Patrice and Justin La Vigne Archives - 国产吃瓜黑料 Online /byline/patrice-and-justin-la-vigne/ Live Bravely Mon, 19 Dec 2022 16:35:15 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.7.1 https://cdn.outsideonline.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/favicon-194x194-1.png Patrice and Justin La Vigne Archives - 国产吃瓜黑料 Online /byline/patrice-and-justin-la-vigne/ 32 32 10 Luxurious Gifts for Car Campers /outdoor-gear/10-luxurious-gifts-for-car-campers/ Thu, 08 Dec 2022 19:00:50 +0000 /?p=2614214 10 Luxurious Gifts for Car Campers

From backyard to base camp, these are the gifts we鈥檒l be giving to the cushy campers in our lives.

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10 Luxurious Gifts for Car Campers
Rumpl NanoLoft Flame Blanket
Rumpl NanoLoft Flame Blanket (Photo: courtesy)

Rumpl NanoLoft Flame Blanket

$129;
Sick of putting ember holes in your trusty bonfire blanket? This offering from Rumpl is made from a fire-resistant fiber blend on the exterior that can resist melting or burning for a whopping 10 seconds鈥攎ore than enough time to realize there鈥檚 a smoldering ember on your leg. Synthetic polyester insulation and cotton interior fabric is soft, warm, and a handy 鈥淐ape Clip鈥� lets you wear the blanket like a regal cloak, hands-free.

Kelty Lowdown Couch
Kelty Lowdown Couch (Photo: courtesy)

Kelty Lowdown Couch

$180;
Crowding around the fire is way more fun when you鈥檙e jammed into a loveseat. This three-person foldable bench is slightly reclined, low to the ground (your aging dog will thank you), and lined with a padded polyester for extra warmth on chilly nights. A pair of insulated cup holders on either side keep beer cold and cocoa hot. As a bonus, the Lowdown carrying case is also padded, and can be used as an extra dog bed or firewood hauler.

HEST Foamy
HEST Foamy (Photo: courtesy)

HEST Foamy

$299;
Even finicky sleepers won鈥檛 have an excuse to skip out on camping with what is essentially a mini twin foam mattress like the one you have at home. Two layers of high performance memory foam conform to your body and provide a whopping 8.8 R-value鈥攅nough for winter camping. Waterproofing on the bottom and sides keeps it dry outdoors, while compression straps and carry handles make it easy to move the mattress (1-by-2 feet when rolled up) from trunk to tent.

Ignik Outdoors Backside Heated Seat Pad
Ignik Outdoors Backside Heated Seat Pad (Photo: courtesy)

Ignik Outdoors Backside Heated Seat Pad

$80;
Cold cheeks are a thing of the past thanks to this USB-C or 12-volt-powered seat heater. A foam-lined recycled polyester pad keeps things cushy and durable, while users can modulate seat temp with the press of a button. Bonus: it turns off after 90 minutes if you absentmindedly wander off into the woods.听

Sea to Summit X-Set 32
Sea to Summit X-Set 32 (Photo: courtesy)

Sea to Summit X-Set 32

$140;
If your van is extra tight on space or you鈥檙e an ambitious backcountry chef, this three-piece cookware set鈥攚hich includes a 2-liter pot, kettle, pan, and straining lid鈥攏ests inside the 8-inch pan and weighs less than two pounds. The kettle has glass-reinforced nylon handles for lightweight, scald-free pouring, the pan is nonstick, and the pot has a hard anodized aluminum base and food-grade silicone sidewalls for structure and easy cleaning.

