Moto Camping refresher... | Page 5 | GTAMotorcycle.com

Moto Camping refresher...

Tents: Get a two man and you can have some room for a bit of your stuff inside too. A 1 man tent is barely big enough to sleep in.
 
PrivatePilot said:
The $20K bike I'm looking at today will be hands down the most expensive bike I've ever bought, and $20K was the limit I told myself I wouldn't ever exceed. I've wanted one of these bikes for about 3 years now, but was sitting on my hands waiting for the prices to get to that level so that I could stick to that budget, so I've got that going at least. I knew when I bought the Vulcan for $8 or $9K or whatever it was in 2019 it was only a stepping stone, and that was before I even came to the conclusion it's never worked quite right ergonomically for me.

The new ride will be financed of course, but without any other car payments or anything right now (yay for an 13 old daily driver Volt and having been able to pay off our 2017 rather quickly), it's not going to be a big deal.

YOLO.
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What are you looking at for a bike?
 
ToSlow said:
What are you looking at for a bike?
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Yamaha star venture. Not my thing but a cool looking bike.

yamaha-star-venture-tc-bleu-vif-metallique-2021-1.jpg
 
timtune said:
Tents: Get a two man and you can have some room for a bit of your stuff inside too. A 1 man tent is barely big enough to sleep in.
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I always divide the "persons this tent holds" number by at least half, and sometimes more, as those figures are always rediculous. The tent I pictured claims it sleeps 4. Unless it's some sort of end of the world or outright survival type situation, there's no way in hell 4 people is sleeping in that thing.

I camped with my daughter once on crown land a few years ago and even the 2 of us was snug by the time we put our sleeping mats in.

Says it sleeps 10? Yeah, 5, and you shouldn't mind being sort of cozy even then.
 
ToSlow said:
Top secret 👍
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Whoops, I had the threads mixed up and replied to the wrong one.

www.gtamotorcycle.com

The "Are you thinking of a new bike for 2024?" discussion thread.

Surely I'm not alone? It's around this time of year that I think lots of us have the time to sit back and contemplate the riding year(s) past, and the years ahead, and also start thinking about about a new (or additional) ride being in the cards. The "new years riding resolutions" thread...
www.gtamotorcycle.com www.gtamotorcycle.com

This thread, page 1, will explain things.
 
timtune said:
Tents: Get a two man and you can have some room for a bit of your stuff inside too. A 1 man tent is barely big enough to sleep in.
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A 2 man tent is the minimum size a man can comfortably use for moto camping.

The only useful one man I’ve ever used is made by Trojan. Too small for a good night sleep.
 
PrivatePilot said:
I just looked on Aliexpress and see those style stoves are a dime a dozen (lots of options) at around $10, so one may find its way into my cart. My wife got me one of the backpacker Thermacell units for Christmas (I have one of the small handheld units now and I swear by those things), so the bigger butane cylinders are going to be in my future anyways, so one of these could be handy for motocamping. I do like the Biolite for it's fuel versatility, but it is certainly bigger than one of these.
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I run a TI BRS from ali, that's my beater stove that I use 99% of the time, saving the MSR for backup.
Also use it to start the fire when a cheat code is necessary.
PrivatePilot said:
I'm all for roughing it and such, but I won't sleep in such a way that the bugs can feast on me all night long, especially if it's hot as balls out and you're sleeping in your skivvies.

Did that once, heck no ever again. Thermacell is an option and great and all I guess in this situation until the pad loses effectiveness around 4-5 hours.
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timtune said:
Tents: Get a two man and you can have some room for a bit of your stuff inside too. A 1 man tent is barely big enough to sleep in.
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Have not swapped back to a tent after adopting hammock camping. Highly recommended, Hennesey and CRUA are great.

I always camp with a sleeping bag liner, tiny bit of warmth, more for comfort and sleeping bag hygiene.
Replace paper towels with those tiny compressed camp towels that expand with water.
 
I would love to be able to sleep in a hammock for simplicity and such in some situations, however I am a 100% side sleeper so it's not really an option.
 
