Schumius

i am quite clumsy as to cooking with fuels, always afraid that it would explode without warning, used several one like msr and primus but never a big fan of liquid fuel stoves. heard the solid fuel stove and was really happy. i just ordered the sierra stove, should be amazing. weŽll see.

james Haury

Machka see my amended post.

burkhrj

check out these 2 websites for ultralite gear (there are several others out there).

https://www.prolitegear.com/
https://www.thru-hiker.com/store.asp

you can't go wrong with a thermarest (they range in thicknesses, but all are open-celled foam designs). i have spent more nights than not on one for the past 10 years, and love 'em. ridgerests and z-rests are cheaper, but not quite as comfy.

as far as tents go, i would encourage you to check out tarps, tipis, and the like. you'll find several quality brands on the above websites. tarps are MUCH lighter, often cheaper, and provide a variety of set-up options depending on weather, bugs, etc. tipis are a great option too. many are large enough to roll your bike into out of the weather and away for prying eyes. both these options can be incredibly weather proof when the bad stuff rolls in, but also flexible enough for the often nice warm and dry nights. msr make a cool looking tent called the Velo, that has a large vestible for storing bikes and cooking. i've never used it, and probably won't because of the weight, but if you like tents this is one to check out.

my favorite stove designs are the snow peak gigapower, msr rocket pocket, and msr superfly. these are fueled by canisters, are super lightweight and compact. msr whisperlite internationals are the old standby for many folks, because of their ease of use, field maintainability, and variety of fuel options (good for developing countries). they are not as light as the previous mentioned ones, but are great. if you really don't like petrol fuel stoves, try some of the alcohol burners such as those made by brasslight and trainga. the alcohol doesn't burn as hot, evaporates quickly when spilled, and works resonably well. the esbit wing stove is the lightest weight option, and operates on a solid fuel source.

for cooksets, titanium models are super lightweight, and snow peak makes some good options for solo cooks and group cookers. not cheap though. i've used an msr alpine cookset (stainless steel) for 15 years without failure. when solo i take only one pot, and when with others i take the whole set. easy to clean stuck on food with a scouring pad.

hope this helps. keep an eye on ultralight backpacking websites. those folks are always gutting the ounces and pounds in very inventive ways. check out ray jardine's web page https://www.rayjardine.com/index.shtml. he's an ultralight guru, and has a section devoted to an american bike tour he did.

all the best...

yetanothersport

Machka, I come from a climbing background where you want to go really small so these might help you.

1. Are looking for a tent or will a bivy sack do? I use a bivy sack and they are great, durable and waterproof. I found one at MEC at https://www.mec.ca/Products/product_d...=1111013912908. They are a bit claustrophobic but it does give you a bit of warmth. During the summer months, I only use this and a very light sleeping bag like the Marmot Trails (www.marmot.com)
2. I use an older version of the Thermarest Prolite 3 which folds in half before rolling up. It ends up about the size of a 1 liter Nalgene bottle. I'm a side sleeper and my hips are a tad sore in the morning but it's acceptable for me. If you use 2, it still might be smaller than some of the larger bulkier pads. I'm sure you can demo them at MEC.
3. I read how you don't like fire so I don't have too many suggestions but I have a MSR Superfly which is a great stove but if you don't travel out of the country a Pocket Rocket (https://www.mec.ca/Products/product_d...=1111015497045) is smaller without the additional canister compatibility and it uses a canister. The canisters don't flare up like the white gas stove so it is easier to control the flame and it might be better for you. Again, something I'm sure you can demo at MSR.

Hope this helps you out.

kevink159

DON'T laugh, but I have a small stove from K-mart that cost about $6. The name on the package is "Magic Heat". They are compleatly sealed, it is impossable to spill them. The flame is very much like a candle. They do take a little while to boil water, but they worked very well for what I use a stove for. They are not refillable, but they do last a very long time. I used 1 stove in a month long tour last year. Hope this helps,


Kevin

timhines

SO trioxane leaves a metalic taste? I hate to hear that because you can get those esbit stoves for under $10 and can get fuel tabs for practically nothing (search ebay for Item number: 5121332455)

Alekhine

...another thumbs up for the ThermaRest here, plus a suggestion to get the ThermaRest chair converter, which (big surprise) converts your mattress into a chair and neatly rolls right up when not in use. The chair is excellent. You lean back in it, and it balances like a rocking chair, with your butt as the pivot point. Adjust the tension straps depending on the type of posture you want. I greatly prefer this to a hammock for lounging around, as it can quickly be tossed anywhere and is just as comfy, IMO. Just make sure you get the right chair kit for whichever sized ThermaRest you bought.

Other than that, I'm into a lot of weird things; I really like these head-mounted flashlights over ordinary flashlights since you don't have to hold them, which makes them more comfortable for: reading/writing in your tent at night, walking around in the dark, or even as a makeshift headlight for your bike at night, if necessary. The LED battery life is excellent, and the beam is much more powerful than you would think an LED could be.

Hrm...what else?

