Not counting vehicle purchases for obvious reasons. What single piece of kit made the biggest difference or improvement to your overlanding experience?
Enthusiast III
Depends where you start from, but ditching the factory highway tires for a good set of trail tires is always on my list.
For me and the family it was the Coleman instant tent
https://www.coleman.com/8-person-instant-tent/2000023236.html?cgid=coleman-tentsandshelters-instant#start=5
I can set it up by myself so the wife and kids can do other things, and for the past 10 years it's actually preformed really well. The sad part is the seams are starting to go and I think I'm going to have to replace it soon. Maybe time for that RTT
https://www.coleman.com/8-person-instant-tent/2000023236.html?cgid=coleman-tentsandshelters-instant#start=5
I can set it up by myself so the wife and kids can do other things, and for the past 10 years it's actually preformed really well. The sad part is the seams are starting to go and I think I'm going to have to replace it soon. Maybe time for that RTT
Tires or toilets. Either is critical. Putting KO2's on my two-wheel drive van made a big difference in how it performs on roads where the old Michelins (LT all season tread) struggled.
Influencer I
Take a look at the Gazelle pop up tents. I have a T4 and love it.
First thing that comes to mind is my fridge, but maybe because I was just replying to another thread about them. It opens up a lot more possibilities for the food I can take and I kinda hate dealing with ice and wet food.
Influencer II
I would say fridge and roof top tent. A good meal and a good night's rest every night gets you recharged properly for another day.
A little Black Diamond LED lantern/flashlight.
I still have fond memories of my Coleman lanterns, but I much prefer the compact size and relative durability of the LED lantern. And it doesn't draw the bugs like the gas lanterns. It's not likely to damage the tent either. Or burn an incautious Varmint.
Lots of win in that one little change.
I still have fond memories of my Coleman lanterns, but I much prefer the compact size and relative durability of the LED lantern. And it doesn't draw the bugs like the gas lanterns. It's not likely to damage the tent either. Or burn an incautious Varmint.
Lots of win in that one little change.
Don't have a fridge, but the RTT is the game changer for us. Wife came on exactly zero trips in the 25 some years I backpacked. She's made AND enjoyed several since the RTT purchase.
For me, the concept of stooping to camping out of a vehicle was blasphemy, confirmation of the softness of middle age (dammit) and indoctrination to official pantywastedness (not sure of precise spelling on that last one).
What was I thinking all those years? The first night I slept on a real mattress (as opposed to a foam egg crate), ate real food (instead of reconstituted flavored sawdust) cooked in cast iron (not the 2mm thick tin "skillet" that doubled as the lid to the 2mm walled tin contraption I referred to as a pot.......that was on sale for eleventy hundred $$$ at REI) on a stove that didn't tip over if a mouse passed wind..............
Ground tent, backpack, nesting pots, Whisperlite stove, the whole kit and kaboodle went on Craigslist the day after the first trip.
Will confess, disappointed how quickly I've embraced my pantywastedness.
Tires were the most noticeable difference in my trail rides. Bigger tires made for more clearance on the trails and the mud terrains vs the all weather tires tread I had are night and day.
Have you tried frozen water bottles? Not quite as surrounding as ice but I've had good success with the .5 liter bottles in my little Yeti. Of course, I'm only out in the LX 2-3 nights tops. The van has a compressor fridge and that is civilized.
I think if one regularly travels more than a few days at a time, a fridge becomes a requirement. But I don't like living out of my LX. Longer trips are in my van which is self-contained except for toilet and shower (but carries a porta potti and a portable shower).
I would say the fridge was the biggest plus for use as well.
I have one of these also..Love the ease of set up/tear down..I haven't brought it overlanding yet because the 1 thing that made the difference for me was the cover I built for the bed of my truck..Huge difference.. However, now that we have 2 dogs again, we're thinking it may be a bit crowded in the bed.. May have to go to the tent..
Influencer II
two person sleeping bag was a game changer. At the same time we added some Eped downmat sleeping pads.
Todd
Todd
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Enthusiast III
Another vote for "fridge," + I am all about my Tent-Cot, quick, easy, comfortable and hella cheap compared to a roof top set up.
Traveler II
Ditching the tent and moving to a quality hammock for sleeping. I sleep better strung up between two trees on the trail than I do at home.
