Walmart Surprises

Some of these things have probably been there a while, but it was neat to see some lightweight options there as I popped into the store last Saturday.

1. PILLOW: For about $6.00 this 6.7oz luxury has the following: Memory foam top (2.7oz), vinyl ‘balloon’ (2.7oz), felt pillow case (1.3oz). The memory foam made it feel like a pillow (when blown up). My 11 year-old daughter had to buy it. She’s testing it <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />. My wife liked the idea better than the ones I have that blow up with a straw. “But honey, using the straw is the lightweight answer”, “You’re crazy”. We have lost or smashed several straws.

2. DRY BAG: Set of 3. urethane coated nylon. Didn’t buy. Very light weight. ~$10.00

3. WATER FILTER: This is by Sawyer $40. They claim 0.1um filter! That’s smaller than my First Need. I wonder if it will pass the dye test. I didn’t buy, so I don’t know the weight. http://www.walmart.com/catalog/product.do?product_id=8283710 This is an incredible price because other websites sell it for $65. I wonder how fast it would work for a gravity fed system.

4. WATER BOTTLE CLIP: $1. This clips on generic water bottles. Then the attached mini carabineer clips to your pack, belt, etc., I bought this and it holds a bottle very well.

-Barry

Was car camping with the family this past Xmas, I decided to splurge and bring my memory foam pillow with me since I wasn't backpacking. Nightime came and it was pretty cold (mid 30's). Anyway, when I finally laid my head on my pillow, I kinda flopped down...only to find out that memory foam doesn't do so well when it's cold out! It was almost like a brick! <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/shocked.gif" alt="" />
Moral of the story...keep the memory foam warm! <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/wink.gif" alt="" />

Yes, that is true. I work in an industry that utilizes memory foam at every turn. Visco-elastic memory foam is not only a weight reactive foam but it is also a heat reactive foam. When the foam is cold it is hard and when it is warmer it is much softer..This type of foam like many others comes in different weights and different densities. The harder the foam the lesser the quality. The softer the foam the better the quality....Hope that helps...Happy Trekking...sabre11004...


The first step that you take is one of those that will get you there !!!! <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/tongue.gif" alt="" />

That surprises me. I used to work with this foam when I helped build driving systems for for people in wheelchairs or with other mobility limitations and I didn't know that.

We used different densities for different purposes. I always assumed the softer foam was a lesser quality because when it got even a little warm it seemed to lose almost all of it's visco-elastic properties. It became so soft that it provided almost no real cushioning of distribution of weight.

But I didn't pay the invoices for the sheets we purchased, so I never knew the cost difference. I recall that we had three different densities to choose from.

Now we have a memory foam mattress and I don't really like it. I think it uses a soft foam and when it warms up it sags like wet noodles. Feels great when you first get on it, but you end up with the same thing as you get sleeping long-ways in a hammock.

So, I'd like to ask a few questions if you don't mind...

Does the higher density foam retain a higher level of support as temps increase?

Is there a cost difference in the densities?

What is the weight difference?

I know they all broke down with age, exposure to air, and light. Is there a normal life expectancy for this stuff?

What qualities are superior in the soft foam?

I 'm just curious, you don't really need to answer these questions, they've just been hanging there nagging me when I think of applications for this stuff. For example, I got my Singer 99 last year and I'm looking at it thinking a project like a backpacking pillow might be something I can handle <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />

Bill

I have two sets of these. They are great! excellent bargain too.

Barry:

Ask your daughter to put it to the test by throwing it outside and tell us what she thinks about camping with it. What size is it "deflated?" Having just a layer of memory foam, do you think it will keep soft by head heat in (or under) your sleeping bag in summer nighttime temps in the mountains?

“Ask your daughter to put it to the test by throwing it outside and tell us what she thinks about camping with it.”

I actually put it in our 0F freezer. The foam did harden up. It felt like regular-textured play-dough. i.e., not a brick. It seems like personal pref if that’s too hard to sleep on.

“What size is it "deflated?"”

I can roll it to a 3”dia x 11”L. Laid out flat, it’s 11”x18x0.5. It can be squished flatter.

“Having just a layer of memory foam, do you think it will keep soft by head heat in (or under) your sleeping bag in summer nighttime temps in the mountains?”

Personal view: Yes; soft above 30F; firm below 30F.

