Author Topic: Bought any camping gear today?  (Read 331926 times)

Re: Bought any camping gear today?
« Reply #1475 on: 26 April, 2019, 10:08:21 am »
Unfortunately I have had to buy a load of repair tape.   Went camping for an overnight as a shake down and found 2 holes in My MSR Elixier inner tent, and one in the Footprint,  goodness only knows how I managed that.  The repair tape does seem tough and seems to stick well.

Also bought a second sit mat.   At arond 5 C  my Decathlon sleep may mat was not up to the cold where my hips were.   Final solution after using the pad on my trousers was my sit mat.  Only my hips were cold so a may undet that worked.   After that I even overslept! The solution in my limiting weather conditionss, take 2 sit mats light and gives a bit more flexibility in where to place them.

Kim

  • Timelord
    • Fediverse
Re: Bought any camping gear today?
« Reply #1476 on: 26 April, 2019, 01:06:33 pm »
A dim but enough to read by and handsfree red light is also good for my (occasional) astronomy. I'm still looking for the right light for that.

Is there a frequency at which the pwm ceases to be hard work for the eyes?

IEEE1789 makes some reasonable recommendations for frequency and modulation.  For 100% modulation, they suggest the switching frequency should be above 1250Hz.  That seems about right for my own experience of LED flicker:  I can see artefacts on fast-moving objects at 1kHz, but it's not otherwise noticeable.  (I can see 100Hz flicker quite easily, but it doesn't usually bother me.)  But I don't think IEEE1789 goes far enough for the minority of people who are particularly sensitive, or when movement is to be expected (eg. vehicle lighting).

In our informal tests, barakta can see the flicker up to about 6kHz.  I doubt she's unique, though the effect on her visual system is extremely unusual (most people who are sensitive will suffer migraine, fatigue or autistic over-stimulation without necessarily being aware of the cause of the problem[1], rather than see stroboscopic artefacts on non-moving objects).  On that basis, I'd want it above 10kHz for a decent safety margin, at which point you're bang in the middle of the audio range, which is a recipe for sensory assault by whistling inductors instead.  (Also interference with audio-frequency electronic equipment, such as recording devices, guitar pickups or hearing aid induction loops.)

We have a couple of desk lamps that switch in the ~50kHz range.  Neither of us can tell the difference between that and DC, even with fast-moving objects.

I'd suggest that if you're driving LEDs with PWM, the frequency should be above the audio band, in the tens of kilohertz.  DC current-dimming (which can still be done using efficient switching regulators) may be appropriate if low-end colour stability isn't critical.  Anything with more than a slight ripple[2] at AC mains frequency belongs in the bin.  I expect the IEEE and lighting organisations will come around to this view eventually, with the no-name Chinese manufacturers catching up several decades later.


[1] I bet some of the 'allergic to WiFi' brigade are in this category.
[2] Impressively, barakta can see the 100Hz ripple on halogen lighting, so even that's not immune.

Phil W

Re: Bought any camping gear today?
« Reply #1477 on: 26 April, 2019, 01:10:33 pm »
A dim but enough to read by and handsfree red light is also good for my (occasional) astronomy. I'm still looking for the right light for that.

Is there a frequency at which the pwm ceases to be hard work for the eyes?

Sent from my LG-H850 using Tapatalk

Many of the Petzl headlights have a red light mode for reading maps at night without affecting night vision.  You press and hold the main button till it changes between modes.

Re: Bought any camping gear today?
« Reply #1478 on: 29 May, 2019, 07:24:01 pm »
Bought a new mattress. Should I store it unfolded, as flat as possible?

Website says store flat and dry, no problem.

Re: Bought any camping gear today?
« Reply #1479 on: 30 May, 2019, 11:55:38 pm »
Just pressed the button on a Luxe Mega-Horn II;

http://www.luxeoutdoor.com/eng/catalog-topic-gallery-view1.asp?id=1396&selfpath=/173

Hopefully it won't be too long before I get some pictures posted.

fuaran

  • rothair gasta
Re: Bought any camping gear today?
« Reply #1480 on: 04 June, 2019, 06:46:42 pm »
A gas canister stand. £3 from AliExpress. And all metal, maybe stronger than the MSR stand with plastic bits?
Should make my Pocket Rocket a bit more stable. Or can be used to hold the canister upside down, for my Windpro.

