Packing List Part 1: Camping Gear

Packing List Part 1: Camping Gear

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Since the list is decently long and I have comments on most of the stuff I decided to bring along, I’m splitting this into 5 parts:

  1. Camping Gear
  2. Clothing
  3. Riding Gear
  4. Electronics & Necessities
  5. Tools & Junk

Camping gear was initially kind of tough since there is only so much room on the bike. Motorcycle camping seems great, I just didn’t have a lot of good supplies for it. I spent a lot of time on Outdoor Gear Lab reading reviews and figuring out what is best to bring along. Here’s a list along with links to Amazon if you’re interested in picking anything up. I’ll follow up with comments on some of the items after the list.

Spread out on da flo
Spread out on da flo

Sleeping Bag

This is something I would have wanted to upgrade had I not already spent way too much money on other junk. A key part of motorcycle camping seems to be packing light and having enough room for everything. Its almost like backpacking I guess. My bag is from a few years ago, bottom of the line Ozark Trail. Having something that compacted smaller would be nice but this will suffice.

Sleeping Pad

My first choice was the Sea to Summit Ultralight mat but some shipping delays had me cancel the order and pick up the Therm-a-Rest Neo Air Venture instead. I wound up grabbing a small version since it was the only thing available for Amazon Prime and it is certainly small. Probably for a kid or something, but it’ll work!

Tarp

So based on my weekend excursion to Michigan, the tarp has been useful for 3 things.

  1. Tent entry-way dirt barrier
  2. Wrap up gear when riding in rain
  3. Cover bike during day/night when raining

It might even be worth having two tarps but I’ll stick with the 1 for now. I think the size I have is 5×5 or 6×6 and it’s plenty big while also packing up decently small.

Tent & Footprint

This is a fun one. I spent a long time trying to decide on what tent to bring along, much help from Outdoor Gear Lab. I decided finally to go with the Kelty TN 2. It’s pretty darn small when packed up, wasn’t too outrageously expensive and has this neat “Stargazing” feature. My test with it in Michigan was great. Easy enough to set up (color coded makes things easy for Pete), was great in the rain and breathable at night even with the fly on. 10/10 would buy again. I grabbed the footprint that goes with this tent as well, which is kinda meh. It’s thinner than I’d like but also packs up really small so I dunno. Worth having I suppose.

Camp Chair

I almost decided it wasn’t worth bringing one of these, and I didn’t to Michigan, but after bumming a seat from someone that was kind enough to bring two chairs I thought having something will be good. I’d also like to be able to sit in the tent at night and do some blahggin so I went with a ground chair, the Crazy Creek Hex 2.0. I’ve been using it around the house a little bit and I like it. Comfortable and gets the job done, and the Hex packs up nicely as a little bundle. It’ll be something I have for years to come so I figured it was worth the price tag.

Headlamp

This was actually a Christmas gift from a good bud this last year. He got me the Black Diamond headlamp and is pretty much the Mercedes of the headlamps. At least I can’t imagine a cooler one. Has a neat locking feature so it doesn’t accidentally get turned on in your bag, has a dim close setting, bright af setting and red light as well.

Bike Kickstand Pad

An absolute necessity for camping. This already came in hand while I was in Michigan last week. It prevents the bike from sinking into the ground. For a couple bucks, totally worth it. Here’s the one I nabbed on Amazon.

BEAR MACE

So I have this irrational fear of whats going on outside my tent in the middle of the night. Its silly almost, but the bear thing is a little freaky so I wanted to bring along some extra protection. I ordered this frontiersman bear spray which seems pretty legit. Hopefully I don’t have to use it and hopefully it doesn’t bust open in my bag.

Things That Didn’t Make the Cut

There were a couple of items that I planned on bringing but decided not to for now.

  • Hatchet or Machete
    • Having this as added bear/mystery darkness protection would be nice but I think I’ll be find without it. Good excuse to make friends by asking someone to borrow these items if needed
  • Pillow of Sorts
    • There are some nice inflatable pillows out there but I don’t really think they’re worth the price. Going to live with balling up a jacket or something for now.
  • Hiking Boots
    • I have some totally badass leather boots for riding (more on those later), but I didn’t really think about hiking when I got them. I would have been nice to get something that worked as a hiking boot and riding boot all in one since I don’t think they’re too hot and heavy for hiking. I have some shoes but nothing close to hiking worthy. We’ll see, when I get to the grand canyon if I need them I’ll try and pick em up somewhere.

That’s it! Did I miss something? You have stuff that works better? Wanna talk about bears? I’d love to hear, comment and let me know.

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