I know these are a bone of contention amongst people, but I *do* like to have the whole Nalgene bottle/MSR water filtration pump setup. People, legitimately, often prefer tablets or other methods of getting fresh water fresh, and pumping these is admittedly a pain AND they're bulky, but I still prefer overkill and have found these quite reliable...

My tent is also an MSR product--a Zoid II--and it weighs just over 2 pounds, is a cinch to set up, is quite roomy, and has worked generally well for me. They have excellent warranty service too, including lifetime on the poles. You can just barely sit 'Indian-legged' in it comfortably, but the top hangs down in your face a bit. I will likely be buying a new tent, despite my overall satisfaction with this one.

naisme

I have to add my two cents into this. I don't have an answer to Machka's stove problem I'm using the dragonfly, I like it,k and it has served me well over the years that I've been using it.
My concern at the moment, before heading out, is a tent. I currently have a one man "bivie." I can't recall the name at this writing, but it is small. It's a great tent on those days when you don't really need one. It has a rain fly, and a vestuble for cooking, and gear, but it is cramped. So I am thinking it worthwhile to up grade to a two man tent that would offer room on rainy days, and a place to store gear when I'm not touring. That is the one thing I would really like to upgrade before heading out.
I suppose one other thing that I would like to upgrade it is the bike. I think about new bars and stem, the seat would be okay, although I long to throw a Brooks on it, I don't have the funds to do much more than what I've got at the moment.

eubi

Machka, I backpack in So Cal, and due to the drought we are sometimes forbidden from using flames of any kind.

But I like my dinner hot.

So I made a couple variations of a solar stove. If you are patient, you can boil water on them. No flames, so you don't have to watch them while they cook.

But you have to have sun, so get used to finding a treeless area and having dinner a bit early!

There are so many designs....just search on the internet.. I have two foldable designs that are made from card stock and aluminum foil. Both fit into my backpack.

naisme

We used to do something along the lines of a solar stove with a stick cardboard and tin foil for the kids in day camp. You make a cone out of the cardboard around the stick, and wrap the cardboard in foil, stick a hot dog on the stick and hold it to the sun. Sort of cool to see them blister up. Sometimes it works others didn't. I have also seen a solar cigarette lighter. Again you have to have the sun for these to work.

Machka 

All right. I've decided what kind of mattress I want to get (3/4 size Thermarest, or knock-off, I'm going to look at them on Thursday and see what I like) ... and I've decided not to get a stove. I don't think I can deal with cooking over a fueled flame like that yet. Based on my past burn experience, it just does not make me comfortable to think about it.

But I'm still working on the tent.

Have any of you had any experience with either of these?

MEC Wanderer 2 Tent

MEC Netting Wanderer 2 Tent


BTW - No, I don't want a bivy. I'm not even sure I want a really tiny one person tunnel tent. I want something light, but comfortable. Somewhere I could retreat to in bad weather. Something that would maintain some warmth in cooler conditions, yet be cool in warmer conditions.

Dougmt

Machka, I can understand your apprehension about a stove but I wonder if you've looked into the stoves by Coleman that take a different type of canister? I have this stove:


And I think it's very safe, plus it works well when the temp drops. I let my 12 YO boy light and cook with it. It can be throttled back to just a VERY tiny flame making it very safe to light, especially if you use one of those longer lighters. No flare ups....

I have the 3/4 thermarest and love it.
I kinda like the netted wanderer tent... I have a marmot swallow.... which is a FANTASTIC tent albeit a little heavy (it's a 3.5 season tent).

I don't know what happened with your past burn experience but I wonder, if you tried a different type of stove, one like I've posted here, WITH someone you trusted..... if maybe you'd regain some confidence in them. I like the idea of being to throttle the stove to a whisper, then lighting it, and then turning it up as necessary, as I've never felt safe with the pump up stoves.....
D

Alekhine

You don't really need one. I've been considering more and more the possibility of leaving my stove out of my camp kit to make room for something else. There are far too many foods out there that don't need to be cooked or are pre-cooked for me to think of a stove as any real necessity. And of course, a camp fire is hot enough to cook in.

Erick L

I'm currently using a Sierra Design Clip Flashlight tent. A great tent, too small for two, plenty of room for one, not freestanding. I use a tarp, so the tent is really just a small room to sleep in a bug-free environment. If I were buying now, I'd go with a MSR Hubba or a Big Agnes Seedhouse SL 1 along with my 9x9' tarp. Tarps are wonderful. I usully set it up at the tent's entrance as a humongus vestibule. When it's raining, the tarp goes up first and down last so everything else stays dry. The bike goes under the tarp and I still have room to spread my stuff all over the place.

My sleeping pad is a Thermarest and I hate it. The only good thing about it is that it can folded in half before rolling it so it takes little room. I'd like to try a Big Agnes insulated Air core matress. I was tempted with the Z-rest and RidgeRest but I've heard about snow or dirt sticking in the matress' ridges. Might as well use two blue foam.

