BACKPACKING Gear that can Make a BIG Difference!!

no backpack and the small things can make a big difference I'm going to show you five things five things I've upgraded in my gear collection that's making my life more comfortable more efficient and more lightweight while I'm out backpacking that's next okay so we're getting towards the end of the year and I thought this would be a great time to take a look at my gear and think about what I would like to switch out I've had a really good year backpacking I've spent three days in the Desolation Wilderness south of Lake Tahoe I've been to Southern Nevada hiked up in the desert down there hiked in the desert here as well as up in the mountains around here around Lake Tahoe in the northern Sierra Nevadas found a really good year but I'm thinking about my gear and I'm thinking what are some small things I can switch out that could make a bigger difference for my next year and for my winter of hiking and backpacking as well so I got five things we're gonna go over that I'm going to show you guys that I've recently picked up and I'm going to show you five alternatives that are almost like half the price so you can consider that as well if that's more affordable for you in your budget but let's take a look at what I've got here okay so I think a lot of people doing this when they're backpacking especially when they're first start out backpacking and that is to take your stuff sack from your sleeping bag put your puffy in it put your down jacket in it you a couple of shirts cinch it up now you got a pillow you don't even think about really bringing a pillow or what that you know having a real pillow would be like my net number one thing I've switched it I'm switching out pillow I got the Nemo Phil oh here this is really nice six inches by 4 inches packs down really small nine ounces on this little bad boy it does have an integrated Rain not an integrated rain it has an integrated stuff sack that check this out pull this out boom look at that that's part of your never gonna lose your stuff sack also that pulls down inside there velcro's down like that and this also is a removable pillowcase comes in multiple colors multiple patterns and really easy to inflate pull that up two breaths that's it push it back down there's no twisting turning bending hoping there is a little loop there to hang it on a tree or something if it does get wet Nimmo fill oh it has memory foam some foam inside of it plus it inflates plus removable pillow case $29.99 I got this at REI and it was a little bit on sale I think was normally like $35 I strongly recommend a new pillow I'm excited for this very company it's a real pillow it's got foam and everything like I said a good alternative would be the trek ology ultralight inflating pillow that can be found on Amazon four stars that's getting there and that is 15 dollars and forty seven cents as of today 2.75 ounces so that's about half the price it is going to be more off like just a straight inflatable pillow there's no removable pillow case there's no foam there's nothing like that but it will fold down and be a pillow that should work okay so I'm probably like a lot of people I'm out backpacking I'm out hiking that summer it's hot it's the sun's really intense and yet I'm wearing a ball cap and you're not protecting anything your ears your neck your nose are totally exposed and I am strongly recommending that you wear and I'm going to wear is a wide brim hat this is the Outdoor Research sambar la is what they call it it's a men's Sun Hat moisture-wicking quick dry super ventilated look at the sides here is ventilated on the sides and on the front like that the inside has this mesh netting and then the outside acts like a rain fly so it's almost like a tent because now it's got that gap in between and it breathes really well this hat is very lightweight I'm not sure if the way it is I'm guessing about 6 ounces versus really light for a very firm rim on it and this goes for $31 Sun Burley but Outdoor Research does have the drawstring very very important to have the drawstring I had my cowboy hat on last summer I was in the mountain pass wind came up took the hats 20 feet up in the air was heading back the other way and it would have been gone had I blown any farther earth a little stronger so but really nice having the drawstring on it does have a cinch string on the back here but again and it's very uh very Australian looking welcome to the outback welcome to Australia pretty seriously guys I strongly recommend the wide brim hat you can only screen up so much because every two or three hours you got a rescreen and you're going to miss something's going to make in and get missed somewhere along the way so you won't regret it a good alternative would be with Walmart just even going into the Walmart in spring or early summer they usually have wide brim men's Sun hats that have some moisture wicking you know qualities that are lightweight foldable online they have one called the Hirogen it's the outdoor wide grip men's Sonia eight dollars and 59 cents that's a good alternative get a hat okay so I backpacked four years and I get to camp and I have really nothing to sit in I go to the campfire and I'm looking for a log I'm looking for a rock I sit the dirt I'm very comfortable on the ground maybe - my own fault maybe I need to take better care of myself and I thought you know what maybe it's time I do that take care of myself so I'm getting myself a chair I got it REI co-op flex light air one pound on that chair folds down very small comes in a stuff sack as you can see look at this it's got ripstop nylon there and look at the pole system what happened let's take a puppet that's knit some kind of a hi everybody but no it's not a puppet it is a chair so it's all it's all one continuous piece all shot courted together I really like that a lot you're not looking for multiple pieces and parts and wondering exactly where they go there it is that's essentially there's your chair and see if we can do this here we're going to throw some b-roll over over