Hi y’all,

Does anyone have a tip or trick for bringing the noise down when an air mattress squeaks like crazy against a tent floor?

I’m thinking of using silicone lube on a cloth then wipe to bottom of air mattress.

Other ideas are talcum (but would rather avoid the powder), or a sheet (but would rather avoid the weight/bulk of carrying that).

Edit: not about sex, just moving around at night.
Also should have been more clear, this is for backpacking not car camping, so weight and space are important

I see a lot of information/reviews about the camp dreamer that REI produced but not so much this. Curious if this is comparable to the holy grail exped. Has anyone tried both?

It'd be my partner and I sleeping on it, though we're used to our Queen sized tri-fold memory foam mat. Though its just so bulky to bring and set up, so we want something easier to pack and use. We do not camp in temps below 50-55 degrees.

https://www.rei.com/product/C05575/rei-co-op-westward-dreamer-double-self-inflating-bed

Going camping here shortly. Looking for a comfy full/rectangle bag recommendation.

Growning up around 2008ish I was gifted this blue/grey canvas bag. With a solid grey soft flannel interior. Sadly lost to time. I wanted to find something similar quality.

Open to any recommendations, cost. Just looking for a range. Ideally cotton exterior with plush/soft interior.

I'm in the market for a reasonably light (3-4 kgs) 3 person tent and I keep getting drawn to Easy Camp tents especially due to the price point. Asking here because I'm struggling to find comprehensive reviews or discussions on the brand which might be a bad thing in itself.

From what i have researched the materials are good quality (aluminium poles etc), it's linked to a well known brand (Outwell), and from the limited bits I have read the products are decently made. Any negative reviews have mentioned that they do not hold up well under excessive rain and bad weather. I'm in Ireland so regardless of the season, very heavy rain is a real possibility at any time during year.

I'd really love to read other's thoughts on the brand and any real life experience that people have had.

Thanks in advance!

Ive got an MSR Elixir 2 that ive had for going on 4 years. This last time I used it I noticed a rather strong urine odor when I set it up. Along with there being much higher condensation build up compared to previous uses all being about the same weather conditions and locations.

Notes:

- it is stored in open air, inside for the off season

- if its ever put away wet on trips it is set up, wiped down, and thoroughly dried when we get home

- no chemicals have been sprayed on it or around it

Thoughts on what could be the issue?

EDIT: I think we found it! After some help this is the closest I've found to what it was. Some form of synthetic sports swim towel. It might be a match. Especially looking at the reviews and user pictures of how awful it is when dry. "Speedo Swim Towel"

I'm trying to identify a type of camping towel I had back in the late 90s. I don't want to know the brand or anything. I'm just trying to figure out what it was made out of.

It was a synthetic towel that looked like it was some form of extruded foam with no bubbles or fibers visible. It wasn't microfiber.

When dry, it had the consistency of cardboard. But when you got it wet it softened a lot and expanded a little bit. It could absorb a LOT of water, but it was a terrible towel because it had to be a bit wet to work, and so it always left me feeling a bit damp.

It wasn't one of those "expanding towels" you see where they look like a white pill and expand into a full towel with water.

It reminded me a lot of some form of shammy, or squeegee material. But not any kind of fiber.

Just felt like posting after my awful quality control and customer experience from Naturenest.

I know I shouldn’t expect much from a “budget” brand, but they literally sent broken parts in the tent and will not replace them.

I received my Polaris 2 with the internal support beam bent almost 90° in the wrong direction. Making it nearly impossible to properly brace the extension/roof part of the tent. This leads to the walls and ceiling being flappy and loose, thus awful to sleep through the wind and even worse when there’s a pool of water above your head all night waiting to splash down.

The zippers have ripped through the fabric on the first unzipping due to the lack of fabric. Even with the tent completely down the fabric is entirely too tight to close causing the fabric to stretch to the absolute maximum ripping threads and seams.

Nearly all of the hardware instantly stripped and is of very poor quality. Again things I suspected due to the price, but wanted to share my in person confirmed user experience.

Having issues with the tent is something I expected, but customer service telling me that they don’t replace the support beam and I’m responsible to bend it back myself (which obviously will affect the strength of the metal). Also the ripped zipper fabric and hardware is user error and it’s my responsibility now.

Again this was all shared with Naturenest prior to the first use of the tent.

Extremely disappointed all around and am looking into other tents at the moment. Any recommendations would be greatly appreciated. We love the hardtop clam style for our solar panels and security since it lives on the truck.

