Contributed by: Jessica, a new addition to our Communications and Marketing Team
As an MEC employee, it’s hard not to hop onto every activity bandwagon there is. Cycling socials? Yes please. Run club? Mm-hm. Noon-hour yoga classes? Sign.me.up.
But then there’s camping.
While not complete strangers, “vaguely aware of its existence” is how I would best describe my life’s interaction with camping. Not this summer though. This summer, I’m determined to unearth my inner camper.
I asked Robin, store-employee-turned-website-merchandiser, to give me the rundown on how to pick the best equipment for my mission. He asked about the type of camper I am (novice; will likely not be undertaking an expedition any time soon), the season I’ll be heading out in (anytime it’s warm), and some of my personal preferences (I would prefer to not feel rocks in my back, and as a rule, I am cold though my preference is to not be).
Robin’s Advice: Tents
- MEC has four tent categories to help narrow your search:
- Buy the right size for the number of people using the tent so that rock-paper-scissors isn’t what decides who actually sleeps inside the tent.
- Know the season and anticipate the weather you’ll be camping in. A three-season tripping tent isn’t designed to stand up to gale-force winds and heavy winter snow. A four-season expedition tent will likely feel too heavy and not well vented for an easy overnight in the summer.
Decision: Big House 4 if I’m craving space, or the Mutha Hubba if I want to tread lightly.
Robin’s Advice: Sleeping Bags
- Picking a sleeping bag is based largely on personal
experience. Are you a cold-sleeper or hot sleeper? Find a bag that suits the likely temperature range and dial it up or down for comfort. - Be mindful that there is no scientific formula used in determining a bag’s temperature rating, so don’t rely on numbers alone to make your decision. With experience, you’ll start to know how your body responds to conditions, activity levels, and outside temperature, and which rating will work best for you in those circumstances.
Decision: My sleeping temperature rivals that of a popsicle, so the Women’s -12C Aquilina Sleeping Bag seems right up my alley.
Robin’s Advice: Sleeping Pads
- Are you a “princess and the pea” kind of sleeper, or someone who would be fine crashing on a pizza box? The pad you pick will have a lot to do with your personal preference, as well as the weight of pack you’re willing to carry.
- You’ll want something that has adequate insulation for the season. There’s nothing wrong with using a winter pad in the summer but if you do the opposite and use a summer pad in the winter, you could end up being really cold.
- Most sleeping pads are designed more for insulation, than for comfort. The pad works by trapping air in its foam, or down insulation, which prevents your body’s heat from being leeched away by the ground. While being warm is a part of being comfortable, sleeping pads are not designed to simulate a pillow-top mattress.
Decision: In the spirit of setting myself up for success, I’m going to start off with the Exped Downmat 9 Pump Deluxe Sleeping Pad.
Robin’s Advice: Camp Stoves
There are basically two types of camp stoves to mull over:
- Canister stoves
- Canister stoves run on compressed gas (propane or propane mixed with butane) and are a great entry-level option for summer. They’re very convenient to pack and set up, and they’re super easy to get going – just turn on and light.
- But they do start to lose pressure and efficiency at about 0°C, making them less useful for winter camping.
- Make sure that the type of canister you need is available in the place you’re going camping. Remote spots or even some places in the US may not sell the proprietary brand of canister that you’re using.
- Liquid gas stoves
- Liquid gas stoves run on liquid fuels (white gas, kerosene, diesel, aviation fuel, and similar petroleum fuels). However, liquid gas stoves can be finicky and there is a fairly steep learning curve involved with using them. For your first few times out, this likely isn’t the right style of stove for you.
- That said, if you’re in high altitude, extremely cold temperatures, or are a frequent camper, then a liquid
gas stove is exactly what you need.
Decision: I like my eyebrows too much to risk some sort of fiery catastrophe, so I’m going with the Primus FireHole 200 Stove. Once I get my camping legs, I’ll look at the Primus Himalaya OmniFuel Stove.
So it’s pretty much all decided, I just need to settle on a location and choose a weekend, but this summer I will be a camper.
good advice throughout, I just bought the Primus stove myself. However what’s with those non-recyclable propane canisters that barely make two cups of coffee. They suck! And I feel so guilty about throwing them out. There’s got to be a better solution there… Come on MEC!
Hi Colin,
No need to throw out your empty fuel canisters anymore. Most MEC locations will take your spent fuel canisters back for recycling free of charge. http://www.mec.ca/AST/ContentPrimary/Services/Stores/Barrie.jsp
I work at a campground and we collect outrageous amounts of both those fuel canisters and the green Coleman ones. Fortunately out local recycling center takes them. It’s still frustrating to see so many of them, because I know that a lot of places wont recycle them. Its one of the reasons I love my whisperlite international stove and its re-fill-able canister. It was my first camping stove, and I really had no issue with learning how to use it. It had quite simple instructions and I would recommend it to any beginner. It also packs really small, which is awesome!
I hear you Colin! I feel the same about stoves that use the small propane canisters. I ended up going with an old school liquid gas Coleman stove because I couldn’t handle the guilt.
