A good pad and sleeping bag are a huge plus for camping
Most people can't sleep on the ground. I have the Therm-a-Rest NeoAir inflatable pad, it provides excellent isolation and it's comfortable. It's narrow though, I bought the REG size, it's 20" wide, too narrow. I'm selling it on eBay and getting the LRG one which is 25" wide. For the sleeping bag I have a REI 2-season down bag, plus a thin thermal "insert" layer that adds like 10 degrees in cold weather.
I also have to have a pillow and experimented a bit and eventually made my own small pillow. I just took a regular pillow and made it like 1/4. The pillow, the bag, the liner and the extra thermal blanket plus sleeping clothes fit in one medium Sea To Summit compression sack and the sleeping pad is very small too. This is the kind of stuff a backpacker would use. Not as compact as some folks here use but I had to balance the size and cost.
Originally Posted by
zoltani
I've got a kelty noah's tarp I use for backpacking. Works pretty well, not too expensive, lightweight.
Is it waterproof? I was looking at it several times, but I seem to remember some people complaining that it's very thin and doesn't offer much protection from rain and strong sun. What's your experience?
I'd like to combine it with my tent to add some sheltered area on rainy or very sunny days so I don't have to sit inside the tent.
Originally Posted by
rogerstg
I'm happy that you stay away from the USA too, seriously.
Yeah, a bit of an overreacting fella, huh?