Camping Gear
Coleman Trailhead II Cot Review: Three Seasons of Weekend Car Camping
Three seasons of weekend car camping with the Coleman Trailhead II cot. Does it hold up? Here's my honest long-term review.
A true story about a rough night at Three Sisters Wilderness and the folding cot that turned the rest of the trip around.
Three seasons of weekend car camping with the Coleman Trailhead II cot. Does it hold up? Here's my honest long-term review.
Ray Hollis spent a full season sleeping on a Coleman cot and an insulated pad. Here is the honest breakdown of which one belongs in your truck.
Ten real reasons Ray packs a folding camp cot on every car camping trip instead of sleeping directly on the ground.
A true story about a rough night at Three Sisters Wilderness and the folding cot that turned the rest of the trip around.
Twenty minutes of setup before dark is the difference between a warm night on the Coleman Trailhead II and a 4 a.m. shiver. Here is the order I use, start to finish.
Ray spent eighteen months and two loans with the Coleman Trailhead II cot. Here is what held up, what bent, and who should not buy it.
Ray Hollis spent eleven September nights in this cold weather bag to find out if the rating on the tag means anything.
Ray Hollis spent a season moving between a dedicated zero-degree bag and a liner stuffed into an old three-season bag. Here is what actually kept him warm.
Ray stopped shivering through September trips once he switched to a proper cold weather sleeping bag. Here are the ten reasons he says it's worth every penny.
A true story about a freezing night near Smith Rock and the cold weather sleeping bag that changed every trip after.
A step-by-step guide to layering, pads, and setup so a cold weather sleeping bag performs down to its rating.
Ray Hollis put the JEAOUIA cold weather sleeping bag through nine months of Cascades nights, then nearly wrecked it in a top-loading washer. Here is what survived, what annoyed him, and what nobody tells you before you buy.
Ray Hollis put the Outlander 20L packable daypack through a full season of Deschutes day hikes. Here is the honest long-term verdict.
Ray compares a packable 20L daypack to his old full-size 45L backpack for ordinary day hikes in the Cascades, and draws the honest line between them.
Ten real reasons Ray leaves his bigger pack at home and grabs a packable daypack for ordinary day hikes.
A true story about a sudden weather change near the Three Sisters and the packable daypack that kept the gear dry.
A step-by-step guide to packing a daypack for a half-day or full-day hike where the weather can swing fast.
After a full season in the Cascades and the high desert, Ray tells you what held up, what started catching, and whether the Outlander daypack is worth your money.
Three seasons and roughly eighty meals later, here is what the Camp Chef Explorer gets right, what annoys me, and who should actually buy it.
Ray Hollis cooked out of a single-burner backpacking stove at car campsites for four years before switching. Here is the honest comparison.
Ten real reasons Ray hauls a full two-burner propane stove instead of a single backpacking burner on car camping trips.
A true story about a cold morning near the Deschutes and the two-burner stove that saved a group breakfast.
A step-by-step guide to planning and cooking real meals at a car campsite using a two-burner propane stove.
Four seasons and forty trips with the Camp Chef Explorer, told straight: what holds, what annoys, and what nobody tells you before you buy.
Ray Hollis puts the Sawyer Squeeze through a full season of high desert water: snowmelt, creeks, and a stock tank. Here is what broke, what held up, and who should buy it.
Ray compares the Sawyer Squeeze to chlorine dioxide tablets after a full summer of day hikes out of Bend.
Ten real reasons Ray never hikes the high desert without a water filter, even on short day trips.
A true story about running low on water in the high desert and the squeeze filter that got us back to the trailhead safely.
A step-by-step routine for finding, settling, filtering, and carrying water on dry high desert trails, from a guy who hikes them every summer.
Ray Hollis on three seasons with the Sawyer Squeeze, the morning it clogged on Fall Creek, and the backflushing habit he wishes he had learned earlier.
Three seasons of weekend car camping with the Coleman Trailhead II cot. Does it hold up? Here's my honest long-term review.
Ray spent eighteen months and two loans with the Coleman Trailhead II cot. Here is what held up, what bent, and who should not buy it.
Ray Hollis spent eleven September nights in this cold weather bag to find out if the rating on the tag means anything.
Ray Hollis put the JEAOUIA cold weather sleeping bag through nine months of Cascades nights, then nearly wrecked it in a top-loading washer. Here is what survived, what annoyed him, and what nobody tells you before you buy.
Ray Hollis put the Outlander 20L packable daypack through a full season of Deschutes day hikes. Here is the honest long-term verdict.
After a full season in the Cascades and the high desert, Ray tells you what held up, what started catching, and whether the Outlander daypack is worth your money.
Three seasons and roughly eighty meals later, here is what the Camp Chef Explorer gets right, what annoys me, and who should actually buy it.
Four seasons and forty trips with the Camp Chef Explorer, told straight: what holds, what annoys, and what nobody tells you before you buy.
Ray Hollis puts the Sawyer Squeeze through a full season of high desert water: snowmelt, creeks, and a stock tank. Here is what broke, what held up, and who should buy it.
Ray Hollis on three seasons with the Sawyer Squeeze, the morning it clogged on Fall Creek, and the backflushing habit he wishes he had learned earlier.