I am often asked what camping equipment I recommend for traveling light, especially when flying. Here is a list of the equipment that is working well for me.
tent: Big Agnes Copper Spur UL 2 Tent
tent footprint:Big Agnes Copper Spur 2 Footprint
camp stove: MSR Microrocket Stove
mess kit: Snow Peak Titanium Mini Solo Cook Set
sleeping bag: Zpacks sleeping bag, custom made for my height, avoiding extra, unnecessary length
bivy sack: zpacks bivy shelter (for the times when a tent isn’t really necessary, or when I’m sleeping on a narrow ledge.
Sleeping pad is the Women’s NeoAir XLite… R-3.9, 20″x66″ when inflated, packs as small as 4″ x9″ and weighs only 11 oz.
rolling carry-on from Rick Steve’s that meets all airline standards for size:
You can see that I spent far more than I had anticipated. I’m hoping that this gear will last me the rest of my life and that it will enable me to fly and camp almost anywhere. I like that with the bivy sack I don’t need a tent. That was my big EXTRA…. but I have a feeling that I’ll be using it a great deal. I slept fine when i had to collapse the tent on top of me during the high winds on Mount Diable. This is like sleeping in the collapsed tent with a screened window to watch the night sky. What can be better than that?!!
Early morning camping above Willow Creek view of Big Sur, California – sleeping bag, bivy sac and sleeping pad.