Viking Lars | Saturday, 8 February 2020
Looking forward to the 2020-season, I was goiing over my outdoor gear. I decided to go through all of it - sleeping gear, cooking gear, tents, hammock and other paraphernelia associated with a few nights (or more) in the outdoors.
The reason was that last year I noticed that the fly for our trusty old Mountain HardWear 3-person tent was coming apart in the seams. More precisely, the seam tape was dissolving, which is a shame because the tent is otherwise in good condition. I emailed the good people at MH and got some advice (this is *not* a warranty issue - the tent is over 15 years old). I need to remove the deteriorated seam tape and go over the areas with seam seal (haven’t gotten to that part yet).
I also have an old Mountain HardWear tarp, which is still doing fine.
I unpacked my MSR 2-person tent (it’s a “big” 1-person tent, really - unless you’re *really* good friends) and inspected that - all ship shape.
The same goes for my Amok hammock, which I got to use for the first time last year. It really is an excellent hammock and I find it much more comfortable than traditional-style hammocks (of which I haven’t tried many, just to be clear). The Amok is near-new, so of course all ship shape also.
I tested that my inflatable pillow was still air tight, which is was. A good pillow is, in my case, very essential for a good night’s sleep. My Therm A Rest pads and my Exped pad were also in good shape (if you haven't tried one, you should think about an Exped downfilled pas - they are extremely comfortable).
So what to use when and where? The simplest setup is a sleeping pad and a sleeping bag, which I’ve done many, many times on the Danish coast when they skies are clear. And that is a fantastic way of getting a few hours of sleep. Go out for an evening’s fishing, get some food, sleep from midnight to 3am, fish the sunrise and the first hour or two of light, and then go home for a nap on the couch.
I used to do the same along our rivers and streams, but I stopped doing that some years ago. The population of ticks has exploded in Denmark, and it’s just not nice coming home finding a number of ticks on your body, so now I either use the shelters that are thankfully popping up in many places or my Amok hammock.
A tent is dependant on (relatively) level ground and a hammock on a good place to suspend it - none of which are given everywhere and anywhere, so it’s about knowing your spots. If there are good suspension points I prefer the hammock. Sleeping under open sky is fantastic and if rain is imminent, I can always setup the tarp. That also gives you me storage for luggage. Here at home I usually just camp for one night, sometimes two, so I rarely have much luggage other than fishing gear and a some cookware and to be honest, 8 of 10 times I have the car near.
This weekend I’ll have a good think over my cooking gear, It’s spread over three or four brands and systems, and I’d like to simplify it and just have one. And I have a fuel burner that needs service anyway.
Have a great weekend!
Lars