Posts Tagged camping
Vapur Flip-top Element Anti Water Bottle
Want to buy a water bottle? There are a zillion of them out there to choose from, with variations on the color, materials, and opening. There’s one that really generates some double-takes when I use it though: the collapsible water bottle from Vapur.
I reviewed the original Vapur collapsible anti-bottle late last year, so why am I returning to it now?
Well, this one has a different top. Yeah I know, that doesn’t sound like much of a big deal and I didn’t get all that excited when a rep handed one to me on the floor of a gear trade show I attended. Was it really that hard to open the original one?
Not really, but this one is a whole lot more convenient because you can open it with one hand, without using your teeth. And there’s no little plastic cap to lose. See with this new flip-top version, you can pop it open with the same hand that’s holding it, which is great if your other hand is holding a camera. Or a walking stick. Or a ledge on the side of a cliff you’re climbing.
Since the flip-top keeps the water from leaking out, you can drink straight out of this without sucking. Simpler and quieter, plus you don’t have to feel like a baby. The top assembly screws off for cleaning and drying. There’s an attached plastic ring on the top
Like the original version though, this water bottle has lots of advantages. It can roll down tight to store in your bag when you’re not using it—like when you’re going through security or checking a bag. If it’s half full, it doesn’t still take up the same amount of room as when it’s full. And the really cool part is—pun intended—you can freeze it. Fill it up with water, put the whole thing in the freezer, then you’ve got ice cold water while you’re hiking, for hours. Or you can use it as an ice block in your cooler. After it melts, you’ve got fresh water.
The one downside of these is they’re more bag than bottle, so when they’re not full, they won’t easily go into a bike cage or some backpack holders. So they do better playing back-up than the lead role. On the plus side, kids love the novelty.
These Vapur Element bottles come in four colors representing fire, wind, and water. There’s a 1-liter one, but it’s much easier to find the regular size, which is 7/10 of a liter. These retail for $11.99 if you buy direct from Vapur, but check prices online at Summit Hut too.
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Posted by Tim L. in General Gear, Kids and Family, Travel Light on May 2nd, 2012
GSI Collapsible Coffee Drip Travel Filter
Since the days when Starbucks became a fixture in every strip mall and top hotels began installing quality coffee makers or putting a cafe downstairs, getting a good cup of coffee when you travel has become expected. When good coffee is not around, we get cranky. For the price of a couple tall lattés, you can get this innovative collapsible coffee filter from GSI Outdoors and make a good cup anywhere. In the middle of the woods camping or in a cheap hotel with a cheap coffee maker, you can bring your own and get a good cup every time.
This filter collapses into a small disk that’s about the height of a stack of five coins and a diameter of 5.6 inches. The covering case is made from plastic, the filter itself from silicone. That means you can pour boiling water into this fine, but it is very pliable and packs down easily to stuff in a backpack or suitcase. It’s easy to clean and the silicone case can double as a trivet for a hot pot.
It works with standard drip machine paper filters (you do have to bring those along) but you can then adjust the amount of coffee to serve one cup or 12. GSI makes some portable java presses too, which are great for car camping—see my review of the 20-ounce one here—but this takes up far less room for when you’re not able to load up a car. It weighs less than 5 ounces.
The process for this Java Drip is that you center the filter hole over your receptacle (anything with a diameter larger than 2.5 inches) insert the filter and coffee, and pour in hot water. This means you are the actual coffee maker though, so there’s a bit of patience involved in pouring the hot water, letting it drip into the pot or mug, repeating until you’re done. The longer you’re into the cycle for a large pot, the longer it takes for the water to go down.
The waiting is worth it though: the results I’ve gotten with this have clearly bested any commercial drip coffee makers I’ve used. I’ve tried it with enough to fill up a home mug, with the Snow Peak Titanium travel mug, and a pot for four.
I’ve been quite impressed with this handy $13 item and it’s a sure thing for my packing list every time I go camping from now on. I’ll also be taking when I know I’ve got a dubious brand of coffee waiting in my not-so-luxe hotel or motel. (The trick is to use the provided coffee maker to just heat up the water, then transfer it to this filter.)
See more nifty camping items from GSI Outdoors and pick this filter up at Backcountry.com or Amazon.
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Posted by Tim L. in Adventure Gear, General Gear, Travel Light on April 11th, 2012
Sea to Summit Dry Lite Towel
According to “The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy,” a towel is about the most massively useful thing an interstellar hitchhiker can have. The same goes for a traveler, even if you’re stuck on this planet. But dragging a huge hotel towel everywhere can be a pain. Save space and bother by bringing a Sea to Summit Dry Lite Towel.
Made of 70 percent polyester and 30 percent nylon microfiber with ultra-suede finish, the towel is super-soft. It’s also available in a variety of colors and sizes—ranging from XS (12 x 24 inches) to XL (30 x 60 inches). For my test, I used a medium size. There’s a small, attached strap that unsnaps, so you can easily hang it to dry, or attach it to your bag.