I'm a fan of naphta stove but they are not really reccommended for flame-o-phobic people (although my only scary experience with a stove was with a canister stove).

Alekhine

I think I'm easy to please in this category, but when I was using it, I never was bothered by dirt on my RidgeRest. In fact, I often would lay the RidgeRest against a fallen tree to sit against (for padding and not get my backside dirtied up while I read or whatever), then wipe it down with a bandanna when I was ready to stow it in my tent. No big problems, and not much dirt, but then I wasn't sitting in mud. I still ditched it for the ThermaRest, but only because of the chair kit. Otherwise, I slightly prefer the RidgeRest for sleeping, but not enough to go back to it.

balto charlie

That's a pretty heavy tent. 7-8 lbs/3.7 Kg. Here's a link to a similar priced, lighter, stronger tent
https://www.jb3.com/store/store.asp?a...prodcode=36732
It's TNF tadpole, under 5lbs, 150.00, sleeps 2, 3 poles, folds to 14x7. for a little more weight AND room you can get a treefrog from the same company.

keayne

Hi, did you see my earlier post? #49 this thread. Comments on tents, and MEC brand sleeping pads?? If you look at the MEC cat., they have 'R-value:' ratings...I find them good to compare to the weight ratings.

- BTW, I had a 3/4 and ended up packing along the smallest ZoteFoams Evazote Bivy Sleeping Pad @ 175.0 grams and an R-value of 0.66.

I ended up giving the 3/4 to my now 7 year old nephew, it fits him well. I am now going to replace with another, better R-value/weight combination. I thought I could get by with the 3/4, I couldn't. You maybe able to but that depends on if you are a warm sleeper, winter camper, sleep on back or turn alot, etc...

james Haury

Check surplus catalogs for esbit stoves i have seen them in cheaper than dirt and the sportsmans guide.The fuel sticks are called Hexamine.

Kodama

My 3/4 size thermarest served me well, so another endorsement for that. As for a stove, if you don't feel comfortable with it then give it up. Me I have to have my morning coffee before I do much riding so I'll always have my alcohol stove with me. Finally on the tent I for one heartily endorse having a two person tent. It really is nice to have an option to have a comfortable place to be in all day, whether driven in by weather or a need to get away.

meanderthal

Machka - I think those MEC tents are kinda heavy for just one person. Long, too, at 58cm. I like balto_chalie's suggestion of the tadpole, whose pole sections yield a 36cm packing length.

I have the discontinued 4-pound Eureka Rising Sun, which is of the same size and design as the tadpole. I like it a lot. My front+rear panniers and handlebar bag line up front-to-back along one side of the thermarest, and there's a good bit of space on the opposite side.

The 3-pole, free-standing design is good in wind. The 2-pole MEC looks less wind-worthy, but I have no actual experience.

BTW, you are inspiring me to ditch my stove. Last spring, as a rather chilly rain fell, I discovered that even a can of cold Spaghetti-O's can bring a smile to the system. For fair-weather camping, heat is probably a bit over-rated.

Machka 

Well, I went and looked at these two, and they are HUGE, and HEAVY! So they are off the list.

I've purchased a Thermarest mattress (which already seems a lot better than the blue foam thing I was using before), but I'm still hunting for a tent.

I looked at these two:

MSR Hubba Hubba Tent , but it doesn't appear to have the waterproofness I'm after

MEC Tarn 2 Tent , and this one might be a possibility, although there seems to be a lot of poles.

2WheelMotion

My brother and I once had an unfortunate incident with a liquid-canister stove. We didn't understand at the time that you clip the unit on the canister first, *then* screw the burner into the top, which safely punctures the canister, and holds tight. We tried to clip the entire unit onto the canister, with the burner already screwed in to the top. Which means you have to fight the tension of spring clamps with your hands, and puncture the canister all at the same time. Well, it didn't work out, and we had a canister spewing a stream of fuel close to the camp fire. Being astute and skilled wilderness campers, we soon picked up on the danger, We tossed the canister and burner away from the fire, and let it spray the remainder of its fuel all over the ground.
We later figured out the correct operation of the unit. Much safer when you know how to use it.

Anyway, there are some very compact and light-weight stoves that use fuel pellets. I think I might try one of those on a single over-night trip to see how they work.

BostonFixed

What do you mean by this? It surely is waterproof. That is a nice tent, but a little expensive for my tastes.

JimboTrek

The MSR Hubba Hubba got a coveted "Editor's Choice Award" in Backpacker Magazine--April '05. A little pricey, but -- 2-man, 2 doors, 2 vestibules, freestanding, around 4 lbs... That's sweet! And I can vouch for MSR tents--they are very waterproof, quality tents.

Machka 

It says:

"Floor is made of 70-denier taffeta nylon, polyurethane-coated for waterproofness to 5000mm.
Fly is made of 30-denier ripstop nylon, polyurethane and silicone coated for waterproofness to 1500mm."

All the other tents are rated with a 10,000 mm floor, and a 2000mm fly.

And it is only $379! There are lots of others double that price!!