never wanted to put my mat up against the window until i saw people doing it here. noticed one of the baffles has odd insulation placement (or lack there of) on the top of the pad. is this normal??

the second image is the bottom of the pad, the odd baffle in question is the third from the left with the extra bright space next to it.

any input is appreciated! i usually just use a pad but for a winter pad, i want all the warmth possible.

I have an 80 series landcruiser and my wife and I are going up to Nova Scotia for 2 weeks of "overlanding" (AKA car camping...) and I'm trying to decide if I'm going insane here.

We don't have a rooftop tent. We just have one of those EZ-up 10'x10's and the tent they sell that turns it into a house basically. It's a little big and heavy, but it's actually not that hard to setup and it's really roomy.

We've been thinking about buying the following 3 items from Joolca for the trip:

https://www.joolca.com/products/hottap-go-nomad-kit

https://www.joolca.com/products/gottago

https://www.joolca.com/products/ensuite-tent-double

Basically this would give us a legitimate shower and bathroom at camp. I've seen nothing but great reviews for all of these products, but I can't shake the feeling that this is kind of insane.

My wife really wants the stuff, and the money isn't an issue. I'm much more concerned with this being "a lot" if that makes sense. Is setting this stuff up for single night and then taking it down going to be absurd? For 2-3 nights sure, but we're going to be moving from site to site and It just seems kind of crazy? I can't tell if I'm overthinking this or not.

There are so many uses for some of these things, even when we're not camping. Like if I go to the beach the shower is great to wash off before I get in the truck, or if we camp at a festival or race weekend at Lime Rock park that's nearby. The communal showers they set up for these things can have huge lines and usually wind up being GROSS.

I'm probably going to pull the trigger, but wanted to see if anyone here with more experience can provide some wisdom here. Thanks!

We currently have a Marmont Limestone 8 person but we are looking for something that is better in unfavorable conditions. Usually it is just myself or my husband setting up so nothing that absolutely requires 2 people to set up. And looking for under $1000. Plus standing height for my husband who is 6’2”.

I’m headed to Olympic national Park next week (From Florida) and I’ve been in the Pacific Northwest before, but during a time there wasn’t any rain.

I typically wear a size large shirt and I’m assuming it would be a good idea to bring a rain shell. The question is should I get an extra large shell or a large shell? I’m assuming that I will have a lightweight, long sleeve or hoodie on underneath.

Any feedback would be appreciated.

I just started getting into camping and rented a Kelty tent and it got soaked when we had a 0.55” downpour that lasted all night. Wasn’t the most fun first experience haha.

The inside bottom was pretty soaked despite setting it up correctly. Hopefully looking for something that would withstand a torrential downpour.

Have a $1,000.00 gift card I won from a work raffle and looking to use it since there seems to be a Labor Day sale.

I’m 5’6” and the other camper is a small kid. So small tents would work. We pack pretty light.

I’m looking for a new daypack for an upcoming trip to the Scottish Highlands. I have a few specific requirements:

* Waterproof, or a backpack with a good integrated rain cover
* Attachment points for trekking poles
* No suspended/trampoline-style back panel that leaves a large gap between the backpack and my back. I’m fine with something like Osprey’s AirScape, but I do not want AirSpeed.
* Around 22–25 liters. Enough for a full day hike with food, water, rain jacket, an extra sweater/fleece, etc.
* Preferably not a very large or bulky hip belt with a big pouch. I’d rather have a relatively simple/light hip belt.

What backpacks would you recommend that fit these requirements?
I've been Looking at Osprey, but can't find anything that completly matches. But I'm not really familiair with other brands.

