Five Day Trip – What to Bring

[RobbieAG]

I’m going on my first camping trip with the Nighthawk next week. It’s a five day (four night) trip to Ohio from NC. I’m trying to decide what to bring and what to leave behind. Unfortunately, I don’t have time to do a test run before then. I’d like to bring as little as possible without sacrificing comfort too much. Specifically, I’m trying to decide whether to bring things like an air mattress and a folding chair. Obviously the air mattress doesn’t take much room, but it is heavy. Should I tough it out? Maybe I can put a pile of leaves or something under the tent as a cushion. I have folding chairs of the typical size, but saw one at Dick’s Sporting Goods that is really small and light for $20. I’m bringing a small tent and sleeping bag along with clothes etc. Decisions decisions. Any advice appreciated.

[LOKi]

don't leave the therma rest behind. Last thing you want when your sore from a long days ride is a crappy nights sleep. If anything ditch the chair. Your not hanging around camp THAT much to need extra seating. Most camp grounds provide a picnic table.

[Bumblebee]

General packing rule for travel: Make a pile today. Toss out 60% of the pile tomorrow. Knock another 10% off the night before departure. Pack half of what is left on the motorcycle. That's what you need plus some stuff that you still won't use.

You're going CAMPING for a FEW days. You're not moving there forever. What do you really need?

IMHO very comfortable plush minimal supplies based on 40+ years of camping mostly solo:

Tent - my tents are always # of people going plus one person. That extra space is for gear. I have a 2 person tent which means it sleeps one plus gear. It does not sleep 2 people. A-frames are heavier and more time consuming to set up however they're nuke proof. Those silly bivouac bags are tiny and very packable however, just don't - they're not practical in the real world for enjoying yourself.

Sleeping bag - always have one rated to colder than conditions you'll be in. Cold is no fun and dangerous. I carry a zero degree bag in the summer and a -60 bag in the winter. People complain about down bags, I won't camp without down and I've been solo camping for a couple centuries now.

Ground mat of some kind unless you're on a beach or like hard pokey surfaces. A full length inflatable sleeping pad is ideal. Forget about those short inflatable pads, they're miserable. Forget some crazy 2 ton huge air mattress, you're not staying in a hotel.

The hitchhikers guide to the galaxy has it right about carrying a towel. And forget those cutsie microfiber things. Take a real towel.

4 days = 1 change of clothes plus an additional tshirt. Leave the wardrobe behind. Take extra socks and undies. You want something you can walk in if you have normal riding boots. I never take shoes, I just wear my hiking boots all the time. Note that your pillow is your extra clothes and towel in a small cloth bag of some kind like a small pillow case. A rain jacket is useful though a heavy vinyl poncho is ideal. Take a hat, preferably an indiana jones or some such style hat. Baseball caps don't keep the water or sun off.

Cooking supplies. A white gas/camp fuel stove is best. Forget the pressurized propane bottle stuff unless that's all you already have. There are some reliable fold up stoves that pack small and will run off anything liquid that is flammable from camp fuel to jet fuel. Note that if you run anything other than camp fuel, the gas smell gets into your food - it's practical however it's nasty. A single one liter pot is more than enough and plenty of room inside to carry the rest of the cooking supplies such as a fork and lighters. Eat out of the pot.

Food as needed. Pick up stuff as you go along unless you're going into nowhere. Always have 2 days of extra food with you in case you get stranded.

Assorted stuff: Pooper paper. Flash light with extra batteries and bulbs - I use my theatre 2AA maglight with and LED bulb that is unbreakable. Two water bottles. Water filter if needed. A wash rag. A few small plastic garbage bags/supermarket plastic grocery bags for dirty/clean clothes. Use a drop of two of the soap you have for flat repairs when seating the bead to wash your pot with. 100 feet of line cord to hang food in a tree and to hang stuff out to dry. Sunblock. Maps. Camera. Emergency supplies. First aid supplies. Tools for repairs on the road. (On a side note: In 40+ years outdoors I never figured out why the camping stores sell those multi tools - it has to be one of the most useless things you can have when camping. And space blankets, forget them - they are completely useless junk)

Waterproofing: Get a 30 liter dry bag and put all your clothes in it. I also have a 10 liter dry bag for my spendy camera.

Heavy stuff on the bottom, light stuff on top. Heavy stuff forward on the passenger seat, lighter stuff to the back. Bungee cords and compression straps to secure everything.

That is all I took on my 3 day trip to Sunset Crater/Waputki a few months ago. That's all you need to be super comfortable. If you add a second change of clothes, you're good for two months of travel.

