Live in a tent... CHECK!

I hoped I could get back to updating this blog but became overwhelmed with life and work. Didn't want to get fired you know!

I guess this is it for this adventure. I closed on a house today and my tent experiences will be recreational again. It's been a great experience but man it feels good to be in a house after 6 months in the tent!

As my Dad put it, "You can take the boy out of the tent but you can't take the tent out of the boy." That sums it up pretty well. 

Stay tuned for new adventures and what's next! God bless!

Cabela's XPG Expedition Tent Review

The Expedition has been my home for a good portion of the last month. This is by far my favorite tent which I have ever used and I have used quite a few tents. It does amazingly well in high winds, snow, and rain. Out of the entire month I have had one morning where the bottom of my pad had a tiny bit of moisture. Windy nights, as in 50+ mph, are not bad at all in here because even then it's not too loud where as the Alacnac (different massive tent we have) is ridiculously noisy. The rain fly has vents on the roof which coordinate with the openings in the tent to get a wonderful breeze on hot days as well. This is not the lightest tent but would definitely be doable to take on longer hikes where an all weather tent would be needed. It's size is a 4 man and has tons of room. I am able to keep all my food and clothing in here while having plenty of room for my bed. And since I'm getting married in July, will have plenty of room for me and my wife to snuggle ;) 

One thing that this tent does lack is pockets on the inside. I am used to having that in other tents. Another thing I would like is to be able to open the roof up easier to see the stars on lovely nights. This is difficult with the rain fly on but as I mentioned earlier, the rain fly keeps the water out on crappy nights so I feel it's a give and take situation where I would rather be dry. A suggestion I have is to add reflective guidelines as there are so many that come off the rain fly. I can't tell you the number of times I have gotten up to pee and tripped over them, especially since I am nearly blind without contacts or glasses. 

Overall an amazing tent. Definitely great for families or serious 3-4 season campers. 

http://www.cabelas.com/product/Cabelas-Expedition-4-Season-Tent-ndash-4-Person/1546686.uts?Ntk=AllProducts&searchPath=%2Fcatalog%2Fsearch.cmd%3FrecordsPerPage%3D18%26No%3D0%26N%3D0%26Ntk%3DAllProducts%26Ntt%3DXPG%2Bexpedition%26search%3DSearch&No=0&Ntt=XPG+expedition 

Lightly frosted

Gusts at about 50 mph last night forced some snow into the tent and made sleeping very difficult for both Ty and myself. The wind was so loud and constant, I kept thinking to myself, tornadoes don't happen in march right?  My bag stayed dry and toasty even with the snow. I could have used some sort of noise blocking device though!

Home Sweet Home

Spring is in the air folks! Even though we get hit with snow after a 60 degree day, the birds are singing and that smooth spring smell is making each breath that much sweeter!

This week we enjoyed some warmer evenings at the tent. We sat and watched some awesome sunsets, grilled steaks with friends, and slipped in and out of our sleeping bags much easier. 

Although it's warmer, this morning still gave us a dose of frost and snow on the tents. 

I'm loving this Friday and looking forward to this weekend because tonight will be the first time in a month I'll get to sleep in a warm bed!!! 

I am visiting my friends and family this weekend to prepare for a volleyball tourney, play a little golf, and relax indoors. 

Seeing the mountains and a comfy couch made my soul do backflips!!! Can't wait for a great weekend ahead!! Now it's time to enjoy some pizza and basketball with my dad! God bless!

Weekend Freeze

Seeing snow and low temperatures in the forecast can be scary when you live in a tent... That's why I choose not to look at the weekly weather reports. 

I have found if it's going to be bad or dangerous, others will be talking about it or telling you about it pretty quickly and then asking if you really are going to stay in the tent through the storm. My first thought when I hear bad weather is moving in is, "Well, that sounds like good product testing weather!" :)

So far the weather has been great for testing products and testing myself. I'm a skinny distance runner that hates cold and I figure if what I'm using works well for me... Hey! It should work really well for everyone else. I'll give some more product highlights in upcoming posts to show what's been keeping me so toasty on these cold nights. 

Last night I took advantage of the cold and snow and decided to make tenting look cozy by sizzling up some tacos on the stove, curling up by the fire, and watching Captain Phillips on my iPad. 

