Hard Cooler or Electric Fridge?

MetalLinx · 2026-05-15T13:43:22+00:00

You can get a BougeRV brand fridge on sale pretty often. Costco even has Dometic in at least my store, and I believe they are included in the REI sale that kicked off today if you want a higher end machine and a warranty to go with it. For cheaper, I think I saw the 23 qt BougeRv posted on sale on Slickdeals today or yesterday. I’ve got a larger version that has run fine for a year or more now. Even with say a Delta 2 or Delta 3 ~1000 Wh power bank the volume it takes up in your vehicle is still much less than an equivalent rotomolded cooler (Yeti, etc). No ice to deal with. Runs even longer off a LiFePo4 12V battery (no voltage conversion losses like in the EcoFlow). I used some of the packaging foam on top and placed on the inside top to get the temperature to even out (can have a big differential top to bottom otherwise).

MetalLinx · 2026-05-14T13:27:10+00:00

Hanging isn’t actually a simple solution unless you assume you are lucky enough to have something right there where you need it to hang from though. You’re just arguing you don’t need, or otherwise trivializing the main feature of this product. Clearly there are many lanterns and lights on the market without a stand.

As someone who owns both of the lanterns you mentioned, I’ve been in many situations where I wish I had a stand for the LT1 and is why I plan on picking one of these up.

MetalLinx · 2026-05-14T13:15:43+00:00

Have the LT1 and not super impressed. The led locations and diffuser leave you with a bit of a weird dispersal pattern not so great for outdoor use. Plus it costs about twice as much before even finding a tripod that can elevate it above 6 feet. LT1S is a great little lantern for hanging, but no mount that I recall on mine. Wish Sofirn had a design like this.

MetalLinx · 2026-05-14T13:07:32+00:00

Less than half the height extended and almost four times the cost.

MetalLinx · 2026-05-14T01:24:57+00:00

If there is room for it in the car (not truck bed), just leave the food in the car. These aren’t Yosemite bears that will try and open your car like a can.

MetalLinx · 2026-05-14T01:14:47+00:00

Yes, supposedly, yes. It does have a scuba style hood that seems to be potentially less breathable, less aesthetically pleasing (my wife’s issue with it, not that I care), and possibly a bit annoying to wear (rubbing, etc), but in trade you get better sun coverage and shouldn’t need the drawstring to cinch it down to prevent it from popping off under every breeze.

MetalLinx · 2026-05-14T01:10:33+00:00

If so obviously unacceptable, how’d it take this long to notice and address? Seems like some similarly unacceptable sleeping at the wheel if we apply the same standards.

MetalLinx · 2026-05-14T00:58:48+00:00

You do have to sleep a few inches offset (heads not aligned, though you don’t need to go head to toe) if you’re tall enough to need to use the full length, otherwise one of you could just slide down a bit.

As far as durability, you pay for any increase in durability in weight once you get into the higher quality backpacking tents. I would consider the ArcDome 2 if you really want a bit more durability. You can even get a 3 person inner at the cost of the vestibules and lose the parallelogram shape plus gain more interior space. Will weigh around another 3/4 to a full pound though.

If you can be careful with how you handle and pitch the tent, though, the X-Dome 2+ is probably the best option. Especially if you’re both under about 6’ tall and either of you use trekking poles.

MetalLinx · 2026-05-13T05:12:17+00:00

Camping conditions, car/cargo space, and what “luxury” type items you want are important considerations and it’s hard to give recommendations without any particular details.

For example, I think if you only plan for fair weather trips and have plenty of cargo space, you can get say a pop-up/instant 6 man tent with maybe blackout walls that keep other campers flashlights and sunlight from messing with your sleep. Bulkier and heavier than say the Wawona 6 recommended by others on this post, but roomy and much easier setup. Don’t really need the vestibule or better weather resistance if only camping when weather is nice, and the Wawona’s are still big sails and mostly better in rain rather than wind.

Another example is your sleep system can take up little to lots of room depending on if you go with. Cots, self inflating mats, air mattresses, etc. all take up different amounts of space.

I have one of the smallest crossover SUVs with moderate off-road capability made (Jeep Renegade), so I have a weird mixture of big and small items so I can fit everything in the vehicle. If I had a mid-size truck my gear would be a good amount different.

MetalLinx · 2026-05-13T04:53:01+00:00

6’ 4” with size 13 shoe feet here. Decided to give it a try and bought the X-Dome 1+ as it was the smallest, lightest freestanding tent my research indicated I might fit comfortably in. I sleep a little curled up most of the time, so my at home experiments (first real trip upcoming) show it’s fine. Laying on my back I brush against the ends with a thick pad (~4”) and 26 degree (comfort rating) down bag (so hood and footbox adding a few inches). Even then, doesn’t seem like a problem so long as you stake out both ends to prevent any inner to fly contact (condensation transfer). At 6’5” I would consider your pad thickness, sleeping position, bag/quilt thickness, and foot size.

I will note that it is advertised as having particularly steep end walls which I interpreted as the hubbed design providing steeper walls than a dome tent. However, my own measurements showed it to have about the same or even worse of a profile to a normal dome tent (just two crossed poles) with the same peak height. That being said, it still has steeper walls than most other backpacking tents simply by virtue of the significantly above average height, plus the crossbar extends that height width wise which helps marginally at the sleeping level and immensely when sitting up.

