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Expo and camping tools and toys.

102K views 182 replies 36 participants last post by  eebamak20 
#1 ·
Thought I'd start a thread where we can show off and discuss our favorite camping and traveling items. Fun stuff that makes the great outdoors better, safer, or more convenient for us. Last year or 2 I've been getting back into camping more. Especially the vehicle based type. So I've been adding to and refining my gear a bit to better suit the way I'm using it these days. I've got some cool stuff to show (at least I think so) and hope you folks do too. A little arm chair camping for when we can't be out there.

I'll start with today's SCORE!!!!!!!!!!!!!! As with everything else I have a story to go with it. My wife has a Honda CRV. The storage area under the back instead of being covered by a piece of Masonite like many small cars has a nice little card/picnic/tailgating table. I been wanting a couple of these for camping tables. Nice and strong and a good size. Besides I like salvage stuff instead of spending $60 bucks on a new fancy roll up table.

So anyway I've been calling junkyards and hadn't found one yet. I was on my way to the land fill to dump some waste oil and junk today. On the way I passed a local junk yard I hadn't called and pulled in. I asked about a CRV and he said they had one just up the hill go check it out. It was in great shape and had a table so I grabbed it. I told the man I was on my way to the land fill and would they be interested in any of the scrap in my trailer. He walks out and says that it was crazy to just give scrap away. He looked in the trailer and said "I'll take the broken car seat, the old push mower and those couple of pieces of steel scrap. You take that table and have a great weekend!" SCORE! I got my table for trash.

It's roughly 31"x27"x25" tall and very sturdy. Once I took off the latch it is only about an inch thick folded up.






The best part is how it fits in the Trooper with the back seat up and the tool box in place.


I've got a lead on another one that I intend to check on this week. 1 for cooking on and 1 for eating at.
 
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#103 ·
Looks great for backpacking...
 
#104 ·
BigSwede said:
Looks great for backpacking...
Don't know about backpacking but it should work great with the boat. In a pinch, it will double as an anchor.
 
#105 ·
I love my Lodge Cast iron cookware! Not only is it made in the US, it's made really close to me. It's one county over in South Pittsburg, tn and if you ever make it over that way (just off of I-24 between chattanooga and nashville), you can visit their scratch and dent store and get their items SUPER cheap. Most of the time the defects aren't hardly noticeable. They circle it and you can pick out the best one.

If you make it there, visit the unclaimed baggage place down in Scottsboro, AL about 20 minutes away. You can find decent deals on lost items.
 
#106 ·
I've been trying to decide if I should get some cast iron cookware for expo use...on the plus side it is damn near indestructible, and spreads the heat nicely. On the minus side it is really heavy. I suppose a few pounds won't matter really to the Trooper, but every time I drag the cooking tote out of the truck I'll know it.
 
#107 ·
For camping use SS is the stuff. Not too heavy and cooks well. Ti is just bling. Aluminum doesn't heat worth a crap. Even the fancy new stuff. Cast iron cooks great but it is heavy. A 6" cast skillet is a nice piece though as is the ole' dutch oven.
 
#108 ·
I always take my 10" skillet and 2.5 qt Dutch oven camping. Weight is rarely a problem since I usually do "plop camping" instead over expedition/adventure stuff. The Dutch ovens are freaking awesome! I usually bake a cobbler or some brownies or something for desert each evening. I've baked pizza before as well. In the mornings you can cook some biscuits for breakfast too. It really opens up cookig options to more than just hotdogs and hamburgers or beans and stew over a camp stove. There exist little charts which help you figure out how many coals to place below and on the lid in order to maintain certain temperatures. It's super easy

It is an essential piece of equipment when I go camping.
 
#109 ·
N law said:
I always take my 10" skillet and 2.5 qt Dutch oven camping. Weight is rarely a problem since I usually do "plop camping" instead over expedition/adventure stuff. The Dutch ovens are freaking awesome! I usually bake a cobbler or some brownies or something for desert each evening. I've baked pizza before as well. In the mornings you can cook some biscuits for breakfast too. It really opens up cookig options to more than just hotdogs and hamburgers or beans and stew over a camp stove. There exist little charts which help you figure out how many coals to place below and on the lid in order to maintain certain temperatures. It's super easy

It is an essential piece of equipment when I go camping.
i swear nothing beats cast iron! i work at a boy scout summer camp and one of the classes i teach is a "mountain man" skills class. one of the days we teach them how to do dutch oven and skillet cooking on a shepards stove. during the week all the scoutmasters have a dutch oven cook off and some of the stuff they come up with is simply amazing. my dad and i use dutch ovens all the time mostly for cobbler and chili.
 
#110 ·
N law said:
I always take my 10" skillet and 2.5 qt Dutch oven camping. Weight is rarely a problem since I usually do "plop camping" instead over expedition/adventure stuff. The Dutch ovens are freaking awesome! I usually bake a cobbler or some brownies or something for desert each evening. I've baked pizza before as well. In the mornings you can cook some biscuits for breakfast too. It really opens up cookig options to more than just hotdogs and hamburgers or beans and stew over a camp stove. There exist little charts which help you figure out how many coals to place below and on the lid in order to maintain certain temperatures. It's super easy

It is an essential piece of equipment when I go camping.
Those are what I learned to cook with in the BSA and that is all the cooking pans I take unless we are cooking on a camping stove and then I also take the cast iron griddle. My frying pan was given to me in the 1970s by my Grandmother and I think she said it had been in the family since the 20s. It is a Lodge and has a fine season on it. My wife came from a family that never had cast iron pans and almost washed it when we first got married. Oh my! :shock:

