Camping Gear

southerncross

southerncross

Well-Known Member
Silver Stacker
I've spent a lot of time in the bush, Heat and Rain mostly, not so much the cold though except for trips into the center and over the last 15 yrs in high country during the dry season.

Thought I would start a thread where we can discuss what gear we use and what works in different part's of the country.

It used to be that I could sleep nearly anywhere with my swag and enough grog in the system to dull the intense annoyance of mossies as they leave you alone once they have had their fill of blood (and mine usually sends them on their way very happily, tho their offspring must suffer from fetal alcohol syndrome) I dont really react to mossie bites at all.

Near the coast though SANDFLYS are a different matter altogether, the only cure for these little M/F's till recently was a liberal dousing with that plastic melting Rid or more recently Bushmans tropical strength spray, until that is I came across "no see um" netting/mesh a miraculous fabric that while a little warm to sleep in during the wet season will stop even the smallest of bugs, Sandfly's included. It is the same stuff used in tent windows, very fine mesh with incredibly small holes but made into a mossie net.

Expensive but worth every gram in value.

Interested in hearing what others hold in high regard while getting out into the great outdoors and where to find it. Swags are a pet bug of mine as nearly all the new ones have a PVC base that just loves to collect sweat and condensation so that after a month of use you have a nice little garden of mold and fungi joining you on your trip around the country free of charge that gets nice and stinky once rolled and baked in the heat on the roofrack each day, I wont buy one under 14 oz canvas and a decent width, what sort of mattress do you use ?.

Cooking gear, Hot water, Fridge/Freezer, Navigation/Mapping, Tyres, Tents, Camping spots, Accessories you cant do without on a trip please share?

Also if you have any questions you think others here may be able to help with ask away. We are planning for a Kimberly trip next year and tho we have done it before a couple of times this one will be the first with young kids so anyone who has some tips for keeping little maggots entertained along the way without the use of Ritalin any help would be appreciated.

:D
 
Have done the Gibb before. Something like 22,000km round trip from Melbourne. Nothing bad to say about BFG ATs :) Did it in semi-luxury though towing a Kimberley Kamper.

Won't do a trip without a small inverter and soldering iron - no fun when the UHF drops its guts from corrugations. Despite their detractors, cheapy invertors will still work fine with laptops and battery chargers, but you need to watch that you don't overheat batteries.

A PLB like the GME MT410G - always always always get one with GPS, for the extra $70 it will be a game changer in a time critical situation.

Best camp stove I've used (although more hiking than camping) is my Primus Omnifuel. Great main stove for light camping, or backup if you're "car camping" or 4WDing.

Amazing how many numbnuts we ran into that were out of fuel ("what's your consumption and tank capacity?" "dunno") or drove into inappropriate conditions in 2WD vehicles with no ground clearance.

Take some KY for the fuel bill :(

Cryovacked meat is awesome - get your butcher to do it, lasts weeks.

UHT milk - love it or eat toast.

Always BYO recovery gear - it's rude to borrow someone else's snatch :lol: Only ever had to use my recovery gear (except on one occasion) to retrieve someone else's vehicle.

If towing a camper/caravan, always take along a tent if you want to do an overnight side trip without ripping up basecamp. We didn't and so regretted it.

Always take a fishing rod.

A cargo barrier and a bunch of plastic tubs make a cheap drawer system. We had something like 8 tubs in the back of the Pajero bungied to the cargo barrier, more storage space than we needed, without a $3k drawer system.

12v "car cooler" faux-fridges are useless, don't waste your money. Get a real fridge.
 
I wouldn't go in the bush without a decent knife, ATM I have a Cold Steel SRK (Survival Rescue Knife)
It's a great all round knife thats holds its edge and you can use for pretty much anything. These things were made to be abused and I think I only paid about $90 for it. Great value and Cold Steel have alot of other great knives in their line up, I would really love their San Mai III Gurkha Kukri. Check this out :D

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-uJues8TAbk[/youtube]
 
mmm....shiney! said:
goldpelican said:
Have done the Gibb before.
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All of what The Pelican said, plus Loctite threadlocker.
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Nice touch shiney & i'l add not just any fishing rod but an ugly stik ( have broken a few others in my time trying to haul in submarines )
 
goldpelican said:
Despite their detractors, cheapy investors will still work fine with laptops and battery chargers, but you need to watch that you don't overheat batteries.
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Where you thinking about anyone in particular? :P
 
