Cozier Than Home: My Trail Crib

[Gambit McCrae]

As I get older I have come to LOVE my tent time in the evenings and mornings. Especially on those cold misty days after walking all day the thought of being in the tent is hard to postpone for the day to complete itself.

Here is my setup for matching conditions(I just mean this is not the setup I use during warm weather, but this is my favorite setup when weather allows).

We start with the tent and go from there:
Tent: Tarptent Dipole ii with Tyvek laid out on top of bath tub floor
Pad: Exped UL downmat7 inside a sea to summit expander liner. Now this is an extra lb to carry but the texture and sound decrease of this lovely material vs a "plastic" pad under a "plastic" sleeping bag is top notch
Now we already found the flattest tent spot that will drain if rain, but once we got that pad in the tent we have to test it for levelness, may have to level it out with items from the pack.
Bag: EE L/W 0* over stuffed convert quilt
Pillow: Ok I am a sleeping primadonna but I embrace it...I carry 2 pillows. A S2S Large inflatable pillow and a medium S2S inflatable pillow. Same pillow, 2 sizes. I carry a cotton pillowcase and put both in there for propping up. Once it is sleep time(side sleeper) I pull the smaller one out and use it as a hugging pillow, head goes on the large pillow.

Now that we have our sleep system setup, its all about the apparel.
Alpaca socks, icebreaker wool top and bottom base layer(I just starting carrying this and forcing myself to use them an it was a real game changer), a light non itchy beanie(minus33 brand for me, amazon). On stand by I have a wool gator and some running mittens(just switched to mittens, tired of numb finger tips in gloves).


Now when I am in this setup above, I do not wish to walk all day. I would prefer to lay there and soak it up, but that don't get trails finished!!!

What's your ideal setup?

[chknfngrs]

Solo: tarp by Yama Mtn Gear. tyvek footprint. z rest. 20° economy burrow.
Family: same, except swap tarp for tent.

[Leo L.]

Started reading "As I get older..." and look at your signature, 35yrs?
No pee bottle mentioned in your setup, so guess you're not "old"?

For winter and other questionable conditions, I'm using the Exped Venus II extreme as a winter tent, an Exped Downmat (older model with just 1 valve) and top it with a Z-pad.
The sleepingbag is an Exped Swan (800gram downfilling) and I keep the downjacket handy to spread it over the bag, in case I'd get cold later in the night.
For a pillow, I stuff the bag of the downmat full with my daywear, esp. the fleece jacket.
My nightgown is a set of Merino long-sleeve underwear, plus a balaclava to keep my bald head warm.
Add in the inevitable pee bottle and the headlamp nearby, and I'm fine for the night.

[Gambit McCrae]

Started reading "As I get older..." and look at your signature, 35yrs?
No pee bottle mentioned in your setup, so guess you're not "old"?
.

Leo thats funny lol

I am still 35 years young but due to a degenerative back of multiple problems I feel a lot older sometimes.

Spondylosis over time is eating away at by back bone material. Doctor said my back is aging about twice as fast as the normal.

Scoliosis is the day to day joy of my life. I've got an S curve from the front, and the side view.

Icing on the back cake is my sacroiliac joint, pressure builds up to a point that if I wait too long I cant force a pop, I have to wait until it naturally occurs which can take some days of pain.
When my sacroiliac pops you can hear it across the room, and is one of the wildest feelings I've ever felt. Like my entire body has been realigned.

[chknfngrs]

I have a class 4 spondy!! If I don’t stretch I’m stiffer than a dead man.

[HankIV]

Leo thats funny lol

I am still 35 years young but due to a degenerative back of multiple problems I feel a lot older sometimes.

Spondylosis over time is eating away at by back bone material. Doctor said my back is aging about twice as fast as the normal.

Scoliosis is the day to day joy of my life. I've got an S curve from the front, and the side view.

Icing on the back cake is my sacroiliac joint, pressure builds up to a point that if I wait too long I cant force a pop, I have to wait until it naturally occurs which can take some days of pain.
When my sacroiliac pops you can hear it across the room, and is one of the wildest feelings I've ever felt. Like my entire body has been realigned.

Well if I didn’t respect the Gambit before….

In between tents, used a Nemo Hornet 2P on my thru. Just got a xmid pro, but only usage was on Olympic Peninsula where is was very humid, so jury is still out. Otherwise the standard Thermarest Neolite. UGQ synthetic Bandit, with outer shell being:
https://cdncozycig.addons.business/8...le-xs.jpg?c=13

[HankIV]

IMG_0251.jpeg

Not used to attaching pics here…

[Leo L.]

...

I am still 35 years young but due to a degenerative back ...
....

I apologise if, what was meant as a joke, came out offending.
Seems that everybody has to carry a burden, be it small or big.
I wish you all the best and happy trails!

[Gambit McCrae]

I apologise if, what was meant as a joke, came out offending.
Seems that everybody has to carry a burden, be it small or big.
I wish you all the best and happy trails!

Leo no apology needed, I wasn't offended at all but appreciate your intuitiveness

[Tipi Walter]

Finding a flat spot that will drain rain is sometimes a challenge as in a hard deluge many spots will gather water and either form Lake Effect or be subject to sheeting ground water mvt. I remember one time I was camping on Snowbird Creek during Hurricane Fred and my CS got flooded. Luckily my tent floor kept it all out.

Trip 213 (103)-XL.jpg

As far as a pillow goes, I refurbish an old silk shirt for a pillowcase and use a lightweight down jacket for the pillow in the pillow case. Doubles as emergency wear during very cold days.
Trip 218 (110)-XL.jpg

[Tipi Walter]

I also like my Icebreaker merino tops and include an Icebreaker balacalva too for warmth when moving. Icebreakers are heavy though and sometimes I'll use layered capilene instead---like Patagonia hoody etc.

TRIP 119 182-L.jpg

[LittleRock]

Tent: BA Fly Creek UL2 (perfect amount of space for me and my gear)
Pad: Therm-a-Rest (can't remember what kind)
Bag: Kelty 20F rated poly-fill
Clothes: Fleece pants/jacket, long johns/hat/gloves if it's cold
Pillow: any clothing I'm not wearing stuffed into sleeping bag sack

Two most important things for me:
1) Tent is set up so that any slant goes downhill toward my feet. This helps with blood flow toward legs and feet, and in the event of heavy rain or pooling water, only the lower part of the tent is affected (i.e. only the bottom part of the pad gets wet).
2) My biggest splurge item while backpacking is a paperback novel. Nothing beats reading on real paper with a headlamp in the comfort of my tent at night.

I also love setting up near a large stream or river. The natural white noise is so relaxing.