Camping Gear

[Sakobav]

Great info will add few items later

[xl_target]

Navi,
Looking forward to hear what you have to add.

SS & aadhaulya
Tents have come a long ways since I was a kid.
I have mentioned the Marmot tent several times.
Here is why I like them so much. They are very lightweight and set up extremely fast. Once setup, they are very sturdy.
However, today, many tents setup in similar fashion and are just as lightweight and and durable.

Marmot Tent setup.
1. Unroll the tent, spread it out and lay it flat.
2. Stake the four corners.
3. Assemble the poles
4. Stick the ends of poles in their pockets in the four corners.
5. clip the tent to the poles and you're done!

Now it is a free standing, self supporting rigid assembly.
You can unstake the corners, pick the whole thing up and move it to a better spot if you so desire.
Once you are inside, it isn't going anywhere.

See the video here that explains the process. Putting the rain fly on is optional.
Ours is an older model but this one is very similar.

[AgentDoubleS]

That looks easy very manageable with my very limited skills! It did look slightly large for carrying on a Bonneville though.

Xl target, did the sack at 0:41 include the poles in it or are they carried separately?

Cheers,
SS

[Kittu]

Bond007
may i ask where are you heading for?

[xl_target]

SS,
Usually the tent poles fit in the sack but since they have their own little sack, they can be carried separately.
Removing them from the tent sack will allow you to make the tent more compact.
The poles are in one sack, the tent pegs are in another and they all fit into the tent sack.

Do you have saddlebags for your Bonney?
I have a sissy bar and rear rack on my bike but it is not a sport bike so it doesn't look odd.
I can strap a backpack to the sissy bar. I also have a detachable box that can be mounted on the rear rack.

[xl_target]

Bond007
may i ask where are you heading for?

Heading out on another ....Mission Impossible.

[AgentDoubleS]

Heading out on another ....Mission Impossible.

that is literally what it could be!
Ashok, I'm planning to head to Ladakh and there are camping options there. What I'm not convinced about is whether i should try camping in such a difficult terrain on my first attempt.

Xl, i have saddle bags, a tail bag, tank bag and luggage rack(since we often tour as a couple). The way I have imagined the setup is to have the tent and sleeping bags tied over the tail bag which is tied over the luggage rack. If I'm riding solo I have the advantage of having the pillion seat for carrying things. This will be the case most often since Agent 99 only likes comfortable missions- the camping kinds don't impress her.

Cheers,
SS

[Kittu]

Great
that is mission possible.Take your tent and sleeping bag with you just dont pitch tent in remote places.
You can find tented accommodation at pangong tso and at pang
Take srinagar leh highway and return via manali
Carry extra fuel in jerry cans.you will need fuel for more than 400 km as there no petrol pump between karu and tandi(Keylong)
I have just completed my ladakh trip on four wheels
Mind this is not easy trip ladakh will test you in every way
Best of luck for your trip
thanks

[AgentDoubleS]

Thanks Ashok. Would love to hear about your experiences on a separate thread.

Cheers,
SS

[xl_target]

Great
that is mission possible.Take your tent and sleeping bag with you just dont pitch tent in remote places.
You can find tented accommodation at pangong tso and at pang
Take srinagar leh highway and return via manali
Carry extra fuel in jerry cans.you will need fuel for more than 400 km as there no petrol pump between karu and tandi(Keylong)
I have just completed my ladakh trip on four wheels
Mind this is not easy trip ladakh will test you in every way
Best of luck for your trip
thanks

Ashok, we would love to see a post about your trip.
It sounds like it was a lot of fun.

[xl_target]

Heading out on another ....Mission Impossible.

that is literally what it could be!
Ashok, I'm planning to head to Ladakh and there are camping options there. What I'm not convinced about is whether i should try camping in such a difficult terrain on my first attempt.

