Keeping your food and drinks icy cold during a multi-day trip is critical, especially if you are on the trail and off the grid with no nearby resources for additional ice.
 
We determined that having an additional full-size cooler on our trips was needed to support our four-person family adventures.  We considered a variety of cooler options, including the bear proof (and heavy) Yeti to the electric powered ARB fridge/freezer to the basic Coleman.

The obvious and most critical feature of a cooler, is the number of cold storage days.  Of course, the number of cold storage days can be a big variable, beginning with how your cooler was packed with ice and food (food on bottom, ice on top).  We also took into consideration quality, weight, price, and ability to fend off bears.

We decided on the Coleman Xtreme 5 Day cooler.  Obvious visual features are the lid-top cup holders, which for us have never been a critical feature, but nice to have.  Positive features include five days of claimed cold storage, light weight, and reasonable price.  The Coleman is also made in the USA.

Handles provide for the only means of moving this cooler from one spot to another, however, the Yeti and ARB also come sans wheels.  Coolers can get heavy quick, requiring a strong back if carried even any short distance.

The Coleman Xtreme 5 carrying handles feel relatively sturdy and are easy to grip and hold on to.  The rubberized handles provide for some comfort during carrying, they do flex slightly, though this seems normal and not a concern for failure.

As with all coolers, having a longer distance to man haul your cooler can be made much easier by convincing a friend to do the heavy lifting.

This Coleman Xtreme 5 cooler has a 70 quart capacity, equivalent to 100 cans of your favorite 12 oz. beverage.  The insulated body provides for relatively thin side walls, which helps to maximize the "capacity to mass ratio".

The lid has no latch, which means a quicker and easier process for getting in and out of the cooler.  Just "open" and "close".  One of our concerns was for the lid remaining completely closed while on the trail or knowing that the lid would remain fully shut while at camp.  However, the lid perimeter has a large rim that pushes down into a deep groove of the cooler body ensuring an airtight closure.

And of course, without a lid latch, this cooler could easily fall victim to a bear attack.

Keep in mind that this Coleman was the lowest priced option of the coolers we were considering.  One potential weak spot could be the plastic hinges, which are not even really hinges.  The plastic pieces that hold the lid to the cooler body merely bend with every opening and closing.

Even being brand new...as the grey plastic "hinges" flexed in the lid open position, a white stress line appeared in the plastic along the apex of the bend.

Continuing the theme of "using your imagination" that these plastic pieces are really hinges, the drain cap is a one piece design that includes a hinge, or well, just a length of plastic bent in half.

In theme with the ingenious design of the hinge, the drain cap is well, no more than just a cap.  What would be more assuring?  Answer: A cap that screws on for 100% assurance.

Despite a non-screw-on cap, the convenient push on cap fits snugly with relatively good assurance that water would not likely be escaping from the depths of the cooler cavity and flooding your vehicle.

During the Labor Day weekend, beach temperatures climbed into the 90 degree range, while the deserts were well into the 100's.  We split the difference and camped in the Laguna Mountains at 6,000 feet elevation.

Even at this higher elevation and under the pine trees, the day time temperature was well into the 90 degree range, which provided for a good test of our new Coleman Xtreme 5 cooler.

Alongside the Xtreme 5 cooler is our older blue Coleman cooler with a slightly smaller capacity (60 quart, 81 can capacity).


Our older Coleman has served us well, including being attacked by a bear in the high Sierra mountains.  We lost food during that nighttime encounter, including our chocolate for s'mores, however, the cooler has continued to live on with residual punctures from the bears teeth in the cooler lid.

And while our Big Agnes Three Forks shelter provides for cooling shade at the beach, it also works well for shading our coolers at camp.  Even under the cover of the shade, the heat was fierce and a good test for both coolers.

By day two of our four day adventure, the Coleman Xtreme 5 Day cooler remained icy cold and showed no signs of melted ice in the 95 degree heat.

After four days of enduring heat, the Coleman Xtreme 5 Day cooler had shown the expected signs of our cube ice melting, however, the large block ice was 75% remaining, and with that, we could have easily gone a fifth day.

Overall, we are satisfied with our Coleman Xtreme 5 day cooler.
We can recommended the Xtreme 5 cooler for:
 1. Keeping food and drinks icy cold for four days in 95 degree heat, with ability to endure at least five days
 2. Light weight
 3. Thin side walls to maximize capacity
 4. Lid that seals tightly
 5. Convenience of easy access lid open-closure (no latches to unlatch or re-latch)
 6. Price

Potential things to consider with the Xtreme 5 cooler:
 1. Hinges that attach lid and drain cap could have a questionable life expectancy
 2. Drain cap is just that and does not screw on into place (though, the cap does fit with confidence)
 3. No tray to prevent delicate foods from falling into the depths of the cooler
 4. No latch to ensure lid remains closed (again, the lid does close with confidence)
 5. Not bear proof

What is your cooler of choice and why?

