The Wednesday Wellness threads are meant to encourage users to ask for and provide advice and motivation to improve their lives. It isn't intended as a 'containment thread' and any content which could go here could instead be posted in its own thread. You could post:
-
Requests for advice and / or encouragement. On basically any topic and for any scale of problem.
-
Updates to let us know how you are doing. This provides valuable feedback on past advice / encouragement and will hopefully make people feel a little more motivated to follow through. If you want to be reminded to post your update, see the post titled 'update reminders', below.
-
Advice. This can be in response to a request for advice or just something that you think could be generally useful for many people here.
-
Encouragement. Probably best directed at specific users, but if you feel like just encouraging people in general I don't think anyone is going to object. I don't think I really need to say this, but just to be clear; encouragement should have a generally positive tone and not shame people (if people feel that shame might be an effective tool for motivating people, please discuss this so we can form a group consensus on how to use it rather than just trying it).
Jump in the discussion.
No email address required.
Notes -
I pooh-poohed inflatable mats for a while, but they're a significant upgrade. Weirdly expensive, however. They both insulate and cushion. An inflatable pillow is also an amazing luxury.
A hot meal during a cool night in shoulder season is amazing. I splurge on the dehydrated foods bags that are like $14US, but provide an immense amount of calories and protein for multi-day treks. You can also just do Ramen or instant mashed potatoes.
I really didn't miss hot food and certainly didn't miss the hassle of cooking and washing up. Maybe I will try some overnight oats or something more substantial.
The big issue with inflatable mats is that they're very prone to leaks.
I definitely believe you. For a 1-2 night thing in good weather especially.
The meals I use are like so and require only a spork and boiling water, no cleanup. However you can see the price is... Not great and they can be bulky. After a 4,000 calorie day in the cold they're a treat for me.
The inflatable pads I've used do not leak in the many nights I've used them, but are also expensive and I HAVE destroyed one quickly with a rolling bike tire while bikepacking. I don't think a $200 model is necessary, my $70 equivalent was more than up to the task even if it didn't pack down as tightly.
In any case each person's camping gear journey is their own. Camping enough with basic gear and food will lead you to appreciate the improvements you make in the future, if any. Today's compact comfort technology is absolutely insane.
Yeah, I think every person needs to iterate to find what they can and can't live without. To me food has never been a real treat, just a chore. If anything, it's quite liberating to have an excuse not to cook hot food and just eat like a degenerate student again.
More options
Context Copy link
More options
Context Copy link
More options
Context Copy link
More options
Context Copy link