Stuff I DON'T Take Backpacking

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[ItsAlive]

Nice to have a lot of expensive tents. That’s probably one reason they don’t wear out from repeat use. I only have one and want to protect mine as much as possible

[MountainsPlanez]

As a novice experienced backpacker, Don’t listen to these people, take what you need for comfort, as it will make your trip better. If you’re in bear country, take the bear spray. How much items weigh don’t matter if you’re dead .

[texasaggie]

The ground cloth is to reduce condensation in the tent. It’s why you put down a vapor barrier before pouring the slab for your house

[AndrewSmith-rpee]

Gotta say, I got up yesterday morning in my tarp shelter and looked around in the dark with my headlamp. There was a mountain lion about 20 yards away staring at me, judging by the low position, wide set large orange reflecting eyes. I stood up and cranked up my headlamp to scare it off, but I was pretty happy to have my bear spray!

[joshwilcox]

I don't wear shoes when backpacking because a pound on the feet will weigh me down too much. Same goes for clothes. Not worth the weight.

[CronusAkuma]

I'm a casual backpacker and gotta say yes bladders suck to clean and fill but man I love the amount of water I get with em.

[TheDemolitionStudio]

I get it that you don't use footprints because it saves on weight and space. However, don't you think all your expensive tents also have less holes in them is because you have lots of tents? If you use more than one tent, you're systematically going to wear each one less. I'm not saying that footprints are a necessary item to bring, but it is a fact that it provides more protection and helps with water resistance. Footprints can be worth it when you don't have the budget to buy all those expensive tents you own and want to make the one you buy last the longest.

[samgrant]

I use a footprint to help keep water that will run under my tent from soaking through that thin tent flooring. I've never heard of it being there to prevent holes

[georgiabelle]

Bear spray works on more than just bears. It works on boorish humans as well.

[GG-jwpt]

Forget the tent! Always bring a pop up steel cage.

[christopherfischetti]

For the 6 oz my ground sheet weighs I still always take and use it

[nosac]

My daughter and her friend slept in a Kelty two-person tent in Norway and I slept directly beside them in the exact same tent. I bought the footprint for my tent, but my daughter did not get one for hers, thinking that it wasn't really necessary.

They were damp and cold and miserable. I had a great nights sleep.

I wouldn't dream of laying a tent without some sort of moisture barrier under it.

P.S. This was in July and temps were probably mi-50s at night. We all had good sleeping bags.

[jurismagone]

It depends on what ground you are camping on. I take the footprint on every trip. If you are camping on clean campsites or clean ground in general, not using footprint is fine. On many occasions, when camping in Scotland, the footprint was completely wet and dirty. The tent floor was clean and much dryer at the same time.
Also, the footprint has some holes in it, from small stones and vegetation. The tent floor does not have them

[toughenupfluffy]

One thing I never take backpacking is myself.

[BillySBC]

Because black bears can't kill you, it's a myth. All they do is sprinkle fairy dust and leave a dollar bill under your pillow.

[freeIsrael]

Thats funny cause i bought a $700 tent and the floor of the tent had holes after 2 days. Thanks for the advice.

[davidhall]

I no longer carry a cooler filled with beer. I still strap a cooler to my backpack, I just don't fill it with beer. I like having plenty of ice!

[hardgetitrightagain]

You can distinguish black bear country from Grizzly country by the droppings.

Grizzly Bear droppings are riddled with boot strings and smell like pepper spray.

[wolfeadventures]

Groundsheet-tyvek- keeps bottom of dcf tent clean when packing it up-which helps with abrasions also, gives a bit more air pad puncture resistance and can keep you cleaner while napping or taking a break.

[codyzurkuhl]

As someone who hikes, works and camps in B.C. wilderness areas I couldn't disagree more about the black bear comment. The only time I've used bear spray was on a black bear. Don't listen to this know it all fool.