camping gearI got together with my backpacking buddy from years ago at her house over the weekend and she showed me her latest big find for her camping gear. She said she bought the Backside HM +20° Blueice Mummy Bag last fall before our winter camping season started because it was a better size for her than her existing sleeping bag. She has been camping a couple of times this winter with it and just loves it because it's just her size. And it's light. It weighs all of 2.5 pounds, so it doesn't take up much space in her camping gear or weigh things down. All it takes is one night in a sleeping bag that's too big to realize the importance of getting the proper size bag for a good (and warm) night's sleep.

She said that it's for people up to 5'6" tall and has enjoyed getting nice and warm fast in this down sleeping bag. Having a warm sleeping bag is one of the most important things to bring along in the camping gear because it's hard to sleep when icy cold. I know this first hand because one of my first trips out backpacking I was in a bag that was too big for me. The first night out under the stars I shivered my way to sleep, and in the morning, I woke up to a coating of ice all over the bag. I was not much warmer by morning, but as the sun came up, my bones started to warm up.

Since then, I've bought nothing but the best for my camping gear. My friend got this bag at Paradigm Camping Gear located at www.paradigmcampinggear.com so after I got home, I went there and looked around at a lot of camping gear I'd like to add to make our camping trips more comfortable. I have my eye on new camping tableware made from stainless steel that could be used for other things besides eating. I could heat water in the larger stainless steel bowls and use it for washing up or even doing a little laundry by hand.

The nice thing about stainless steel camping gear is that it's easy to sterilize and that makes it usable for more than just cooking or serving. The Paradigm Camping Gear site also had some insulated stainless steel espresso cups that would be perfect to take along, too, so we could enjoy some campfire brewed espresso in the late afternoon watching the sun set. There's no end to what we can get for camping gear online, but as I learned early on, it has to be top notch to withstand the rigors of this sport and keep us comfortable.