Listen to the full episode here:
Seven tents, five swags, and a fridge that moonlights as a weights bench…
It turns out even the most seasoned gear gurus aren’t immune to a good old camping hoard! In this episode, Ben and Lauren throw open the shed doors and take an honest, hilarious inventory of the gear they can’t quite bring themselves to part with – from sentimental scout-era stoves and hiking packs that haven’t seen a trail in years, to duplicate eskies, eleven mugs, and enough camp chairs to seat a small army.
Be it the surprisingly relatable logic of keeping a broken fridge, the case for holding onto your eighth sleeping bag, or the moment Lauren admits she has more tents than she has weekends to use them – tune in for a candid, laugh-out-loud conversation about the gear we accumulate, the reasons we justify keeping it, and why sometimes the hardest part of camping isn’t the hike… it’s the shed!
Turns out we have a lot of gear in our sheds.
Shortcuts:
0:10 – Welcome & Episode Introduction
0:33 – Why We Hoard Camping Gear (And Can’t Let Go)
3:53 – Tents: Seven Each and Counting
10:10 – Stoves: From Scouts to Induction
15:15 – Wash Tubs & Ice Boxes
15:47 – Eskies, Coolers & Fridges
18:43 – Camp Chairs
20:49 – Shed Storage Tubs, Random Gear & the Mug Situation
24:13 – Hydration Bladders & Ageing Hiking Gear
24:40 – Campfire Cooking Gear (Lauren’s Uncut Collection)
28:17 – Lights & Lanterns: Time for an Upgrade
30:15 – Sleeping Mats: The Foam Era Is Over
32:49 – Sleeping Bags
34:33 – Packs & Bags: From Kokoda to School Camp
40:13 – Why Our Sheds Look Like This
43:57 – Wrap-Up & Join the Conversation
Mentioned in this episode:
Note: many products mentioned are now obsolete and are not included in this list.
Hard Korr U-Lites (Hot Cross Buns)
Transcript:
Welcome & Episode Introduction
Ben: 00:10
Joined again by myself, Ben and Lauren. How you going? I’m good.
Lauren: 00:14
How are you? Yeah, just had a big hearty laugh um with Larry over something very ridiculous.
Ben: 00:21
So for work conversation, we’ll um we won’t bring it up on
Lauren: 00:25
The Winter Olympics and doping really is the as far as we can go. Yeah.
Why We Hoard Camping Gear (And Can’t Let Go)
Ben: 00:33
Um if you haven’t already done so, please subscribe. Tell your mates to subscribe as well uh to our YouTube channel. Uh you can listen in on your favourite podcast app and on Spotify. And we’ve got a Facebook group called Snowy’s Camping Banter, where we have conversation around these topics and anything you want to talk about or ask. If you’ve got queries about your setup, how to do things, whatever you want to ask, jump in there. There’s some awesome people who have got heaps of tips and techniques. Now, today I didn’t write down who, and I can’t remember where I got this question. At some stage, there was a customer question on a YouTube channel or or on a Facebook group, and um they said somewhere and they said, Why don’t you do an episode on gear that you don’t really want to get rid of, but you probably should get rid of. And I think I wrote it down and initially thought, I don’t know, probably maybe something in it. And then I thought, well, actually. I started I started to write out all the stuff in my shed, then I’m like, okay, let’s have a look at what I’ve got here, and maybe look at what I actually use and what I should probably get rid of and question why I’m keeping a bunch of this stuff. And then I went, actually, this is a decent episode. And then you’ve done the same thing.
Lauren: 01:37
I feel I feel a bit ashamed. I feel like dirt airing dirty laundry here.
Ben: 01:43
A little bit. I was speaking to Jake in the office this morning, and I said, This is what we’re we’re um we’re talking about. And then I don’t go camping as much as I’d like to. I’m literally going camping tonight, but it’s for a surf carnival, and I’m gonna get there by eight, get up by eight the next morning to go to the surf carnival, pack up and come home. So it’s not really camping. I’m just going to a caravan park because it’s closer to the surf carnival.
Lauren: 02:04
So where you go like Moana or something?
Ben: 02:06
Um Port Elliot, still south from here. So nice spot and everything, but it’s not really a camping trip. And that’s I know I did get a camping, no, not this year, because we’ve only just started 2026, but I did get away for a little bit last year. So one camping trip. Um, and I’m trying to, I haven’t done a percentage, but I reckon I probably use 50 to 60 percent of the gear that I’ve got. The other percentage is sitting there in case I need it. Percentage-wise, of the chance of needing it is so small because I don’t at the moment in currently in my life, I don’t get camping enough that I would might need two stoves. So I’m keeping it on the off chance that I might need it in the small percentage of time that I actually go camping.
Lauren: 02:45
I know exactly what you mean. I think sometimes as well, that if you’re getting rid of it, you’re either giving it away to friends or you’re chucking it on gumtree or marketplace or whatever. And it’s like for me, the resale value versus the replacement value, the discrepancy is too big. And so it’s like, oh, well, I’ll just I’ll just keep it because if in 20 years’ time I do want to use that swag again, then I’ll have it there instead of having to buy a new one.
Ben: 03:16
And this is the downside of buying good gear is that it just lasts forever.
Lauren: 03:20
I have outed myself as a hoarder.
Ben: 03:22
Well, camping hoarder, just camping.
Lauren: 03:25
Yeah, definitely just camping hoarder because I cannot stand clutter and like I can’t stand it.
Ben: 03:32
Well, nor can I. My my camping stuff’s quite well organized. But like I’ve just packed the car and the shelves still look quite full. But I’ve got what I need to go camping for two of us for the night.
Lauren: 03:42
Yeah.
Ben: 03:42
Anyway, so this this is gear that I have that I don’t want to get rid of.
Lauren: 03:49
This is we’ve basically just itemized our gear, haven’t we? Really?
