a proper one. you now have a sleep system, blanket, rain gear, and more all in one. Which saves you some weight. It's why i would literally kill for my old one again. because it was waterproof, i could zip myself into it like a bivy and sleep in it. could keep me warm when seal up but cool because of correct venting. And i will never have one like it again unless i can hunt down and kidnap the same guys that made it or force labor some new engineers to make a new one. but i intend to recreate it atleast with what i can do myself.
Do you have pictures of it?
no, because it's something that was custom built to test stuff out ten years ago and got disposed of after group ended. So all i have is my memory of the design i made for it, but nothing about the materials because that wasn't my job nor my expertise
Good luck!
Ruana cloak is your best bed. It’s basically the easiest type of cloak to make yourself. And Gandalf wore that style of cloak so it’s gotta be good! I used an ektos %90 wool blanket to make mine.
i'll look into it, because a cloak would be cool. Also once i relearn the sewing machine I can experiment with my own stuff
For the ruana cloak you hardly have to sew at all. Cut the blanket from the edge perpendicular to the short end to the center of the blanket. Then just hand sew a few stitches where the cut ends for done extra reinforcement and bam you’re done. Optional, sew on some buttons and make button holes in case you want to use it as a blanket again
I brought a huge death cloak on a Halloween trip once. Didn't keep me very warm lol
Get an alpaca Wool Poncho. Light weight warm, sheds light rain, let's you get up by the fire without melting your synthetic fabrics, and makes a great blanket at night
You can always bring a down blanket and turn it into a cloak. There's YouTube tutorials for turning a blanket into a cloak. Problem solved.
It would be nice if there we're practical, well-made, robust, clothes (especially pants) for women of actual, real, NOT BARBIE, sizes. With pockets.
I've never been able to buy pants that zip off into shorts because my thighs are too big for where the zipper sits. So although the pants fit in every other aspect, the zipper section squeezes into my thighs.
Fjallraven (don't fit my hips) but the helly Hanson knock offs fit well, Eddie Bauer ascent and some outdoor research I have are not bad! Along with Columbia . With the cargo pants coming back in regular style again, it looks like even rei brand is making a few with the bigger pockets now!
Edit: tried men's last year and as a petite woman the crotch was too big and low so my inner thighs (around pubic mound) rubbed. May e tmi but just something to be mindful of!
I've been wearing the same pants from the North Face for well over 14 years now. Men's fit. Pockets, no chafing.
Only brand that I've found with a good fit for women with bigger thighs is SprayWay. But don't know how well-spread that is.
Duluth Trading Co! I don't know what their womens section is like but everything in the mens section is made for big boys with big hips and thighs. It's the best.
I love Duluth but that’s actually my problem with them. I apparently have no ass whatsoever.
Title Nine Clamber hiking pants if you are a size 14 or smaller. Fabulous pockets and good fit over the belly. My top travel/hike pant. Okay, I own all the different versions of this style. The only downside is the waistband gets a little sweaty.
I've recently started using the carharrt utility leggins. These are so amazing. Good stretch and many pockets. No chaffing.
depending on your proportions ive heard mens cloths work pretty well. And atleast for pants that should be easy, since if mine fine thick booty can work. Yours should to, unless length is a problem for you
I haven’t tried them yet but just heard of Dovetail Workwear. Women’s work pants with lots of pockets, I’m planning to order some soon.
Duluth is exactly that.
Look into Arrak women’s pants - they’re designed for working with dogs but I use them for both.
I started a brand called Damzelfly and made real women sized pants (upto 20), with pockets and a zipper so you can pee without dropping trou. Made in USA from high quality fabric.
As a nearly 50-year-old with a bad knee, a usable light weight portable potty chair would be terrific for backpacking. I cannot do a full squat without a lot of discomfort anymore so pooping is a bit of an adventure these days.
Can you get one of those very small camp stools and cut up the fabric seat part and attach the potty bags to it instead of the seat (or leave some seat there just to hold it together, or use zip ties to hold it, whatever, ?
Not a bad idea but I’d have to find one that is super light weight (like 1 or 2 lbs for me to keep my pack weight where I like it) and doesn’t also depend on the seat fabric for structural integrity, I guess if the alternative is ‘stop backpacking because I can’t poop’ I could sacrifice some weight
Yes, those are the exact same things I was thinking as well... you stated it better 😆
I think some of those little tripod stools are that light. And you could potentially use lashing or zips to keep the integrity if you removed the fabric.