Hey all, I currently run a expend Megamat Auto in my rooftop tent and absolutely love it. I want to get one for when I am ground tent camping (mostly music festivals) and am picking between three:

1. Megamat Duo Queen size - The extra width would be really nice for 2 of us sleeping on it, but have seen some people online say the queen size isn't as nice as the standard (can feel each other move, less comfy if one person, etc.)
2. Megamat Max Duo - 52" wide is an upgrade over the Auto version which goes to 41" at the bottom, but curious how much better the extra 2" is and may still be a bit tight with 2 of us (I am 6'3" 190 pounds)
3. Megamat Long-Wide plus Duo - Would probably spend the extra $100 to get the Max version in the same size

Ignoring the cost, does anybody have any recommendations or thoughts on the standard in queen vs the Max in a full? This would primarily be used for days where I am sleeping on it for 3-5 nights with another person. While pack down volume isn't a deal breaker since I am always camping next to my car, it is a consideration for still fitting it in the car and storaging in my apartment. I do have the exped pump so I can at least fully compress it down to pack away.

hey guys, ive had my eyes on the nemo tensor allseason for some time now on the second hand side and ive noticed that a lot of listed products are just named nemo tensor insulated.

now im asking myself if thats a different type of mat? the R-Rates are pretty much the same but its a different type of color…

i dont know what i am looking at or for so i would really apprexiate any type of help!

thank yall in advance!!

I have heard cotton balls soaked in Vaseline, dryer, lint, and even just plain paper or toilet paper. Currently, I only bring toilet paper and break up some sticks really small. Is there more efficient method than this that is more natural and less “cheating?”

I decided to use Nikwax this time around after seeing it recommended when cleaning a down jacket (I've used a different down detergent in the past) I used both the Nikwax down wash and the Nikwax down proof, following the instructions carefully on both. I hand washed and rinsed quite a few times in a tub (at least to start). I have since run numerous (10+ rinse cycles in the washer, and two washes with the old down detergent, also in the washer, which has unfortunately caused significant wear on the jacket, but I was at my wit's end with the hand washing). Unfortunately, my down jacket now has a waxy coating on it that I find completely awful. When my skin touches it, it leaves my skin feeling waxy and horrible. I cannot wear the jacket. Does anyone have any suggestions for anything I can try? I cannot stand to wear the jacket as it is, and if I cannot get this waxy coating off, I will need to buy a new jacket. :-/

Edit: meant VS but it won’t let me edit the title

I currently own the 6 person Basecamp and unhappy with it. It is difficult to close the door and ripples through the middle due to the side support poles .

I am considering returning it for the north face tent.

My only hesitation, I am new to camping, is the rain fly sufficient on the north face tent? With the Basecamp. The rainfly covers the entire tent.

Thanks so much

Hey everyone,

Like most of you I think, I got tired of trying to guess which outdoor brands are still owned by reputable companies or families, which have been quietly sold to private equity known to scalp out the customer and worsen the quality (VF Corp for example), or foreign conglomerates (Chinese companies intent on the exact same thing), and where the gear is actually made nowadays.

To include everything outdoor related would be a bit much, so I've stripped it down to a 'Wear & Carry' category, which includes clothing, footwear, backpacks etc and sleeping bags.

I’ve categorized them into 8 categories furthermore based on their ownership and factory footprint, namely EU and US owned, each split into different subcategories depending on overall production, a non-EU, US or CN category, and a CN-owned category.

A few things to call out before the list:

• The list is a bit of a mix of stuff I've tried before or had personal interest in, but mostly the really popular brands or major names within more niche communities.

• 'owned & produced' means majority owned by an EU or US corporation or family and also produced there. The minimum is atleast 90%. With EU I mean Europe, not just the Union. For 'partial produced' a particular brand can be listed here if regional production is roughly between 20-90%.
'outsourced' means that the vast majority of stuff they sold, more than 80% atleast, is produced from outside the EU or US (mostly China and southern Asia ofcourse).

• I'm judging production by compromising between overall volume sold and total catalogue listing, and that combined with intentional vagueness and sometimes outdated sources means that these are rough estimates.

• The Owner category lists the current majority shareholder, or straight up 100% family ownership, with the country that corporation/family is from (Fenix Outdoor (SE) is from Sweden for example)

• "Origin" just shows the historical birth country of the brand, not necesarily the current owners' location.

• You could obviously see this as a tierlist of sorts, with EU & US owned and produced being the best; this isn't necesarily so ofcourse, since alot of quality gear can come from Asia. This list can simply help create more awareness and give a more informed understanding and decisionmaking.

