thoughts on camping gear

If you like elaborate camp meals, bring your SUV. For motorcycle camping, I keep the cooking as simple as possible and, like you, use my camping gear (MSR Whisperlite or Coleman Xtreme). My breakfast coffee using just boiled water is Starbucks Via. Simple clean-up (none), no grounds, and less fuss than a small french press or a 1-cup drip setup, or even one of those little espresso makers (all of which I've tried). All I really need is a jolt, and Via is much better than Taster's Choice or some other instant coffee. Plus it already comes pre-measured in 1-cup sleeves. Breakfast nourishment--cereal. I pre-measure into some Baggies my home-recipe oatmeal mix that already has powdered milk in it. Add hot water and you're done. Sometimes I'll bring granola mix instead, again with the powdered milk already in it. Bacon, eggs, biscuits, pancakes, juice, sausages--who's got time for all that? It's morning, it's cold, and I just want to break camp and get going!

For dinner, I agree that eating out every night is too expensive. I like to stop at a supermarket or grocery store in the last town I go through on my way to the campsite. I can usually find something there that I can take with me to the campsite and eat after I get the tent setup and the gear stowed. Typically, that will be 1. a big sandwich, beer, and some M&M's for desert, 2. a roasted chicken, beer, and some M&M's for dessert, 3. a burrito, beer, and some M&M's for dessert -- you get the picture! Sometimes if I'm desperate I might (gasp!) buy some fruit.

A lot of this is subjective. If you are like Drone and get up and break camp you'll do it one way. If you're like me, I usually set up a base camp and venture out from it for two or three days before I brealk camp.

Pulling the camper also affords extra space for a bigger kettle and a cooler, even if my wife is with me.

I bought one of those vacuum sealer things and tend to prepare a lot of dry stuff before the season starts. Pancake and bisquit mix, homemade jerky, even ground coffee. I also buy chicken soup mix, (like Mrs. Grass) in bulk and seal it with the noodles in a bag. The bags use 1/10th the space of cans and boxes. It's also a great way to make the Gummi Bears last the entire trip.

I carry an MSR kit similar to this, one bigger pot, and a tea pot.

My coffee pot is a french press/thermos combination. Drop in the grounds, put on the cover, and pour the hot water in. It will stay drinkable for an hour or more.

cool stuff guys, keep em coming. I love hearing how different guys set up camp.

this is my camping

Here's my camping these days.

Well, at least I got a few good responses.... lol Like I said, riders camping set ups vary like crazy.

Interesting how camping gear has changed over the years. I've always used my old Coleman Featherlight, purchased back in the 80s, and carried a Peak One stainless steel cook kit for it. That and a 6-cup stainless steel coffee pot. Last year I switched to a jetboil stove and replaced the coffee pot with an aeropress ( http://aerobie.com/products/aeropress.htm). That meant changing my cooking and coffee routine a bit, too. Old routine: Get up, make coffee, drink coffee while cooking steel-cut oats (20 minutes or more to cook). Now, I boil water and make a mug of coffee with the aeropress, and hard-boil an egg or two in the jetboil. If I want oatmeal it's either the 5-minute stuff or dump boiling water into steel-cut oats the night before and seal the container to let it soak overnight. Jetboils are great for boiling water but not so much for real cooking, but the aeropress is definitely the hot setup for fast and simple coffee and unlike a french press, cleanup is easy and the coffee doesn't keep steeping stronger as it sits. Now if only there was a quick and easy way to do a steak and baked potato in camp....
🙂

Best,

GTRider

Hack'n - 2/29/2012 11:05 PM Here's my camping these days.

Hey Lonnie, How long did you and the Mrs. camp at each location? 🙂

newenglandjim - 2/29/2012 9:27 AM ... The fourth camper in our group had the most interesting kit of all, an empty mug and a pack of marlboros. His system worked the best. He would get up, light up a smoke get his mug and wait for one of us to pour him some coffee. his system proved to be the cheapest and least labor intensive. lol....