I tend to find I smoke reels before rods - our $5 boat show rods are still going strong afte pulling in wads of blue nose salmon, the $20 reels died in the arse. $5 rods now sporting $150 reels :rolleyes:
 
goldpelican said:
I tend to find I smoke reels before rods - our $5 boat show rods are still going strong afte pulling in wads of blue nose salmon, the $20 reels died in the arse. $5 rods now sporting $150 reels :rolleyes:
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I did too until i bought my shimano's. The cheap rods cant handle a locked drag & 25lb braid they actually snap in 3 or 4 pieces when you try to pull the plug
 
When I'm going smewhere cold, a cheap inflatable ground matress (3cm thick or so) to go under the sleeping bag has saved me a lot of cold pain. And a fleecy neck warmer, basically a tube of cotton fleece material for the neck. I use that in the mornings. Absolutely love that small piece of cloth.
 
I can recommend Subaru L Series wagon. Bought a bargain one last month with 213k on clock for less than a kilo. Tows my trailer & quad. Thinking of getting a pop top roof sleeper & a minelab next.
 
AngloSaxon said:
When I'm going smewhere cold, a cheap inflatable ground matress (3cm thick or so) to go under the sleeping bag has saved me a lot of cold pain. And a fleecy neck warmer, basically a tube of cotton fleece material for the neck. I use that in the mornings. Absolutely love that small piece of cloth.
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You mean an inflatable foam sleeping pad, like the thick green ones they call 4WD mattresses? Nothing colder than a traditional blowup air mattress.

If you get these foam mattresses, getting two large singles is *far* easier to roll up than a queen size one.
 
Learn how to use tyre plugs...(take twice as many as they recommend) and an aircompressor for reinflating tyres.

Also see if you can hook up a buzzer or larger warning light to your factory "water in fuel" warning light. If you get a load of sh!tty fuel (which happens a lot) you've got seconds to shut down the engine before you're looking at $,000's repair bill. (learn how to drain water out of your fuel filter)

Mosquitos and other bities will ruin your trip...and potentially your life if you get dengue or ross river virus. (Don't laugh, it's only a matter of time before the Kimberlies get it) Any part of your body touching the sides of your swag is a potential bite site. Centipedes give cursory bites at warm spots and if you roll on a stingie (ant, spider etc) they'll get through canvas.

You need distance from them that can only be provided by a tent or mosquito net.

Hammocks won't help because critters crawl down the lines and onto you. Plus there's the "tree paradox". A tree big enough to support your weight will also be big enough to drop a limb that can kill you.

If you can...get a pop-up tent. They're expensive, but you don't want to be mucking around threading fibreglass poles all the time.
 
Honda 2 kva inverter, Ugly sticks and Abu baitcasters, but I always carry quite a few handreels as I grew up with them and 80 pound line and a 12 inch mullet is great for the monster barra (or croc).

A PLB (personal locator beacon) is a must if you only have UHF but is a good thing to have in any case if you plan on doing any bushwalking away from a main camp even if you have VHF, they are already responsible for saving many lives and if the guys in outback queensland recently had one they would both be alive.

406MHz Digital Distress Beacon System http://www.bwrs.org.au/?q=node/238

We also use plastic tubs instead of a draw system GP, Bunnings @ $25 each with different lid colours for food, camping gear, clothing etc, stackable and rugged as well.

Fridge is a 100 L dual lid Primus Mammoth, freezer on one side fridge on the other with the ability to use it all as a freezer or half fridge half freezer, great for those long trips as you can make your own ice or go eat saltwater fish in a desert weeks after catching it.

We cryovac our own beef and pork, duck, turkey, goat, chicken etc at the farm and it will last for ages even once defrosted, many a time we have had a great catch of fish and bought it back with us due to a yearning for fish and crab instead of red meat.