the top of this as well let's see here we go and there you go there we go there's your chair isn't that nice it has a 250 pound capacity is 11 inches from here to the base of the chair there is no secondary of pockets or nut shelves but places to put a beer or something this is a very simple chair super lightweight but I just I've never had a chair like it way in the backcountry I'm just so used to just sitting on the ground so this in here is nice step up a nice upgrade for me I got this at REI for 99.95 but I got an REI discount of 20% so I got it for $80 it's well worth it for me because I am gonna have this for years and like I said it is one pound a good alternative for this would be the trek ecology use ego that is 39.99 essentially half the price it is two pounds on that and that is getting pretty good reviews on Amazon 4.5 stars does come with a storage sack and I think there's even a pocket underneath it but that would be a great alternative okay so I've been backpacking for a lot of years and I've had a lot of different sleep pads over the years I used to have the old blue Walmart foam pad for years I've had the original thermal rust check that out that could be the museum maybe I've been using the therm-a-rest Z light closed cell technology that's been very nice to work with but I've since upgraded I'm gonna take care of myself I'm worth it I'm going with the Nemo tensor insulated and I got the regular wide on that that regular wide is 72 inches long there it is and that is 25 inches wide so it's a little wider I really like that they didn't have one that was a regular regular and it was a 5 inches shorter I'm kind of a side sleeper so I really appreciate that this is ultralight at 19 ounces I'm really happy with that hundred and thirty one dollars it does compared to the therm-a-rest NeoAir x-lite which is more money it is the lighter pad though it's a great pad don't get me wrong a lot of people love that pad but it does have a different technology and it's kind of crinkly the NeoAir is kind of crinkly and the Nemo tensor is not it's a different technology so it's quiet at night it doesn't have that frankly potato chip bag sound which would drive me crazy I could handle that this inflates with this Nemo check that out it's called the vortex pump sack and it has the instructions right there what you do is you take this valve attach it to the valve here and you blow into this and then you roll this thing up like that right and you just force the the air into that it actually works really well I was really impressed with that it takes about four four bags to roll up in there the reason they have this technology is people are blowing on this and over time the moisture from their mouth gets inside here creates mold and that is a problem with your gut your sleep system so a good alternative well we're right back to firm resi light this is a great alternative I am NOT getting rid of this I will never get punctured and go flat in the middle of the night in this it's guaranteed never to go flat so there you have it okay so you're hiking you're at the camp you're set up and you want into a side excursion right and maybe bag a peak how fun would that be little the day trip somewhere what do you do though what do you what do you do I would do what I recommend is something like this a foldable packable day pack this is called a venture pal it's a 35 litre baby pack watch this now zip zip voila I got a day pack right there there's my day pack 35 litre pack it costs 20 dollars and 99 cents you can't go wrong with that gives you something to work with you know you can get quite a bit of gear in here I'm able to actually get a 32 ounce Nalgene bottle right in there like that you can get two of those in there and for extra security I found you can take the side compression strap run it through like that through the lid strap there and now that's not going anywhere if you bend over or something it does have just two the shoulder harnesses there is no belt there's no belt on this it does have a chest harness that adjusts up and down like that and has a whistle on it it's fairly loud but look at that $20.99 that comes in 17 different colors and patterns I like this color it's got some reflective qualities of those straps and things like that zero point seven pounds lifetime warranty probably limited or something does have a section in the main compartment for hydration if you want that and apparently is water and tear resistant so I would recommend that I have no other recommendations for a cheap alternative this is the cheap alternative foldable de pack for 20 dollars and 99 cents it is not a $130 Osprey Stratos 24 or something but 20 bucks that's great it gives you some options something to work with you never know so the point of all of this is to make your backpacking experience a little more comfortable a little more efficient and a little more enjoyable and that's really what this is all about because you're worth it and this is how you do that you can do this over time and you got alternatives that you can look at I love backpacking love being on the outdoors and you want to make it great for yourself so hey thanks for watching if you like this video and you want to subscribe just do that right now I appreciate that and I really appreciate you guys for watching my channel I've seen some growth lately and I'm enjoying this I'm gonna keep going we'll see you next time and as always keep hiking

Channel: Base Camp Chris

Views: 106,491

Rating: 4.7782664 out of 5

Keywords: gear review, outdoor gear review, hiking gear, camping gear, base camp chris, sleep pads, camp chair, backpacking pillow, backpacking gear review, day hike gear, best gear for backpacking, how to backpacking gear, camping gear upgrades, Nemo Fillo Inflatable Travel Pillow, REI Co-op Flexlite Air Chair, Venture Pal Lightweight Packable Durable Travel Hiking Backpack Daypack, Nemo Tensor Ultralight Sleeping Pad, venture pal 35 L daypack, budget backpacking gear

Id: l3wzJ22pOJU

Length: 15min 21sec (921 seconds)

Published: Wed Nov 27 2019