Why aren’t those cannisters refillable? What happens to them? Landfill?
I am a huge proponent of buying right the first time, instead of buying again later. Taking the cheap route can mean that it’ll break sooner than you’d like. While I understand that camping when you start off can be pricy, these items add up to around $1,000! Great gear can be acquired for much less.
I like the tent selections. I actually own the Mutha Hubba, but the bag and the mattress are fairly extreme choices for someone that said they want to go camping when it’s warm in the summer. But as you said, she might be a cold sleeper. It’d be nice for you guys to put out a variety of choices instead of just one or two. As well it’d be nice to have options for people who might be hot sleepers, or maybe for people that can’t afford a $250 mattress.
You guys sell summer bags in the $100 range, as well there are Thermarests that can be had for well under $100. The Jetboil is a great option for a stove, and the Biolite is a nice stove that is fueled by twigs which saves you from dealing with non-recyclable canisters. It’ll also charge USB devices! Also, I’ve had lots of my friends have success with your Tarn series of tents which is significantly less than the price of the Mutha Hubba.
I think you guys did a great job with this list though. I just worry that a lot of new campers will be put off, if they think they need $1,000 to start camping.
Thanks so much for the great feedback Ontario Geardo — cost can definitely be a barrier when it comes to purchasing gear for a new activity. MEC has an equipment rental program to address that very concern so that the outdoors stay accessible to everyone. Check it out and let us know what you think: http://www.mec.ca/AST/ContentPrimary/Services/EquipmentRentals.jsp
Awesome! I’ve used your rentals for canoe trips in the past. Without your rental service I wouldn’t have been able to go on some of the great adventures I’ve been on with my buddies. I hope some of the people that read your 101, will also see your link for the rentals
Thanks!
The Big House 4 is an excellent tent – very roomy and it can withstand SERIOUS wind and rain.
Good advise all the way.
For single person tents, please have a look at Mountain Hardware’s Sprite 1. I have used that and am very happy with that.
I will agree with a comment that for starters, the equipment does not have to be worth $1,000. You can get great stuff from Kijiji and MEC’s gear swap.
For summer campers, an MSR’s pocket rocket iso-butane fired stove system works great.
However, do not cheap out on tent, sleeping bag and backpack purchases.
Hello there Jessica!
Let me add my little grain of salt!! As a front line employee at MEC, let me tell you what I would have advised you to get.
The first question I usually ask is what the member intends to use the gear for. In your case, as I understand it, it’s not for a backpacking expedition anytime soon. You’d have to be mindful though that most of the stuff I’d recommend for car camping will be a bit more bulky and heavy then equipment you’d carry in a “self propelled” manner!
First of all, the tent. The tents you choose are pretty day and night! The MSR one is a very specialized ultralight tent and with that comes a thinner material with which you need to be careful! As a total novice, I’d advice against it because a lot of the cost of the tent (419$) will go into lightweight materials that you don’t really need for car camping.
The Big House 4 is a great choice for camping and the price is right. If you want a good price/weight ratio, you could go for the Camper 4 also, which sells for 259$.
For the sleeping bag, it’s true that the ratings are very subjective. The first thing to look for in a sleeping bag is the insulating material. Down is light and compressible but gets useless when wet and is a bit more expensive then synthetic material, so for these reasons, I generally direct novices towards synthetic sleeping bags. Again, this is a good option for car camping, but backpackers will probably want to go with down. They’ll have to be really mindful to keep the sleeping bag dry or else they won’t enjoy their night! Also, as an MEC member and parent recently told me: “Oh no, I don’t want to have to manage a sleeping bag also!”, meaning that with a family, she wanted to keep things simple. With that being said, I often advise members to get the Oasis 0/+10 as the price is right and it’s versatile.
The sleeping mattress you choose is definitely a piece of specialized gear that I wouldn’t encourage a novice to chose. At 250$, this mattress is the most insulated MEC carries aside from the Dream Time. The fact that it has an R value of 8 and is fairly compressible makes it ideal for expeditions in very low temperature conditions, but not at all for your average novice car-camper. The Basecamp 3 is your best bet when it comes to price, bulk, R value and thickness ratio. At 75$, an R value of 5 (which makes it suitable for winter) and a good 5cm of foam to protect you from the rocks on the ground, this mattress (which has the same width and length as the Downmat 9) is a great value and a great piece of gear for car camping, your wallet will thank me later!
Having great gear is awesome and if you are super rich, I say go for it! But in my opinion, part of my job as a front line employee is to know the gear and to offer the members I serve daily the most honest opinion I can. I hope you’ll find time in the remaining of the summer to finally practice this wonderful activity that is camping!!
PS: for a lower budget backpacking trip:
Tent: One of the “Camper” or one of the “Tarn”.
Sleeping bag: Aquila 0
Mattress: Reactor 3.8 (most versatile pad for the price).
Stove: Tranglia Mini Stove
Ultralight gear (higher prices):
Tent: MSR or Big Agnes tent or one of the Volts (use the “compare” tool on MEC website, SUPER useful).
Sleeping bag: Merlin -3 or a Summerlite (from West. Mount.)