Tents: Seven Each and Counting
Ben: 03:53
I’ve just written a list of everything in there, yeah. Yeah. We start with tents. I’ve got seven tents in the shed. Now, when I say it like that, that sounds ridiculous. Because even on this trip, there’s two of us going, and I said to my daughter, should we just take us, my daughter, sorry, should we just take a small tent? She goes, No, no, I want the big tent. So the RV5 five goes on the car every time. So RV5 that goes in the car. I’ve also got a like an old Back Wolf Tuff Dome, which I have used previously when we have longer stays and we need heaps more space in the tent, but I can extend the RV5 and my car awning out to cover that space anyway. I’ve then got a little four-person dome, which is quite handy because if I have people that say, We want to go camping, I’ve got a four-person dome you can use. I probably only need the RV5 and the four-person dome. Um, I’ve got two hiking tents. I’ve used one of them twice in the last, I don’t know how many years. Three hiking tents, sorry, because the other one is like the first hiking tent I got when I was in scouts and I was about 14.
Lauren: 04:50
Keep it.
Ben: 04:51
Like it just sits on the bottom of the pile because I can’t, I can’t, it’s I don’t know, it’s got sentimental. I don’t even know if it might have all fallen apart inside the bag. I’ve never looked at it.
Lauren: 05:00
Might just be threads.
Ben: 05:02
So I don’t know if I I somehow got to seven there.
Lauren: 05:06
Do you know what? I read through your list and I was like, Benji, you have a problem.
Ben: 05:11
Hang on, I’m looking at your list and you’ve gone tents by seven.
Lauren: 05:15
Yes, because,
Ben: 05:16
Here we go.
Lauren: 05:17
Because I read your list and I was like, what the hell, Benji? Like, horder much. And then I started typing and I was like, I’m actually,
Ben: 05:25
We’re more similar than we realize.
Lauren: 05:29
Yeah.
Ben: 05:29
So hang on, hang on. I have got one swag. I didn’t put swag, I’ve got one swag. You’ve gone seven tenths and five swags.
Lauren: 05:37
Stop! That’s why I said this is an episode of shame.
Ben: 05:42
You’ve got more kids than me, but seven tenths and five swags? Yeah. How big’s your shed?
Lauren: 05:47
It’s pretty big.
Ben: 05:48
No room in it.
Lauren: 05:49
It’s pretty big. There’s not much room in it, no. Um uh two doubles. Yeah. So I’ve got um, yeah, I’ve got a couple of family tents. We’ve got like an old Coleman, like back from I think it’s called a Montana. Um, you remember the Montana C V12 back before they were instant? Um, I have a Safari, I have um uh why am I blanking out here? Oh, and I’ve got a couple of Swaggers. So even though the Swaggers are small, they’re still family tent because that’s where like kids go and whatever. Um, and then I’ve got two two-person hiking tents. One is like an ultralight version, and one is more of a winter weight version, and then I’ve got a one-person hiking tent. They’re all valid tents.
Ben: 06:40
Question for you. What’s the latest one that you bought? The most recent one.
Lauren: 06:45
The most recent one I bought was the Safari 360.
Ben: 06:54
Why did you buy that? Was it because you liked it and it was cool and you went, I just want to.
Lauren: 07:01
I liked it and it was cool. And I don’t wanna the Coleman tent is quite old now, and I don’t want to put up a big three-bedroom tent. And I was just like, I don’t want an instant up tent. I don’t want to have like a big, sort of heavy, bulky framed tent. And I was like, the Safari 360, it’s like it’s cool. And then when I was camping when I was younger, actually, no, I was gonna say I should say I have eight tents, but I actually think that I don’t have that eighth one anymore. But when I was camping, we used to sleep. Um, that’s what we would sleep in. That’s what our tents were like, those singular pole, central legionnaire tents. And I just like them. I just think there’s nostalgic and it’s nice. And I like canvas tents as well. So it gives you, it just ticks some of my boxes.
Ben: 07:49
So you buy a tent like that, it probably means that eventually your kids, one of your kids, is gonna itemise their camping gear one day. I’ve got this old Darche 360 that mum gave me.
Lauren: 07:59
Yeah, because I I did use it. I did use to have my dad gave me a couple of years ago the canvas tent that we slept in when I was three.
Ben: 08:09
Yeah.
Lauren: 08:09
And it just lost its waterproofing or whatever. But do you know what I mean? Like it’s legit. But yes, I have I have that. But the thing is, I probably don’t need uh the Coleman tent because I just I just don’t use it similar to what you say, it’s just like it’s there because it’s a good tent and whatever, but I just don’t use it. But the things like the hiking things, I’ve got a lot of hiking stuff, like it’s there’s a lot in this list. I’m like, damn. But if if I’m like, oh, I want to go on a three-day hike, do you want to come with me? And they’re like, I don’t have any hiking gear, it’s like I got everything you need. And I just feel like for the size and weight. Anyway, I’m getting off topic here.
Ben: 08:51
You start running tours.
Lauren: 08:53
Yeah, but it’s just like I just I just would yeah, anyway. Swags so swags, yeah. I’ve got two doubles. I actually have an old um king swag which has broken and fallen apart, and it’s just like don’t use it. I have a Darche Nebula 1550 plus, which I think I may re-home just because it’s so big, it’s it’s just so big. It’s beautiful, and I love it, and it’s so nice to sleep in there. If I was literally just solo or couple, and I had a dual cab ute and I was just chucking it in there and and going down and staying on the beach for a weekend or whatever, perfect. But it just doesn’t, I don’t have a vehicle that I can chuck it in. It just doesn’t meet my needs, and I cannot see it meeting my needs for a while yet. Um, but also having said that, great swag, great quality, great value. I don’t want to move it on because I might want it. Anyway, and then I’ve just got a bunch of singles um for the kids, obviously, for if they want to go away camping with mates, it’s just like here you go.
Ben: 10:02
Uh so you can’t judge me for my tents because you’ve got more than I have.
Stoves: From Scouts to Induction
Lauren: 10:06
Well, that I had a I had a bit of a self-reflection after I started writing my list.