Doesn't look so bad does it? 

It got down to 9 degrees last night but man when it gets that cold, it seems to make the night sky that much clearer! I stood outside my tent for a bit before bed and just couldn't take my eyes off the stars and how close they seemed to be! Those are precious moments worth taking advantage of. 

One of these nights I'm abandoning the tent and just sleeping underneath the open sky to really get the best seat out of the house... I'll worry about the frostbite later ;)

This morning before church I found my half full Coke bottle from the night before frozen at a perfect slushy consistency - And although I don't drink pop before noon and I'm trying to cut it out all together in preparation for a marathon in 12 weeks, I couldn't say no!

Ah! It was the most refreshing Coke I've ever had at 20 degrees 9 AM on a Sunday morning haha! Don't ask me why it wasn't rock hard frozen but it was awesome! God said let there be perfect slushy Coke and I said thank you! Good way to start my Sunday praising God before church. 

Suunto Core

*Viewers – In full disclosure, Kyle and I both work for Cabela’s. That being said, we will give our honest field testing feedback, hopefully entertain you with some of our own thoughts and experiences using the product, and go from there. If you’d like to know more about a product, comment or follow the link listed for more information.*

The Suunto Core has been an awesome watch to wear! I first started wearing the watch during my adventure test week in early February when temps were -10 or worse with wind-chill. I chose the Core because one of the other options had a thermometer that only measured to 14 degrees and I needed to push it further.

I’ve enjoyed the Core because it’s lightweight, has a comfortable strap that fits well, its durable, waterproof, looks AWESOME, has a built in thermometer, barometer, altimeter, and compass.

One of the coolest and most helpful features in my testing has been the “Storm Alarm” feature that beeps when the barometric pressure drops 4hPa/0.12inHg or more within the last 3-hour period.  So far the alarm has been accurate and alerts me a day or so before the system moves in. WARNING… The alarm can be annoying at work if you are in a meeting and the pressure is on a downward trend and alerts you every so often.

A drawback to the Core and some of the other watches like it with a thermometer is that the thermometer is up against your arm. This means the watch measures the temperature right up against your arm and not the external temp you really want to know. When I want to know the temperature, I take the watch off and expose it to the elements for 5-10 minutes to get a reading. If you don’t want to stand around waiting for a reading, hang it from your pack, your belt, or another external surface to keep it exposed.

Definitely a cool watch with tons of applications. Cabela’s currently isn’t selling my particular version of the Suunto Core but does sell other Suunto watches with similar features and styles. Take a look at the below link…

Suunto Core

B2B Reviews

Hi All - 

While tenting, Kyle and I have the unique opportunity to field test a variety of products for Cabela's. 

We will give our honest feedback and give you the opportunity to go from there. 

Look out for our reviews and please let us know if you'd like to hear more about a particular item or how we used it.

Thanks!

 

Burr!

The weather sure made tenting interesting between Monday night's wind and last night and this morning's cold (temp. felt like 10 degrees or less)!

We had a high wind warning Monday night that made falling asleep seem like an impossible task, as the flaps of the tent snapped and beat. I thought a stake was going to come flying out of the ground and zip right through the tent. Kyle thought the stakes would come out and we would get rolled up like a burrito and fly to work. 

Last night I couldn't get into my sleeping bag quick enough and this morning I couldn't get out slow enough. 

Putting on cold pants has to be some type of torture technique and it doesn't help when your shoes are frozen to the floor! 

I'm at work now and drinking from a perfect slushy water bottle that thawed out from last night. It's nice being in a warm office!

Leaving the mountains

Leaving the mountains this morning. Had a great weekend of skiing and snowboarding. I got to sleep in a bed one night and used a 10 or so year old cabelas mummy bag for warmth, was kind of awesome. I am really looking forward to being outside again tonight though, just feels good to be in the fresh air and nature. Haven't talked to Ty yet this morning, hopefully he wasn't too lonely without me!

Tenting Weather

Wow it got windy last night!!! The tent stayed strong but the force was enough to loosen the lines and pull this stake from the ground. 

Now it's snowing and blowing. Time for a hot fire!