Yoke Chuck Box Camp Kitchen
Yoke Chuck Box Camp Kitchen (Photo: courtesy)

Yoke Chuck Box Camp Kitchen

$350;
The Swiss army knife of camp kitchens, the Yoke Chuck Box is a major upgrade from the messy tote you鈥檝e been hauling your pots, utensils, and dirty sponges in. Cook right on top of the burly plastic box: It fits the dimensions of several common car camping stoves, with a removable lid that doubles as a dish-washing basin. A multitude of storage trays and nooks are built for silverware storage, utensils, propane bottles, and cookware.听听

Gerber Stake Out Multitool
Gerber Stake Out Multitool (Photo: courtesy)

Gerber Stake Out Multitool

$55;
With 11 built-in tools, this 3-ounce gizmo is ready for any situation. Our favorite tool? The J-hook tent stake puller鈥攂ecause who doesn鈥檛 struggle with that particular task on a frosty morning? When it鈥檚 time to dice food, cut moleskin, and prep firewood, the plain edge blade, saw, scissors, and awl are ready for many duties. On the opposite side of the cutting tools are the bottle opener, file/match striker, ruler, and tweezers.

Barebones Railroad Lantern
Barebones Railroad Lantern (Photo: courtesy)

Barebones Railroad Lantern

$100;
LED lanterns are great for camp鈥攂right, long-lasting, and water-resistant. The downside? They throw clinical blue light. The Barebones Railroad Lantern is a steampunk solution with vintage copper accents and a textured glass globe. The warm, Edison-style LEDs are USB-rechargeable, with a battery life of 100 hours on low and 3.5 hours on high (up to 200 lumens). The carrying handle means it travels well for middle-of-the-night bathroom trips and for hanging on equally-rustic canvas tents.听

Kane Revive Active Recovery Shoe
Kane Revive Active Recovery Shoe (Photo: courtesy)

Kane Revive Active Recovery Shoe

$75; 听
Designed with the help of a podiatrist, Kanes are like Crocs with recovery benefits. Nodes on the footbed allegedly aid in blood flow and dual-density sugarcane-based foam offers plenty of cushion. It鈥檚 also a great water shoe thanks to perforations across the upper, grippy siped soles, and a heel loop for clipping to the back of your pack.

Baffin Cush Booty Unisex
Baffin Cush Booty Unisex (Photo: courtesy)

Baffin Cush Booty Unisex

$60;
This booty solves two of the biggest pitfalls of winter camp slippers: wetting out and poor traction. B-Tek waterproof down means these slippers won鈥檛 melt like marshmallows in dewy grass, and a slip-resistant nylon bottom is strong enough for campsite traipsing or travel. They鈥檙e also mid-height, cinching above the ankle, which means they鈥檒l keep snow and chill out, too.

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Thru-Hiking Gear That Can Make or Break a Relationship /outdoor-gear/hiking-gear/couples-thru-hiking-gear/ Thu, 30 Apr 2020 00:00:00 +0000 /uncategorized/couples-thru-hiking-gear/ Thru-Hiking Gear That Can Make or Break a Relationship

After years of testing, we found that certain gear picks change the way we interact with each other and make it easier to coexist on the trail.

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Thru-Hiking Gear That Can Make or Break a Relationship

In the new normal of inescapable household intimacy, the pettiest irritations can quickly escalate into intolerable aggravations. For some couples, this might be the ultimate test. But if you can survive quarantine together, you can certainly survive a long-distance hike.听

Having backpacked 12,000-pluscumulative miles on the Appalachian Trail together, as well as sections of the Pacific Crest Trail听and听New Zealand鈥檚 Te Ararora, we听can say with confidence that the gear we chose for long treks听saved our marriage. And after听years of testing, we鈥檝e found that certain gear picks change the way we interact with each other听and make it easier to coexist on the trail.听

Shelter and Sleep Systems

Thru hike gear
(Justin La Vigne)

When we decided to spend most of our fifth year together on an听Appalachian Trail thru-hike, we knew we had to听upgrade our shelter for more space. Our biggest complaint about our single-wall tent was that the听front door鈥攖he only听door鈥攆orced us to clamber over each other and our stuff in the vestibule if we needed to get out. It also lacked ventilation, so if one of us accidentally hit the tent wall in the morning, it resulted in听an unwelcome shower of condensation.