EU ———— EU owned & produced ————

EU ———— EU owned, partial produced ————

EU ———— EU owned, outsourced —————

US ———— US owned & produced ————

US ——— US owned, partial produced ———

US ———— US owned, outsourced —————

🌏 ——— Non-EU, US, or CN Owned ————

CN —————— Chinese Owned ——————

Let me know if any recent corporate shifts slipped past me or if I've missed any major brands following my clothing definition. Things about who owns what exactly are sometimes a bit vague or outdated, which makes it a bit difficult, and production is often intentionally kept even more vague. Let me know what you guys think.

Hi, I have a Naturehike Mongar 3 Pro and I’ve noticed that when the wind gets stronger, around 35 to 40 km/h or 20 to 25 mph, with stronger gusts, the tent naturally flexes a bit.

Most of the time there is a normal gap between the inner tent and the rainfly, but during some stronger gusts the inner tent and fly briefly touch each other and then separate again once the gust passes.

The tent is pitched properly and the fly is tensioned. It doesn’t constantly rest against the inner. It only happens occasionally when the wind pushes or flexes the tent.

Is this considered normal behavior for a lightweight 3 season backpacking tent, or should the inner and fly basically never touch, even during stronger gusts?

Is there anything to worry about in terms of condensation or water transferring to the inner, damage to the tent, incorrect pitching or tension, or is this simply normal flexing of a lightweight tent in wind?

I’m mainly trying to understand what is considered normal before assuming something is wrong with the tent.

Thanks!

It's served us well over the years. I think ours was the first generation of inflatable tent from Decathlon. It had the blue air poles.

The Fresh & Black has been incredible for keeping out the heat and light on sunny midsummer mornings.

It's big enough for us to get a 4 person table in the centre section to cook on and eat around in bad weather. We've slept 2 adults and 3 kids in ours comfortably.

I can't really fault it, apart from-

1. The side opposite the door had nothing to fix it to the ground sheet. If the wind blew the side in and it was raining, we'd end up with a lake in the central section.

2. Was tricky yet critical to get the distance between the air poles either side of the door right, otherwise the door would be too saggy (same issue with it blowing in and water getting on top of the ground sheet,) or too tight and hard to zip up. We were rushing to put it up in the rain about 5 years ago, didn't get the door spacing right and the zip ended up breaking. We've just used one side since.

3. Bedroom pockets were in the most unuseful places.

4. Fibreglass poles above sides were annoying to put in, these had ended up punching through the fabric at the sides over the years. I think this was the weak point that started the roof ripping off and was the end of the tent.

5. Was difficult to get the corners tensioned up properly, leading to flappy bedrooms in the wind.

Anyone have the updated current Quechua 4.2 seconds air and can comment on its longevity/ design/ usability?

Any other brands have comparable offerings worth considering?

Last time out included a 90 minute torrential y-storm. It was night so tough for me to pinpoint exactly where the water was coming through. I thinking though that this was at the apex of the fly where the cross pole come across. This tent was purchased new in 2020 and I’ve never had leaking or condensation issues. Pictures reflect some of the places where the seams are lifting the most, including the place where I think most of the leaking occurred. I’ve read BA’s info regarding seam sealing. So I need to take up all the tape? I’m really worried about screwing up my tent fly less than 2 weeks away from a big camping weekend. I’ve purchased Gear Aid sealer.

This thing is kind of insane! 3mm stainless steel construction so it’s a TANK! 10/10 - I used charcoal briquettes for it but the guy who sold me one said he uses wood. If you can get your hands on one, it’s a really nice piece for car camping :)

Alpine designs foam sleeping pad, can’t find anything online about it.

So I submitted a warranty request to nemo at the beginning of August and haven't heard anything back except an auto response email "we'll get back to you soon!" Is this normal? I did a warranty with them 3 or 4 years ago and it was super easy and super fast. I dont really care if it takes time, I'd just like to get actual confirmation that someone is looking at my thing or not... Does Nemo take the month of August off? Bc Im cool if they do, but maybe like put an announcement on the website. I guess my question is - how concerned should I be? I'd like my chair back...

Edit to update- nemo just got back to me. Apparently the customer service team is down to three people now and they are working very hard to get through the back log. The stargaze chair wont be back instock until mid November :( but im fine waiting now that a human has responded to me. Hopefully everyone else here gets a response soon!