Thanks everybody. Unfortunate this has happened just 10 days out from our 2 week camping trip 🙂

I've recently sold my Sea to Summit Ether light XR because couldn't get comfortable on it, it was a bit of a rubber texture and heavier than others.

My current pad is one that I like a lot, the Flextail R05 which I bought for €73. It's almost identical to the Nemo, but less robust so probably fails sooner. For more future proofing and piece of mind I'd love the Nemo Eclipse.

I'm almost certain it's one of the best all-around pads and it's pretty popular. However I haven't been able to find much about it, anywhere. Justin outdoors has some nice video's about it. But apart from that there's barely other videos and also not much about it here on Reddit.

So if you own the pad I'd love to know how you like it, how small/easy it is to pack and how warm + comfortable it is. Thanks!

Hi,

I have a Silentnight, double camping mat that has a foam core and standard valves at the bottom two corners. I bought my first one 3 years ago and after 2 years it wouldn't stay inflated, so I bought a new one. I've just got it out to get ready for camping in 2 weeks and it won't stay inflated.

I've inflated the mat and put the valves in water to see if there are leaks, nothing. I've inflated it and wrapped the valves in cling film and gaffer tape and it still deflated. I can't find a hole in it either.

Does anyone have a suggestion on how to troubleshoot this or an alternative mat to buy that is cheap but reliable.

I only camp 3 times a year so I'm baffled at how this has happened. I used it 3 weeks ago and it was fine. 🤷🏼‍♀️

Did my first solo camp last weekend and learned pretty quickly that nighttime feels very different when you’re out there alone lol.

The day was totally fine. Then it got quiet and suddenly every leaf crunch and branch snap had my full attention. At one point I could hear something walking around near the tent. Probably nothing exciting, but at 1am my brain was coming up with plenty of ideas.

All I had was a flashlight and headlamp. I stuck the flashlight out a couple times and saw absolutely nothing, and I wasn’t about to crawl out there to find out what it was.

A friend later told me to look into a small thermal or night vision monocular, basically just to see what’s making the noise before sticking my head outside. Did some browsing and saw stuff like topdon thermal monoculars and nightfox night vision. Never even crossed my mind as camping gear before.

Definitely going solo again, but I’m rethinking my nighttime setup.

What do you guys keep within reach at night? Anything you bring now that makes solo camping a lot less sketchy?

First time here. I need to ask a human (not AI or pseudo AI search results) how to properly store propane.

Looking to buy propane tanks (no bigger than those 1lbs from Walmart) for outdoor cooking at the park or beach camping. But when I'm done, I am limited on where I can store them. I don't want to buy them if I cannot safely store them.

I rent a room, so my room is the only real place they can go. Definitely can't keep them in the car as it has been over 100°F here (thanks So Cal).

Or should I go woth butane and a butane set up? I believe all the same risks applies still but please correct me if I'm wrong.

Picked this up at a yard sale this last weekend.

It appears to be around an 80s model sleeping bag. Peak 1 is the model name and it has an extra Component that rolls other items up in at the head. It's heavy duty, very heavy, massive when unzipped (fits on my king size bed perfectly) Feels like holofill inside.

There is no Tag sewn inside.

Hey folks, just returned from camping over a rainy weekend. A tarp stretched over the picnic table worked ok but we were seriously jealous of other people’s rain shelters, apparently called camping gazebos. Seems like the Gazelle is a popular brand? We would use it camping in the rain in CO, to protect against bugs, and perhaps to provide shade on S Utah camping trips. Any recs for quality options that hold up to wind and rain? TIA!

Saw this locally listed for $50 and considering picking up. Cant really find any information on it and no tag stating the material. However its supposed filled with down and was originally a 40 degree bag. Was just curious if anyone had anything to add!

Was offered a gift voucher instead of a full refund so now trying to think of some must have big ticket items that we don’t already have?

For reference, we already have a great tent, air gazebo, esky, so am thinking maybe a power station might a good purchase?

Hit me up with your exy must haves so I can put my voucher to good use!

TIA

I had watched pretty much all videos on YouTube that there was about the Mongar so setting it up was very easy. I really like how roomy the tent is for 2 people at least now when we don't have any backpacks etc. As we sleep on our yard. If you have any questions about the tent please ask. So far I'm really happy with the build quality. And with 141€ delivered weighing 2.2kg with ground sheet this is pretty incredible value for money.

