Tents & Cooking fuel in Argentina and Chile
 

Hello all,

Another question for you!!

We're starting to buy all the kit for the trip (Argentia and Chile): tent, clothing etc. Do you have any pointers on what to choose?

So far we are looking at two man, done or tunnel tent with a packed size of about 45x20 cm and around 2.5kg.
This we can find, but is thespecs I want to be sure of. Is a Hydrostatic head of 3000mm for the flysheet enough for these countries and their higher grounds during the Sept to Dec period?

As for stoves, we still have it all to consider. We can sort out a light or small model, but what I'd like to know is what sort of fuel should we look for and should it be pressurised flow or no-pressure feed? What fuels are readily available? in the UK we can buy Coleman cannisters or Primus cannisters for good stoves, but thisis no good if we can't find re-fills out there!!

Thanks in advance,

Nick

Hi Nick

I used a Coleman Cobra 2 tent. I don't know what the hydrostatic head is but it took the worst that Patagonia could fling at it: -10 to +40c, the legendary howling winds and some pretty torrential rain. By coincidence (car boot sale - £2!) I also had a Coleman stove which I ran on unleaded petrol, filling it from the quick connector in the balance pipe on my bike's tank. I used it virtually every day and it only needed cleaning once in seven months.

I'm sure there'll be tons more info. under "Planning - Equipment" in the LH column.

Regards, Mick

We used a North Face Roadrunner 33 (3 man tent) which was great for two of us and bike gear.I bought cheap sleeping bags which was a mistake.Girlfriend got cold at night.For cooking we used a Sierra woodburning stove bought over the internet from the States.You have to sit there feeding it twigs while a little fan blows hot air around the thing.Worked fine but i think a petrol stove would have been more practical.I was a bit concerned about carrying gas cannisters in panniers when bike left out in the heat from the sun.
Plenty on this website of what and what not to take.
Have fun !

MSR Tent and Stove
 

We've used an MSR Dragonfly multi-fuel stove for a number of years. It'll burn anything from Kerosene to White Gas. When on the road we usually fill it with unleaded gasoline from the gas tank on the bike. That way you don't have to carry tons of fuel with you, you've always got lots available!

This year we opted for an MSR Mutha Hubba three person tent for the two of us. Plenty of room, light, airy and, while it is free standing (good for setting up on concrete) it also has lots of guy line points so that you can brace it against the Patagonian wind.

We're headed that direction in the summer of 2007, after we head up to Alaska this summer.

Hello,
we used a North Face VE25. It is a bit larger than others, but we even used it when we climed a 6000m -Volcano and it held the whole time all the rain during rainy season. It is relly superb!

Regarding stove: It is easy to say what type of fuel: What do you always have with you? Exactly! Gasoline!!!
We used a MSR dreagonfly gasoline stove and were completely satisfied by it. It worked and worked and worked....

The problem with gas-stoves`? You do not find the cartouches everywehre, but gasoline from your bikes tank you always have with you. And it works also with other types of liquid fuels. Check it out!

I hope I could help you with these info.

Greets
Burnout1