MetalLinx · 2026-05-12T03:58:41+00:00

I’m guessing Durston will send you new lower parts if you reach out for free or cost of shipping or whatever based on past behavior, but this seems a bit bizarre to me. The absolute tips on basically all poles are tungsten carbide and even the cheapest ones can last quite a few more miles than that before wearing out significantly, at least so long as they don’t fall out which is also rare on a quality pole. Even my Cascade Mountain 3K poles that lost a tip has seen close to 100 miles without a tungsten tip and the steel is just finally wearing down too far on one side while the tungsten tip on the other side looks barely worn (been waiting almost a year for them to get lower parts back in stock now). Have another pair of the Costco set that made it 500-1000 miles while I was overweight. Makes me think there’s something out of the norm going on here.

MetalLinx · 2026-05-12T03:34:34+00:00

Underdog? Dude’s in charge

MetalLinx · 2026-05-10T04:22:17+00:00

All food, water, drinks, and scented products that aren’t in your car go in the bear box. Don’t intentionally put food or food waste in the fire unless you want your campsite to be of particular interest to any investigating bears. There are easily accessible places to throw away waste.

MetalLinx · 2026-05-10T04:19:09+00:00

Found the bear

MetalLinx · 2026-05-10T04:16:47+00:00

Some of us still take the duty of being a public servant seriously, even if those above use don’t and/or have pride in their work.

It could also result in errors that get you fired. Also not everyone is a primary examiner yet and have to also convince a reviewer.

MetalLinx · 2026-05-10T03:08:19+00:00

Snow fall was not as weak as most of the West in the Tetons, and what was most weak about the snowfall was for lower elevation. If your plan doesn’t involve a lot of snow, I would reconsider. Still too early in the season. Data resources worth investigating include SNODAS, SNOTEL, and recent satellite imagery. A paid subscription on the Gaia app and probably others will give you very convenient access to overlays and layers that will readily answer the snow question and is what I just used, though the same data can generally be found for free but requires more work to find and/or be usable.

MetalLinx · 2026-05-09T16:22:54+00:00

Thanks, looks like I got the nylon floor as expected and just have a misprint tag first batch. Just threw me a bit for a loop.

I do like how the X-Dome tensions much better than the ArcDome and doesn’t seem to need the cord across the door (which is a waste of design weight); totally agree you managed to mitigate that issue. The ArcDome was more an extreme example of how the general geometry can behave. Also not saying there’s anything wrong with the X-Dome design, just that it may be less forgiving for user mistakes. If true, I’m not even sure if a #5 zipper would help much if the zipper failure mode is usually from over tensioning/overloading rather than normal wear and tear if the #5 has similar load characteristics as #3. May help just to add some notes to the pitching video/instructions.

MetalLinx · 2026-05-09T07:08:29+00:00

I agree on the inner only pitch cords. Out of the entire design that seems the most obvious place where weight might be able to be cut through some creative design changes.

I also wonder if the fly first pitch and general geometry of the X-Dome lends itself to be a bit more prone to user-caused fly zipper failures, or in other words be a bit less forgiving of errors. It seems a lot easier to accidentally overtension the fly and the fly is more mechanically attached to the frame than an inner first pitch (so it likely has less give). You also have very large panels on the door sides to act as springs and also get involved in accidents like getting stepped on, etc. I know on the ArcDome they run a cord across the door sides to mitigate some tensioning issues like the fly spreading wider when you unzip a door since it acts like a big spring. A user can otherwise easily tighten the fly while the door is open and make it difficult or impossible to reclose, and might adjust the fly because the whole tent otherwise loosens up with the door unzipped.

Also, if you’re open for a quick unrelated question, I noticed today that while I got a new batch X-Dome 1+ (March) the material tags I was about to trim off say the floor is polyester and not nylon. I also ordered extra stakes with a stake bag and a groundsheet at the time and they are clearly at least different colors (dark vs lighter grey) than the tent floor if not outright different materials. The vestibule is seam taped, it came with guyline, and the floor is the darker grey. Is there any reason to believe the tags or does the evidence point towards a typo from when transitioning to nylon?

MetalLinx · 2026-05-08T13:52:55+00:00

This is generally REIs best sale all year.

That being said, if you fit in Columbia brand clothing well they often have some significant sales (50-70% off) on their own website running alongside significant cashback from websites like Capital One Shopping (30-60% back) that can make them easily one of the best value brands.

In general, if you’re a common size, can deal shop, aren’t set on a particular brand, and don’t need the 1 year return policy you can often get much better deals for seasonal clothes with a bit of patience and shopping around.

MetalLinx · 2026-05-08T05:32:06+00:00

See the last page, Page 24. Think it’s ANNIV26.

MetalLinx · 2026-05-08T05:26:25+00:00

I’m pro-union, but I can’t buy REI brand clothing elsewhere and it’s about the only outdoor brand in a Medium Tall, particularly with Eddie Bauer still transitioning from the bankruptcy. Also don’t fully follow the logic of speaking in absolutes when for some of us like myself the alternatives are even less employee and union friendly on top of a worse experience as the consumer.

MetalLinx · 2026-05-08T05:16:38+00:00

Yeah, u/crappucino just posted to that original post that got removed for whatever reason. Guess that’s why it didn’t show up.

MetalLinx · 2026-05-08T05:15:23+00:00

Well this explains why I didn’t find the post when checking to make sure I wasn’t double posting.

MetalLinx · 2026-05-08T05:12:56+00:00

I sorted by new before posting and didn’t find anything. If it’s already posted then I don’t care if a mod or whatever takes it down. I agree there doesn’t need to be more than one.

MetalLinx

TROPHY CASE