Camping Hacks Every Backpacker Should Know
Camping Hacks Every Backpacker Should Know
My Favorite Camp Hacks I’ve learned over 8 Years & 14K Miles of Backpacking!
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Those were some great ideas!!! Ty Sir
Great info!!
Does anyone know if there’s a plugin for YouTube that removes background music? The content is good, but that stupid repeated 4-note riff "music" is driving me absolutely batshit.
I’ve got Lanshan 1 tent (double layer one) and I’m packing it the same as I pack sleeping bags – just randomly pushing it inside the bag. No rolling, no folding.
good stuff
Awesome tips
I wanna hear the story about why you had to get out of your tent quickly
Tent should always go in the outside mesh compartment, never inside the pack, and also without all the silly compression bags which imvho are useless, they create air gaps that would otherwise be filled in, so it takes more space rather than less, and since it is usually wet, the mesh compartment outside the pack should always be its home. No need to fiddle with liners and all that, it is always directly accessible and can be allowed to be wet. The inner should only be put in a separate plastic bag and placed in the same compartment, so that only the outside tent is wet while the inner still stays dry (unless it is already wet).
I sleep cold. My thermarest xlite and a 10° ee quilt had me chilly in the mid 30s until i put my sit pad between me and the x-lite.
I picked up a second sit pad from a hiker box, and it was coverage from butt to shoulders.
I’m going to look into the GG pad.
*testing I’ve seen shows better results (staying warm) if you put the pad between your body and the air pad – but if not needed for insulation, the pad protection is a great idea.
Keep a piss bottle in the tent overnight.
The problem with trekking pole tents is that if you have to beat off a raccoon 8n the middle of the night you only have one trekking pole!!!??🤣🤣🤣🤣
You said you never buy a footprint because you’ve never had a hole in your tent floor in this video: Popular Backpacking Gear I Would NEVER Buy @12:35
I’ve hiked over 5500 miles in the past 4 years. Colorado Trail, Appalachian Trail and Pacific Crest Trail. I don’t do any of these ‘hacks’. My tent is stored in the back mesh pocket. I use a tyvek ground cloth under my tent instead of a foam pad inside it. I always hold on to my tent when packing it up and have never had the wind try to blow it away.
Before going to sleep I mix coffee and water in a talenti jar so I have cold brew in the morning. If I carry a stove I sometimes heat it up.
1. Keep the shelter on top of the pack liner…helps keep stuff dry.
2. Choose the campsite well, the flattest spot, clean the debris, lay down in that spot for level check…pitch.
3. Multi use 1/8th inch under pad, stops the inflatable pad prevents slipping, increases r-value, protects the sleeping pad from pokey stuff.
4. Eye glasses hang on a little string loop placed on the tent door zipper pull. Keep the zipper pulls centered, high.
5. Improve air circulation by keeping the door open close to head.
6. At sleep time, keep batteries in dirty socks, in plastic bag, in the foot box of the bag/ quilt. Wear clean socks to sleep.
7. Windy morning? Leave a stake in the tent corner, in the ground.
Another favorite thing of mine, I carry a light stool or camp chair. Been doing it for decades. Hang it on the outside of the pack while hiking. Use it when time to rest. Use it to keep pack off the wet ground. Put glasses, wallet and small pocket stuff on it when sleeping. …from an old veteran, retired in the US foothills of East Tennessee Smokies.
8:33 what do you do about them fogging up from being so cold?
Fantastic tips! I especially like the multi purpose features of the Gossamer Gear folding pad, I’m going to pick one up. BTW- that’s a cool fleece you’re wearing – what brand is it?
You can use a water bottle as a bubble level to check your tent site.
I have always put my glasses in my right shoe, my light in my left.
As a backpacking nature photographer and ldh, my favorite trick to stay toasty on cold nights. I use a Eureka Solitaire, Slumberjack 20, Klimmit side sleep air. I put a thermal sheet on floor, then pad then bag. Great heat reflection. If needed, I put one more over me. Very rare I need two.
I do the same when I hammock it in spring and fall instead of a quilt, while staking out a third on the ground under me. How much do three emergency sheets cost and weigh compared to a hammock under-quilt?
