After a long day of climbing or hiking, cooking is usually the last thing on my mind. I’ve been known to scarf down a backpacking meal or heat up a Fishpeople Seafood pouch to avoid the hassle of prepping and cleaning. Great Grub Camp Food makes gourmet camp food easy, without the hassle. Each entree has the convenience of a freeze dried meal with a little extra that’s more than just boiling hot water.
No joke, when I think of perfect, outdoor puffy blankets. I think of Rumpl. I think of fog swirling in the trees. Maybe an artfully framed railroad. Beautifully draped over a beautiful person. They’ve got that image on lock. Then I think of the price of that blanket. I think about how my aesthetic is frantically digging poo holes, ripping holes in clothing, and not showering. Then I realize that maybe the Rumpl is not for me. Thankfully Therm-a-Rest introduced their affordable line of tech blankets for 2016.
For the past few years I’ve been relying on my Tarptent Scarp 2 or my Teton Sports Mountain Ultra 1 for any of my tenting adventures. They’re both great, but the Tarptent is designed to be an ultralight, small thing and the Mountain Ultra only sleeps one. I wanted something that was big enough for two with more room for luxuries. When Mountain Hardwear gave us the chance to pick out our ambassador kits for the winter season, I jumped at the chance at working with the Optic Vue 2.5.
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Pillows… are they something you really need in the backcountry? I’ve found myself debating this question of the last few years. Yeah, I could stuff some clothes into a stuff sack and call it a night. But after a few lumpy, sleepless nights, I decided that a few extra ounces of weight wouldn’t hurt for ultimate comfort while backpacking. The Feathered Friends Geoduck pillow did the trick.
In the past few months, I’ve been embarking on a ton of solo-esque adventures, sleeping in tents alone, all that jazz. I don’t really need to lug around a 2-person tent for one, so I’ve been turning to my Teton Sports Mountain Ultra 1 on all my trips.