Looking For Camping Advice

[Al Agnew]

You need at least a two inch thick self-inflating mattress, and if you really don't want to worry about rocks, get a closed cell foam pad that goes under the mattress. Since you are wanting to sleep with your girlfriend, you'll need two of everything, and a way to keep the two together. Here's my set-up:

I have two closed cell foam pads that accordion fold into a box shape that's the width of the pad by about 8X8 inches. I have some long velcro straps that I can use to strap the two pads together.

Then I have two 2 inch self-inflating foam mattresses. And I have an uninsulated sleeping bag with "pockets" that the two mattresses fit into. This sleeping bag is the bottom bag. Then a regular sleeping bag on top that mates with the bottom one. If you go in colder weather you'll need an insulated sleeping bag for the bottom bag.

Pillows--I like the self-inflating Thermorest type, but I often just carry a cloth bag that I can stuff all my extra clothing into and use that for a pillow. I can shape it and fluff it to fit.

I always use a tent, just because I don't want to worry about rain or mosquitoes.

[Wayne SW/MO]

Paco Pad is the way to go. Get a 2" for gravel. You roll it up and put it anywhere, it's waterproof.

[FlyFishinFool]

They work pretty well on most any surface thats relatively flat...just kick the big rocks out of the way. An air mattress will work too, but they are usually a pain to inflate or deflate...Jack's Plastics makes the best pads on the market but they are pricey....have my eye on the Silverback when my current pad gives up the ghost.

http://www.jpwinc.com/pages/photo-pacopads.html

At over $300 for a Silverback sleeping pad, it should massage your back and offer you a drink on top of a good night's sleep - wow, that is pricey!

[eric1978]

You need at least a two inch thick self-inflating mattress, and if you really don't want to worry about rocks, get a closed cell foam pad that goes under the mattress. Since you are wanting to sleep with your girlfriend, you'll need two of everything, and a way to keep the two together. Here's my set-up:

I have two closed cell foam pads that accordion fold into a box shape that's the width of the pad by about 8X8 inches. I have some long velcro straps that I can use to strap the two pads together.

Then I have two 2 inch self-inflating foam mattresses. And I have an uninsulated sleeping bag with "pockets" that the two mattresses fit into. This sleeping bag is the bottom bag. Then a regular sleeping bag on top that mates with the bottom one. If you go in colder weather you'll need an insulated sleeping bag for the bottom bag.

Pillows--I like the self-inflating Thermorest type, but I often just carry a cloth bag that I can stuff all my extra clothing into and use that for a pillow. I can shape it and fluff it to fit.

I always use a tent, just because I don't want to worry about rain or mosquitoes.

You take all that stuff on an overnight, Al? Geez, I gotta teach you about minimalism.

I take a tent and a 3/4 length Thermarest and a small Thermarest pillow. If I know positively it's not gonna rain, I'll leave the rainfly at home. If it's miserably hot like it is now, I'll leave the sleeping bag at home, too, and just bring a sweatshirt.

Not comfortable enough? That's what beer and tequila is for. After a long day in the heat pounding the water, I sleep like a rock on the rocks.

I'm planning to upgrade to a full length Thermarest...then I'll be perfectly happy.

[Ham]

You take all that stuff on an overnight, Al? Geez, I gotta teach you about minimalism.

I take a tent and a 3/4 length Thermarest and a small Thermarest pillow. If I know positively it's not gonna rain, I'll leave the rainfly at home. If it's miserably hot like it is now, I'll leave the sleeping bag at home, too, and just bring a sweatshirt.

Not comfortable enough? That's what beer and tequila is for. After a long day in the heat pounding the water, I sleep like a rock on the rocks.

I'm planning to upgrade to a full length Thermarest...then I'll be perfectly happy.

don't let these young guns get you down Al, they'll let the vicissitudes of age in due time. I did a lot of stupid crap in my youth that I can't tolerate at my current age.

[FishinCricket]

don't let these young guns get you down Al, they'll let the vicissitudes of age in due time. I did a lot of stupid crap in my youth that I can't tolerate at my current age.

lol, some of us know better.. I make a really comfy nest in the back of my Tahoe... (ori rent a hotel!)

[Al Agnew]

Yeah, I used to be able to sleep on anything, but now I like a LITTLE comfort. My idea of minimalist in the summer is to not take stove and cooking stuff, and just east cold fried chicken and some kind of slaw or macaroni salad or something like that for suppers, and Little Debbie's snack cakes for breakfast. But in cool weather I'll take the cookstove and pots so I can eat something hot in the evening and have some hot tea in the morning.

As for not taking the rain fly, that's a sure way to experience an unexpected thunderstorm. Heck, it doesn't weigh much and doesn't take up much room, and you don't HAVE to attach it, but you might as well carry it along.

[eric1978]

Yeah, I used to be able to sleep on anything, but now I like a LITTLE comfort. My idea of minimalist in the summer is to not take stove and cooking stuff, and just east cold fried chicken and some kind of slaw or macaroni salad or something like that for suppers, and Little Debbie's snack cakes for breakfast. But in cool weather I'll take the cookstove and pots so I can eat something hot in the evening and have some hot tea in the morning.

As for not taking the rain fly, that's a sure way to experience an unexpected thunderstorm. Heck, it doesn't weigh much and doesn't take up much room, and you don't HAVE to attach it, but you might as well carry it along.