(1) I put loose small stuff in my shoes where I can’t forget them and they will be accessible . (2) I try to use scent-free or low odor stuff to avoid attracting animals or bugs : Baking soda as deodorant, pot cleaner and tooth powder. (3) Starting out from home on hot days, I carry frozen plastic bottles of water so I sip ice water for the first hours. (4) UDAP Mugger Fogger pepper spray is a great Pit Bull dog repellant and is lighter than bear spray. (5) A chemical hand warmer by Hot Hands or Grabber can keep you warm in your sleeping bag in an emergency. (6) If your phone won’t call out, texting may still work. (7) In addition to telling people where you are going and when you are due back, leave written instructions as to when they should call for emergency services. If possible, set a device to alert them when you are overdue. (8) You can cut the fee off of old stockings or pantyhose and carry them to use as liner socks if need be. (9) Don’t carry "Strike Anywhere Matches" because they can accidentally catch fire if rubbed. And beware it is easy to burn your fingers with UCO Survival matches, so use a Bic lighter, ordinary safety matches or a Ferro rod when possible.
The glasses hanging tip alone made this video worth the watch. Great idea. Thanks!
That last tip is a game changer, so simple but so effective thank you for that! And all the other great information we have learned from your videos!
The stake trick is brilliant!
There is no such thing as a "flat spot to camp"! This is a mythical concept. Good Grief! The best you can ever hope for is "a sort of flat spot to camp".
Diddy bag???🤨🤨🤨
The stakes tip to roll up your tent is great! I’m gonna have to start doing that with my tarp. I use a 5x3m and I’ve been doing it over the Ridgeline but that extra bit will certainly help 😀
Last hack is genius!
Thats what I do with glasses as well!
Tips every groundweller should know lol.
I always have earplugs stashed in a pocket of all my tents. Wildlife wakes up pretty early, and some of my pads although warm, sounds like a crumpled sunchips bag.
Do you not make fires? Seems like a lot of modern backpackers neglect camp skills like that, curious to hear your thoughts
Love the eye glass tip. Yes I’ve done it stuffed up the tent only to find my glasses still in the top net pocket.
Not really a hack, but I hook a bear bell on the inside zipper of my vestibule door so that I can hear it if/when something (or worse, someone) is trying to get into my tent. Gives me a few moment to prepare myself in case I need to fight or run.
I have put on a few miles myself and after just a couple of your videos I have learned some new and valuable things. Well thought out, well presented, info I will be able to use even though I have been up and down the path a few times. In fact, I think some of us actually get lazy or forget a lot of basic stuff and then wonder why it’s not as much fun as it used to be. I am 71 years old and it does not get any easier but I can get smarter if I take advantage of info like yours. Thanks!
Put your pad in your sleeping bag
Leaving one stake in to help roll the tent is a good hack.
Which tent is that?
Here is a tip that I think gets forgotten. If you are making camp and it is a group set up, you can still go and find the next spot to rest your head at if there is any reason you don’t like the spot.
I’ve had a few times at the AT where a spot that is group shelter I just didn’t like the vibe of the people currently there or the people are very annoying with their noise level. It is okay to walk the extra mile if there is plenty of daylight left to have a better night of rest. The last thing anyone needs is a party with loud music, someone being a loud snorer, or some drunk person tripping on your guidelines.
I always put my x mid is my back mesh pocket to keep it separate from everything inside of pack
" A pinecone leaf poked a hole through my tentfloor …" WTF Darwin… I thought you never experienced a hole i a tentfloor…-and thats why one shouldn´t use footprints.
Here’s a camping hack when Zpacks says the altaplex fits up to 6”3 , they lied .
Sock Diaper ©
Do you still get condensation if you leave the vestibule open like that?
First modification I do to every tent is add lines for hanging gear, I hang my glasses, socks, ect. The other thing I do with glasses (camera lenses), is I pack Lens cleaning sachets in my daily food ration packs. Each day I clean my glasses (or camera lenses) with a fresh clean moistened wipe, after cleaning the important stuff with out scratching, I take the wipe (usually isopropyl) and clean the screen on my phone, watch, or anything else that needs a quick wipe.
I highly recommend, even if they are a pair of super cheap online glasses, get a photocromatic lens. The world is seriously bright when you are doing something historical unnatural like hiking at high noon. Even if it’s overcast. And you might not realize you need sunglasses, but you will still get some protection. Especially if in the alpine.
Great tips!!!!
My tent goes in a ‘water resistant’ stuff sack on the outside of my pack.
The 1/8" foam seems to add more warmth on top of my pad instead of underneath.
The glasses tip is top notch! Thank you!
Instead of using a Gossamer Gear thinlite folding mat, a MOG solution is to either: use a car windscreen solar shield; or a piece of roof insulation bubble foam. They are a similar weight or lighter with a better R value due to the silvered surfaces. Also much cheaper ~$3.