I think this grill is of better value and from Lodge.

http://www.amazon.com/Lodge-L410-Pre-Seasoned-Sportsmans-Charcoal/dp/B00022OK2A/ref=pd_sim_sbs_lg_1
 
#111 ·
CFP said:
Those are what I learned to cook with in the BSA and that is all the cooking pans I take unless we are cooking on a camping stove and then I also take the cast iron griddle. My frying pan was given to me in the 1970s by my Grandmother and I think she said it had been in the family since the 20s. It is a Lodge and has a fine season on it. My wife came from a family that never had cast iron pans and almost washed it when we first got married. Oh my! :shock:

I think this grill is of better value and from Lodge.

http://www.amazon.com/Lodge-L410-Pre-Seasoned-Sportsmans-Charcoal/dp/B00022OK2A/ref=pd_sim_sbs_lg_1
the BSA is a great organization! so glad i got my Eagle! my dad has an oven he got from his dad who knows how far back that one goes! i remember going backpacking and we traded off who got to carry the skillet around. we were dedicated i guess you could say :lol:
 
#112 ·
I was awarded my Eagle Rack in 1983 from Troop 82 and carried the cast iron grill for 6 50 mile afoot/afloat awards. I had a total of 12 from the time I was 11.

Back then I went through a lot of hiking boots because I grew out of them. I at least put two 50 mile trips on each and a bunch of weekend trips. Today it seems the new boots with the high tech balistic nylon and light weight materials do not last. It does not matter if I buy the expensive ones or the cheaper price ones. All made in China, and the first thing to go is the frayed laces, then an eyelet pulls out, and final the stiching comes undone.

Anybody uses boots that can take a beating and last? It seems in Los Angeles they sell more fashion boots then hiking boots. The store where I got a pair of Redwing hiking boots went out of business. Those boots lasted until the shoemaker could no longer sew the upper to the welt because the upper leather was no longer there. Those lasted almost nine years and four or five resoles.
 
#113 ·
I wear Ariat boots. Had the same pair for 3 years now and they are still in decent condition. I got them just as work boots but they quickly turned into my only pair of footwear. They have been exposed to rough hiking terrain and all kinds of chemicals at work in an automotive service shop. I paid $110 for them and they were very comfortable from the first day I bought them.
 
#114 ·
i wear ariats for my day to day stuff but i have a pair of georgia boots i wear hiking and hunting, theyre waterproof, full lace up leather and darn comfortable. they have enough insulation to not be too hot in 70-80 degree weather but enough to be warm with a pair of wool socks down to the 20-teens. after a bit more than half a year of owning them the laces did finally start to fray but i usually switch to leather laces anyways. the tread on them is real nice and aggressive for the rough stuff.
 
#116 ·
X-jeeper said:
When i was in the boy scouts we went to philmont for a hiking trip and i had a pair of vasque skywalk II boots that were simply amazing! comfortable, waterproof, relatively lightweight. Loved those boots. Looking to get another pair soon.
How did you brand the skywalk II? Isn't it mostly fabric instead of leather? I am about to send my pair of Vasque Sundowners off to be resoled. (I'm on my third pair and I've worn them all out!)
 
#118 ·
just ordered a new mummy bag and single man tent. should get here before too long. plan on going backpacking over spring break up here in wyoming. (should be nice and chilly :confused2: ) both are light weight supposedly pretty warm stuff. bag is a elk horn -20 and the tent is a cabelas XPG 1-man. hopefully will get them pretty soon so i can throw up some pictures.
 
#119 ·
When I lived up north my go to boots were bates, weather proof and extremely comfortable, but pricey, now that I live in sc, I've been wearing merrels, these are good as well, very light and durable.
 
#120 ·
Thought I'd throw up a pic from my last trip. The "Big Lots" director style chairs I picked up work great with the CRV tables. Most bag chairs are a PIA to eat at a table with as they are so slouchy. These work great and the price was right. :D I'm pleased with the combo.


Earlier in this thread I discussed fuel for my old Scorpion butame stove. I had bought a case of straight butane back when I bought it. Never worked well in cool weather let alone cold. Drove me crazy because I love the little thing. 2 burners and a complete SS cookset in a package the size of a mess kit.






I am so happy to report that before the latest GWNF trip I bought a new standardized can of "Iso-Propane" Blended fuel for it. It worked great at near freezing temps and high winds. I'm back in love with my stove!!!!!!!!!!! :thumbup:
 
#121 ·
I have had two of these great little budget stoves for a couple years, very light and powerful. I would rate them equal or better than the msr pocket rocket and for $6.52 can not be beat.
Cheap stove link
[IMG=left]http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/61VgJCaNKDL._SX385_.jpg[/IMG]

I haven't had the chance to take my trooper camping yet but I can already tell it will work way better than my old pickup!
 
#122 ·
The newer XL Tent-Cots. The one on the left doesn't have the rain fly on it. Mine on the right does. Sure beats trying to sleep on that rock beach on the ground. The more I use these things the more I like them. Mine has seen some cold, wind, and rain this year with no problems.
 
#124 ·
Just my Pietta 1858 New Army, but that is postedin a different thread.
 
#125 ·
#126 · (Edited by Moderator)
Just found this thread. Here is our camping gear. Taken at the 2014 Uwharrie spring meetup.

IMAG1648.jpg
 

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