First Camping Gear

[Golddollar]

My Boy Scout mess kit.

 

[chief38]

Still have all three of my double mantle Coleman lanterns, three SVA Swiss Army and one USGI liquid fuel single burner stoves. A Coleman propane double stove that folds, USGI canteens and garrison belts to carry them in. I recently gave away a 9x12 wall tent, two sleeping bags, two axes and a hatchet. I gave away my LL Bean pack but still have an army surplus one left over from WW2 somewhere.

I have not gone camping in at least 25 years and now designated the stoves, lanterns, etc as emergency equipment. My camping days are more than likely behind me..

 

[Ivan the Butcher]

I have not gone camping in at least 25 years and now designated the stoves, lanterns, etc as emergency equipment. My camping days are more than likely behind me..

Camping is sometimes like "Greatness" in that it gets thrust upon us when we didn't seek it!

On Christmas Eve 2003, I planned to enjoy the Holiday with my adult children's families, when a daytime storm knocked a tree into our power line and didn't get power back until January 5th or 6th. It was cuddle up close to the woodstove and set up a 20-pound propane tank in the kitchen to fuel a lantern and two burner stoves. The stove didn't get repaired until mid-summer. So, Coleman cooking it was!

In the summer of 2008, as I drove home from work, I watched a thunderstorm developed. It knocked out power right at 5:45. I set up a camp stove on the front porch and the wife grilled chicken on the back porch. I noticed all the families driving back to town for dinner, and it dawned on me: They not only couldn't use the range/oven to cook, but they also couldn't use the microwave to thaw something out to be grilled! (Or use a can opener either apparently!) While my wife and I enjoyed hot chicken, Texas Toast, a veggie and salad, they drove half an hour to McDonald's. I was thinking this was an easy solution compared to building a fire in the fire ring and lighting a cook fire with wet wood!

Ivan

 

[gjgalligan]

A whole house generator starts up automatically and solves the problem of the power being out.
Best home investment I ever made.

 

[TX-Dennis]

I'm not a big camper, and when I do camp I tend not to cook but rather subsist on junk food - chips, crackers, jerky, trail mix, etc.

I recently tossed out a cooler that was over 30 years old. A cheap Coleman rolling plastic one with Lipton Tea embossed on the side. I didn't buy it; it was a gift from a sales rep. It served me well for a long time, but it had developed a crack in the outer shell. Would no longer keep ice more than a day. Can't think of anything I take camping that's older than that cooler was - except myself.

 

[mtgianni]

Has anyone ever experienced expired or otherwise bad Coleman fuel?
I have a couple cans given to me by a neighbor long gone, a leftover can from when my father passed in 2010 and an almost empty I bought can't remember when. At least a couple are 30+ years old, over the years I've used the least full and haven't opened a couple to see or smell. I've never experienced other than a clean burn while using.

I used some old fuel at various times. IIRC, the difference was the need to oxygenate more by pumping the generator more frequently.
You might run it through a filter before you use it and look for solids.

 

[sophie]

My first cook stove was a small 2 burner, made by Coleman for Sear's and Roebuck. It is light blue in color instead of the green color on the Coleman stoves. I still have the little stove, but alas, no pictures.
I've had many Coleman stoves over the years.
One of the neatest Coleman stoves I had was a medium size 2 burner that the top folded out into an oven and actually sat on the stove grates. I sold it in a garage sale in the 80's. I never seen another stove quite like it. I had bought it used at that time.
I still have a Coleman, larger 2 burner, that I used camping for many years and I also melted lead in a cast iron pot for my bullet casting before I got a RCBS Furnace to melt lead for bullet making.

 

[BSA1]

This is a fun thread. It got me to looking for two specific lanterns and while doing so discovered one I had forgotten about while finding more than I realized I had. I have two favorite lanterns;

The first is a Coleman Single Mantle that Coleman discontinued making in the early 1980's. Being a single mantle it is small and lightweight making it great for fishing a night and camping as the light is not a bright and harsh compared to the two mantle ones.

My other lantern is a Wenzel Pressure Lantern. It is nickel plated brass and has a optional very large shade to reflect the light down. It is best used in a cabin or large room. It is great for hanging from a high ceiling.

I have several glass kerosene lamps. I rescued one a couple of years ago cleaning out the shed when we moved my in-laws. It was really dirty and in the pile of stuff to take to the dump. Being glass 40 years of dirt I cleaned up it up and it looks fine.

Then I found Coleman Lantern in a cabinet in my garage I have long forgotten about. It has a amber globe which helps with not attracting bugs. It shows a lot of use and the pump seems to work. I put it on the workbench to clean it up and it will probably get a lot of use this summer on the patio and some camping.

As for how long fuel lasts I had two cans of Coleman fuel. The top of the cans are rusty so I don't trust the fuel to use in the lanterns. However I used one this past winter for lighting piles of brush on fire and it lite quickly.

So now I have two new things to do. One is go buy a couple of gallons of Coleman fuel and the other is buy a buy and fill a 5 gallon container of Kerosene. Kerosene lasts for decades if kept out of sunlight or in a dark container.

Ou actually three thing to do. I need to get some 20# Propane tanks for cooking. We cook outdoors a lot in the summer to keep the house cooler.

 

[Muley Gil]

My first sleeping bag, purchased while I was a Boy Scout, was a lightweight model. I think I tossed it out a few years back. My second bag was a heavier mummy bag. It is over 50 years old and I still have it. I have had a few double burner Coleman camp stoves over the years. My only gas lantern is a Thermos model double mantle. I haven't used it in many years.

I used the Coleman stove last month when the ice storm downed our power lines. I do use a propane conversion kit these days.

 

[ameridaddy]

One of these days I'm going to use the never-opened camping gear that the ex made me buy because the gear I already had wasn't luxurious enough. I honestly think that when it comes to outdoor gear less is more. Although I'm not as minimalist as my friend who swore that one day he'd hike the Grand Canyon rim-to-rim-to-rim with only a loincloth, a Bowie knife and a Big Gulp.

And two years later, a group of hikers in the canyon would find all that was left of him - a loincloth, a Bowie knife and an empty Big Gulp cup.

 

[soFlaNative]

As for how long fuel lasts I had two cans of Coleman fuel. The top of the cans are rusty so I don't trust the fuel to use in the lanterns. However I used one this past winter for lighting piles of brush on fire and it lite quickly.

That is some costly firestarter

. I have 4 cans of the stuff, only one unopened. All at least 20 yrs. old and all with surface rust. I think the gas is so volatile it can't absorb water and so pure there is really nothing in it to go stale. I would use it with no hesitation.


"Kerosene lasts for decades if kept out of sunlight or in a dark container."
I would have to see that as I did not know that.