Ben: 10:10
Right now, stoves. I was about to have a go at you at stoves because I’ve said three and you’ve said six, uh, but then I’ve realized you’ve included your hiking stoves in there, which brings mine to five. So I’m still better than you. So I’ve got a the only one I actually use is my Coleman dual-fuel Powerhouse. Um, I’ve got a two-burner old, I don’t even know what the brand is. I had it for so long, it’d just be like an in-house or something when I yeah, it’s like Camp Master or something. So it’s probably like a Kmart stove, just one of those really basic two-burner stoves that I use for many, many years. It still works. It’s a bit rusted out, but it still works. But now I’ve got the even tempered, I don’t because I don’t need to carry gas anymore. And then I’ve got one of the little lunchbox canister stoves that was given to me as well. And I don’t really use that either. Um, seven for you. I just thought I look on your face, you go, hang on, it’s seven. But I have got a Whisper lite stove for hiking, which was I probably wouldn’t use it.
Lauren: 11:13
That’s a multi-fuel one.
Ben: 11:14
Multi-fuel, yeah. But I probably would change if I was to rehash my hiking kit. And I’ve got a really old like once again, this goes back from when I’m in scouts. It’s an old like gas stove that’s uh it sits separately from the gas, so you got the gas canister hose, and then the stove sits next to it. It’s quite a heavy one. So I’ve got five. You’ve got seven.
Lauren: 11:38
Yeah, well, I did say six, but I just realized I have a singular lunchbox butane stove that I didn’t count here. But I have an old Even temp. Um back a long, long time ago, I was married for a time. And um about 15 or 16 years ago now, I reckon, maybe actually it’s closer to 20 years ago now.
Ben: 12:01
Um we’re really airing out our laundry in this.
Lauren: 12:04
Sorry, just a bit of a get to know you, Lauren session. But a long time ago. And so for the wedding, we were given a camp stove, and it was like what the current Coleman Even temp is now, but it was what that was back then. Um and uh have an induction stove, and I have two different Jetboils, I have a Minimo and a Flash, and I have a Trangia or a Trangia, whatever, however we say it. Um, we’ve got an episode coming up with Trangia, so we’ll find out exactly what it’s called. But anyway, watch this space and my little hiking stove. I’ve had uh a few, but um, I’ve got a Soto Amicus, which I personally think is way better than a Pocket Rocket. Personally, I’ve had both, and I really love my little Soto Amicus for a hiking stove.
Ben: 12:52
They’re not as readily available in Australia, so they’re not not as widely sold.
Lauren: 12:56
No, but um Sea To Summit are the distributors, so they’ve got some really cool gear there. So, yeah, that’s a range of my stoves. I don’t think that that Coleman stove has operated in the last six years.
Ben: 13:13
So you’d probably, if you had to get rid of something, get rid of the Even temp one, but keep the others.
Lauren: 13:19
Probably. And also just because I think that um the size of it is significant, like it’s quite big. Um,
Ben: 13:31
See the the powerhouse is big, but I’ve put everything inside it, so it’s a storage box.
Lauren: 13:37
Yeah, but I think the difference with the powerhouse is that it’s quite boxy, so you could fit stuff inside it, whereas the Even temp’s quite flat, and when you shut it, there’s not a huge amount in there. And I think that if I was to um, and obviously I do a lot of campfire cooking, that is a totally separate category on my list, but if I using a gas stove, I’ve had my eye on the Genesis, the Jetboil Genesis, just purely because it’s so compact. And I also like how you can put different size pots on it and you’re not sort of limited anyway. Um, I digress, that’s not the purpose of this episode. So I think, yes, I I admittedly my Flash, my Jet boil Flash, doesn’t get a huge amount of use. The Minimo, I’m just hitting that all the time because I realize looking through this list, I don’t have a kettle.
Ben: 14:26
A kettle.
Lauren: 14:26
No kettle kettle. So I have a billy, obviously, for fire, but I don’t have a kettle because I just crank the Minimo and I have boiled water in one minute.
Ben: 14:37
Yeah, okay.
Lauren: 14:39
So um, yeah, the Minimo gets hammered. Um, the Flash, the kids use that more so um than anything. The Trangia doesn’t get a huge amount of use, but similar to your sort of scout stuff, I just have it because it just it works. You know what I mean? Like it’s nostalgic and it works.
Ben: 14:58
Yeah.
Lauren: 14:58
Um the Soto gets a bit of use because if I’m hiking, I’ll I’ll take that. The Minimo is a bit too big for me. Um, but yeah.
Wash Tubs & Ice Boxes
Ben: 15:08
Let’s um we I’ve just realized we’re like three bullet points through, and I didn’t press start, but we should probably uh keep keeping trying moving through. Easy one. Uh wash tubs. I’ve got like an old rigid round wash tub and then I’ve replaced it with a collapsible one. I don’t know why I’m keeping the rigid one. I don’t take it anyway.
Lauren: 15:25
I haven’t skipped it, and and it also takes up space. Like you can have five collapsible ones in the space of one rigid one.
Ben: 15:31
Yeah.
Lauren: 15:31
We skipped over ice boxes and eskies.
Eskies, Coolers & Fridges
Ben: 15:33
Well, no, because we’ve done different orders. So um oh, have we? I’ve done yeah. Uh I’ll go to that now. Okay. But yeah, if you’ve got collapsible buckets and stuff, just take them instead of the rigid ones, pack so much easier. Icebox es any Eskies. So I’ve got like an old Ice Mate ice box. Um Evakool, yeah. And uh yeah, Evakool, the yellow ones, the yellow ones, yeah. Uh like one of those standard like Willow or one of the supermarket brand coolers. Um, a six-pack cooler, a five-litre, I think it’s two and a half litre actually cooled ice jug. I don’t think I’ve ever actually used it. I think it came with the Esky and I’ve never used it. Um, and I’ve got a fridge. I probably just need to keep the Ice Mate ice box and the fridge. I don’t use the Ice Mate ice box that much, but it’s one of those handy to have for parties at home and stuff as well. Yeah. I mean, the others I kind of use the the jug can definitely go. The standard cooler can probably go because I’ve got a better I I use that for like if I’m popping around to someone’s house and I’ve got to take some drinks and food.