It goes with me on most trips. We did an overnighter a couple weeks ago at the beginning of this heat wave drought, and I was comfortable enough not putting it up, although I did have it with me. The tent stays much cooler without the fly.

I bring a lot more stuff when I'm "camping." When we have a basecamp and all my stuff will just go from the truck to the campsite back to the truck I don't worry about it and bring all the comforts and conveniences that exist. But I take a lot less when overnighting on the river, mostly because I not only lack the room in my solo canoe (I can get it in there, but then my system of storing and easily accessing my rods no longer works, and convenience all day while fishing is more important to me than comfort at night...wish I didn't have to choose), but also I really just don't wanna mess with all that stuff. I've even thrown down the air mattress and sleeping bag right on the gravel bar and slept under the stars. It's really nice, but those were the perfect bug-free nights and perfect temperatures with zero chance of rain.

I'll admit that the older I get and the stiffer my joints become, the less desirable it is to "rough it."

[chambug]

One of my favorite things in the world is a multi-night float trip. When I'm alone or with friends, I always sleep in a Grand Turk Skeeter Beeter hammock with a thermarest in it. I use a tarp or some other kind of light weight homemade rain fly if there's a chance of bad weather, so I never have to carry a tent. My girlfriend loves to camp and is really hooked on smallmouth fishing now. I'm trying to figure out the best way for us to sleep together. On my last trip, I took a coleman air mattress (not new) that I tested before I went. Of course it spring a leak during the night. I woke up on pointy rocks and was about 99% sure we were about to have a really long night. I managed to stop it with a bunch of twine and a patch kit that actually held together that night, but it was really sketchy. I'm never going to trust a cheap air mattress again. I want to be 100% sure that it's not going to fail.

So now I'm thinking my options (other than sleeping in two hammocks) are:

thermarests, or something similar. Cons: I've never thought they were comfortable and they have to be on soft ground (sand or dirt) as opposed to rocks, right? Still need tent on some trips.

Cots. Cons: heavy, bulky, and still need a tent on some trips. Those tent cot things seem cool, but the one for two weighs a ton and is awfully big.

Air mattresses. Cons: I really like the idea and they're comfortable, but I have a hard time relying on them. A night of sitting in a chair or sleeping on rocks is a bad night.

Any suggestions for the best way to camp for 2? I'm thinking it has to be a thermarest, I just don't like the idea of cutting down on my campsite options, as some of my favorite camp sites on the overnights I do often don't have sand on them.

Hoglaw,

YOU HAVE GOT TO BE KIDDING. Your girlfriend needs to stick her fillet knife into your air mattress, wrap your Grandy Turkey Mosquito Beater arouind your neck, and throw you in the river to spend the night with the smallmouths.

I'm having a hard time stopping my laughing at your uncamping plight.

I look forward to your girlfriend's side of the story.

[hoglaw]

I have two responses, pick one (and only one):

Why mess with a good thing? Find someone else to sleep with!!

Or:

They make a book (either "The Birds and Bees" or "Kama Sutra") that explains all that.. And besides, this is a family forum!!

Helpful advice as always. My girlfriend is 23, gorgeous, a former NCAA athlete, and loves to float, fish, and camp. She can paddle a canoe and can throw a baitcast reel with fewer brakes than most. I'd rather make a great thing a better thing. And I don't need any help in the latter department though about five less years under my belt would be nice.

Hoglaw,

YOU HAVE GOT TO BE KIDDING. Your girlfriend needs to stick her fillet knife into your air mattress, wrap your Grandy Turkey Mosquito Beater arouind your neck, and throw you in the river to spend the night with the smallmouths.

I'm having a hard time stopping my laughing at your uncamping plight.

I look forward to your girlfriend's side of the story.

I'm not sure how to take this. I imagine her side of the story would be something to the effect that her boyfriend saved the trip by jerry-rigging the air mattress on the fly with string, brute force, and a make-shift patch. It was 100 percent air tight for the rest of the night and the patch fell off while I was rolling it up the next morning. It's now in the landfill.

For those of you who had useful things to say, I really appreciate your input. I guess it's been a while since I looked into sleeping pads. When I used them in my younger backpacking days, it was pretty much a thermarest or nothing and they weren't all that great. I don't have any problem spending a few hundred bucks on two good sleeping pads if it's going to get the job done. I suppose the phrase "sleep together" could be taken in a different context, but I meant something other than two separate hammocks on two separate sets of trees. In remote places with animals and rednecks running around, she'd rather be next to me (which is just fine by me).

If you haven't done the hammock thing though, I'd really reccommend it. The one I have that chumbug made light of was about sixty bucks and it has a very fine mosquito net that keeps everything out. It doesn't have a rain fly incorporated, but it's not hard to fabricate one. I think they're super comfortable, and you can throw in a cheap sleeping pad to give it a little more structure.

It can be tough to find the right trees, and you're right about camping well off the water. Sometimes you have to get up in the woods a little. It makes campsite selection different. Not harder, just different. You can camp in spots that no one else does for sure.

I agree that beer and tequila can make the best of a bad situation (though it's scotch for me), but I have always been of the mindset that with the right gear, there's no reason to have a bad situation in the first place. I don't like to sacrifice if I don't have to.