-Barry

Wow, you can actually get some pretty good stuff there if you know where to look. I never even thought of shopping at Walmart for backpacking but like anything else at Walmart, you could probably save a lot of money doing that consistently.

I have used the urethane coated bags for almost every thing. I take them on camping trips and I take them on motorcycle trip as well. I have probably bought five or six packs of them and have used every one of them. They keep all my clothes nice and dry in my bags on my bike so when I get to the motel I do not have to worry about wet clothes.. They...IMO, are a great value if you have a need for a small, totally waterproof bag that's the way that I would go. Hope this helps...Happy Trekking...sabre11004..


The first step that you take will be one of those that get you there !!!! <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/wink.gif" alt="" />

The different densities in foam are used for different things. For example; A firmer foam isn't really a lesser valued foam if it can serve a specific purpose like for instance in the bedding industry. The lower density foams are less in cost, however the better quality foams like the much softer ones, don't really have a place in that specific role. With that being said, on the other hand, the higher density foams or the softer ones are the ones used in the bedding industry for the comfort layer in a sleep set where as this foam would not really have a role in the "support" role in the sleep set.
Visco-elastic foams are not really specifically designed to "support". They were originally designed to absorb G-force in the seat of the space shuttle. 10 - 11 years ago the bedding industry got a hold of the stuff and the rest is, how they say, "history". Hope this helps...Happy Trekking...sabre11004...

The first step that you take will be one of those that get you there!!!!! <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/wink.gif" alt="" />

Woah nice. I usually only shop at Wally's for temporary camping gear. Some things that I've found to be useful for an extended period time have been: really cheap trekking poles, cheap and dependable thermoses, cheap LED headlamps, cheap water bladders.


A few weeks ago I spotted a kind of large backpack near the camping section and noticed it had some of the features of a backpacking pack. If I remember right I thought I saw the size of the pack was 3000ci. The price tag said $15. I'm sure it was $15 cause I looked again to see if it was in the wrong spot. Although, I don't remember the brand.

I really didn't need another pack, but I kept punching myself for not just taking that deal and the next day I went back to snag it and... the pack was gone. I'm still beating myself up today for that one.

I almost bought the pillow but something else caught my eye. I picked up a 2 liter blader with hose and bite valve for $9 plus tax. No leaks so far and fits perfectly in my new REI Cruse 60 UL.

I actually bought that little pillow and used it last night. It's pretty darned comfy. It rolls up to almost nothing and disappears into my pack. My only complaint was the cap on the nipple; it doesn't want to come out. I almost lost a bicuspid trying to pull it out with my teeth. Can't beat it for $5 though.

Agh yes. I did buy that one. Based on experience, I greased the tube threads where it meets the bladder. This keeps it from leaking.
I can’t remember its weight right off but I think the whole hydration setup is about 6oz. The only way my daughter stays hydrated is with this. She doesn’t like drinking out of a bottle (my preference).

-Barry

I have a camelback bladder and it leaks at times what "grease" do you use to help stop the leak??

Where does it leak? The three camelbacks I have leak both where the tube meets the bladder, and the seal on the cap. I replaced the o-rings, and it stoped the leak from the cap, and I cut the hose a little and re-stuck it on. Both work to stop leaks for a few weeks or two. My sons little bladder that came with his Kelty Starfish has never leaked. I am not buying camelbacks again. <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />

I have an arcteryx pack $400, Kelty tent $70 (reg$150), and yet my cooking stove is a peak1 micro made by coleman $20 at walmart it's extremely small and light weight and puts out 10,00 btu's and it runs on a canister of propane butane mix which is also light weight the only problem is you cant get them online and alot of the stores are usually sold out, , and when they do get them they only get a few but I wouldnt trade it straight up for some of the higher priced ones. Plus the ozark sleeping pad I bought there is pretty comfy and good for cold weather not a bad deal vs the price on thermarest the only complaint on it is it's a little wide.

I found this the other day:



It expands out to this:



Pretty cool for $3. Similar expandable bowls are $15.

But why do you need a bowl?

they are heavy as well.

Its definitely not essential gear, but it made a great dog bowl on the trail.

Walmart's web site has lots of synthetic clothing on clearance. The "Starter" line is a real bargain. Free shipping if you pick it up at your local Wally.

You can cut the mat down to the size you want.

