Camping Gear Items
MSR Elixir Tent - 3 Person
I have found that when on expeditions, not being cramped in the tent is a luxury worth having. I think that a 3-person tent for one person is about the right size. I can have all my gear inside spread out to one side, while I sleep eat and do other business on the other side with room to spare. I can't stress enough the importance of having space in your tent so you don't feel cramped. It's a piece of comfort you should not skimp on. Also, if possible don't share a tent with a partner. The only think worse than your own bad smell is someone else's bad smell. The lack of space will also be fuel for displeasure and resentment towards the other person. If, of course you are looking for an excuse to initiate a divorce from your significant other, then this will get you there...
Some of the features I liked about this tent were the following:
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There are lots of tent pockets to put things such as empty dry bags, telephone, headlights, etc.
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There is enough height inside for me to crouch.
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Both the fabric and the poles are light weight.
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There are several hook points on the inside to string several lines to hang clothes.
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The pegs are long and have a hook curve to ensure the tent is firmly anchored
The features I did not like where the following:
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The setup is a bit complicated for one person. The long poles are interlocked on two hinge pins which I find are almost always twisted the wrong way for setup. This makes the tent difficult to setup alone in very windy conditions. I had to put my gear inside the tent to hold it down.
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It is difficult to do a one-handed zipper opening of the tent doors. This is essential when you want to get your gear inside quickly to avoid mosquitos.
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The tent has an "almost" square base, and it is easy to miss align the footprint with the tent. It would also have been convenient if the foot print could be permanently attached to the main tent for easier set up.
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I snapped one of the poles on the last day, which means that this tent was good for about 30 nights. I would have expected better quality (Amazon refunded me and let me keep the tent, so I fixed the pole with duct tape and it's ok now. Since that means I got this tent for free, I wont complain too much...
MSR Zoic Tent - 2 Person
For hot weather camping, this tent is unbeatable. It has excellent air circulation, lots of pockets on the sides and the roof for all the storage you could ever need, light weight, easy set up, and very roomy for one person using the two person size. Plus I got an unbeatable $199 black Friday deal on it. I wish I'd gotten two of them.
Therm-a-Rest NeoAir Xlite Ultralight Backpacking Air Mattress
This mattress is very compact when deflated, and it fits inside my 4-liter drybag with enough room to spare. While I must give it credit for not deflating on me, this air mattress is far from perfect. My biggest complaint about it is that it does not deform to my body shape when I lay on it, and consequently it is uncomfortable to sleep on, especially on the side, but at least it's better than the bare floor.
WELLAX Ultralight Air Sleeping Pad
To give an honest review, I will start by what is good about this mattress. It’s light weight, it packs into a very small volume, it's quick to blow up and quick to deflate to put away, and it's actually comfortable to sleep on. But it has a fundamental flaw. It’s far too delicate for camping. I never used this thing outside my tent, but even so, it got 5 pinprick punctures, and would deflate after about an hour. Pinpricks are impossible to fix in the field, because there is no way to find the punctures, unless the mattress is dipped in the water. Even after I fixed the punctures it just developed new punctures the very next time I used it. It’s essential to have a good sleeping mattress or your paddling performance will suffer after several poorly slept nights. I was really angry with this mattress and the people who make it. Would like to slap them on the head and shout obscenities at them and their families, and then make them sleep on their product.
KLYMIT STATIC V LUXE Sleeping Pad, Extra Wide 30 inches
This Sleeping mattress was very good when I first got it. The ridged surface deforms to your body shape, and it is comfortable when sleeping on your side. It's also easy to inflate and deflate. I had ten good sleeping nights on this mattress, before it started getting micro-punctures. A lot of them, and after that it was awful. What disappointed me the most was that I was really careful with it. I only used it in the tent, and I made sure that it was always packed properly, and didn't rub it against anything. I used it exactly as intended, but it still failed. Damn you Kymit! Will never buy your stuff again!
SHARKMOUTH Hydration Backpack Pack
This is another item I only used once before I gave up on it. Although it is nice to have an easily accessible water bag, it is kind of uncomfortable to paddle with this backpack over the life vest and the wet suit, and the bag straw is too short to keep behind the seat and be able to drink from it. With my water bottles in the cockpit, having the day water bag became superfluous.
Sea to Summit Pack Tap 6 liter
I only used this water bag in the first few days, before I concluded that I didn’t need it as I could resupply with water frequently enough that it became superfluous. This bag does have one great advantage over the competitor dromedary bags. The water I drank from it tastes decently good. One thing I would note about the Sea to Summit water bag, is that the 6 liter is the largest that will fit through the day or front hatch or even behind the seat. I had originally bought the 10 liter, but had to return it, as it would not fit through either hatch, and putting it in the stern would have made the kayak unbalanced.
Sea to Summit Dry Bags
I had several Sea to Summit dry bags, most of which were between 4 and 5 liters. I found that the Sea to Summit dry bags are robust, and water tight. I never had an issue with leakage or punctures, even though they sometimes scraped badly against the tips of the pad eye screws inside the hatch compartments. There are a few variations depending on the fabric. I've posted links here to all 3 types I have bought.
Thermacell MR150 Portable Mosquito Repeller and Cartridges
In the old days, the mosquitos were the guardians of the tundra, the swamps, and bogs. Man can kill off the panthers, the alligators, and the cobras, but the mosquito was always the most ruthless and formidable opponent of them all. Even the fittest army with the strongest men would eventually surrender the battlefield to this relentless enemy. They are minuscule, but like the tiny fire ant, command respect that far exceed their size.
I am happy to announce that the mosquito has finally meet its doom. This Thermacell protection thing is like the immortal shield of Achilles; a suit amour made of mithril; and a Patronus against the Dementors wrapped into one device. I’m so glad I had it. I felt invincible against the pesky creatures. One of the links is for the instrument, and the other is for extra cartridges. Check out both.
Shammy Towels Super Absorbent Chamois
I used one of these as my salt water bathing towel. It was my mom’s idea to take it and they were well worth taking. They are very absorbent and are great for rubbing off the salt water and drying off the whole body and hair. It made a huge difference for overall comfort as being clean helps with both preventing skin rashes and improving sleep quality. I was really sad when I lost it.
Sleeping Bag
My Sleeping bag on this trip was an old one I’ve had for years. I don’t like it and should probably buy a new one. The thing I would look for in a sleeping bad is to make sure it has a front zipper rather than a side zipper as that would make closing it much easier. If in my next kayak adventure is somewhere cold like Iceland, I’ll consider buying the one in the link below. Its pricy, but I saw the price fall a lot on Black Friday, so I’ll keep monitoring it.
Butane Lighter
A lighter is very useful to have on an expedition, not only because its easier to start a fire with, but also because it can be used to burn the tips of any ropes to make sure they don’t fray. This lighter I bought is way overkill as any dollar lighter from a pharmacy will do the job, but it makes one bad ass flame.
Toiletries
If you are going to go in a long kayaking expedition, It's important not to skimp on personal hygiene. not only will it help you avoid getting skin rashes, you will also feel and sleep better. Have tooth brush, tooth paste, Listerine, floss, and a small shampoo. as for the toilet paper, I recommend you be conservative with it, because there is nothing worst than running out when you need it. When ever it was feasible I would I would use wet sand which I could then wash off in the ocean. That works better than the paper, especially if you don't bathe for several days. You don't want a skin rash in your moon face while you have to paddle all day long....