Lauren: 16:37
Yeah.
Ben: 16:38
Um, but I’ve got a better cooler bag that goes over my shoulder if I want to walk around there now. So I can and if I get rid of some of that, that’s a fair bit of extra space in my shed.
Lauren: 16:47
I have an old um 15, I reckon it’s about 15 years old, like an old Waeco Cool Ice. Um quite big. So I think that could probably go because I don’t need something that big. Um I’ve got a few, I didn’t add cooler bags, but I’ve had a few cooler bags that I’ve gotten rid of. I just have one not like large, big, I think it’s like 30-litre cooler bag or something now, which is great for trips to the beach and just like you said, going into mates’ houses or whatever. Um I have a few Coleman Eskies which I really will get rid of because I just they I don’t use them at all. I think I’m pretty sure they’re Coleman or Esky brand even. Um and I also have a dual- zone fridge which I don’t use, which is big and I hate it because it’s got some problems, and I’m not gonna say what brand it is, but I’m I’m just done. So that just sits in the corner, and I um use it as um like a weights bench because I don’t know what to do with it. Because it still works, but it doesn’t work properly, and I I don’t, it’s just a thing, and I’m just like, ugh, but it’s like I can’t throw it away because it’s actually still pretty good. But then,
Ben: 18:04
You’ve had a bad run, it’s that’s not consistent with others’ issues. I don’t know.
Lauren: 18:08
No, no, I I’m I’m not saying it is, but it’s just like I think it’s if you’re talking about gear that you want to get rid of, it’s like I should probably get rid of that because I don’t want to use it anymore and I’m done.
Ben: 18:18
It’s an expensive weights bench.
Lauren: 18:20
But it’s an expensive weights bench, but then it’s like, well, I can’t really sell it because whoever I sell it to will then probably have to put a couple of hundred bucks towards fixing a component on it. And it’s like I for what I would potentially want to sell it for. Do you know what I mean? Like, do you know what I mean?
Ben: 18:40
Yep. It’s a weights bench for now.
Lauren: 18:42
It’s a weights bench.
Ben: 18:43
I think I’ve got my chair game sorted because I did get rid of some other bulky camp chairs that I had a while ago, literally used them till they were falling off the frame. Uh, I’ve got four Helinox style, like it’s actually two older OZtrail style collapsible ones and two Helinox chairs. Yeah. And then four of the Outdoor Connection collapsed um sort of expandable stools. Yep. And I take like that that’s eight chairs that I can take that probably take up the space of two regular camping chairs in my car.
Lauren: 19:11
Yeah.
Ben: 19:11
Um the the bigger chairs are for around lounging around somewhere in the campsite and the stools fit better around a table. My kids are getting older now, so I probably don’t need them as much.
Lauren: 19:19
Yep.
Ben: 19:20
But when I need to sit around the table, the stools fit better around a small camp table.
Lauren: 19:23
Yeah.
Ben: 19:23
So I think I’ve got my chair game pretty much sorted. There’s nothing I’d get rid of there.
Lauren: 19:27
Yeah, I have an assortment of sort of quad fold moon chairs that I’ll probably get rid of because I just don’t really use them, but they are handy when you’ve got sort of people coming around to have a barbecue or you want to. Do you know what I mean? Like just having a few extra chairs is handy. Um, I do have a Helinox Zero chair for hiking, which I love. And I’ve got um we sell Wanderer chairs, not like the BCF home brand Wanderer, but the other um brand um. Yeah, it is Wanderer, isn’t it? Yeah. Yep. Um, they are uh sort of like a Helinox chair, but a more entry-level sort of economical option. I went with a bunch of those because um just Helinox obviously is an an investment, and just for sort of long-term camping, whether or not and having a bunch of kids and stuff, um, wanting something compact without that huge investment. But they will go because it’s been two or three years of using them heavily, and they’re just not they’re just they’re war, they’re well worn.
Ben: 20:35
Yep.
Lauren: 20:36
Um so I will be swapping that out for a Helinox chair, but I’m not doing that for my kids because they’re getting old enough now that they can, if that’s what they want to keep doing with their lives, then they can invest in something quality themselves.
Ben: 20:49
Yep. So I the next one I’ve got is this the next three bullet points for me kind of go into one. So I’ve sort of I’ve got this tub that’s full of stuff sacks and hiking bits and pieces and mugs that don’t fit in with my current set and a few random bowls and space blankets, and just it’s full of stuff. I probably use about 10% of what’s in the tub, but occasionally I need the other things. Um but I but I have got two tubs that I’ve got set up that like I literally grabbed them last night, put them straight in the car, and I know I’ve got everything to cook and eat with. It’s got cutlery crockery set, it’s got collapsible pot. Um, I put my my coffee kit in and my billies, it’s got a kettle in there. Uh the billies obviously packed separately, but in that I’ve I know I’ve got everything I need. What’s left in the shed is all of those bowls and things in the tub, uh, a camp oven which I’ll take in winter, but I’ve also got a cast iron fry pan and a cast iron saucepan that I’ve never used. Um what else do I have? Um There’s two billies, but I take both of those collapsible kettle. I take. Um, I think I’ve worked out I’ve got another picnic set of plates and things. There’s like 11 mugs in the mix. I’ve got a family of four. Um, so I don’t need eleven mugs. There’s a little more washing, but some of that’s for hiking. So if I go hiking, I don’t take it out of my camp kit because I like to I like to sit leave the camp kit set up. If I go hiking, I’ve got like a delta mug from Sea To Summit in my hike kit, and I’ll take that for hiking because it hasn’t got a handle and it packs easier.
Lauren: 22:32
Yeah.
Ben: 22:33
So would I get rid of some of that stuff? I don’t know. I feel like I pull the tub out and go through it and go, you know what, it all fits in the tub. Yeah. I’ll keep it because I might need it one day and I might do more hiking again when my kids aren’t taking up so much of my weekend time with sports and stuff.
