City Slicker, part 2

That tent is still up this morning when I passed by it.  It has been a week and I'm surprised the city has not learned of it.  I guess no one really cares that it's there.  Well, the thing is, most people taking this exit from the highway are coming from outside the city, so it doesn't bother them that this fellow is camping under the bridge.  The high-rise just north of the bridge cannot see the tent so no one really knows.  It'd be interesting to see how long it will persist.

My current tent

Car Camping

I have had this Outdoor Works Summit 3-man tent for about ten years now.  I had to buy this tent because the canvas tent I used to use developed mold after one wet camping trip and I forgot to dry it out.  The canvas tent was heavy and hard to set up too.

This Outdoor Works Summit tent has withstood heavy rain and wind.  The sleeping area is 7'x7', made for three people.  I have had three people sleeping cozily in it but I think it's much more comfortable when there are only two.  In the picture, my tent is to the left.  The sleeping area has a mesh wall.  What you see is the outside rain cover.

Under the rain cover, there is vestibule outside of the sleeping area.  The vestibule is great for storing your backpacks and other gears, keeping them out of the rain.  When there are only two people in my tent, I would bring my backpack into the sleeping area, so it would be easier to access camping equipment or more clothes at night, should I need to.

I like this tent a lot.  I do find it a bit long to set up.  It has three poles--two to create the arches over the sleeping area and one to create the arch of the vestibule.  It would take me maybe ten minutes to set things up.  In the rain, that might be too slow.

The tent is not too heavy.  I can take it with me while doing interior camping.  Compared with much more expensive tents designed for solo camping, this is heavier and is harder to set up though.

Well, it will do for now.

City Slicker

What's more exciting than camping under the stars?

Camping under a kiloton bridge.  Out of nowhere, I noticed something odd off to my left down a ramp as I exited the highway.  It took me three days before I could take any photo of this metropolitan camper.

Years ago, there was a shelter built somewhere under a similar bridge.  It lasted for a while under city officials took a whiff of it and came in with the police to clear the area.  It was too bad I thought.  I did not get a chance to take a picture of it.  I had no idea where it was except that it must have been close to this location.  Well, it's back.  Something is back.  Maybe it's the same guy.  Maybe he'll last longer this time around.

All the best, to all campers, homeless or not!

Amazon.ca

This is crazy!  The Leatherman Wave multi-tool I purchased on Sunday arrived today!  The way Amazon.ca works, I see little need to shop the stores around here.  I can order everything online and the next day, it'd arrive.  Sweet.

Amazon.ca

Well, I am impressed.  The Gerber knife I ordered on Sunday arrived today.  I was lucky enough there was someone at home during the day to receive the package from UPS.  Amazon.ca must have a lot of retailers they deal with in Canada.  Now, let's see how fast the Leatherman Wave multi-tool takes to arrive.

BTW, the Gerber knife looks really cool!  I cannot speak for its performance yet, but it looks cool.

Gerber 31-000751 Bear Grylls Ultimate Knife

I ordered a Gerber 31-000751 Bear Grylls Survival Series Ultimate Knife earlier today.  What for, I asked myself?  I mean, what's the likelihood that I will ever be in a survival situation.  Almost never.  I don't often go far off the beaten path. I usually hang out with friends and follow the marked paths when hiking.  The parks I frequent can be quite big and you can get lost in them, but again, the itinerary is usually frequented by many other campers so it's unlikely that I will be stranded in a survival situation.

Well, I bought this knife because it received a lot of good reviews and because there is always a small chance that one of those days that I veer off the beaten path, I might be stranded and lost by myself.  It's hard to do this, especially when your friends are always around.  There could be a chance I might decide to go off on my own one of these days.  I have, in the past, traveled solo into a third-world country, foraging in dense forest with little preparation.  I could have found myself in trouble if anything happened to my two guides.  I might end up having to rely on a good knife that I would hopefully be carrying with me.  All I had was my Victorinox pocket knife.  It would not have been very useful.  This Gerber 31-000751 knife however would have been almost a necessity for survival.  It has a strong blade that can be used to chop down branches to make shelters and it comes with a fire starter rod.  Fire is unquestionably a big morale booster at night, besides preventing hypothermia.  It is one big plus in my book, for survival.

When I do my interior camping trips this summer, I sure will bring this knife along.  I don't expect to have to use it, but one never knows.

Leatherman Wave multitool

I have always carried around a Victorinox Swiss Army Recruit pocket knife.  It is compact and light.  It goes easily into my pocket, dangling from a strap tied to my belt.  It has been very useful on many of the camping trips I took.  The can opener proved itself useful a couple of times when I forgot to bring a can opener along.  The knife obviously had been used more than a few times to cut open food packages, make marshmallow sticks, slice hotdogs, cut bacon strips, etc.  The Victorinox knife is super sharp--I have cut myself a couple of times already.

I thought yesterday I might just need a multitool, one with a plier.  I decided to purchase a Leatherman Wave multitool.  It is not a cheap multitool but with 25 years of warranty, I like to think that I'm paying only a few bucks a year.

The Leatherman Wave multitool has received exceptional reviews.  It is a little heavy to carry around however but I suppose good quality tools are made from heavy quality materials.  I purchased a leather and plastic sheath so I can wear it on my belt.

My order will arrive in a few days.  I will not be able to use it until my next camping trip.  I am not sure if I will be able to make good use of this multitool.  Did I buy it on impulse?  Maybe.  We'll see.