The Tarptent Notch is a single-person, trekking pole supported backpacking tent produced by Henry Shire’s Tarptent. With lines resembling a stealth fighter, the Notch is a 3+ season tent capable of fending off harsh rains and winds and light snow conditions. Its double wall design offers excellent breathability. The Notch has been my “go-to” shelter for the past 3 or 4 years. Continue reading Tarptent Notch – Long Term Review
This last weekend I hosted an intro do backpacking workshop with Hudson Valley Hikers. I worked with St Gregory and Kremlin to demonstrate various pieces of equipment each of use for backpacking at different times of year. During the workshop, there were many questions about where to purchase various pieces. I hope that this list helps those who attended and anyone else reading it make good choices: Continue reading HVH Intro to Backpacking Gear List
My post yesterday was in response to a question about the cost of “gearing up” and who my favorite retailers were. I was unsatisfied with my answer to the first part of the question and wanted to provide a more scientific analysis of market options. What follows is a result of my combined obsession with both backpacking gear and probability. This should give you a fair estimate for the cost of backpacking buy-in. Continue reading Backpacking Buy-In
Holly asks, “What’s a realistic cost of “gearing up” and who are your favorite retailers?”
Holly will be participating in my upcoming “Intro to Backpacking” seminar at Harriman State Park. I’m Hosting the event with Hudson Valley Hikers. If you’re interested in the event, please leave a comment below. Continue reading Gearing Up
Ahead of my upcoming “Intro to Backpacking” event, Andre asks about Essential Backpacking Skills:
I have been attending the HVH Beginner Series hikes to get in shape and acquainted with the area and gear, and Mary F. and Timothy from HVH (Hudson Valley Hikers) recommended I sign up for this one. My medium-term goal is to be able to backpack on my own, which leads to my question: What kind of skills do I have to learn to do solo backpacking/camping, and what challenges can I expect as opposed to doing it with a group?
A participant in my upcoming Intro to Backpacking Workshop at Harriman State Park asks about backpacking stoves, “Do you have any suggestions for cooking stoves? I’e gone camping and backpacking a couple of times, but every time I’e taken the easiest non-perishable foods because I don’t know which stove to purchase. Are there some that can be used across most seasons? Which are the best models? Which are the most economical and light weight, yet durable?” Continue reading Backpacking Stoves
This coming weekend I will host “Intro to Backpacking” at Harriman State Park with “Hudson Valley Hikers.” I’ve asked everyone who has signed up to email me a question about backpacking as a pre-requisite to attending the workshop. These questions have made for a nice series of posts. Today we will discuss sharing backpacking gear.
Mark Asks, “Is it ever a good idea to split camping gear between or among two or three people? In other words, if I carry a two or three person tent, would it be wise if someone else carried extra clothing, cooking gear, etc.?” Continue reading Sharing Backpacking Gear
There’s only one week to go before my “Intro to Backpacking” Seminar at Harriman State Park with “Hudson Valley Hikers.” If you’d like to attend, please sign up soon. Anyone who joins will be put on the waitlist until they email me a backpacking question. For more information about the event, please write a comment at the bottom of this post.
Today, we will answer Liz’s question about overnight food storage.
As we continue to count down to my “Intro to Backpacking” Seminar at Harriman State Park with “Hudson Valley Hikers.” I’m getting more and more great backpacking questions everyday. Kristina is very interested in Hammock Camping and asks “how do you keep warm in a hammock?” Continue reading Keep Warm in a Hammock
In a few weeks I’m going to be hosting an “Intro to Backpacking” Seminar at Harriman State Park. I’m hosting this event via the Meetup Group “Hudson Valley Hikers.” I’ve asked potential attendees to email me questions about backpacking. Some of them are pretty good and I’ll be sharing the answers via a series of posts called “Ask CampingJay.” This post will discuss backpack types Continue reading Backpack Types