BIKEPGH MESSAGE BOARD ARCHIVE

Try here: http://www.adventurecycling.org/forums/index.php?board=4.0

Realize your question was about food/cookng, but.

If you haven't purchased the tent yet, have you considered a hammock system? I have used a hammock with success in the past, on the heavily used rocky/muddy campsites like on the GAP it would be great. Lighter and more compact than a tent, and cooler in the summer.

http://www.campmor.com/outdoor/gear/Product___40676

If you do go with a tent, highly recommend this pad, expensive, but I am of a certain age and those little foam pads just don't cut it anymore. http://www.rei.com/product/691240/big-agnes-air-core-sleeping-pad

For 3 season camping, I just use a gas canister stove. Simple, you light it and go, no fuel to mess with. http://www.rei.com/product/660163/msr-pocket-rocket-backpacking-stove

Don't bother with "backpacking food", bleh. Just get grocery store stuff, instant soup, oatmeal, there's even some nice instant pasta and rice stuff now.

Also, just a little mental tip. Just mentally resign yourself for the fact that, the first night sleeping out, you will sleep like crap no matter how you prepare. Don't stress, just relax and enjoy being out. After the first night you should be tired enough to sleep anywhere.

I second the Big Agnes pad and canister stove. Deal Extreme have some very cheap canister stoves that are actually pretty decent. Just plan on waiting a few months for delivery.

I do like backpacking food though. It can be kind of pricey, but a lot of it is actually pretty tasty. I usually take a mix freeze dried meals and things to add to them--pouch chicken, tortillas, cheese, etc.

Thanks for the advice.

I had considered a Hennessy hammock - I'm not prone (!) to laying on the ground, in fact that's why in my youth I joined the Navy and not the Army - but I'm so leaning to buy from REI because of their most excellent return policy, (long story warning) and REI doesn't carry the model Hennessy I'd most likely choose so I sort of gave up on the idea.

May I ask, did you find the hammock cold for sleeping? Did you still use the pad inside the hammock? Did you find the lack of shelter for the rest of your gear to be an issue?

And finally - if it's raining you can stay in your tent for a few hours. Or a day. It would seem unlikely that you'd spend a few hours awake in the hammock. Any thoughts on that?

Thanks again, V.

I'll second what edmonds59 said about camping hammocks (I have a spare Hennessey Hammock that never gets used if anybody wants to try it out). To answer your questions-.

1) Hammocks are best in warm weather. You'll need to bring a cheap closed cell foam pad or something else to put under you when sleeping in temps below 50 degrees. Otherwise, sleeping bag insulation compresses and loses insulation value. People have concocted lots of homemade solutions to this, just google to see what's possible.

2) Bring something to read and you'll be fine riding out a rainstorm in a hammock. It's no different than sitting in one while reading in your backyard, except for the rain tarp above you. And it's not like you can walk around the inside of a backpacking tent. The only bad thing about a hammock is that they don't fit two people, which is why I rarely get to use mine anymore. The girlfriend insists on sleeping with me when camping, so we end up taking the tent and pads. This means more weight/bulk on an already loaded bike.

Reliability of the stove set-up is everything, especially if you need your coffee in the morning/camp in temps below 50degrees. Having had a newish MSR stove fail on me one 30 degree October morning in the Dolly Sods, I went old school, got one of these, and never looked back-

http://www.campmor.com/outdoor/gear/Product___82426

A bit more complicated to light, yes, but it's never let me down, during storms at 11k feet in Wyoming's WInd River Range or in a downpour on the GAP or at the beach. Canister stoves are easy in some ways, but not so great in colder temps and you end up with partially used canisters guessing how much is in them, etc. A bit like buying water in plastic bottles, too, so there's lots of waste which I can't justify. Convenience and cheapness up front doesn't always carry through long term. Some models are also easily tipped/unwieldy unless you buy pots specifically made for them.

I've never used a hammock in the winter, but here's a good source I found including some DIY.

http://www.tothewoods.net/HammockCamping.html

I mainly used a hammock in the summer, so cold wasn't an issue, the ventilation was welcome. I used a dirt cheap nylon hammock that packed down about the size of your fist.

For a rain cover, I just used a square nylon tarp strung over, and it can be re-rigged into a lean-to or other shelter as you need (Good link Marko) http://www.campmor.com/outdoor/gear/Product___22220 . In a rainstorm I'd prefer to be up off the ground. And you can just put your gear on the ground right below you, or hang stuff on whatever trees you tie to.