Heh...heh. Jena has not yet ready to try camping, but she did seem to like Oldtimer's new Bunhouse trailer up at the RazorbackRally last fall. When we stopped by the campground Saturday morning, I brought my mug for a shot of his coffee, brewed on the 'lectric pot on the table in the stand-up dressing room. Yeah, he was surely "roughing it."

My camping.

Coleman 2 burner stove. Cooler box. 30 year old Evernew cooker set. Melita + paper filter + ground coffee.
I always cook rice and stew or some sort for dinner. Never go to restaurants. Can't drink (cans of beer) and ride, right?
Pan cake for breakfast.

My camping varies all over the place but it depends on where I'm going and how long I'm staying in one place. Barb no longer camps or rides so if we're going somewhere it's hotels all the way. Camping on the bike I tow a small cargo trailer for the gear and don't cook much either. But a good economical hotel room is hard to beat. Or a Kabin if staying at a KOA. If I'm trailering the bike, my cargo trailer is my 'poor mans' RV and is very comfy. Worked well for Archie and Henry will find out just how nice it is this summer at the national rally. He missed the first chance at John Day last July because the pickup broke down at Mesa. Barb came down and took Henry home and I rode the rest of the way.

Me Mum's never been to the Hotel Nevada. I'll get her there this year on the way to the Arches and Mesa Verde. I stay there often on multistate runs. 2 room suite for three (Harley ) riders is $40. Better than KOA's.
Judy and I spent 2 days in the vintage "Honeymoon suite" at the Rosedeer Hotel and Saloon in the Alberta Badlands last year.
Kanuck Larry and I stayed at 4-Jacks Casino one night during a 10 state tour.
Casino's are some of the least expensive lodgings available on the road, plus the restaurants are usually open 24/7 (cheap drinks too, if you feel the need).

The great advantage over the "Toy Hauler" camping is that I don't have to title, license, insure, maintain and store the casinos the rest of the year. Nor pay for parking.

Happy Trails,
Lonnie

I'm with quikbike this is my kinda camping , 27' Toy Hauler pulled by an Excursion. I got it all this way if it rains I got the truck and the roomie camper and the bikes for everything else

I have right now the best summertime for quite few years....so I do not dream but ride out with Jolly Roger 2 (350 Jawa Rig) or Chattanooga Chou Chou (KLR650 solo in which you can take max 2 back packs with you) (3 weeks ago hicked up with my son the 3720m Crestones and 3760m Terby, but was unable to continue to the Chirripo 3820m)
Camping in Costa Rica is not well seen by my wife... so a cabin or one of the many cousins spread all over the country have to do for it.
But the over 30 year old alcohol cooking set with pan, 3 pots and tee kettle and 2 plates are on the way together with the universal kife, fork ,spoon set.

In Germany I had prepared for the right sadle box a vinil bag with compartments for the cerosine lamp, the cook gear, toothpaste, shower gel and several other stuff like a multiple spice spender...
All that whent to the next owner of my CB650. So in the left sadle box went the sleeping bag with a bunch of soop and bami goreng, ravioly cans etc. tent and isolation math were frecuently waiting in front of the university or factory for to leave until early monday morning....just in time for classes or shift.

The coolest camping gear I met on my rides was from a French guy I met in Istanbul, Turkey.
He came all the way arround the mediterian sea the south route.
No tools, no spares, no clothes (when the clothes became dirty he bought new and sent the used clothes home by mail.)
2 sleeping bags, a girlfriend, a loaf of bread and a bottle of wine.....perhaps some cheese.
That is: be a pureist.

Ah!!! Today I got 3 year old Gouda in the hollandish cheese factory.
So my wife and a bottle of Argentinian red wine are waiting ...
...mess I just notice the sunset is gone allready, but we have still 25°C.

Enjoy your winter I enjoy summer.
Sven

😮