Motorcycle Camping Gear - Carry More To Distant Places

A motorcycle camping trip is one of the most exciting ways to explore the country. Make no mistake in differentiating between motorcycle camping trips and a road trip. In a motorcycle camping trip you actually pitch a tent and spend the night in the lap of nature as compared to a road trip where you pull over and check into an inn or motel to spend the night. If you are an adventurer and would rather spend the night under the open sky, then get yourself a motorcycle, if you do not already have one, and plan a camping trip you will never forget.

However, before you set out in haste on a motorcycle camping trip, you will do yourself good to do a bit of research on the activity you are about to undertake. That is of course, if you are a newbie to the sport of motorcycle camping. Check your camping gear and then double check it. Ensure you have the right gear and no unwanted stuff you do not actually need for the trip. If you feel you need to make a camping kit from scratch or just add a few things to your already existing kit you will find no dearth of motorcycle camping items in your local sports shop or general market. You must choose the items wisely and buy only the ones that will fit comfortably on your motorcycle. You have a large selection of hard bags to choose from. The beauty of these hard bags is that they can fit snugly on your bike without the fear of falling off or having to stop frequently to adjust them, and they can be painted to suit your bike. However, unlike the soft bags that are easy to fold and store away, hard bags are required to be stored on a frame and are more expensive than their soft counterparts, and so are by-passed most of the time for the softer variety.

Some of the other essential items that must make it to your camping kit include; a tent, some waterproofing material such as plastic or canvas, a sleeping bag, compact cooking gear such as a collapsible stove, eating and cooking utensils, adequate clothing, motorcycle tools and a puncture repair kit. Choose the items for your motorcycle camping kit wisely, it will help you when you are packing and unpacking during the trip.

Get yourself a strong waterproof tent for your camping kit. Include a waterproof matting such as a plastic or canvas sheet to place under the tent to prevent water seepage if it happened to rain during the trip. However, if you are more of the open-air types and would rather sleep under the open sky, you will not need a tent, just the canvas will do for a base to place the sleeping bag on. However, it is highly recommended that you keep a tent with you as it may come handy should Mother Nature decide to pour down on you any time during your trip. Get a sturdy and comfortable sleeping bag as well. A lightweight bag made of down and polyester is strong, warm and can be folded up into a very small package that takes up very little space.

Once you have put your motorcycle kit together after a lot of thought, you can assure yourself many enjoyable hours in the lap of nature.

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Camping at -40C - How I Made the Perfect Sleeping Bag

Winter camping is serious stuff. Unlike summer camping, an improper sleeping bag for winter camping can be disastrous. Properly prepared and you will sleep like a baby.

The most important piece of equipment you must have is a very good sleeping bag. If you have checked out prices lately you will soon realize that you may pay more plenty for a good bag. A top rated down filled sleeping bag will easily cost $395.

There are all kinds of opinions about what kind of bag is best. For the sake of argument I will tell you about an experience I had with winter camping in Cape Breton Island a few years ago.

I had an old, well used down filled war surplus bag that was lightweight. I could not get warm at any temperature. When it got wet it took days to dry out. I decided that if I was going to try all weather camping I would get something that really worked well.

While shopping around a supplier who sold make your own gear from kits I spotted a sleeping bag kit that looked like it could do the job. The insulation was Hollofil, a man made fiber that was easy to dry. While I was at it I ordered enough Thinsulate to enable me to add a layer on top and on the bottom of the bag.

With all of the materiel on hand, and the pattern before me, I set out to construct the best sleeping bag possible. My wife was not to happy as I managed to break every sewing machine needle in the house. A trip to town for more, and many hours later, the best ever sleeping bag lay on the kitchen table for all to see. The amazing part of this exercise was that I had never used a sewing machine in my life.

I could tell you many stories about my perfect bag but this one will tell it like it was.

It was mid winter on Cape Breton. Many feet of snow covered the Cape Breton Highlands in a deep blanket and we were caught in a very deep cold spell. Up on the Highlands the temperature hit -40C. My buddy and I set out for a two day ski. We would ski up to a snowmobile cabin some eight miles away. The cabin was equipped with a wood stove and a gas range and a few bunk beds.

We soon warmed to the task of skiing up the mountain trail and found the temperature cold but bearable. We reached the cabin about 4 pm. Just before dark I suggested that we should sleep outside in the snow. Kenny looked at me as if I had gone stark raving mad. I was serious and went outside and not far away pounded down a deep depression in the snow. I then covered the depression with a layer of spruce bows and lined the bottom with the same.

After a hearty meal, we headed outside to our dens. Kenny had a good down filled bag. We settled in for the night with the temperature resting right on -40C. After about an hour, Kenny was freezing and headed for the warmth of the cabin. I slept like a baby, warm and comfortable in my home made bag. It worked perfectly. I could hear trees cracking through the night as the temperature continued to drop.

Morning came and I tried a trick I learned in the service years before. I got up, put my boots on and clad only in my under-shorts went for a short walk. Five minutes later I returned to don my clothes and found them to be very nice and comfortably warm. The outer surface of your body will cool and this causes your clothes to feel warm.

I used my home made sleeping bag for years and it gave me 110% satisfaction ever after. Check out the idea of making your own sleeping bag. You will be surprised at what you might produce.

Joe Mac Millan is the owner of the website http://www.whistler-outdoors.com where he and his wife Irma give advice on camping, sleeping bags, skiing and hiking all of the outdoor activities available in Whistler, British Columbia

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