“what "grease" do you use to help stop the leak??”

Sorry for the long delay on the answer. Since I don’t have to use it that often, I couldn’t remember, then I forget to go look.

I use Harvey Silicon Grease
http://www.acehardwareoutlet.com/(ixasf0ugp54pxg45rwugnfv5)/ProductDetails.aspx?SKU=4095667&
I use this on my little things (like hydration packs) and on my whole-house filter. That filter o-ring is 10 years old and still going strong because of this grease.

-Barry

I was in Walmart last night and noticed, yellow bottled heat is still $1.28. But Walmart’s copycat brand was discounted down to 50¢! It’s still 12 fl oz and it’s the real ratio mixture of Methonal found in heet. I verified it running tests last night.

For those of us who only use ½ fl oz alcy per 2C H2O/meal that’s only 2.1¢/meal!

Put this cost in the stove calculator http://howardjohnson.name/Backpacking/Stove/Stoves.htm and this becomes the cheapest fuel (barring no-cook and wood-cook) to use backpacking.

If you can find this stuff in your walmart, be careful, they also make the iso alcy (red bottled heet) copycat brand. Both walmart bottles are black so read the ingredients before buying.

I also noticed the walmart bottles pour better than heet; i.e., no dribbling down the bottle side.

-Barry

Anyone know what the "proprietary additive" is that they put in this stuff? Probably petroleum distillates.

http://zenstoves.net/MSDS/MSDSHeet.htm

Methanol is pretty toxic on it's own. I like to think I'm getting away from as many nasty chemicals as I can when I backpack.

Ethanol gives you more BTUs per weight and you can get it non-poison flavored. Go with the pure, food grade or drinking ethanol and you avoid the petroleum distillates they use for de-naturing.

“Methanol is pretty toxic on it's own.”

Methanol is better stuff to spill in your pack that petroleum fuel. It evaporates fast and doesn’t eat up your fabric. Also you would have to swim in the stuff to get the toxic effects. However, it’s natural to play it safe and not spill the stuff all over you.

“Ethanol gives you more BTUs per weight..”

It’s not worth the cost.

-Barry

For economy on the methanol, you can get a gonga deal by buying dragster fuel, too.

I've heard of a few people here in the Ozarks that might know where you can get some high quality ethanol and it's supposed to be really good for camping too. <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />

Bill

Down here they make the ethanol from agaves. Some call it To-Kill-Ya <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" /> Not so cheap at Wallyworld but the SuperMercado has a deal. I know the proprietary additive - Worms.

I hear that you may run up on some in the hills of Tennessee too. It tastes great and you can also use it for camping... <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/tongue.gif" alt="" />

That's surprises. I think we can find anything in Walmart!

It seems that manufacturing technology has improved & changed a lot in the past 30 years such that cheap stuff is of higher quality than formerly.

This is clearly true in the case of bicycles, perhaps knives, other examples?

Some of my preferences in gear selection might be dictated largely by aesthetics and/or psychology rather than practicality.

For example, it's unlikely that I'd ever use any product made by Coleman. This is NOT an issue of price or quality regarding Coleman stoves, nor a question of whether or not they are sold at Wal-Mart (I don't know if they are.)

The reason is, when I was a youngster, Sears sold Coleman equipment and the "real backpacking equipment" was sold in specialty catalogs. (Sears' product endorsement relationships of the day with Edmund Hillary and Ted Williams not withstanding).

As of today, certain contemporary Coleman stoves are perfectly good for backpacking, but my residual prejudice is simply too deep, and there is no compelling reason currently for me to try to overcome this irrationality.

On the other hand, I'm a cheap [ illegitimate child?* ] contrarian, and the nicest pack I've purchased in quite some time was bought for roughly US $50, on sale from MEC several years ago.

I like it because it fits, it's good, it's well designed, it was cheaper than dirt, AND it has an obscure (in US) brand logo that obviously isn't from Wal-Mart (or Sears). It's like a fashion statement. I fully realize this is pointless, vain and stupid, and I plead guilty. But from a practical standpoint, it doesn't matter because it's a perfectly good pack and I like it.

-------------------------------
* Middle English, from Anglo-French, probably of Germanic origin; akin to Old Frisian bost marriage, Old English bindan to bind. Date: 14th century.

My prejudice is the reason why I won't even go INTO a Walmart.