Got my eye on a huge cast iron camp oven at the moment, pretty pricey but it would fit a whole lamb or goat leg in plus vegies as well or a couple of chickens plus veg, nearly a hundred dollars from the local Geo Pickers but I picture us all enjoying a traditional roast in the middle of nowhere with lashings of gravy made from all the juices it would collect while slow roasting over a bed of coals, mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm. Soon :)
 
STC said:
I can recommend Subaru L Series wagon. Bought a bargain one last month with 213k on clock for less than a kilo. Tows my trailer & quad. Thinking of getting a pop top roof sleeper & a minelab next.
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M8, Legend. We did our first Gibb River Rd trip in one in 1999/2000 , Reliability ++++, the only thing I would advise is to regularly change the oil and run a fuel system cleaner fluid so you avoid the clicka clicka clicka you often hear from the oil lifters in the top end of the engine. I have been places in an L series wagon dedicated 4x4 people fear to tread and met astounded people in such places. Ensure your air intake is secure and you can have water up over the windscreen in river crossings, better yet get a snorkel and you can keep going under water. Crossed the Pentecost with water flowing over the windscreen while people in toyota's lined the East bank with video cams waiting for us to flow down river, disappointed them all though.
Did the Gibb and then the desert tracks from Perth to Uluru without even a hiccup in an 89 series, one of the most reliable vehicles I've ever owned, sold it and bought a 94 model and did more wild things in that with a baby on board, never let us down ever, they just keep going. The only thing I would fault is the return from the heater system may leak and draw fluid from the radiator which may overheat the engine, it could be major if you are unaware, keep an eye on the passenger side floor carpet, that is all though.

Saw one today with a lift kit and snorkel , roofrack , bullbar and spotties with REBEL WITHOUT A QUID plastered down the side, Cherry red and some old fart behind the wheel who looked like he enjoyed life.... Wished it was me. :D
 
goldpelican said:
AngloSaxon said:
When I'm going smewhere cold, a cheap inflatable ground matress (3cm thick or so) to go under the sleeping bag has saved me a lot of cold pain. And a fleecy neck warmer, basically a tube of cotton fleece material for the neck. I use that in the mornings. Absolutely love that small piece of cloth.
Click to expand...

You mean an inflatable foam sleeping pad, like the thick green ones they call 4WD mattresses? Nothing colder than a traditional blowup air mattress.

If you get these foam mattresses, getting two large singles is *far* easier to roll up than a queen size one.
Click to expand...

No I should clarify, it is a Platatac self inflating plastic rollup sleeping mat about 3cm thick when inflated. It's 3/4 length, just long emough for your head to thighs and is thin enough to warm up from your body heat while keeping you off the ground. Rolls up to be strapped to a backpack and i can't recommend it highly enough for when you're walking or just travelling light.

This looks like the same one I bought years ago: http://austecc.com.au/platatac-34-self-inflating-sleeping-mat.html
 
What they said.

Re entertaining kids, if they are still young, say kindy age, fill an egg carton with things you find - petals, kangaroo poo, rocks, sticks, rubbish etc and get then to sort then from the lid into the egg spaces. Eg. Round things, red things, green things, long things etc.
Natural play is much better than getting a dvd and telling them to shut up.
 
Chairs ?

How many people have bought them cheap ass fold up chairs that come in a small roll bag only to see them die after/(less than) twelve months?

I got a friging throne two years ago from the inlaws and it is the ducks nuts, came with a big ass canvas bag that we can squeeze six pillows and two x sheets and blankets in for the blow ups for a short camping comfy weekend as well.

Fold out table/ cup holder, tough as, the only problem I can find with it is it only folds flat instead of small like the chair in a bag throwaway ones. Small hasslel for major comfort though.
 
southerncross said:
Chairs ?

How many people have bought them cheap ass fold up chairs that come in a small roll bag only to see them die after/(less than) twelve months?
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Every 12 months SX :lol:
 
southerncross said:
Got my eye on a huge cast iron camp oven at the moment, pretty pricey but it would fit a whole lamb or goat leg in plus vegies as well or a couple of chickens plus veg, nearly a hundred dollars from the local Geo Pickers but I picture us all enjoying a traditional roast in the middle of nowhere with lashings of gravy made from all the juices it would collect while slow roasting over a bed of coals, mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm. Soon :)
Click to expand...

They are great.... although i went for a spun steel. WAY lighter, stronger (wont crack bouncing around in back), works a treat.
 
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