Luxuries on long term hiking/camping

[hunter63]

Coffee, pillow, flashlight........these are not luxuries....
Did applaud the coffee singles....

[Rick]

Oh, uh, yeah. TP.

[hunter63]

Oh, uh, yeah. TP.

This sounds like a "If you could have one luxury item" thread....LOL
Coffee over TP....

[TXyakr]

Coffee with sweetner is high on my list, I wish I could live without this since it is a diuretic and causes dehydration and increases my need for water and potty breaks but dang I "need" it!

Can more easily live without inflatable pillow (rarely use mostly just for car and plane travel). Tiny Alite chair, but hammock or hammock sling chair with trekking poles and one tree is even lighter and more comfortable. Tiny fabric table made of carbon fiber arrow shafts tripod for camp stove not necessary but saves my old back.

Back to COFFEE!! If not SUL I like small French Press and coarse ground beans (paid $1.49 for BonJour 3 cup plastic at Thrift Store remove outer plastic handle which is not necessary). You can also buy Snow Peak Titanium for about $45 (on sale) and just use that as your everything pot or much cheaper GSI plastic model. A guy on backpackinglight made his own plunger/press for a wider standard Ti pot which was cool. BUT for truely "Super Ultra Light" I just use a small bag or container of instant coffee and scoop out spoonfull each day as I need it. Reduce wastefull bags of SB Via by dumping into just one container. Dang French Press can get you hooked on great coffee so nothing else ever tastes good again. You have been warned. Another option that I have not tried is that Presto MyJo that only requires Hot Water from your cook pot to use a Keurig style of coffee or tea disposable container:
http://www.walmart.com/ip/Presto-MyJ...Maker/35495713

[crashdive123]

Coffee while camping is not a luxury, it is a necessity as evidenced by its placement in the rule of 3's.

3 minutes without air
3 hours without shelter
3 days without water
3 weeks without food
3 nano seconds if you mess with a man's coffee

[natertot]

3 milliseconds if you mess with a mans bacon......

[Tokwan]

Dead if you take away my tent fan

[Batch]

Yep - at least a gallon a day. Heat and humidity are part of it, but I also try and lead a very active lifestyle between work and play, so staying hydrated is a key. It also helps with losing/keeping weight off.

For consumption - I do not count any beverages with caffeine in them (diuretic) although my bladder does.

I buy bulk gallon waters from Sam's. I take a new gallon every day during the summer. I drank a full gallon today. Cooler months sometimes I just drink half a gallon.

[hunter63]

This sounds like a "If you could have one luxury item" thread....LOL
Coffee over TP....

You can find stuff to wipe your butte in the wild....hard to find coffee.......

[TXyakr]

Dead if you take away my tent fan

I agree with you on fans in the heat. Near the mouth of the Amazon (Belem) I used a fan all the time. Basically did not sweat for a few minutes a day after a cold shower while standing in front of a fan, slept in a cotton hammock with fan blasting on me.
Now in Texas I have two battery fans one with just 2 D cells for backpacking and one with 8 D cells for car and large canoe camping when temps never go below 80°F before dawn and humidity is high but nothing like a jungle. Some canoe camping friends of mine refuse to camp in the TX summer but they have not learned to use a hammock or to shower multiple times a day and move very slow from shower or river bath to hammock for bed/sleep time. It is a learned skill I guess. Fan not netting keeps blood sacking insects away. Bottom line fan may be essential.

[Tokwan]

It is where I am...can't live without one.

[finallyME]

You can find stuff to wipe your butte in the wild....hard to find coffee.......

I don't drink coffee, which is why baby wipes are #1.

[Wise Old Owl]

Oh, uh, yeah. TP.

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[Wise Old Owl]

My idea of a luxury item is a little different from you gear heads... My idea would be to have a wonderful female hiking partner aged 45-50 who is stoked in hiking light and fast... Any takers?





Damn I miss her....

[natertot]

I don't know about camo TP. I think it would be a little hard to lose!

[Duece]

I like to bring a six pack or 2,depending on how far i have to carry them,something really relaxing about having a cold beer by the fire after a nice hike

[ClayPick]

There ya go!

[TXyakr]

Alite chair is a luxury item I occasionally take when lightweight backpacking but this "One tree sling chair" designed by "Hog On Ice" is about 1/5th the weight at only about 3-4 ounces if you are already using trekking poles or found sticks.



Obvious disadvantage is that it is fairly technical to DIY/construct and assemble in the field. A simpler ultra light hammock chair requiring two trees/posts or one overhead branch OR a tiny fabric/tent pole chair (brands like Alite, REI and Helinox) is more popular with all but the most dedicated gram weenie.

[TXyakr]

I don't know about camo TP. I think it would be a little hard to lose!

Nothing worse than seeing that white stuff all scattered about from folks that did not bury it deep enough or burn it with pj. Wild hogs dig it up ya know. So buy the camo if ur not going to burn it/bury it. just my opinion. joking.

Once I was canoeing with this inexperienced guy who just threw a roll in a plastic grocery store bag in the bottom of the canoe, it got soaking wet. He then asked to "borrow" mine. (LOL) Keep what you use buddy. Then he complained I had not brought enough. I only bring what I need. There is a river flowing right by, use this huge bidet, take your bag fill it with water and wash away buddy. OMG some people cannot "think outside the box".

Here is something else I pack with my toilet paper/pj/fire starter in a very small "dry bag" that acts as a back up (Bidet) if I run out of TP:

http://qiwiz.net/trowels.html

I consider this a requirement not a luxury, due to LNT, also a trowel is very useful for many other things.

[Rick]

I always take TP out with me. I carry extra bags for that.

"Use toilet paper sparingly and use only plain, white, non-perfumed brands. Toilet paper must be disposed of properly! It should either be thoroughly buried in a cathole or placed in plastic bags and packed out. Natural toilet paper has been used by many campers for years. When done correctly, this method is as sanitary as regular toilet paper, but without the impact problems. Popular types of natural toilet paper include stones, vegetation and snow. Obviously, some experimentation is necessary to make this practice work for you, but it is worth a try! Burning toilet paper in a cathole is not generally recommended."

https://lnt.org/learn/principle-3