PrivatePilot said:
I would love to be able to sleep in a hammock for simplicity and such in some situations, however I am a 100% side sleeper so it's not really an option.
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The fortnine kid says it's all you need but I've camped in lots of places where there weren't sufficient or close enough trees. It also means you camp in the bush with the bugs instead of the clearing with a bit of breeze. That kid is often wrong.
 
timtune said:
The fortnine kid says it's all you need but I've camped in lots of places where there weren't sufficient or close enough trees.
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Exactly why I specified "some situations". There's lots of places I can think of that I've camped at where a hammock wouldn't have been an option. So, I'd end up bringing a tent in the end afterall anyways as a backup. At that point the hammock just becomes extra stuff to carry.
 
I have a CRUA branded hammock, that doubles as a swag if no trees are around.
No need to bring a spare tent, but one thing to note: when it's all said and done, the total size to pack is close to that of a regular 1 person tent due to the fly material.

TINY aka cozy is how I'd describe it. Best sleep I've had in the outdoors.
 
I'd be perfectly good with cosy/tiny, I'd actully really enjoy it probably. It's just the requirement to sleep on your back I can't do....why, I don't know, but I just can't sleep on my back. I have tried laying and napping in a hammock before and of course ended up on my side the second I fell asleep and then I woke up an hour later...well...

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I did some more reading after this thread was first posted and found out that there are "side sleeper" hammock variants, but it seems that they have a ton more bulk, and by the time you carry all that extra bulk with the platform bits etc I'm not sure you're much further ahead in any way vs a tent, except being off the ground I guess?
 
PrivatePilot said:
I'd be perfectly good with cosy/tiny, I'd actully really enjoy it probably. It's just the requirement to sleep on your back I can't do....why, I don't know, but I just can't sleep on my back. I have tried laying and napping in a hammock before and of course ended up on my side the second I fell asleep and then I woke up an hour later...well...

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I did some more reading after this thread was first posted and found out that there are "side sleeper" hammock variants, but it seems that they have a ton more bulk, and by the time you carry all that extra bulk with the platform bits etc I'm not sure you're much further ahead in any way vs a tent, except being off the ground I guess?
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Also a lifetime side sleeper. I have a Hennesy Explorer Zip. Sleeping on my side works fine and is very comfy. It's also nice to always have a level sleeping platform, since most campsites are far from flat or level. However, turning over in the night is a PITA and requires waking up to re-shuffle the blanket/sleeping bag back to where it's supposed to be. The packed size is only very slightly smaller than my 2 person Nemo Aurora tent.

Also, as you've already stated, there are many places where a hammock just doesn't work. Wilderness campsites, sure no problem finding trees. Provincial park campground, not bloody likely you can find appropriate trees without trekking through the underbrush, and the parkies will freak out if you tie anything to a tree.

Hammocks are great in theory, but far from ideal for "normal" motorcycle camping. I've given up on mine unless I'm going somewhere that I know it will work.
 
KLR Junkie said:
Also a lifetime side sleeper. I have a Hennesy Explorer Zip. Sleeping on my side works fine and is very comfy. It's also nice to always have a level sleeping platform, since most campsites are far from flat or level. However, turning over in the night is a PITA and requires waking up to re-shuffle the blanket/sleeping bag back to where it's supposed to be. The packed size is only very slightly smaller than my 2 person Nemo Aurora tent.

Also, as you've already stated, there are many places where a hammock just doesn't work. Wilderness campsites, sure no problem finding trees. Provincial park campground, not bloody likely you can find appropriate trees without trekking through the underbrush, and the parkies will freak out if you tie anything to a tree.

Hammocks are great in theory, but far from ideal for "normal" motorcycle camping. I've given up on mine unless I'm going somewhere that I know it will work.
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The good thing with his portly bike is it may be heavy enough to be one of the "trees". Hell, it is almost big enough to be both of the trees. (obviously said in jest, forces on a hammock rope are crazy)
 
GreyGhost said:
The good thing with his portly bike is it may be heavy enough to be one of the "trees". Hell, it is almost big enough to be both of the trees. (obviously said in jest, forces on a hammock rope are crazy)
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Doesn't LazyBoy make an aftermarket seat with a pullout bed for Ventures?
 
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