Lightweight Backpacking for Paddling later on.........

[Kayak Jack]

I must admit that I haven't camped in my Moment tent yet. I did run a few beads of GE Silicone silastic across the inside bathtub (bedpan?) to stay an air mattress from sliding around. And, I agree with the extra outside pole (the one running lengthwise over the top) and a rain fly overhead as Chuck sez.

And, I can sure as hell empathize with the game knee problems too. My imitation of an old man getting up and down has improved a lot, and actually looks pretty realistic now. You'd never know it was just an act.

Lying in my little tent spread out here in my living room, I didn't feel the closeness that Chuck felt out in the wild. May well be different out there. When you know that all outdoors is just outside that tent wall, you want to feel more of it.

I'm glad to hear the Therma Cell was effective. I've had one now for three years, and haven't had to use it yet. Jon Maybray (Grandpa Paddler) and I carried it on the Allegheny river, but mosquitoes weren't much of a problem. Our problem there was that the bottom of the river was way too close to the surface. Only about 2-3 inches apart on an average.

Chuck, I hope you remembered top say "Hi" to the owl. I sent him special for you.

 

[oldsparkey]

The Owls sounded like they were at a convention , sounding off all around us. I just got to sleep when a couple of armadillos thought they wanted to come threw the screen door on the tent and at the same time an Owl sounded off right above me. Talk about a racket , two little tanks right at the tent by my head crashing around and that Owl sitting up there laughing at the whole going on's.
Plus it was on the New Moon which meant the woods were as dark as they could ever be. There was a little star light and light reflected back from Orlando off in the west from us. Without using the flashlight you could see a little but not a lot after your eyes adjusted to the darkness , the flashlight did brighten things up.

The skeeters were out pretty good and when I lit that Termacell off and placed it between Mac and myself , Mac could only sit there and not believe how effective that little unit is. I guess he forgot about the trip back in Oct , 09 on Fisheating Creek.

I used it one time before with Mac and Joe ( Lazyriverguy ) when we did the Fisheating Creek during that high water paddle. Again when I lite it off and set it down we were skeeter free and they were really bad on that trip.
That trip report..... viewtopic.php?f=6&t=7189&hilit=fisheating+creek

The tent is well made and really nice for what it is designed for.
Jack you will be very happy that you put those strips or beads of the seam sealer on the floor when you get the mattress in there.
I enjoyed the hammock because I did not have to get down on the ground , making a nature call just swing my legs out , slip on my shoes which were under the hammock and get out for that call of nature. With the hammock it's about the same as getting out of a chair which is the height I have the bottom of it when it is hung. No low overhead material to duck , crawling or bending.

 

[oldsparkey]

This cooler weather has me in the lets get out of here and do some camping so I have been busy checking things. 60 degrees this morning.

Started yesterday with getting serious abut the weight of my backpack and what goes in it for taking out. Not relying on what the manufacture says it weighs but what my scale says the items weigh. Picked up a postage scale that goes to 5 pounds and have been weighing all of the camping gear.
Then to double check things I will weigh each group as it goes in the backpack to double check the weight. Sleeping gear , Cooking gear , Eating gear and so on.

Pretty happy with the new backpack , Six Moons , Swift, I added a wast belt with pockets to it along with a hoop stay which holds it upright , without those additions it weighs 15 ounces with them 18.5 oz. It is a 56 liter bag or a total of 3,400 cu in and a base carrying weight 12 lbs , max weight 30 plus pounds. A savings of 13.5 oz over the old backpack. The Go Lite Pack (Pinnacle ) I was using is a 70 liter at 4270 cu in and 2 lbs.

Lost a lot more weight when I am not camping in a area that requires the food to be in a bear and Oder proof container like the Bear vault ( solo ) that I have , it weighs 33 oz.
Found the Ursack Minor which is not listed as bear proof even thought some bears did not get into one of them , it is rated critter proof. Coons are the main worry and this one is coon proof and weighs 5.0 oz . In it I use a Opsac which is a oder proof clear , waterproof zip closure bag at 1 oz.
A nice 27 ounces of weight savings.

Difference between the two ,Oder proof food storage and the packs a savings of 2 lbs and 5 oz.
Continually chipping away at the base weight for everything..........Especially when I will be the Mule having to carry it. :lol:

 

[FrankAS]

like your thought of along the center ridge line of the tent..................
The single wall tents are notoriously famous for condensation when closed up and the person is inside. That had me thinking that a tarp over a part of it would let the camper have the entrance wide oped ( not closed ) for ventilation if it was raining.

Considering the ventilation all around the sides of the tent , if the entrance was open ( bug net closed ) during the night then there would be plenty of ventilation to stop the condensation , plus offering a really dry sitting area and entry / exit.

Call it an extended rain and patio fly.

Sounds like a baker tent

 

[oldsparkey]

Sounds like a baker tent

I always thought a Baker Tent was basically like a Walden Lean To.
This one is the Tarp Tent ( Moment ).
That was 6 years ago and a couple of years ago I located one I like a lot better, it's the Lunar Solo by Six Moons. It has more room in it and I believe that overall it's a better tent for me when a tent is required. My personal choice for camping is a hammock because they are so darn comfortable and easy to put up.

Since this thread was stared ( 2012 ) things have changed and the camping gear today has really improved.