Xl, i have saddle bags, a tail bag, tank bag and luggage rack(since we often tour as a couple). The way I have imagined the setup is to have the tent and sleeping bags tied over the tail bag which is tied over the luggage rack. If I'm riding solo I have the advantage of having the pillion seat for carrying things. This will be the case most often since Agent 99 only likes comfortable missions- the camping kinds don't impress her.

Cheers,
SS

SS, That sound like quite an adventure.
It sounds like you have plenty of storage space to carry gear.
One thing about the tent bag; it does look big but keep in mind that the lady in question is tiny.
Our tent bag is, at the most, 18 to 20 inches long.

Looking forward to vicariously enjoying this trip with you.

One thing I must bring is that a long distance motorcycle trip like that has its risks. I hope you have considered adequate protective clothing.
It could meant the difference between getting up and walking away to spending time in a hospital. Skin grafts are very painful.

It goes without saying that a proper helmet is an absolute must. Most motorcycle injuries are to the chin/jaw areas well as the frontal face. I would suggest a full-face helmet. A good pair of motorcycle boots are very important.. A protective jacket and gloves are necessary too. This trip will not be like going to your corner grocery store.

There are very many companies that make good riding gear.
I wear Icon Field Armor boots and a Joe Rocket Reactor jacket.


Icon Field Armor boots.
Mine is the original version. Very tough rigid boots.


Joe Rocket Reactor Hybrid Armored Jacket
Mine is silver and black and is an earlier version of the Reactor; half perforated leather and half nylon mesh. Relatively cool in hot weather and the removeable liner goes in for cold weather.


The Reactor 2 is what I have.
Lots of CE armor in the areas where you need it; elbows, shoulders, back and kidneys.

[Kittu]

Ashok, we would love to see a post about your trip.
It sounds like it was a lot of fun.[/quote]
Vinod ji
give me some time.i have nearly 1200 photos and some videos.
i will select some of them,resize them and i will surely post my travelouge here
yes it was lot of fun and adventure

[AgentDoubleS]

Xl,

Those field armour boots look mean! Me thinks they'd really suit AgentDoubleS quite well on a mission.

The gear I currently use is:

1. Alpinestar SMX 1.1 boots
2. Triumph Triclimate Jacket and gloves (has a warm liner and is waterproof so suitable for ladakh)
3. Knox knee protection armour
All these have CE certified armour.

The helmet i use is a DOT certified LS2 FF 386. There is a slight compromise i make by preferring a modular face helmet instead of a fixed full face. I always ride with the full faced locked but like the convinience of opening it up when not riding. You'd see it in the famous dinosaur hunting pic in the Kanpur thread.

My wife has similar gear except for the boots. Unfortunately women motorcycle gear availability in India is non existent and with variable sizing its difficult to pick up online.

In preparation for the trip I'll pick up a pair of riding pants as well. The denim might not be able to keep up with the torrential rains I might encounter.

On a recent Nainital trip we wore all this gear in temperatures that touched 42degCelcius on the plains, there was a higher chance we'd faint from dehydration than get hurt from road injury!

Cheers,
SS

[xl_target]

Sounds like I am preaching to the choir as far as motorcycle gear is concerned.
It looks like you have 99 and yourself pretty well protected.
As far as being hot, I totally agree with you. Its better to be safe than sorry.
It can get really tropical herein the summers but I don't ride without gear.

The Field Armor boots are bullet proof. If I had a bad crash, I'm sure that the boots would survive. Not sure about everything else.
They work great on the bike but I wouldn't want to go hiking in them since they are so rigid. It took a couple of weeks to break them in. In the summer, I carry a pair of sandals in my Windjammer and put those on if I have to do a lot of walking.

Those old fogies like me who were riding in the '80's will remember the Vetter Windjammer. In the days when few bikes came with factory fairings, my XS 1100 actually came from the factory with a Vetter Windjammer. They just added Yamaha emblems to it. Ancient history. LOL.

[herb]

XL, very informative post, enjoyed the pics.

Thanks for sharing all the info about the equipment.

Herb