What is in your backpack?
This question is directed at those who overnight hike into the wilderness. What do you bring with you?
My Backpack
- Sawyer Mini
- 2 Liter Hydration Bladder (cheapo one)
- 1 Liter Nalgene Bottle
- Pilot Survival Knife
- Eno Single Nest
- Eno Bugnet
- Eno DryFly Tarp
- First Aid Kit (home-made)
- 4 Liter Water bag
- Cookpot made from a tomato puree can, cabinet handle, and high-heat black grill paint
- Insulated DIY cookpot cuzie made from Mylar bubble wrap stuff
- Cat-stove (DIY alcohol stove) with wind-screen
- I use National Geographic's Trail maps
- Silva Polaris Compass
- Garmin Tracker GPS
- Food (I pack jerky, peanutbutter, low-carb wraps, carrots, bouillon, and various other low-carb goodies)
- US Military Issued Sleeping Bag (the bag in a bag system with the gortex bivy, I only bring/use one of the bags at a time mostly)
Join the Discussion
What do you keep in your first aid kit? I have this one , but I am sure there are things that I am missing or could do without to save space and weight. I appreciate any insight or advice you could offer!
It is mostly an assortment of things in most kits, just without all the packaging and extra weight. I have sterilizing wipes, antibiotic cream, a few bandaids of varying sizes, gauze, medical tape, tweezers, clotting powder, asprin, advil, benedryll, (my belt doubles as a tourniquet), burn cream, and those little sticker-stitches that you can use to keep a deep wound closed. I mostly just raided my medicine cabinet and pieced it together but you can also find all this stuff at your local pharmacy. Hope that helps!
Thanks for the information! I really like multi-purpose items, especially while backpacking (like your belt doubling as a tourniquet). For example, I have this chair that I love because it is so versatile! It is a luxury, for sure, but is relatively easy to strap on to your pack. You can use it as a kneeling pad, bed roll, and, or course, a chair. In a pinch, the supports are strong enough that it could be used as a splint. Plus, it is much more comfortable than those foldable "soccer" chairs. Mine is rarely put away with my camping gear, I use it too often!
I have always wondered if those things are worth their weight, I'll have to pick one up! Thanks!
I'll warn you, once you get one, you won't be able to go out without it!
How do you like the Eno hammock?
I've been trying to decide if I should go with one of those or a normal tent. I love hammocks and have slept on them before, but just wanted your personal opinion on the Eno Single. Also, is that one large enough for a possibility of 2 people, or is the double more suited for that?
Did you do something like this for your insulated cuzie?
I am asking so many questions because I have most of my camping equipment either purchased or in my Amazon cart and am just trying to finish off the necessary supplies.
I LOVE my hammock. I first got a Hammock Bliss Hammock and I highly recommend them for an inexpensive alternative to Eno. The Eno singlenest is big but I wouldn't put two people in it unless you were both under 120 lbs (54.43 kg) and comfortable with some very intimate snuggling. I am definitely a fan of hammock camping over tent camping. The comfort level is unbeatable, the weight savings are incredible, and the versatility is just awesome. If it isn't raining, I don't have to put up a tarp and I can fall asleep looking at the stars, my back never hurts when I wake up, I stay asleep longer, and I use my hammock as a camp chair when I'm not sleeping in it. All around, I think it is the best choice unless you are going in extreme cold weather (under freezing), and even then some people have gotten quite good at insulating with under-quilts and other crazy contraptions.
That is EXACTLY what I made for my insulated cuzie. I followed an instructional on YouTube by Shug Emory, he is super hilarious and has a lot of informative videos about Hammock Camping and backpacking in general, you should give him a watch... just beware, he is a bit cooky :)
If you haven't already, I would recommend submitting some stuff at a new tribe here (/t/backpacking), I just created it the other day and am hoping to build a thriving community of backpackers.
Thanks for the response.
Looks like I will be getting a hammock instead of a tent. I don't forsee myself doing any cold-weather backpacking and camping anytime soon, so hammock it is!
I will take a look at Shug and see what he is all about.
Do you use anything for bugs? I want to go the hammock route, but I camp in bug heavy areas at times. The ones with built in nets tend to be out of my price range. The Eno looks like it fits the bill perfectly.
You can do a couple of different things here.
1. I hate to plug another site but the folks over at /r/myog are incredible with DIY gear. I once saw a bugnet made with walmart sheer curtains. MYOG stands for Make Your Own Gear.
2. I picked up this guy from Amazon but there are tons of other brands out there, I just don't have experience with them. I can definitely recommend the Eno Bug Net though.
Outside of that, another tip for bugs is this stuff. This is a clothing treatment and will kill bugs on contact. Great for protecting against ticks/mosquitos. Combine it with a high deet bug repellant and you won't have a bug problem... EVER.
That net is exactly what I wanted, and it's great that it goes with the hammock. Thanks for the info I will be buying one of these before my end of summer trip.