Re: Bought any camping gear today?
« Reply #1481 on: 04 June, 2019, 08:32:48 pm »
A head torch with a red led option for £4 pounds in  millets in Shrewsbury  :)
the slower you go the more you see

Re: Bought any camping gear today?
« Reply #1482 on: 06 June, 2019, 10:13:43 pm »
How did you end up in Shrewsbury?
Get a bicycle. You will never regret it, if you live- Mark Twain

Re: Bought any camping gear today?
« Reply #1483 on: 07 June, 2019, 06:01:25 am »
A gas canister stand. £3 from AliExpress. And all metal, maybe stronger than the MSR stand with plastic bits?
Should make my Pocket Rocket a bit more stable. Or can be used to hold the canister upside down, for my Windpro.

I thought the WindPro came with a canister stand?  https://www.msrgear.com/stoves/canister-stoves/windpro-ii#product-info

fuaran

  • rothair gasta
Re: Bought any camping gear today?
« Reply #1484 on: 07 June, 2019, 08:48:38 am »
A gas canister stand. £3 from AliExpress. And all metal, maybe stronger than the MSR stand with plastic bits?
Should make my Pocket Rocket a bit more stable. Or can be used to hold the canister upside down, for my Windpro.

I thought the WindPro came with a canister stand?  https://www.msrgear.com/stoves/canister-stoves/windpro-ii#product-info
Mine is the original WindPro, not the WindPro 2. So it didn't include a canister stand.

Re: Bought any camping gear today?
« Reply #1485 on: 07 June, 2019, 12:23:21 pm »
A head torch with a red led option for £4 pounds in  millets in Shrewsbury  :)
I was visiting nobby and we went to Shrewsbury to trawl the charity shops   :)
the slower you go the more you see

Re: Bought any camping gear today?
« Reply #1486 on: 03 July, 2019, 07:54:34 pm »
My Brukit and canister have arrived!  Seems to boil water faster than even the gas cooker!

Off on my travels on Sunday with ferry from Portsmouth to St Malo overnight.

Kim

  • Timelord
    • Fediverse
Re: Bought any camping gear today?
« Reply #1487 on: 03 July, 2019, 08:33:36 pm »
My Brukit and canister have arrived!  Seems to boil water faster than even the gas cooker!

Doesn't seem unusual for high-pressure butane/propane stoves to out-perform low-pressure gas burners.  I expect there's a corresponding loss of efficiency...

Re: Bought any camping gear today?
« Reply #1488 on: 08 July, 2019, 05:50:56 pm »
Bought a Vango F10 HELIUM UL 2 tent ready to go on some adventures with the kids (one at a time - the age gap necessitates that now so I figured the tent may as well comply).

Got a couple of small-ish sleeping bags ready for the adventure too!

Exciting!  :thumbsup: 8)

fuaran

  • rothair gasta
Re: Bought any camping gear today?
« Reply #1489 on: 18 July, 2019, 08:08:22 pm »
An Alpkit Soloist tent.
Quite lightweight, and packs small. Seems easy enough to put together, it is freestanding, helps for test pitching it in the lounge.
It is rather narrow, but tall, high enough to sit up. Think it will be a nice little brother for my Alpkit Tetri.

ElyDave

  • Royal and Ancient Polar Bear Society member 263583
Re: Bought any camping gear today?
« Reply #1490 on: 19 July, 2019, 06:21:12 am »
a snugpack junglebag, packs into about a quarter of the volume of my old green worm bag
“Procrastination is the thief of time, collar him.” –Charles Dickens

Re: Bought any camping gear today?
« Reply #1491 on: 26 July, 2019, 12:08:45 pm »
A Fiamma Rafter Pro, having left my awning out in a down pour an narrowly avoided damaging it.

bludger

  • Randonneur and bargain hunter
Re: Bought any camping gear today?
« Reply #1492 on: 11 August, 2019, 08:04:40 pm »
Just snatched up a British Army arctic sleeping bag for £27 including delivery off Facebook. Apparently there is duct tape markings on it which is why it's sold at a discount. Coupled with my gore tex bivvy bag it will hopefully make for a tolerable sleeping system for the pyrenees this October!
YACF touring/audax bargain basement:
https://bit.ly/2Xg8pRD



Ban cars.