Hydration Bladders & Ageing Hiking Gear
Lauren: 22:47
Yeah, I’ve got something a bit similar, which I’ve just labelled tubs of I saw that. Poop. Well, not poop. Poop with an S. Poop with an S. Yeah. Um, which is literally just similar to you, like dry bags, bladders, water cells, half-filled gas canisters, hiking bits and pieces, like cups, bowls, cutlery, pots, just odd some spare parts and other oddments, pumps. It just like I moved within the last 12 months, and the way that I had stuff sorted where I was living before that is not how I’ve got it sorted. It’s all just sort of gone in there, and I haven’t, and I just every time I walk in, I’m like, and I need something. I’m just going through these tubs and I’m like, I just need to organize it. Like I just need to get like you’ve done. I do have a tub that has camping mugs and cups and plates and what it color, whatever. But it’s not the tub’s not really big enough for all of those things and the lid doesn’t sit on property. But I do need to do, do you know what I mean? Like I just I just need to get in there and organise it. And I don’t think I would get rid of any of that stuff. It’s more just none of it’s where it needs to be, and it’s chaotic in my mind. So I will need to um need to go in and sort all of that out.
Ben: 24:13
I think some of my gear too, I’ve got old hydration bladders and that sort of thing that are about 15, 20 years old. Probably just need to get some new ones.
Lauren: 24:23
That is true. I do have um one or two older like Nathan bladders from my trail running days that are missing mouthpieces and and like then there’s a bit of hose and it’s like, well, I might need that.
Campfire Cooking Gear (Lauren’s Uncut Collection)
Ben: 24:37
Yeah. So there’s this old stuff that probably when I go start hiking again to buy it all again, I suppose. Yeah.
Lauren: 24:45
I’ve got stuff you can have.
Ben: 24:48
I’ll give you my stuff, you give me yours. Oh my god, it sounds like a trade. Yeah. Although I’m gonna end up with a lot full of shed by the looks of everything you’ve got listed here, because your campfire cooking gear is uh you’ve written a lot of camp ovens. Spun, cast iron, fire spike, bunch of accessories, standalone hot plates, saucepans, billies, trivets, Ozbraii, tub with gloves and tongs. Like I thought I was,
Lauren: 25:10
That’s just my campfire stuff. Because it’s different. It’s different.
Ben: 25:13
You do a lot of campfire cooking though.
Lauren: 25:14
Yeah, I do. In the past, you’ve yeah, well, I haven’t recently, don’t remind me, but that’s just what it’s just what I really like to do. And it’s like, you know, I recently went up to visit a friend and stayed at her farm for the weekend, and instead of staying in the house, I slept in the paddock and I had a fire, and that’s how I, you know what I mean? Like it was just nice.
Ben: 25:35
I reckon my way of minimizing or working out what I would and wouldn’t need here is I’ve got my camp kit sorted. That’s my grab and go. Everything that I need for camping for four is in these two smaller tubs. They go in my car after camp, they go in the kitchen, everything gets washed back in the tub, in the shed, ready to go for next time. That’s how I operate. Hiking, I’m not like that. So I probably need to grab another tub that is my lightweight hiking kit for one or two people, take out of my big tub, which is like a you know, like a big 50 whatever litre tub. Yeah, put in that smaller tub. If I was to go camping tomorrow, what would I take out of that? Put that in there and kind of operate out of that for a while. And then I just I’m minimizing or I’m reducing the amount of stuff that’s sitting in this big tub. And eventually I’m just gonna go, I haven’t touched that for years. I know I’ve got everything I need in here, so I can get rid of everything in that tub.
Lauren: 26:20
Part of me wonders also because like similar with hiking gear, it’s like I’m realizing that if I’m gonna go down and do the like the Deep Creek, three-day deep creek loop or whatever, or if I’m gonna go up and do an overnight or a Mambray Creek, or if I’m doing the Lara pinta this year or do the Overland Track, the actual things that I pack are different every time. Like I don’t have exactly the same kit every single time because if I’m going for a shorter amount of time, I might actually pick a different tent or a different stove that is just more convenient, but the bulk and the size doesn’t matter because I’m only going for two days. Versus if I go and do the Larapinta, which is probably like 16 days long or whatever, everything is gonna be the opposite end of that.
Ben: 27:07
Yeah.
Lauren: 27:07
So you’re sacrificing like we’re supposed to cooking.
Ben: 27:10
If you’re just doing freeze-dried food, you probably only need to take a mug.
Lauren: 27:14
Yeah, but if I’m if I’m that’s right, and that’s what for the Overland Track, I literally just took a mug. But it’s like if I’m doing Deep Creek, I actually take some Mi-goreng noodles, and because I actually cook more, whereas if I’m doing something longer than that, then I’ll just do freeze-dry. So what you yeah, yeah. So I’m like, maybe it’s just instead of a hiking tub, Benji, maybe you need a tub that’s hiking stoves, and then you need a tub that’s like hiking utensils and eating things, and then hiking mattresses, and then hiking sleeping bags, and then hiking.
Ben: 27:46
Reality is I’m just gonna leave it all in one big tub.
Lauren: 27:48
That’s fine.
Ben: 27:49
Okay, the next one’s interesting.
Lauren: 27:51
Uh I wouldn’t get it rid of any of my campfire gear. Even if I didn’t go camping and campfire cooking for like the next three or four years, I’m not getting rid of that. My nana is like coming up to 80, and she still uses what she used 60 years ago, so it’s staying.
Ben: 28:06
You pass it on.
Lauren: 28:06
Fine. Plus, you can kill zombies in the apocalypse with the fry pan.
Ben: 28:12
Is that what you need for zombies?
Lauren: 28:14
Yeah, and your fire spike. Anyway.