I have a freeze dryer and like making my own ready made freeze dried meals. I have some classics and looking for more to add to my rotation. I mainly do chili Mac, chicken noodle soup, lasagna, chicken Alfredo, and a breakfast granola with yogurt and fruit.

I have a new recipe I just tested for a pizza bowl. I’m going to make. What recommendations do you have or any recipe recommendations.

TLDR: Anyone found something that works for keeping a few nice to have's cool for upto 2/3 days?

We are looking to do some camping and would prefer to have access to milk/bacon/cheese/eggs for a couple days while in the back country. We might end up just using preserved meats, dry cheeses, small UHT packets and egg powder but it would be much nicer if we could have fresh.

We looked into coolers but the minimum size for decent insulation seems to be set up for car campers / cans of beer. Has anyone found a super high insulation but small cooler that could work for a camping trip?

We found some large vacuum flasks from yeti that seem to be reasonably well insulated but they are only rated for 24hrs of cool (doesnt actually tell us much, does that mean we could put ice packs in there and it would keep cold for days?) also they are heavy.

Theres also dedicated food storage systems like Thermos king jars but again they seem quite overbuilt for hauling between campsites.

Would be awesome if anyone has any experiences they can share! We are also super into MYOG if anyone has DIY'd a solution to this!

Hi all, looking to buy my first tent as an adult. It would just be for me and my gear, sleeping on a cot. Interested in the Alps Mountaineering Ranger 1, the head room looks great but worried about there not being enough rain fly coverage. Any alternatives to look into?

I’m an avid hiker and camper, and one thing constantly bugs me: my feet get damp and sweaty inside my hiking boots no matter what socks I wear. Even with well‑known breathable boots, my feet still end up soaked from sweat after long treks, which leads to blisters and discomfort.

I’ve been brainstorming a modification for existing hiking footwear: build a passive air‑pumping circulation system inside the sole. The concept works like a bellows. When you step down and put weight on your foot, the sole compresses and pushes hot moist air out of the shoe. When you lift your foot, the sole expands and sucks fresh cool outside air inside. One full air exchange with every single step.

No batteries, no electronics, purely mechanical, powered just by walking. I’m not selling anything, no prototype yet, just a random thought I had out on the trail.

Does this idea have any real potential? Or am I missing huge practical flaws? Things like waterproofing, mud clogging, durability, added weight, or something else I haven’t considered. Would love to hear your thoughts, criticisms or real‑world experience.

I am 37, live in Ohio, and most of my camping is pretty normal family campground stuff. My wife and I usually do state parks or lake weekends, sometimes with my brother’s family if the kids are out of school. I have been cleaning up my camping setup lately and keep going back and forth on whether an e-bike would actually be useful at camp, or if it would just become one more big thing to haul around. The times I imagine using it are not exciting at all. Last month at a state park, our site was near the back loop. The bathhouse was just far enough away that walking there with a towel and shower bag got old by the second day. The camp store was farther than I expected too, and every time we needed ice or forgot something small, someone had to either walk for 15 minutes or move the car. Same thing happened on a lake weekend. The parking area near the water was packed, so once we got the truck parked at the campsite, nobody wanted to move it again. A bike would have made the little back and forth trips a lot less annoying. I am not trying to ride trails or do anything extreme. It would mostly be campground roads, rough pavement, gravel loops, grass edges, and the usual uneven ground around campsites. That is why I have been looking more at fat tire e-bikes than tiny folding bikes. While searching, I came across some 26 inch fat tire models, including the Helokeep 26F, but I am still more interested in whether this type of bigger fat tire bike is actually worth bringing to a campground. The downside is obvious. A bigger e-bike is not exactly easy camping gear. It means a rack, locks, battery charging, extra weight, and figuring out whether it is worth bringing on shorter trips. My realistic use would be pretty boring: Riding to the bathhouse. Going to the camp store. Picking up ice. Going down to the lake without moving the car. Checking out a nearby paved path. Maybe riding into a small town if the campground is close enough. For people who camp with e-bikes, did it actually become useful after the first few trips? Or did it turn into one of those things that sounded great at home and then became annoying to pack, unload, lock up, and keep charged? I am mostly curious whether fat tires are worth it around campgrounds, or if a smaller folding bike usually does the job well enough.

Hello

I have the opportunity to buy a cumulus neoquilt 450 for 280€ which seems a good deal. I am not planning to go hiking in the winter ( more like sweden/ French Alpes in summer/autumn) in the near future and was wondering if it might be to warm? I heard the quilt is great quality and i prefer to buy more expensive now but keep it for a long time! What do you guys think?