Hitches Unlimited

It’s always been my contention that when it comes to camping gear, you have to pay a premium for the lightweight backpacking variety. That logic got stood on its head when Eureka!® sent me one of their Kotey 35-degree bags, which weighs just a shade over two pounds and retails for less than $100.

The Kotey comes in a 14-inch by 7-inch stuff sack, with integral compression straps that really help turn it into a small package. I had no problems fitting the Kotey into the bottom of my daypack, which is a huge advantage over strapping a bag to the outside of the pack.

I have always liked the idea of a synthetic bag, from a durability standpoint, but they have never really hit the size and weight requirements to fit my needs. The Kotey is not only a few ounces heavier than my down bag, but it’s less than half the price.

The Kotey is 82-inches long, which was just right for my 6’ 3” frame. The shell is a soft polyester material that was comfortable and quiet. The zipper has an effective draft tube that keeps cold air at bay, but the zipper is a bit stiff and seems small for this application. It might loosen-up with more use.

The Kotey is rated to 35-degrees, which I have not been able to tryout, yet. After several nights in the low to mid-40s though, I’m confident that the Kotey is going to be comfortable down to its specified temperature. This is exactly what I was looking for in a sleeping bag, one that was small enough to fit inside my daypack and warm enough to handle the summer Sierra high country.

See also…

• The Camping Gear List
• Merrell Intercept Gore-Tex Hiking Shoes
• Black Diamond Octane Pack

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East Harbor SP (basile12 on Flickr)

Every year, Steve Cheslock takes his family camping at East Harbor State Park, on Lake Erie in Ohio. Like most of us who camp, Steve had seen his share of people struggle with tent stake removal over the years, but last year he got to experience it for himself when it came time for him to tear down his tent. This got Steve to thinking about a better way to remove stubborn tent stakes from the ground and, in January of this year, the STAKE BUDDY™ was born.

I spent a few months mulling over design ideas and by October, I had filed the preliminary patent paperwork. We bought an industrial sewing machine and tested various fabrics for the handle and the straps, trying to find the right mix of how it looked, quality, and cost.

Just when you think every outdoor product that could ever be invented has already been invented, along comes Steve and his STAKE BUDDY to prove me wrong. The beauty is in the simplicity of the design, which gives the user the leverage needed to effectively remove a stake without damaging the tent (or turning the stake into a projectile!).

Possibly the best feature of the STAKE BUDDY is that it will easily fit in your tent bag or stake bag, so it’s always available when you need it. I have traditionally used a standard claw hammer when I run into stuck stakes, but sometimes the car can be a long ways away  –  which encourages tugging on the tent strap, instead.  $15 is a small price to pay for insurance against a ripped tent.

For more information about the STAKE BUDDY visit www.stakebuddy.com.

See also…

• Mechanic Invents Better Campfire Roasting Fork
• Best Waterproof Bag. Period.
• Stop Hydration Pack Mold in its Tracks

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Vintage Coleman cooler (photo by Caffinara on Flickr)

The year I was born, 1965, Coleman® introduced the popular steel-sided ice chest that I imagine many of us grew with, camping with our families. I imagine that it wasn’t all that great, compared to some of today’s high-tech plastic coolers, but it was as much a part of my early camping experience as the smell of kerosene from the camp stove and I kind of miss its retro-simplicity.

Unlike 1965, we have a lot of choices these days, when it comes to keeping our camping food cold. There are coolers of all different shapes and sizes, hard-sided, soft-sided and even refrigerated units. We have the boating industry to thank for a lot of the technology we see in today’s multi-day ice chests and, indeed, some of the best (and most expensive) coolers on the market are aimed primarily at boaters.

Go Vintage

Retro-styled Coleman Steel Belted Cooler

Colman stopped making their metal cooler in 1994, but that doesn’t mean you have to work the garage sales to get your retro fix. In 2001, they introduced a reinterpretation of the old classic, under the Steel Belted® name.

Size: 54-quart
Dimensions: 24.25” x 16.75” x 16.75” (L, W, H)
Weight: 22-pounds
www.Coleman.com

Go Wheeled

Igloo All-Terrain Cooler

Big ice chests work great on boats, where you don’t have to move them around, much. On land, though, these behemoths can tip the scales at over 100-pounds, which makes them cumbersome for family camping. Igloo® gives you the best of both worlds with their All-Terrain™ line of wheeled  ice chests.

Size: 120-quart
Dimensions: 38.31” x 17.38” x 17.75” (L, W, H)
Weight: 32-pounds
www.IglooCoolers.com

Go Soft

AO Coolers 48-Pack Soft Sided Cooler

Soft-sided coolers have a bit of a bad rap as being okay for picnic lunches, but not serious contenders for family camping. That’s not the case with American Outdoors® coolers, however. They feature more insulation than other soft-sided coolers and are guaranteed to hold ice for 24-hours at 120-degrees.

Size: 36-quart (approximately)
Dimensions: 21” x 13” x 13” (L, W, H)
Weight: 6-pounds
www.AOCoolers.com

Go Refrigerated

Engel portable refrigerator-freezer

Like soft-sided coolers, 12-Volt coolers have a reputation for not keeping food cold, in addition to having lots of reliability problems. Engel coolers are a different story, though, and their AC/DC coolers feature ultra-efficient motors that have a great reputation for longevity.