Lights & Lanterns: Time for an Upgrade
Ben: 28:17
Next one’s interesting. Lights. Now, lights is an easy one. If you haven’t camped for a while, I can guarantee you can take your your lanterns and stuff that you had from, say, 10 or 15 years ago and replace that with something far more compact and powerful. Okay, uh the hot cross buttons that I don’t think an episode has been passed that we haven’t mentioned these things. Little pack of lights. I went to pack last night for this camping trip. That’s all I put in. Oh, it’s no, sorry, I do have a Hangdome for the for the tent as well because it glows and the kids kind of like that little bit of glow.
Lauren: 28:48
Yeah, that’s cool.
Ben: 28:49
Um, so I but the whole lot fits in about this much space. Whereas I used to have a lantern that was that big and gave off crappy light, and I had to carry that from place to place. And then I had the 12-volt bar lights, which are really cool if you want to light up a big area, but to do it night after night, if you’re putting it down and taking it up, you’ve got wires. So you can probably reduce the amount of space your lights take up in storage and in your vehicle significantly with the LED rechargeable lights that are available nowadays.
Lauren: 29:21
Totally. Like I’ve got string lights, um uh like fairy, like not camping specific, but I’ve got fairy lights, but I’ve got camping specific string lights, I’ve got solar rechargeable lights, I’ve got head torches, I’ve got Zempire Hangdome, and I’ve got hot cross buns.
Ben: 29:35
Head torches, you can’t have enough head torches.
Lauren: 29:37
You can’t, and that’s I’ve actually got a dedicated tub for head torches, got a few. I have got some of them are quite old, like some of them are 10 plus years old and they still work.
Ben: 29:46
Yeah, I’ve got some that just have been through the ringer and they’re starting to die, and I’ve just started to replace them with some new ones.
Lauren: 29:52
Yeah.
Ben: 29:52
Um, my old, I have an old um, it’s a Coleman um I think what they were called, the white ones that had the twist base.
Lauren: 29:60
Oh, yeah, they’re old, those ones.
Sleeping Mats: The Foam Era Is Over
Ben: 30:02
Um and the light wasn’t great off it. Did the job was really good when it had it and was compact. Yeah, that just sits inside my house now for emergency you know, power outages and stuff. I don’t use that for camping anymore. Yeah. But I’ve replaced that with something that’s uh quarter the size, yeah, which gives 10 times more light at least. Um, mats. Now this is an interesting one. So I’ve got a double 10 centimetre mat that sits in my swag and two eight centimetre thick single hike mats. So there might be five or eight, I can’t be five centimetre thick that are for the kids, which is enough for a smaller body to sleep quite comfortably on, and that fits across our RV5, and that’s pretty much all I use. But I also have my old swag mat that was in the swag, just rolled up next to the swag that I never yeah, the foam that I never use. Um,
Lauren: 30:47
Seriously, get rid of it.
Ben: 30:49
Two single foam OZtrail mats, and then two Thermarests, which are once again, you buy good stuff and you hiking ones? Hiking ones, yeah. Like I bought it 15 plus years ago. Yeah. 20 years ago. No, it’d be more than that, I reckon. Still does the job. The old orange therm, um, there’s an orange and a pink one. My wife and I’ve got one and still 3.8 centimetre thick hike mats that I’ve never even got a hole. No, I’ve got a few holes in one, I think, but not many. Still does the job. Like, I’ll just keep using it. Yeah. Um, so I’d keep them, but I think I need to get rid of if I get rid of the double foam mat and the two foam, like the OZtrail Camp mats, those, those just it’s just a foam thing with a cover over it. That’s a fair bit of space that I’ve saved.
Lauren: 31:29
Definitely. Yeah, I think they um the era of those mats is long since passed. I don’t think there’s really any reason other than affordability because you can pick one up for like 20 bucks. There’s no real reason to have them.
Ben: 31:45
Yeah.
Lauren: 31:45
But yeah, I’ve got um sleeping mats wise, I’ve got a couple of doubles just collected over the many years, and also for kids’ sleepovers and things, it’s good to have a good quality camp mat. Um, and also um, you know, anyway. Um, I’m not gonna excuse it. Um and yeah, I’ve got a uh um the the two main ones in rotation is I’ve got a very old Exped um which is still gets heavily used, but we have to pump it up now because it’s the foam is like well tired, but um when it’s in inflated, it’s lovely. I’ve got a um Sea To Summit Comfort Deluxe, which I really love. You’ve got a lot of mats. And then I’ve got a bunch of hiking mats. I think it’s a lot of mats.
Ben: 32:35
Who’s got the issue here?
Lauren: 32:36
But I do there’s lots of lots of people. I don’t know. I don’t know. I don’t know. Just don’t don’t ask me questions.
Ben: 32:42
Right. Let’s move on to packs and bags because I’ve got in a this is stored inside my house.
Sleeping Bags
Lauren: 32:49
How many sleeping bags do you have?
Ben: 32:51
Oh, sleeping bags, sorry, I skipped that one.
Lauren: 32:53
I’m not gonna talk about that. I’m just gonna say I have a range of hiking and camping options and leave it at that.
Ben: 32:60
Not gonna count. Okay. You got more kids than me. So my sleeping bags, I’ve got four down bags. Two of them are high quality Mont bags, two older, like Kathmandu down bags that still do the job. Um two lightweight synthetic bags that are like compact synthetic things One Planet um for summer hiking.
Lauren: 33:20
One Planet is a good brand.
Ben: 33:21
Yeah. Uh and the kids have got uh a bulkier, Coleman one for like sleepovers and stuff. What’s that one, two, three, four, eight sleeping bags?
Lauren: 33:32
Yeah.
Ben: 33:33
But I you probably use all of those. I I haven’t used the hiking ones recently because I haven’t been on enough hiking trips, but maybe one day I will again. Um so I think I’ve got a good range there.
Lauren: 33:43
I’ve got a good range.
Ben: 33:44
I wouldn’t get rid of any of those.
Lauren: 33:45
And a lot of them do get used. But it’s like I just the thing that I I don’t like is a camping hybrid bag. Like I think if I was happy with a hybrid camping hiking bag, then that would probably solve a lot of my issues, but I’m not. So there’s a range of camping bags, and then there’s a range of hiking bags.