Forking over the big bucks for our 听tent ($450) stung at the time, but it has become our stalwart gear champion years later. (We鈥檝e used multiple Copper Spur models as the line has evolved, and we听recommend them all.)听

This听tent is one of the reasons our marriage is still thriving after hundreds of backcountry nights. Besides Patrice鈥檚 late-night bathroom trips being less disruptive thanks to two side doors, one of us brings more stuff than the other, so each of us听having our own vestibule is like having individual closets. The steep walls yield 40 inches of headroom, and the 29 square feet of usable听floor space helps prevent bumping elbows and fraying nerves.

Respect for personal space (and an average of one shower per week over several months) is also the reason we鈥檝e maintained individual sleep systems. We have both opted for sleeping pads (starting at $145), but because Patrice is a cold sleeper, she sticks with a 20-degree bag (starting at $370) and packs a 听($63), just in case. Justin uses varying blankets and bags, such as the ($439), depending on the temperature.听

Cookware and Food

Thru hike gear
(Justin La Vigne)

Trail-food habits certainly run a wide gamut. We met a hiker in New Zealand who chomped on cold ramen in order to go stove-less. Another guy on the Appalachian Trail carried a four-pound jar of peanut butter听because hedidn鈥檛 realize听it would be easy to resupply. But we don鈥檛 judge, because we have our own quirks, like eating cold oatmeal out of the packets to speed up our morning routine and spare us听dish duty.听

Truthfully, we are lazy backpackers. And there are some听choices we agree on, including听meals and meal prep.We鈥檝e done nothing more than boil two cups of water in our 1.4-liter pot from the听 ($65), using听our ($45), to put together听a dehydrated meal night after night.听

The most creative we get is to save certain meals for special occasions. We had听 ($8) the Thanksgiving we spent on top of Guadalupe Peak in Texas and ate听 ($11) to celebrate听Valentine鈥檚 Day in New Zealand. We spice up birthdays with a dehydrated dessert, like the听 ($4).听

Neither of us has a romantic notion of camp dinners over an open fire鈥攖oo much time and effort. Plus, we are grazers, so splitting a two-serving meal at night is usually enough. At the end of a 20-mile day, we like to equally divide camp chores and keep our routine low fuss. There aren鈥檛 even any dishes, since we eat right out of the package with our long-handled ($4).

Suffice it to say听we鈥檝e eaten more dehydrated dinners than we want to admit. We are听so obsessed with this routine that when we thru-hiked New Zealand鈥檚 Te Araroa, we toted 76 dehydrated meals through customs for fear that we wouldn鈥檛 be able to find reasonably priced meal varieties overseas. Admittedly, we felt silly when the agent spilled the meals across a metal table and said, 鈥淵ou do know we have food in New Zealand, ay?鈥�

Backpacks and Other Essentials

Thru hike gear
(Justin La Vigne)

The same laziness applies to our water situation. Justin鈥檚 water intake is more听camel than听human, but Patrice has an unquenchable thirst and sweats when she looks at the sun. We match our opposite needs by using our ($22) to drink on the spot duringextended breaks听at the various water sources. In addition, Patrice always carries a ($40), while Justin鈥檚 weight-saving strategy is to be more conservative, carrying maybe one liter on the hottest stretches.听

You鈥檝e probably figured this out by now, but we鈥檝e never claimed to be ultralight, so that goes for our packs as well.听

We lug around our life on our backs with the and (women鈥檚 and men鈥檚, respectively, both $300). They鈥檙e ourfavorites because of their numerous pockets and compartments. We prefer this organized system to听keep an efficient camp life. While Justin tends to shoulder more of our joint gear鈥攑articularly the tent鈥擯atrice totes lunches and dinners, resulting in diminishing daily pack weight.

We fill our packs with our own snacks (gummies are a necessity) and personal gear. Justin鈥檚 luxury list is admittedly longer than Patrice鈥檚, like his ($35), a spotting scope, and one too many extra layers (another reason having his own vestibule has been a relationship game changer). One luxury item we agree on: our favorite card game, ($8).听

It took years of misadventures and failures to perfect our backpacking system.听If only we could go back in time to听that first backpacking trip together in 2003 to tell ourselves听that sharing one foam pad is not worth the cost savings.听

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