Oshkosh camping list? (Planning for next year)

"Peter R." wrote in message
...
john smith wrote:

Will you be camping by yourself or with others?

Probably one other person although I am looking for a bigger tent to
accommodate my family of five (or at least my three boys when they are old
enough to be able to join me).

This year I went by myself. The only things I used we
- two-man tent

A lot of excellent suggestions about tent types, but no recommendations of
actual tent brands that are both strong and waterproof.

What tent brands work at OSH and what brands should I avoid?

--
Peter

One suggestion is to get Outside Magazine's gear review edition. I seem to
remember that it comes out in the spring. It gives you a common language to
speak with the guy or gal at the outdoor store and gives you a real
education on key things to look for in whatever apparatus you're buying
(tent, stove, mattress, sleeping bag, water filter, etc..). Also, the issue
has a review of many of the mid-upper end camping/hiking products and could
help you refine your search by comparing size, cost, weight, and other key
variables that impact your choice.

Your local library probably carries Outside, so you should be able to find
the most recent gear guide in the archives.

KB

One suggestion is to get Outside Magazine's gear review edition. I seem to
remember that it comes out in the spring. It gives you a common language to
speak with the guy or gal at the outdoor store and gives you a real
education on key things to look for in whatever apparatus you're buying
(tent, stove, mattress, sleeping bag, water filter, etc..). Also, the issue
has a review of many of the mid-upper end camping/hiking products and could
help you refine your search by comparing size, cost, weight, and other key
variables that impact your choice.
Your local library probably carries Outside, so you should be able to find
the most recent gear guide in the archives.

Kyle, don't you mean BACKPACKER magazine?
I thought OUTSIDE changed it's format several years ago to more of a
travelog, fluff piece, yuppie monthly?

The link below is a good source for unbiased, real world use by ordinary
campers with a variety of experience.

http://www.backpackgeartest.org/reviews/

The only thing that's really dumb (and they all seem to have this, now)
is the stupid "cooking port" that is purportedly the "chimney" for your
cooking stove -- as if anyone would be dumb enough to use an open flame
inside a nylon tent. The things must be cinched closed in bad weather,
and they invariably leak in heavy rain. Mary is going to cut ours off
and stitch it shut, before next OSH.

It is actually not that dumb, and the native americans used it for millenia
inside of very flammable animal skin tents. It takes a hell of a lot of
heat to set nylon on fire and the capability of cooking inside the tent is
something that you really ought to consider.

I agree with what everyone says about stakes. I now use ONLY 10-inch
landscaping nails to stake out my tent. It'll take a tornado to rip
them out.

Ten inch, my sweet hiney. Eighteen inch bridge spikes are the order of the
day.


11. Mail your Laundry Home. After a few days in tropical heat, you'll
have gone through an amazing amount of laundry. Don't worry -- haul it
to the UPS store, located right at show center, and mail the lot of it
home. This will lighten your load, and allow you to purchase more
T-shirts and doo-dads while you're there!


The USPS Postal store will ship it for half the price of UPS and they, too,
have a trailer on the field.

Jim

("RST Engineering" wrote)
The USPS Postal store will ship it for half the price of UPS and they,
too, have a trailer on the field.


24 lbs worth of OSH clothes:
"Stuffed" into a grocery store moving box (apple box)

Minneapolis to Iowa City ...by UPS
300 road miles
210 nm by air
$11.60 + $0.55 Fuel Surcharge = $12.15

Package arrived the next day.

vs.

http://makeashorterlink.com/?N1433478D
USPS - Priority Mail ($10.00)
"OSH" 54902 to IOW 52246 is estimated at 2 Days.

12 lbs @ 28"x14"x14" registers ($10.00) for 2 day Priority Mail.

If the box weighs 2 lbs, that equals a $1.00/pound to mail "things" from OSH
back to Iowa City.