Ben: 34:04
Yeah. I should also premise that in my swag, I’ve just got a doona in sheets. So I don’t use a sleeping bag in my swag.
Lauren: 34:11
I should also probably say that when I go camping, I just use a doona.
Packs & Bags: From Kokoda to School Camp
Ben: 34:17
You’re really airing the laundry out of here. Uh, packs and bags. So this is backpacks, etc. Well, mainly backpacks that I’ve gone with. So now these take up a lot of space in my cupboard inside, keeping them for that hope that one day I’ll do more hiking again. But we’ve each got a an old.
Lauren: 34:33
Yeah, yours is um your list here is a bit of a a uh interesting one.
Ben: 34:40
So two large Osprey 60, 70 litre packs that we’ve had since we first my wife bought them when we did the Kokoda track many, many years ago. Back when I was young. I then bought a 60 litre One Planet, really simple. It’s called a WBA, which stands for Weights Bugger All Pack. It’s basically a good harness with a canvas sack.
Lauren: 34:59
Pretty sure I remember those.
Ben: 35:01
That’s what I would use predominantly nowadays, but I might need to update the previous hiking stuff to make sure I can fit everything in a smaller pack. Because I wouldn’t want to jam 60 litres. What do you mean?
Lauren: 35:11
60 litres is a good size hiking pack.
Ben: 35:13
I want to get it smaller than that, I reckon. It’s a good size, yeah, but I wouldn’t want to be packing it really tightly.
Lauren: 35:18
No, I think I do uh my pack’s a 50 litre. 50 that goes up to 60.
Ben: 35:24
This is just 60 straight out.
Lauren: 35:25
Yeah.
Ben: 35:25
Then I got a 35 45 litre Berghaus, which I got in the days when I was doing solo like stuff in in central Oz. I really didn’t need to carry much other than a tarp and uh and a mat with me. Uh and then 10 plus day pack variants, which just over the years, I don’t know, deals are kind of like, that’s pretty, yeah. I’ll grab that pack because it’s only like 20 bucks or 40 bucks, and and or sometimes we’ve got freebies along the way. I’ve got um a Zempire, they they made this range of like they didn’t sell them, that was just a sample thing that they had, and it’s a canvas bag, really simple, nothing flush. I use it for heaps of stuff though, it’s really useful. Um, and I’ve got this and my my work backpack, and then I’ve now got a Sea To Summit um duffel. Or did you end up with one? I love that, yeah. That’s what I live out of, pretty much those three bags. And then there’s this massive pile of other bags that are there just in case we need them that occasionally get pulled out. My wife’s got some in there as well, so could probably get rid of a fair few bags in there, I reckon. Because when you pull them out, like when you use them, you think, oh yeah, I’m using the bag. Then you put it away and you pull it out later and you go, geez, that’s looking worse for wear. Yeah, I know what you mean. I looked at it for a while.
Lauren: 36:41
Like the inside of the bag is peeling away.
Ben: 36:43
Yeah, there’s sweat marks all over it, and yeah, so I could probably get rid of a fair few packs and make some space.
Lauren: 36:48
Yeah, I recently got rid of some packs and like a North Face one that had was the inside was peeling away.
Ben: 36:54
Yeah.
Lauren: 36:54
Um, but I’ve got a few duffel packs, they’re like a Black Wolf duffel pack that folds up and packs inside itself. I find them really handy because they just stay in the shed. So when we’re going camping and we just need some big bags, but I did get the 90-litre ones, and nobody wants to share bags with other people. So the 90 litres is actually way too big. Um, and it they end up sort of being a bit floppy, so I don’t really like them from that side of things.
Ben: 37:20
I’ve got a 90-litre Mont cargo bag, same sort of thing. I had it full of my climbing gear when I was in to climbing and it was good because it fit all my climbing gear and I just take out what I needed for each trip. Yeah. Or you could lug the whole thing in and out.
Lauren: 37:32
Yeah.
Ben: 37:33
But I’ve tried to use it for surf and I’ve tried to use it for other things, and it’s just floppy. It’s just this big.
Lauren: 37:37
Because it’s designed to pack up small and tiny, right? Pack back into itself. So that’s the same. And it’s like they’re great bags, but it’s like, unless you are maxing out the capacity, they’re just really difficult to manage and handle.
Ben: 37:49
I reckon the best use I’ve had is one when my daughter had a party, she wanted to take a heap of sporting stuff with her, put all basketballs, cricket gear, and everything in there. Secondly, when my older daughter went on school camp, uh, and everything was going in a trailer, but she had like pillows, sleeping bag,
Lauren: 38:03
Put it all in there.
Ben: 38:04
All went in this bag and she was going, it’s not cool. And I’m going, seriously, it’s gonna make things so much easier.
Lauren: 38:10
Too bad, too sad.
Ben: 38:11
She loved it by the end because she’s like, she rocks up and she’s got one bag with everything in it. Everyone else has got like a bag with a handle and the pillow stuffed in the top, and it’s getting thrown the pillows getting. She’s just got one bag full of stuff. She loved it. So and it’ll last forever. So that’s one thing I would keep because it’s useful when I need it.
Lauren: 38:27
Yeah, I’ve got five of them. I just need one. So yeah. But it fits in like a 50-litre tub, anyway. Um, yeah, and I’ve got similar to you, I’ve got a few hiking bags like Lowe Alpine um Deuter. My main pack is like an Exped, like a lightweight Exped. I’ve got a couple of Osprey bags. Um yeah. But I feel like most of my bags, I do use them. I don’t have any like from ages ago. And it’s like I do have a couple of different hiking bags, but they’re the ones like even though you know, if I go camping, I’ve got my bag. But if I want to go with a friend and now I don’t have a pack, so I’ve got a pack. So, you know, I’ve got a spare pack you can use. So that’s why I’ve sort of kept there. And then sometimes if the kids are like, I want to go on a hike with you, then I’m like, cool, just there you go.