One of my favorite camp tools is the Gerber E-Tool with Pick and Serrated Blade.  This Gerber shovel is lightweight, compact, and strong...and is an essential tool at every camp.  I use my Gerber shovel for everything from managing the camp fire to leveling a site for my tent.

Here is what the Gerber site says about the E-Tool...
"This is a military-grade digging tool for trenches and holes. Armed with a powder-coated, carbon steel shovel head and a serrated blade edge, the E-Tool is designed specifically to conquer tough digging problems in all types of terrain. The foldable body is made of an anodized aluminum shaft and glass-filled nylon handle. The head folds back exposing a pick for loosening rock and breaking up roots."

Here is the shovel head, with one serrated edge.  The shovel head also folds over and allows the pick to be turned down into a position for digging through rocks.

The top of the shaft has a spindle that turns to loosen and tighten the shovel to allow for opening and locking the tool into the working position as well as for collapsing down into a compact design for storage.

In addition to the shovel itself, a separate storage case is also available, which is nice when your shovel is a regular item being carried around in your rig.

There are many camp shovel options available at all price levels.  For example, the Spetsnaz, which is modeled after the original Soviet Special Forces shovel and can be used for everything from fending off a bear to paddling a canoe.

While the Gerber can be a more expensive shovel, its lightweight, compact, and strong design provides for an ideal combination of traits.  And if you need to fend off a bear, catch a possum for dinner, or paddle a canoe, the Gerber will be ready to serve.

Ever find yourself out in the wilderness, having a great time, but all of a sudden needing to find a potty?  While this potty is not revolutionary, it definitely provides for a convenient place to take care of business when you are out on the trail or camping.

While some don't mind taking care of business in the great outdoors, there is also the option of using a tent for a little potty time privacy.  I typically pitch the "potty tent" right next to my sleeping tent, which reduces the walking distance in the middle of the night when someone (usually a kid) needs to go potty real bad.

I use a five gallon bucket and lid combination, which is perfect for carrying all of the needed equipment to set the camp potty.  And depending upon the trip, a second bucket can provide for a trash can and hauling device which can be sealed with the lid.

The basic components include:
 - Plastic trash bags, 13 gallon size
 - Cat litter
 - Toilet paper
 - Wet wipes
 - Cleaning wipes
 - Toilet seat designed to snap onto a five gallon bucket (find it at REI)
 - Wag bags (designed for working with the bucket system. Find them at REI), but not completely necessary.

Assembly is easy.  First insert the 13 gallon trash bag, followed by a wag bag (or skip the wag bag and double up with two of the 13 gallon bags).  Then pour in about 3 pounds or one-third of the 10 pound bag of cat litter.  Note, the wag bag also includes a small amount of powder to absorb liquid.  I prefer the absorbing power of kitty litter.

Install seat and you are ready to take care of business.  Do you have this set up or use something similar?  What is your wilderness camp potty setup?

Is there anything worse than camping without a table for food prep and sitting at for meal time?  I, myself, have never found it very convenient to sit in a camp chair while balancing a plate of food on my legs.  And food prep without a table can be a separate debacle.

We really needed a table that would provide a good amount of table top space for food prep and sitting around as well as something that would be study in the wilderness and not tip over if bumped into.  And most importantly, we needed a table that would become very compact and relatively light weight for when we are on the move.

We have been using the REI Camp Table for five months now (since December 2013).  This table provides a lot of what we were searching for in a camp table. The overall table top size provides a good area for food prep and also for sitting around.  You can seat six people, that is with two on each side and one person at each end of the table.  The table is also fairly sturdy and collapses down to a perfect size for transporting on our rack that mounts into the Jeep trailer hitch receiver.

The table frame collapses down into a small form.  There are also three individual flat sections that mount first to the frame and then the two roll top sections complete the set up.

Here the three flat sections mount first to the table frame.

Then the two roll top sections mount onto the table via plastic plugs.  So far, the plastic plugs remained in good shape and have not lost their ability to hold tight when mounted into the receiving holes.  One concern for this table can be the exposed metal edges of the roll tops, but this is only an issue when setting up and disassembling.  When assembled, these edges are not exposed.

The REI Camp Table also comes with a transport bag, which can be a little difficult to re-stuff with the frame and roll tops, but it works.  The other nice feature with the roll top is that "spills" will go through the gaps between the slats, however, the gaps also allow for small items that you might not want falling through to, well, fall through the cracks.

If looking for your own camp table, I would recommend a roll top table similar to this REI Camp Table.  There are other table options out there, some with fabric tops (which may not provide the required stability), or others with larger top sections that do not collapse down to a compact size for transport.
Do you have a favorite camp table? Post a comment and tell us what table you are using and why.