Montblack

("Montblack" wrote)
http://makeashorterlink.com/?N1433478D
USPS - Priority Mail ($10.00)
"OSH" 54902 to IOW 52246 is estimated at 2 Days.

12 lbs @ 28"x14"x14" registers ($10.00) for 2 day Priority Mail.

If the box weighs 2 lbs, that equals a $1.00/pound to mail "things" from
OSH back to Iowa City.


I should have used 24 lbs, not 12 lbs, in the above link.

24 lbs OSH to IOW = (approx) $10, but that's a 3 day Parcel Post rate. Cost
is $16 for 2 day Priority service.


Montblack

"john smith" wrote in message
...
One suggestion is to get Outside Magazine's gear review edition. I seem
to
remember that it comes out in the spring. It gives you a common language
to
speak with the guy or gal at the outdoor store and gives you a real
education on key things to look for in whatever apparatus you're buying
(tent, stove, mattress, sleeping bag, water filter, etc..). Also, the
issue
has a review of many of the mid-upper end camping/hiking products and
could
help you refine your search by comparing size, cost, weight, and other
key
variables that impact your choice.
Your local library probably carries Outside, so you should be able to
find
the most recent gear guide in the archives.

Kyle, don't you mean BACKPACKER magazine?
I thought OUTSIDE changed it's format several years ago to more of a
travelog, fluff piece, yuppie monthly?

The link below is a good source for unbiased, real world use by ordinary
campers with a variety of experience.

http://www.backpackgeartest.org/reviews/

Yep, Backpacker. Sometimes there is a disconnect beween the brain and the
fingers.

KB

Jay Honeck wrote:

Hey Peter -- I'm late to this thread, but here are a few tips we've
picked up from decades of camping:

Jay, thank you for taking the time to type out that excellent list. You
and the others have really provided some excellent advice.

snip
I hope you're serious about coming next year -- it's truly a show that
must be experienced. We're already planning for next year's OSH!

I am serious, which is why I want to start planning now. A small,
doomsday part of me conjured up this scenario that if fuel continues to
rise at its current pace there may someday be no more OSH, or at least in
the OSH that you regular attendees have experienced.

--
Peter

In a previous article, "Jay Honeck" said:
The only thing that's really dumb (and they all seem to have this, now)
is the stupid "cooking port" that is purportedly the "chimney" for your
cooking stove -- as if anyone would be dumb enough to use an open flame
inside a nylon tent. The things must be cinched closed in bad weather,
and they invariably leak in heavy rain. Mary is going to cut ours off
and stitch it shut, before next OSH.

When I was a backpacker, I used those "cooking ports" as a way to reach
outside to tend to the stove that was entirely outside the tent when I was
winter camping. In summer, I just sat in the doorway with the stove
outside.


--
Paul Tomblin http://xcski.com/blogs/pt/
Sometimes, when a luser makes an unreasonable demand, the best thing
to do is let them have exactly what they ask for.
-- Joe Zeff

I am serious, which is why I want to start planning now. A small,
doomsday part of me conjured up this scenario that if fuel continues to
rise at its current pace there may someday be no more OSH, or at least in
the OSH that you regular attendees have experienced.

I've had those same thoughts, these last few days. With Prudhoe Bay
being shut down, and oil pushing $80 per barrel, and the Middle East
continuing to melt down, I just don't see an end to the price rise any
time soon.

Given the dearth of flying both before and since OSH (at least as
viewed in our neck of the woods), I fully understand your fear.
Although it was heartening to see so many people flying to OSH, it
seems as if that was everybody's "big trip" of the year, and now
they've parked the plane back in the hangar again.
--
Jay Honeck
Iowa City, IA
Pathfinder N56993
www.AlexisParkInn.com
"Your Aviation Destination"

Kyle Boatright wrote:

http://www.backpackgeartest.org/reviews/

Yep, Backpacker. Sometimes there is a disconnect beween the brain and the
fingers.

Bookmarked. Thanks!

--
Peter