Ben: 39:22
Yeah.
Lauren: 39:22
So I so I don’t know if I’d get rid of any of them.
Ben: 39:25
My first pack when I was in Scouts was a really simple, had like two thin aluminium frames down the back like this, or stays. Can’t remember what brand it was. It was grey and green. And I used to work in a little shop in Alice Springs called Lone Dingo. And we did a display in there once, and I had just moved because we moved this bag around the country. I went, why don’t it’s kind of got this old kind of look about it. So we hung it in the shop there, and that’s where it started.
Lauren: 39:48
I actually feel like I have seen that bag.
Ben: 39:51
Have you in in Alice Springs?
Lauren: 39:53
Yeah. Well, I reckon, I reckon I have I’ve been to Alice Springs a lot of times in my life, and I have been to Lone Dingo, and I reckon that I reckon I might have seen it.
Why Our Sheds Look Like This
Ben: 40:02
Oh, well, it’s the shop’s moved since I was working there, but we had a display with that in there. So Simon still owns the shop. Love that. So if you’re up there, have a look, see if my backpack’s still hanging up in there anyway. Anyway, that’s you know what?
Lauren: 40:13
This has become not uh what do you what do I have that I don’t want to get rid of, but probably should have. It’s probably less of that. And this is all of the that we own. Excuse my language. Um, beep that out.
Ben: 40:25
Just the word we tried didn’t avoid so avoid earlier.
Lauren: 40:28
Um and uh trying to validate each other.
Ben: 40:34
Why we should not throw it out.
Lauren: 40:36
Yeah, it’s fine, keep it.
Ben: 40:38
It’s clearly not a well thought out episode.
Lauren: 40:40
I also I there’s a part of me also that maybe feels like we’re just sitting here talking about all of the crap we’ve got and how that might sound like super wanky at the same time. Do you know what I mean? Like we’ve got all this gear, whereas there might be some people out there who were like kill to have the gear that we have. But we’re just purely I feel like it’s just purely the luck of well not the luck, but the fortunateness. I don’t know what the word is I’m thinking of. The I think the privilege of working in this industry, right? Because I’ve worked in this industry before I had kids, and then I had kids and did other things, and then I’m back. So a lot of that gear has been acquired because I’ve I can acquire it. Like I’ve got, I’ve got, sorry to interrupt you again, but I’ve got five hiking mats. And two of those I have won from Sea To Summit at one of their like massive promotion events in a raffle. So it’s not that do you know what I mean? Like if I wasn’t in this industry, I wouldn’t have this much gear.
Ben: 41:49
I reckon there was more of that back in the day as well, plus the discounts. We you do get pro deals and that sort of thing, but it’s not quite often I look at a pro deal nowadays and I’m like, I might just buy it from Snowys because by the time I pay for it and everything, it’s really not that much difference than what a customer would pay out of the shop.
Lauren: 42:06
So there’s not that much in it.
Ben: 42:08
Occasionally there’s freebies that come up, but I do look at the gear on my shelf and I look and I go, I could jump on that. Do I really need that? Or is it going to be on this list here one day where I go, yeah, I grabbed that because it was free one day, but I never actually needed it. Yeah.
Lauren: 42:20
So I know exactly what you mean.
Ben: 42:22
So I I certainly don’t buy just there’s a lot of stuff. If if I bought everything because I’ve gone, that’s cool, I’d I’d need another shed, Um,
Lauren: 42:31
Yeah, everything on my list. I know everything on my list I have acquired with intention.
Ben: 42:38
Yeah.
Lauren: 42:39
It’s not just like, yeah. So it’s like it’s things that I’ve actively used and love using. But I think also to tie it in with that as well, is that the reason why you and I are sitting here is because our sheds look like this. But do you know what I mean? I think because I think like out of a lot of the people, even a lot of people we work with, we’ve got a really long history of actively using and interacting and owning different types of gear and yeah, doing different types of activities. So trying different things, trying different things.
Ben: 43:12
So we can actually probably one of the main intents that I’ve bought stuff is for that that I’ve just gone, you know what, I might, I might get that and try it because then I can talk about it with the community.
Lauren: 43:23
Yeah, and admittedly, I’ve sort of done some stuff like that in the past as well. Like this is something that everybody seems to be liking or it’s gaining in popularity. I’m gonna get it. Yeah just because I want to use it and work out work it out work out about it and you know, have good information.
Ben: 43:40
I only bought the hot cross button lights because because of all the talk about them and me going, I probably should I talk about it all the time.
Lauren: 43:46
I should actually recent acquisition for you, right?
Ben: 43:49
Like last year. Yeah.
Lauren: 43:50
I mean I’ve had mine for about three years, I think now.
Ben: 43:53
I didn’t need it because I’ve got lighting. I’ve just got better lighting.
Lauren: 43:56
Yeah.
Wrap-Up & Join the Conversation
Ben: 43:57
Yeah. Anyway, that’s our list. Let us know what you’ve got. Have a look at your your gear list.
Lauren: 44:02
It might surprise you though as well. Because I was like, I don’t have that much. And then you write it out and then you write it out and you’re like, I can have a lot more space in my shed here.
Ben: 44:12
Feel free to air out your laundry. Let us know what’s in your shed or your storage cupboard that’s um excessive.
Lauren: 44:19
Make us feel less alone.
Ben: 44:21
Yeah. We’ve heard out ours. And now over to you. But um, yeah, so comments in the YouTube comments below on our Facebook group, Snowys Camping Banter. Um, and don’t forget to subscribe. But that’s it for this episode. We’ll catch you all next time. Catch you later.
Thanks for listening, tune in again for next week’s episode!
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Catch you out there!
From tent pegs and air tents, to setups for summer and one-pot wonders – our gear gurus Ben and Lauren unpack the topics on every camper’s tongue, taking each minute to the limit with how-to’s, destinations, and expert interviews. Be it a swag, tent, or ‘swent’ – set up camp with us!