At one time when I would camp out of my kayak I carried everything plus the proverbial kitchen sink. But of late I am into the lightest camping possible. A couple of questions and some comments: --I have yet to find the ideal solo tent. To me "ideal" is under 3.5 lbs, freestanding _and_ bomb proof. The closest I have come to it is the Eureka Zephyr that meets the first two criteria with a real total weight of 3.55 lbs., free standing but it would not be up to real heavy winds. It is high enough inside for me to sit up to change in (I'm 6 ft tall). And it sets up in a jiffy. Price good too at around $120. It has a bit of purple color in it which is a downside since I like my tent not to be too visible because of commando camping needs. --I firmly believe in having some sort of tarp to hang out under. This is not only because of rain. Having a tarp over you at night while eating or hanging out, keeps you a lot warmer. I know that there is about a 15 degree difference when I step out from under a tarp into the night air. Again Eureka makes one that isn't one...it is the vestibule for one its tents and comes with one 5 foot pole. It ia the Annex Parawing offering some 58 sq ft of coverage. I use it freestanding with my paddle and the provided pole or tie it off to trees. I noticed some discussion awhile back about tarp poles but no body mentioned using their paddle for a pole. When I do, I take the precaution of putting a piece of foam under the blade to prevent it getting chipped on the ground. BTW, a 4 piece takeapart paddle like those used for Feathercrafts (I've camped a lot out of the K-Light) gives you the option of a slightly shorter tarp pole...don't attach one of the blades. --Stoves. If you are only going to go for a week, I find that the butane ones work well enough. All I do is heat water, I never stew or really cook. I take freezedried camp food and boxed flavored couscous which I supplement with kiebasa and things like that. And I don't brew coffee which uses up fuel. I use folger's coffee bags. --My whole gear pile (not including my ordinary paddling stuff) weighs under 28 pounds, which includes all my clothes, cooking gear, food, etc. minus water. 28 pounds is an arbitrary limit. I read it in some tongue-in-cheek article in Sports Illustrated about 30 years ago about bring anything you want as long as you keep it under 28 pounds. Whatever makes you happy. ralph -- -- -- ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Ralph Diaz . . . Folding Kayaker newsletter PO Box 0754, New York, NY 10024 Tel: 212-724-5069; E-mail: rdiaz_at_ix.netcom.com "Where's your sea kayak?"----"It's in the bag." ----------------------------------------------------------------------- *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List Submissions: paddlewise_at_lists.intelenet.net Subscriptions: paddlewise-request_at_lists.intelenet.net ***************************************************************************
rdiaz_at_ix.netcom.com wrote: > --I firmly believe in having some sort of tarp to hang out under. I used to carry a coated nylon fly or a small blue poly tarp, which was cheap, rugged, and could be used as a groundcloth if needed but recently I bought a Moss-style fly from EMS. I use the fly not so much as a vestibule but as a kitchen and dining area outside the tent. > --Stoves. If you are only going to go for a week, I find that the > butane ones work well enough. > Agreed. For many years I put up with a cranky Primus and then switched to a > Camping Gaz. One can has enough capacity to morning coffee, dinner and tea > for two people for a week if you're careful with it. -- Michael Edelman http://www.mich.com/~mje Telescope guide: http://www.mich.com/~mje/scope.html Folding Kayaks: http://www.mich.com/~mje/kayak.html Airguns: http://www.mich.com/~mje/airguns.html *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List Submissions: paddlewise_at_lists.intelenet.net Subscriptions: paddlewise-request_at_lists.intelenet.net ***************************************************************************
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