Size: 40-quart
Dimensions: 25” x 15.5” x 18.5” (L, W, H)
Weight: 48-pounds
www.Engel-USA.com

See also…

• The Camping Gear List
• Camping Stove Buyers Guide
• How to Use an Ice Chest

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Continuing our look at some of the highest quality family camping tents on the market, this week we turn to Mountain Hardwear, based in the San Francisco Bay Area. The company is known for their innovative technology and products, including tents.

While Mountain Hardwear focuses primarily on lightweight backpacking and climbing tents, their Habitat and Casa line are both suitable for family camping. Best of all, these larger tents include all of the great technology of Mountain Hardwear’s lightweight tents, including anodized aluminum poles with clips for attaching the tent body.

Habitat

The Habitat comes in 3-person ($325) and 5-person ($425 – shown) versions. A $60 footprint is available separately. The opaque sidewalls and ample amount of mesh provide plenty of light and ventilation and the design features two doors, for even more airflow.

With the rain fly in place, front and rear vestibules provide room for gear, which frees-up floor space inside the tent. Floor space is always a major consideration for family camping with kids and the Habitat makes the most of it, with near-vertical sidewalls and a 6 ft. 4 in. center height for the Habitat 5.

Casa

The Casa line comes in 4-person ($350 – shown) and 6-person ($435) versions. A $50 footprint is available separately. Like the Habitat, the Casa features opaque sidewalls large mesh windows for interior light and ventilation. The single door is tall and wide, for easy access.

The rain fly also features opaque sidewalls for better interior light. The rain fly also provides a large front vestibule area that is 5 ft. 5 in. long. Near vertical sidewalls make the most of the 6 ft. 4 in. by 7 ft. 10 in. floor area (Casa 4). The center height of the Casa 4 is 5 ft. 3 in.

Three or four hundred dollars is a lot of money to pay for a family tent, but the Habitat and Casa are a far cry from anything you’ll find at the local superstore. Mountain Hardwear uses the best materials and these designs are infinitely more usable and durable than lesser tents, making these great investments for your family camping future.

See also…

• 2010 Big Agnes Family Camping Tents
• 5 Products to Keep You Warm during Fall Camping
• First Look: 2010 Grand Manan Tour

Have you subscribed to my newsletter? I publish it once a month with articles that are unique to the newsletter and not found in the RSS or email feeds.

Continuing our look at some of the highest quality family camping tents on the market, this week we turn to Mountain Hardwear, based in the San Francisco Bay Area. The company is known for their innovative technology and products, including tents.

While Mountain Hardwear focuses primarily on lightweight backpacking and climbing tents, their Habitat and Casa line are both suitable for family camping. Best of all, these larger tents include all of the great technology of Mountain Hardwear’s lightweight tents, including anodized aluminum poles with clips for attaching the tent body.

Habitat

The Habitat comes in 3-person ($325) and 5-person ($425 – shown) versions. A $60 footprint is available separately. The opaque sidewalls and ample amount of mesh provide plenty of light and ventilation and the design features two doors, for even more airflow.

With the rain fly in place, front and rear vestibules provide room for gear, which frees-up floor space inside the tent. Floor space is always a major consideration for family camping with kids and the Habitat makes the most of it, with near-vertical sidewalls and a 6 ft. 4 in. center height for the Habitat 5.

Casa

The Casa line comes in 4-person ($350 – shown) and 6-person ($435) versions. A $50 footprint is available separately. Like the Habitat, the Casa features opaque sidewalls large mesh windows for interior light and ventilation. The single door is tall and wide, for easy access.

The rain fly also features opaque sidewalls for better interior light. The rain fly also provides a large front vestibule area that is 5 ft. 5 in. long. Near vertical sidewalls make the most of the 6 ft. 4 in. by 7 ft. 10 in. floor area (Casa 4). The center height of the Casa 4 is 5 ft. 3 in.

Three or four hundred dollars is a lot of money to pay for a family tent, but the Habitat and Casa are a far cry from anything you’ll find at the local superstore. Mountain Hardwear uses the best materials and these designs are infinitely more usable and durable than lesser tents, making these great investments for your family camping future.

See also…

• 2010 Big Agnes Family Camping Tents
• 5 Products to Keep You Warm during Fall Camping
• First Look: 2010 Grand Manan Tour

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GPS and map software company DeLorme and personal satellite communications company SPOT are launching the DeLorme Earthmate® PN-60w with SPOT Satellite Communicator today, at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas. The two devices communicate over a proprietary wireless data link, allowing the user to send short messages over the worldwide Globalstar satellite network.

Other than the wireless data link, the new PN-60w appears to offer identical specs to DeLorme’s PN-40, with an STMicroelectronics’ Cartesio™ 32-Channel GPS chipset and 500MB of internal Flash storage. The wireless data link appears to be a bit of a work-in-progress, as the product will initially communicate only with the SPOT Satellite Communicator. A future firmware release is slated to add handheld-to-handheld communication, allowing multiple users to see each other’s location on their displays.

The ability to send text messages from anywhere with a view of the sky is powerful and make this an innovative solution for travelers in remote camping spots. I’m looking forward to the day when we can transfer pictures and also receive messages over a satellite network. The PN-60w with SPOT Satellite Communicator will be available this spring – pricing was not announced.

See also…

• Cool Summer Camping Gadgets for 2009
• 5 More Useless Camping Products
• Cool Camping Gadgets from CES 2009

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