One other thing I find invaluable, a small French coffee press. Other campers look at you with sad puppy eyes when you're sitting there in the morning having a real steaming hot coffee and not some skanky powdered goop.

Sadly, Starbucks via replaced my camping coffee maker. On the spectrum of powdered goop to gourmet, it was just too far from powdered goop to warrant the extra mess & mass associated with extractable coffee on a camping trip.

True, that stuffs not bad. I don't know how they do that.

I love Via--it is perfect for camping.

After touring across maybe 7 or 8 countries and

close to 12,000 miles now I think that I am

gravitating more toward the lightweight stuff.

Below is my friend's stuff from this summer

http://truelovehealth.com/2012/02/07/bike-packing-the-gear-i-use-to-travel-light-and-fast/

thanks very much to all, i'm studying on it now. I really appreciate it.

edit/add: Steevo thanks for the awesome link!

Wow, that guy goes to an immense amount of expense and effort just to avoid putting a pair of panniers on a bike.

Keep in mind, touring on a race bike and grinding out 140+- miles a day is just one way to go about it. There are other ways.

One very important thing - if you use padded cycling shorts, bring 2 pairs, and wash the one you wear each night, and let the other dry on the bike the next day. Don't wear any riding shorts more than one day, or you risk saddle sores, and your trip will fkt.

Consider wool clothes instead of synthetics, even in the summer, lightweight stuff, it will not gather a nasty stank during the trip.

A lightweight lock is a real good idea, if there are things other than riding you might like to do it will free you to do that.

someone in Pittsburgh that's handy with sewing machines should get on that rackless fad while it's hot.

I'm digging the rackless stuff. I'm not sure I would call it a fad despite how it may appear. I have always not wanted that stuff on my bike. It also affords me the ability to use any of my bikes in the same manner. If I were to have racks I would be limited to only the bikes with racks as well as be limited to only bikes that would accept racks.

Ive towed a BOB, and rocked 4 panniers.

The last tour I went on up to the Adirondacks, I

simply carried 2 front panniers up front, and

a bivy/bag/pad on the rear. I think this was

great. I think the rackless system would be

rad.

If you are starting new, it is probably not

any more money than a bob or panniers.

I much prefer the Hennessy hammock tent to a normal ground tent. Though you say two person, and a hammock doesn't work too well for two people. Anyway, it's much easier to find a place to set up a hammock tent since you don't have to find a clear space on the ground or worry about poison ivy, it is more compact, and you don't need any kind of sleeping pad.

True love health goes absolutely minimalist, but still has to resort to a backpack to carry enough, I find that to be a drawback. Just saying, that's just one way to do it. Plus where do you put your groceries and beer between the store and your camp? Seems like panniers would provide a lot more flexibility without being minimalist. I like to be able to pick up random stuff along the way like seashells, interesting rocks, souvenir t-shirts, books, etc. I am not a minimalist.

It's pretty easy to put together a minimal hiking set-up. My gear for 4-5 days in the summer is <17 pounds including food, which is considered heavy by real ultra-lighters. Ray Jardine's book (http://www.rayjardine.com/ray-way/Trail-Life/index.htm) is great; if you're on a budget he sells plans for making your own gear.

In terms of rack weight, panniers themselves are heavy, strapping waterproof stuff sacks to the rack saves weight. It's harder to get inside them, but it works for sleeping gear. It's also thinner material than panniers, so a bike wreck could mess them up.

I was thinking of picking up one of those Knog locks that he packed. Anyone use one yet?

Edmonds, I dont think that he resorted to

carrying a backpack. We did the GDMBR together.

He had a bob trailer and still wore that stupid

bag on his back everyday. i dunno.

@ edmunds Consider wool clothes instead of synthetics, even in the summer, lightweight stuff, it will not gather a nasty stank during the trip.

+1.

Also clothes made of silk are great and rayon is pretty good, too.

This winter, I'm digging on wool and silk to get me where I 'm going and arrive in style. Amazing that you can take a silk shirt damp with sweat, hang it up and have it not smell (at least not much) in the morning.

I have found chocolate covered coffee beans to be an excellent alternative to coffee if you won't want to wait for water to boil.

I like the way you think, @chemicaldave

don't forget duct tape

Also, the Adventure Cycling Association will be here soon. Be sure to check out this event: http://bike-pgh.org/blog/2012/02/09/adventure-cycling-association-will-be-in-pittsburgh-on-feb-27-28-to-promote-their-newest-route/