Discover Top Posts Tagged with #gear storage

An illustration of a medium-sized, trendy, three-story wood building with a gable roof

Clicando Aqui

#trellis patio #indoor-outdoor #deck dining #fire pit #gear storage

Exploring the Benefits of the CamelBak Snoblast Hydration Backpack

Blog Introduction: When it comes to hiking, packing is key. One backpack that has been garnering attention recently is the CamelBak Snoblast Hydration Backpack. As an outdoor enthusiast myself, I decided to give it a try and see how it fared on my recent hiking trip. I was delighted to find that the Snoblast more than exceeded my expectations and proved to be the perfect companion for all my…

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#adventure equipment #CamelBak Snoblast #Gear Storage #Helmet Carry #Hiking essentials #hydration backpack #outdoor gear #Stay Hydrated

Backyard Porch in Denver Huge mountain style screened-in back porch idea with a roof extension

#fishing cabin #gear storage #lime sofa #exposed wood beams #outdoor love seats #modern mountain interior #log home

Getting the Most From Your Gear

While a lot of blog posts out there are helpful for how to learn to pack your bag or train for a hike, there's not a lot of information out there about how to properly store your gear. With the right cleaning and proper storage techniques, you'll be guaranteed to get a full lifetime of adventure out of your backpacking gear. What most hikers don't know is that gear storage doesn't have to be expensive and, as it turns out, the cheapest store in town is also one of the best places to get items to store your gear!

Whenever we get home from a backpacking trip, the very first thing we will do is begin to unpack our bags. We usually do this in area that is easy to clean or outside if the weather is nice. We will unfurl our sleeping bags, pads, and our tent in the sunshine to air out (or on our porch if it's raining). All laundry from the trip is piled together. All trash is thrown away. All cooking gear (pots, sporks, rehydration containers, water filters and bottles) are thrown together into the kitchen sink. Miscellaneous items, such as our first aid kits, toiletries, and headlamps, are added back to our day packs - something I advocate always keeping packed for a spur-of-the-moment trip! Finally, our packs will be flipped upside down to air out.

After the gear is sorted into the appropriate piles, cleaning will begin. All cooking gear is washed by hand and left to air dry. If dirty water was used in bottles we won't be recycling, a bleach/dishsoap wash will be used to clean them. Water filters are backflushed and also left to air dry. We shower with the dirty hiking clothes as sort of a "pre rinse cycle" in order to get out any excess dirt. After we are showered I'll start the laundry - extra soap and rinse cycle to get things extra clean. At this point, I'll go to the gear outside in the sun and flip it all inside out/to the opposite side to get the sun on other parts to dry. By the time laundry is finished our gear is usually dried/aired out as well.

Now comes the storage part. Gear storage is just as important as keeping it clean. If you have a down sleeping bag, the storage part is especially important as you want to keep your down feathers as lofty as possible for maximum comfort and temperature regulation. If you keep your sleeping bag, synthetic or down, compressed in a stuff sack to store it, you're going to damage the integrity of the filling - making it not as thermal regulated as you'd thought! Most commercial-bought sleeping bags will come with a larger mesh or cotton bag for storage; however, if you like to do what we do and shop around online for a bargain, this is where The Dollar Store comes in handy! They sell large mesh laundry sacks at their stores and these $1.00 bags are the perfect storage option for your bags. Throw them in, fluff them up, and store them in your gear area.

When it comes to storing our backpacking food and cookware, I keep all of those things together in a plastic storage tub. I keep the water filters and fire starters in this tub as well, so everything is all together. I keep our fuel canisters separate in a reusable shopping bag. Depending on the type of fuel you use for your stove, you will need to keep it in a temperature controlled environment (I highly recommend a closet indoors - not an attic!) Backpacks are stored in a separate large storage tub, laid out flat with all straps and buckles undone. Our tent is rolled up and put in our tent pile, right next to the sleeping bags. My Thermarest NeoAir pad is also kept rolled up in this pile. If you have a self-inflating sleeping pad, the manufacturer will recommend you store your pad flat (unrolled) with the valve left in the open position.

** As always, if you have questions on how to store or clean your gear, the first place you should check is the manufacturer's website or customer service page. They made and tested this stuff and will know exactly how to keep it like new! **

When I take the extra time to clean and properly store backpacking gear, it not only gives us a good extended life of our products, but it also helps keep everything organized so we can grab our stuff and throw it in our packs quickly. Nothing is worse for a backpacking trip than realizing you can't find a piece of your favorite gear or that you left it at home on a forgotten shelf. By taking the time to organize and clean everything, you'll always be ready for your next adventure!

#Gear #Gear Storage #Proper Gear Cleaning #Cleaning #Keep it Clean

There are many different philosophies and solutions when it comes to storing one’s camera gear. Since the hunter-gatherer blood runs strongly in my veins I amassed quite a collection of gear over the years. After some interim solutions with shelfes and boxes I finally decided on a dedicated IKEA Billy shelf with glass doors for storing and organizing my photo gear, see this post from 2012.

Since then equipment and accessories cluttered the shelfes and what was once organized turned into a chaotic heap. Between Christmas and New Year’s Eve I sifted through my gear to get rid of equipment I rarely used.

Along with this screening process I installed some LED lighting on the shelf. I bought two sets of IKEA LEDARE LED lights. One set consisted of four LED spots while the second set contained four LED strips. I chose the IKEA lights because they were the cheapest and have a warm color temperature of 2700K. There are also variants of the LEDARE lighting set which contain coloured LEDs and a control panel to change the color. I decided to place the spots on the shelfeswith lenses and cameras, because those are the core components of photography. The LED strips add a little more ambience to the shelf, so I installed them on the “flash shelf” and the “auxiliary photo stuff shelf”.

At first I punched a hole into the back lining of the Billy shelf. I used a drill bit and manually rotated it to create the hole. The reason I did this manually is that I wanted more control over the process. Since the back lining is very thin an electric drill would have punched through in a second and also damaged the wall behind it.

The spot can either be installed with adhesive tape or screws. I chose to employ the adhesive tape. Then I threaded the wiring through the hole in the back and plugged it in. A package contained four spots, I installed two spots on each shelf.

The LED strips consist of X white LEDs, encased in clear glass casing. Connectors which come with the set can be used to either have four separate strips which can be placed individually or they can be connected to a longer strip. I opted to make two longer strips out of the four elements. A hole was punched into the back of the shelf lining as described above. Again the strips were installed using adhesive tape. I bundled the cables at the top of the shelf, organizing them with cable binders. To have easy access to the switched I taped them to the side of the shelf. All that was left was to lay a cable channel for the power chord and there we are !

Both the four spots and the four LED strips are activated by a switch, which I taped to the side of my shelf

I tried to manage the cables with cable binders. Reduces the chaos a little.

Bottom line. Installing LED lighting to a shelf is not rocket science. All it takes is some tidy cable management and simple installation procedures. Once installed, an illuminated shelf can enhance the lighting mood in your room. Putting your gear on display There are many different philosophies and solutions when it comes to storing one's camera gear. Since the hunter-gatherer blood runs strongly in my veins I amassed quite a collection of gear over the years.

#gear organisation #gear storage #led lighting #photo gear #photo shelf #shelf lighting