Winter camping checklist

[KayakDan]

Check the tarps in the Campmor catalog. We use the nylon one under the tent,year round,or as a windblock. Seems they were about 30 bucks,fairly light,very compact.

 

[Neil]

All sorts of interesting stuff on this thread. One thing to remember is that most of the time you're either moving or sleeping. As long as you eat a decent meal in between then that's all there is to it.

 

[Lawn Sale]

Jkrew81, DougPaul, and Mark are right on the money on the water filters. The Kayadyn or Pur ones use a microfiber flexible glass element (very similar to the membrane bioreactor systems used in wastewater treatment) that will withstand being frozen, whereas the MSR ceramic ones will freeze and create microfractures that can even put ceramic particles into the water.

I also either bring it from home or boil in the winter.

I'd ditch the chair in favor of a blue pad, nix the tarp as you have everything else related to it, and defintely down the Scotch in flavor of some Captain Morgan's Private Stock Spiced Rum.

 

[mubb]

Thank you everyone for your helpful replies! It seems as though we have all narrowed down the list pretty good; I know I'll be using it from now on.

As for the other subtopics, I'm going to REI tonight and I'll takea look at what they have for tarps and shovels. I'd like to bring one or the other, at least. I'll be staying a shelter so I'm thinking the tarp would be more appropriate for this trip.

Ski poles are expensive!! I don't want to buy one or two at $100/each and have it break on me. The risk of breaking/cost/benefit of having ratio is a little too disproportionate for me.. unless I can find a cheaper alternative.

I think I'm going to stick with my filtering out water with a seive/coffe filter since I'll have to boil the water anyway just to get it to melt. The water filter seems to be more of a summertime thing, IMO, especially with all the debating on it freezing and "microfractures".

Thank you everyone for your excellent comments!

-Steve.

 

[sleeping bear]

Ski poles are expensive!! I don't want to buy one or two at $100/each and have it break on me. The risk of breaking/cost/benefit of having ratio is a little too disproportionate for me.. unless I can find a cheaper alternative.

I got a pair of Leki downhill ski poles at a Goodwill several years ago for $3. Now, they don't break down, but they haven't broken yet either, and I could have scrounged enough change out of the couch to buy them.

 

[Halite]

Sleeping Bear is right about being able to find used ski poles for cheap. They don't have to be fancy to get the job done.

You can also find relatively inexpensive new poles. For example:

http://www.sierratradingpost.com/xq/asp/base_no.99389/dept_id.L2~314/qx/product.htm

Add a $5 pair of snow baskets for winter hiking and you have something for all seasons.

Good luck with gearing up, and enjoy your trip!

 

[DougPaul]

As for the other subtopics, I'm going to REI tonight and I'll takea look at what they have for tarps and shovels. I'd like to bring one or the other, at least. I'll be staying a shelter so I'm thinking the tarp would be more appropriate for this trip.

Campmoor is cheaper for flat tarps:
http://www.campmor.com/webapp/wcs/s...p?command=text&text=tarp&image.x=4&image.y=11
SKU 20068, 20069, and 20070.

Ski poles are expensive!! I don't want to buy one or two at $100/each and have it break on me. The risk of breaking/cost/benefit of having ratio is a little too disproportionate for me.. unless I can find a cheaper alternative.

You can get very serviceable adjustable aluminum ski/hiking poles at far less than $100/pair. eg http://www.rei.com/online/store/Pro...12&parent_category_rn=4500699&vcat=REI_SEARCH and add snow baskets. Just use the snow baskets in winter and remove them for summer. EMS also has a lower priced house brand. (Both the REI and EMS poles appear to be made by Komperdell.)

I'd argue that adjustable length and carbide tips are worthwhile, but you don't really need shock absorbing or "ergonimically" bent handles. (Some people like these features, but poles worked for many years without them...) 3-section poles will shrink smaller than 2-section (useful for carrying the poles on your pack or packing them for travel).

I haven't broken a pole in 30yrs of hiking and skiing. (Been using the same poles for most of that time too--a 2-section adjustable for skiing and a 3-section adjustable for hiking.)

Doug

 

[Flatlander_SG]

I like the radio idea. You don't have any problem with reception or the batteries goign dead because of the cold?

I have a small, inexpensive radio from Radio Shack and it works really well in the Whites. I listen to it all night long and the batteries seem to last forever. I keep it inside my down sleeping bag at night and use ear buds so it stays warm and toasty. In the day time in really cold weather, I keep it in my jacket pocket and sometimes listen to it as I walk along. It is one of the few luxuries I take on overnight camping trips.

Ginny