On a hike in Kauai, it packed easily in my bag. I barely noticed the 3.6-ounce weight. But after I’d jumped into a natural pool to cool off, I’m glad I brought it.
The Dry Lite Towel is also amazingly absorbent. After I used my towel, I twisted out far more water than I thought it held. It saved me from dripping along on the trail after my swim. I carried it along on my shoulders through the forest, and by the time I got back to my hotel, it was nearly dry.
All I had to do when I got home was throw it into the washing machine, and it’s ready to go on my next adventure.
The Sea to Summit Dry Lite Towel lists for $9.90 to $32.90, depending on size, at RockCreek.com and backcountry.com.
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Posted by Jill in Adventure Gear, Travel Light on April 6th, 2012
Kelty Journey 2.0 Child Carrier
Full disclosure: I’m pretty hard to please when it comes to baby or child carriers, so I was excited to see what Kelty had in store in their new Kelty Journey 2.0. Like most traveling parents, we look to for products that are versatile—meaning ones that can be used by kids of varying ages and by both parents. To give the Kelty Journey a test drive, I asked my 5’2″ family travel blog editor, her 6’5″ husband, and their kids (ages three and one) to put it through its paces on a long hike. The Kelty worked well for all of them: it was safe, comfortable on the shoulders and back, and a great fit given its generous torso range of 15 to 19 inches.
Not only did the Journey 2.0 comfortably accommodate both Mom and Dad, but it adjusted easily to fit both children as well (it can accommodate a weight load of up to 50 pounds). We used it on both a one-year-old and three-year-old (ranging in weight from 25 pound to 40 pounds). With its user-friendly straps and clips, it takes less than a minute for parents to raise or lower the carrier seat, switch kids, and be on their way. Plus, the torso adjustment is at the hips, not the shoulders, which keeps kids’ center of gravity lower and less weight off the parents’ shoulders.
I was impressed with the amount of storage space the Journey 2.0 provides: significantly more than I’ve seen on other carriers. It also features an auto-deploy kickstand (especially handy when parents are trying to get the pack off by themselves), toy loops, a water bottle pocket, a five-point harness for the child, removable sunshade, and lots of safeguards on the hinges and clamps to avoid pinched fingers. All the straps (including the hip and shoulder straps) are double-lined and padded, and all material is water resistant (in a downpour, it will get damp).
I’d venture to say the Kelty Journey 2.0 is the best quality backpack carrier to hit the market in some time. If you spend significant time hiking, backpacking, camping, or traveling with kids in tow, it’s well worth the investment. What sets it apart? The ease of adjustment between wearers, the low seat to keep kids secure (and their center of gravity low), and the aple storage space. It weighs in at only seven pounds, and comes in four colors (I’m partial to the bright red). It’s available at eBags or find it as low as $200 on Amazon.
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Posted by Amy in Kids and Family on January 31st, 2012
Aerobed Comfy Mattress in a Bag
Whether you’re car camping or crashing in a relative’s living room for the holidays, an Aerobed mattress can mean the difference in a being refreshed or bleary-eyed in the morning.
We must have used the first one of these I got about a hundred times before it sprang a small leak that we were never able to find (probably around the pump housing somewhere). So now we’re back in action with this Premier Cushioned Comfort version that has a handy built-in pump. For a night in a tent or a recent vacation when we had one more person than we had beds in a rental condo, this Aerobed has been just the ticket. (Aerobed is a division of Coleman, so they know a thing or two about camping.)
The pump on this inflatable bed works super fast and will go in reverse mode to deflate it in a hurry too. It works and sounds like the pump on those Sleep Number beds and is just as effective at giving you the control you want for the perfect firmness setting. You can make adjustments while you’re lying down because the controls are on a wand at the end of a cord. With stabilization built around the edge, this is a very solid and comfy bed when inflated.
There are thinner versions that are less bulky, but I think it’s worth the extra weight for this 14-inch thick one as it’s as close as you’ll get to bed comfort in a portable package. The size means it will take sheets meant for a pillow-top mattress as well, so you can use whatever you already have in the linen closet for couchsurfers.
Once the bed is deflated, it fits into an included nylon drawstring sack that’s easy to stuff into the corner of your car trunk or a shelf in the basement when you’re not using it.
The built-in air pump comes with a three-year warranty, but any bad reviews you see of these products usually revolve around a leak developing after a few uses. Considering the huge number of these sold each year, the track record is pretty good, but use a credit card that doubles the one-year warranty on the rest of the bed if you want to be extra safe.
This premier version comes in a twin or queen size and lists for $149. (The latter supports 600 pounds—impressive for an inflatable bed!) Shipping is free if you order direct from Aerobed.
You can find the Aerobed Premier Cushioned Comfort bed at most big-box home and department stores, but Check prices online and you’ll probably save some money.
Posted by Tim L. in General Gear, Kids and Family on December 21st, 2011