Camp chair? Why? Are you really going to use the thing? Seriously? Think about it. The ground is perfectly good for sitting. I have a camp chair for my motorhome however I only use it for sitting out reading books under the awning. I carried it a few times over the years on cage/motorcycle/boat trips and never used it once and have since quit carrying it. IMO, leave the chair behind unless you're planning on sitting at one camp location for 3-4 days and even then consider leaving it behind.

Panniers on the motorcycle are really nice to carry stuff in to make it more accessible.

Remember, this is an adventure. The less crap you have, the more fun and less hassle it will be.


And if you're coming out west, be aware that the whole place is ready to burst into flames at any moment. No campfires is the rule in the two west square states and if you do have a camp fire, make completely sure it's totally out before leaving it.

[draco_1967]

  BumbleBee.

I feel like that should be stickied

[Moustache]

I agree with most everything posted B, save your Bivvy Bag assessment.

Mine is water proof and provides a starry view. Id'd wake up floating and dry if Noah's flood happened upon me.

Having spent  nights in swamp, forded rivers with it wrapped around my ruck sack and slept soundly through heavy rain and snow storms have given me all the confidence in the world of a GOOD bivvy bags capabilities.     

And frankly, under the stars is where I prefer to be.   Of course thats jus like my opinion man.

[LOKi]

Bivvy's and hammocks fall along the same line. I won't bring my tent unless I know I'll be camping where there are no trees. Other than that I'm going hammock for now on. All my stuff is water proof. It should be on a bike. So you don't need any of your stuff in the tent with you. Now if your stuck in one place due to rain all day or something Bivvy's and hammocks lack the room to do anything besides just lay there. For those situations a good tarp is in order. Better than a tent actually. With a tarp you can pitch it over picnic tables at campgrounds. Then you have a nice place to chill for an entire day of watching rain fall. Better than hunched over in a tent. If you want to go supper light weight all you really need is a tarp, sleeping pad and bag. Look up light weight backpacking. Anything that works for them will work for motorcycling.

In 40+ years outdoors I never figured out why the camping stores sell those multi tools - it has to be one of the most useless things you can have when camping.

  Multi tool = useless? Of all the things I carry the multi tool gets the MOST use. Don't leave that behind. Useless? Lets examine this

Multi tool includes:

• Pliers- removing carter keys, loosening stubborn knots, prying nails out of tires before plugging them, removing hooks from fishes mouths, cutting fishing line, this list could go on and on
• Knife- cutting rope, cutting the steak you piked up at the store on the way to camp, cutting your hand off if pinned by a big ass bolder in a slot canyon with no chance of rescue. This list too could go on and on.  
  http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2004/08/0830_040830_aronralston.html
• Scissors- cutting finger nails, cutting itchy tags on shirts, cutting fishing line this list goes on and on too
• flat blade screw driver- to tighten screws, as a prying device

• little flat blade screw driver thing- not sure what its entended for but it gets a lot of use. small enough to pry things out of small places, cleans bowls, works on small screws and even small stubborn Philips head screws.
• can opener- I have never needed this one but it does open cans.
• bottle opener- another one I never use because its quicker to pry the beer open with the side of....of....yes the MULTI TOOL.

Multi tool useless? how could a tool that has everything you need in a compact form be useless?

I carry this little guy

If you fish this is the multi tool for you. To open you just pinch the buttons on the side and it slips open. You can even flip it really hard and it pops open. The point is you don't need two hands to open the thing. That means the pliers/cutters are available while you hold the fish in the other hand. Avoid the one with a file on it if you do any salt water fishing. Files are made of a different metal and will rust out in no time.

On the motorcycle I keep it in the tank bag. That way if I need little things like a screw driver to tighten a loos screw on my top box I don't have to dig down to the bottom of the panniers to drag out the tool roll. Heavy stuff on the bottom remember.

http://www.gerbergear.com/index.php/product/id/160

[LOKi]

BB do you bring an extra set of tires with you everywhere you go? You mentioned setting a bead again. Do you remove the tires every time you get a flat and repair them from the inside?

[Bumblebee]

BB do you bring an extra set of tires with you everywhere you go? You mentioned setting a bead again. Do you remove the tires every time you get a flat and repair them from the inside?

I have innertubes. That means I have to break the bead and pull one side off to get the tube out to fix it.
If it was a tubeless tire, I would use the standard externally installed plugs with rubber cement. I know you're supposed to pull the tire and put the mushroom plug on from the inside however I've used the external applied plugs on vehicles galore including motorcycles and the tire always wears out before the plug fails. The trick seems to be in using the rubber cement to hold the plug securely in instead of just the sticky stuff that comes on the plug. That sticky stuff doesn't hold reliably. The rubber cement added to the sticky stuff does hold.