Speshact

  • Charlie
Re: Bought any camping gear today?
« Reply #1493 on: 20 August, 2019, 10:49:53 pm »
a silver plated spirit burner egg coddler, for a tenner, like this https://theurbanvintageaffair.com/blogs/news/blog

Re: Bought any camping gear today?
« Reply #1494 on: 31 August, 2019, 02:03:24 pm »
You will be cutting the crusts off your toast next...... :-D
Get a bicycle. You will never regret it, if you live- Mark Twain

Re: Bought any camping gear today?
« Reply #1495 on: 31 August, 2019, 06:02:58 pm »
Just ordered and awaiting the arrival of:
1) A Sea to Summit Traverse sleeping bag, a synthetic bag supposedly comfortable to -4 degrees Celsius. This is a car camping bag, I've got down bags for self propelled travel.
2) A Sea to Summit Aeros Ultralight pillow and pillow case- I'm getting soft in my old age, but my intention is to only use this car camping.For self-propelled travel I'm still shoving a few clothes in a stuff sack for a pillow.
3) miscellaneous stuff sacks and a dry bag.

Arrived a few weeks ago:
1) A Black Diamond Apollo camp lantern (car camping only, it's too big for self-propelled travel).
2) Various pairs of Black Diamond mittens for cross-country skiing and snowshoeing this winter.
3) A Black Diamond Icon headlamp. I want the larger battery capacity (4 AA cells) and the remote battery pack for winter travel. I want to get out on snowshoes and/or cross-country skis more this winter, and do more overnight/multi-day trips this winter.


Re: Bought any camping gear today?
« Reply #1496 on: 31 August, 2019, 06:36:11 pm »
My decade old Jetboil died and I got a few quid for it as spares on Ebay, then I bought and sold the Alpkit copy that didn't really suit me.  I've now taken delivery of the cutest of the bunch, a Primus Lite +.
Not used as intended yet, it's small enough that I'm more likely to use it on overnighters and day rides, looks really well made (As it should for the price) and has some clever features.  Part of that cleverness is a re routing of the gas to allow a shorter space for it to mix with the air between canister and burner,  that's great for size, but it loses the useful handhold the Jetboil has in that space, time will tell which I prefer. It's very much just a water boiler and only 500ml at that, it made me hesitate, but I can't remember the last time I did more than that anyway.

Re: Bought any camping gear today?
« Reply #1497 on: 05 December, 2019, 08:23:23 am »
Alpkit hunka on the way and I decided to splash out on a thermarest xtherm mat , gaynors have 40% off at the moment - looking forward to trying them both :thumbsup:

Re: Bought any camping gear today?
« Reply #1498 on: 29 January, 2020, 04:04:09 pm »
I just bought this:-

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/80L-Extra-Large-Nylon-Camping-Backpack-Travel-Hiking-Rucksack-Luggage-Bag-UK/173672897200?ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT&var=472348112474&_trksid=p2057872.m2749.l2649

80L really cheap backpack.  Hopeless as a backpack, but having just had a run out with it half loaded and the tent on the back; ideal for Brompton Bike camping.  Lighter than my 60l (1.4 kg)  about 900grm  and bigger so fine for carting my kit.  The 60L did not have room for bulky light weight stuff like fresh bread so hopefully I can now camp with more style and less hassle.

Re: Bought any camping gear today?
« Reply #1499 on: 05 February, 2020, 07:40:56 pm »
Well, I’ve got a bit carried away, but have my (hopefully) light but warm Bivy set up sorted:

All in it weighs 1360g:
- alpkit kloke Bivy,
- Thermarest xtherm mat,
- sea to summit spark ii sleeping bag (-2 limit)
- all wrapped up in a Medium Sea to summit compression dry bag. 

Should fit well under my aero bars - just need to try it out now!  (More excited than nervous now :))