That body position is trouble for me too for more than a split second.
I wish you could guarantee a support like a tree and make a rock climbing sling to use or a trapeze handle to attach to a hammock lashing to hang on to 😂 and support yourself that way instead of squat ways
I can just see us all going hog wild with the pooptastic inventions.
Rain gear lmao
Cozy robe.
Personal heating/AC systems
Beer cooler. It’s what keeps me within carrying distance to the car.
Camera gear. I love taking photos in the woods, but lugging a DSLR, extra lens(es), a tripod, etc is a royal pain in the balls.
There are backpacks. There are tactical style vests with pockets. Somebody make a backpack that has a tactical vest for its straps. Or a vest with a series of stacked large pockets making up its back. Just make a vestpack is what I’m saying. It would be great for distributing the weight if they did it right.
look up the sarma brand, they have a recon smock that has huge front pockets and there hiking pants have two giant front pockets to. There's a few other things they have that work well. Also the swiss surplus stuff in aplenflage loaded with pockets, and if you dig the camo might be perfect for what you said.
I have the sarma wind proof jacket! I love all the pockets. I managed to fit 3 bags of chips, 3 6” subs, 3 drinks and some granola bars distributed amongst the pockets.
good to know thats also good, but right now i want to save up for their wool shell pants and jacket. because those look amazing and sounds amazing from reviews i could find. That brand overall is very impressive
I agree, I’d like some of their wool shell stuff too
Ugg boots… How I dream of putting on comfy, warm ugg boots after backpacking all day
could take them as camp boots, also question guy or girl? Because i'm finding more nad more guy who want the fluffy uggs, but they don't exist in mens size
Bro they so do, can even wear the neumel for very short hikes and car camping
They make classic in mens too and many other styles
I bought my buddy size 17 us mens fluffy uggs lmao they definitely exist
Def make men’s uggs
Dawg no one is doing the Appalachian trail with Uggs in their pack. My base weight is like 12 lbs. Uggs would not fit in my pack and would weigh like 3-4lbs prob
I wish I could bring an umbrella. Great shade for sunny days, great airy dry space for rain. Umbrellas are just so long and heavy and you still have to bring a raincoat and rain pants.
Ok guys I might try the umbrella search again. Need one that's small light affordable not too delicate and can mount to my pack.
Zpacks makes a 5 oz umbrella
There are a few backpacking umbrellas out there.
Our guide on the Annapurna base camp trek used a big umbrella than a rain jacket or trousers. He stayed considerably dryer than us in our gortex jackets! It rained almost solidly on day 2. When he wasn’t using it he just strapped it to the side of his pack. I think he even used it on the last day for the sun :P so definitely possible to hike with one! Granted we didn’t have a tent if a few days of food that trip. But if you can get a light one there are other things you can not take :)
- edited Annapurna baseball trek to base camp. Thanks autocorrect!
Plus if it's windy you can Mary Poppins your way down the mountain
Definitely easier on the knees!
They have UL umbrellas that weigh 6 ounces that work great. Check out Zpacks, Gossamer Gear or Hyperlite Mountain Gear.
Miranda Goes Outside on YouTube has at least one video talking about the beauty of a hiking umbrella.
A crossbow. Maybe a titanium fold up thingamajig.
My c-pap machine! Compact ones are $1000, and regular ones with a battery take up 1/3 of my pack and is heavy, but in 8 hours in bed I sleep about 2 hours without it.
I wish they made freeze dried alcohol!
i mean... kinda... depends on what kinda of alcohol you talking about. because they have freeze dried forms of things like whiskey. The actual alcohol part you jut wont get, but the flavors you can get.
I didn't know that existed. But, the lack of alcohol kind of defeats the purpose! 😂
Fucking bear cans. So big and bulky but often required
I'd have to say my dildo lollipop. Its bulky like your jacket, yet sleek in others. I really wish it was more of a multi use item.
Bring a plug instead and it's no longer packed weight but worn weight. By the way dildos make great improvised snow or sand anchors for your guyouts.
See, that's what I'm talking about. Innovation, adapting to life's challenges. Sometimes, people are truly amazing
I like the way you think!
My cast iron. Love cooking with it, couldn't imagine hiking with a dutch oven in my pack.