I carry a small bottle of liquid dishwashing soap to put on the bead and tire so it will pop on when it's pressurized. I wipe it on the needed area with little to no water and it pops on easily enough when the tire is inflated. I always carry the tools to dismount the wheel, fix the flat and reinstall.

I trashed another frigging bicycle air pump recently. I HATE those stupid plastic air chucks and plastic attach points to the pump itself that everything comes with nowadays. They break the first time you use them and the pump is suddenly totally useless. I now, experimentally, have one of the electric slime motorcycle air pumps that I can put a real hose and chucks on. (if anyone wants a several ounce bottle of slime that came with the pump, find me and it's yours for the asking) I'm going to try the thing out in a week or so before I go anywhere I will need it and before I get too far from civilization again.

[RobbieAG]

Thanks for the great advice! So, the chair is out, the sleeping pad is in. You saved me $40 by not buying the chair and a new air mattress (I thought the pad I already have was too bulky). I'm using my son’s old baseball bag (used for bats, helmets etc.) to put the tent, sleeping pad and dry bag in because it’s easier to strap on the bike and will help keep things dry. I fit the sleeping bag in one of my saddle bags (glad I got the big ones – Nelson-Rigg CL850). Things are coming together…

[Bumblebee]

There ya go.

If it works out right for you, you will know what to do next time.
If it doesn't work out so great, you will have an adventure to tell about that you will remember for years to come.

For the baseball bag or other stuff that's not designed specifically for outdoors, scotchguard rainproof the crap out of it several days before you use it. Leave it outside to dry and air out. Waterproof is good.


It's not an adventure until things quit going as planned.

[muttstang]

Ever seen someone set the bead of a tire with a can of ether and a lighter?  kind of cool

[Bumblebee]

Ever seen someone set the bead of a tire with a can of ether and a lighter?  kind of cool

Not reliably. I've seen it done with white camp fuel.
And I haven't seen it done at all with innertubes.
Reliability is everything in my world. I'll stick with pumping it up and letting the bead pop on by itself in a minute or so.

[LOKi]

I didn't realize you had innertubes, that explains a lot. I was thinking for some reason you just didn't trust plugs or something. BTW how do you break the bead out in the field? I like the big trigger c-clamp for wood. But a little impractical out riding. Another trick is to use the side stand of a bike. Really tricky if that happens to be the bike to tire is off of but still possible.  

[muttstang]

Ever seen someone set the bead of a tire with a can of ether and a lighter?  kind of cool

Not reliably. I've seen it done with white camp fuel.
And I haven't seen it done at all with innertubes.
Reliability is everything in my world. I'll stick with pumping it up and letting the bead pop on by itself in a minute or so.

the one I saw was on a big offroad tire so they really needed the quick gas expansion and your typical portable air pump that you carry on a bike isn't enough to seat the bead on a tubeless tire of that sort

[Bumblebee]

I didn't realize you had innertubes, that explains a lot.

Spoke tires thus innertubes. Spoke tires are also better in offroad conditions because they flex more than the cast nighthawk tires. (Notice that dirt bikes all have spokes - there's a reason for that)

BTW how do you break the bead out in the field? I like the big trigger c-clamp for wood. But a little impractical out riding. Another trick is to use the side stand of a bike. Really tricky if that happens to be the bike to tire is off of but still possible.

The nice thing about spoke tires that are designed with innertubes in mind is that the bead isn't as hard set as it is on tubeless tires. I've always been able to take the valve stem out then step on it or bounce on it with my boot a few times and break the bead in at least one location enough to get a tire iron in. Dumping some water on it while hopping on it helps break the bead too. After that it's easy.

[RobbieAG]

See the ride report here: http://nighthawk-forums.com/index.php/topic,11049.0.html

[rebel715]

I usually take 'disposable clothes', you know, old t shrits that are ripped or stained, and just clothes you don't care about.  After every day, throw them away or burn them in your campfire.  No dirty laundry!!!  Also the longer the trip, the more bag space for souvenirs!!

[coffee_brake]

Old thread, but...

MO HAS A FREE CLOTHES WASHER AND DRYER!!!

Put a buck or two in the tip jar to cover its cost, detergent is already there.

Better yet, this is a way I save a LOT of space: I wear the underwear and shirts and shorts made of stretchy spandex or polyester, that I can wash in the sink and dry overnight.
Save the room for many clean dry socks, a soldier rider/camper is only as good as his feet.

[LOKi]

You know, if you turn your underwear inside out you can get another 7 days out of them.

Just saying.

[coffee_brake]

And you will have the down-wind side of the campfire all to yourself.

[rebel715]

OR........ if NOT camping and staying in a motel, use the coffee pot and soap to "wash" your clothes.  Airline flight attendants have been washing their pantyhose this way for years!!  Hmmmmmm...