Mattress: Neo Air All Season or the Big Agnes Air Core Insulated.
Amazing Julien, thanks so much for such thorough and knowledgeable advice. It’s a relief to know I’m in such good hands when it comes to my camping equipment dilemmas! And great list of gear included in your “PS” note (agreed — the “compare” tool is a serious timesaver); really appreciate you taking the time to share your wisdom. I’m heading out for a camping trip in a few weekends; I’ll keep you posted!
Awesome!! Have fun and don’t forget to bring a pillow! Or a stuff sack that you can make into a pillow…
Great advice from Julien here!
I like to take a silk liner with me, too. As a backpacker who likes to camp in various conditions and temperatures, it brings an extra -5C to the rating of the sleeping bag, and allows me to use a lighter, smaller, cheaper, lower rated bag with more versatility.
If it’s cold, I can use the bag with the liner, and if it’s warmer, the bag will be enough (or only the liner if it’s really hot!).
I avoid cotton liners though because I’m afraid of the eventual dampness.
you guys are on fire! if you have the time to reply, what would you recommend for a new-ish kayaker who wants to do overnight trips, in BC, in summer…i need it all, tent, sleeping pad and bag, and a campstove…BUT i also go to lots of summer music festivals and would like to be able to use the gear for car camping. my boat is super heavy so weight is a consideration when choosing camping gear. also, are there ocean kayak clubs? i live in n van and kayak daily, but i’m the only one i know who is into it. so, i am feeling badly for stressing the folks by going out paddling alone. thanks a bunch for any and all advice. enjoy the long weekend!
Hey Jen,
I do a lot of kayak touring here in BC, a mix of solo and group. I’d suggest the MEC Volt 2 (the regular version with the fabric not mesh interior – it’ll cope with the damp coast better). It’s small enough to fit easily in a kayak, with lots of room for you and your gear, and room for one more if you wind up touring with a partner down the road.
I use the Big Agnes Air Core sleeping pad. It’s not self-inflating or pumping, but it has a hint of insulation for shoulder season camping or unexpectedly cold summer nights.
Re the sleeping bag: depends on how roomy you like sleeping. I’d suggest a wide mummy or a tapered barrel bag.
I carry a down bag that can unzip to become a duvet for warmer nights. If you go with down, you must have a fully waterproof bag for it, such as the Watershed bags – merely dunkproof won’t do. If you go synthetic, it’ll stand up to moisture better and dry out quicker, but will be heavier and bulkier. Whatever bag you opt for, go several degrees cooler than you think you’d need for summer camping. The coast can be cold, and if you’ve been paddling through rain and/or waves, you’re getting into bed “pre-chilled.” My bag is rated to about freezing to give you a point of reference, and it’s what I use late spring through early fall. Beyond those times, I carry a full-on winter bag.
What stove you want depends on what you’re cooking and for how many. If you’re just making pasta and freeze-dried dinners for one or two, the Trangia stoves are delightfully simple and silent.
If you need a little more output for bigger groups or fancier meals, a white gas stove is good. I’m just packing now for a week long paddle along the outside of Vancouver Island where I’ll be making a few suppers for four people – I’m bringing my Optimus Nova stove. If you’re not so keen on pumping, priming and doing maintenance on liquid fuel stoves, something like the Primus Gravity EF II LPG Stove is fast and easy. Or you could grab the Primus Himalaya OmniFuel Stove or the MSR Whisperlite Universal. Either one would give you the option of the convenience of LPG on shorter trips or when car camping, and the lower weight and bulk of white gas for longer trips.
Happy paddling.
All interesting comments, but I feel I have to chime in for the Trangia. I have a 25 (large) set and love cooking on it. It’s quiet, simple and you can cook at whatever complexity you desire, whether it’s simply boiling or a full dinner. I really enjoy cooking when camping, and with some basic prep at home, there are limitless possibilities in what can be made on it. The fuel is a renewable resource, and everything neatly nests and stores together. Combined with a hotpot for insulation, the two pots and fry pan allow lots of flexibility in cooking and keeping a meal hot.
While I also have a terrific canister stove (Snowpeak), I find more often than not, it’s the Trangia I reach for for most meals with the snowpeak taking a secondary role. And, if the large set is more than is needed, there’s both the 27 (small) set and the mini available. Whatever you plan to make, you can’t go wrong with the always-reliable Trangia.
STOVES: Let me add another vote for Trangia stoves, which burn alcohol. You don’t have to worry about hard-to-recycle containers (as with canister stoves), or bad and persistent smells if you leak some fuel (as with kerosene). The fuel is easy to find (hardware store = sold in the paint remover section, grocery store =liquid fondue fuel, automotive garage = pure methyl alcohol for deicing gas lines) which is a plus when travelling. You can simmer better than on some canister stoves. Plus, if you’re looking to go ultra-light, you can choose from other alcohol stoves, either sold at MEC (e.g., Vargo) or make your own (pepsi can stove).
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Wow! Very interesting.. would love to have this on my list of camp gear.. All I need now is a “Paid Leave”.. haha