let's see a picture of your camping setup and how it all fits on your bike... please

If you were just going to get one of the two which would it be? I like the size of the orbit but the apollo is twice as bright... (according to the spec sheets anyway).

Def the bigger one, it puts out enough light to set up camp, cook by etc, or it can be dimmed and used for a tent light and will burn all night for a week on low with one set of batteries. It packs down slightly smaller than a beer can.

Is that the "Ledge Sports Sturgis one man tent?" I had seen that on a few discount sites for <$100 and was curious if it is of decent quality? Looks like it packs small enough to be strapped just about anywhere i.e. to a front fender, swingarm, handlebar crossbar, etc. Does it do a decent job of keeping moisture out? Do you have any pictures with the rain fly on? I just saw that they also have a 2 man version (UCG 2) for about the same price that also has 11" poles.

Came across this image today :huh

Now that...Is a "camping set-up"!

Classic!

Yes it is. I actually bought it originally for my Harley. I haven't been it any serious rain, but it has been excellent in the light rain. Quality is okay, I haven't torn any material or a zipper yet. I like it because it fits nicely in my Giant Loop or even my backpack.

The Apollo is a great light for table , tent area and if you want a headlamp look at the Black Diamond Icon. I can be about 80' from someone holding a newspaper and they can read it when I shine the light on it.

Icon Headlamp

Cool, thanks for the response! I have yet to moto camp in a torrential downpour, I just wanted to make sure that it was at least Wal-Mart quality (good enough for heavy fog/ dew/ light rain) and not a total POS. My Kelty Salida is a decent tent, but at 6'5", I'm a bit too tall for it and the Ledge tent is ~6-8" longer and packs smaller to boot!

Way back on page 79, post 1171, I made my first contribution to this thread. Without repeating all that here, the short version is that I packed the tent and sleeping bag in separate water proof bags and then both in one Orlieb waterproof duffle. That worked pretty well for me but two issues came up. The size of the duffle required interfered with opening the saddlebags and opening the duffle in the rain to access the tent exposed everything inside to rain. I had been thinking of changes anyway.

Then I somehow after over 10 years, did not attach the left bag properly and lost it! Decided to do what some others have done with the R1150R BMW and remove the muffler and put on a full size bag. What a difference!

The old setup:



With the new saddlebag, putting the old tail rack back on and trading my Kermit for a new REI chair (which worked very well and is very small!), I packed the tent, poles and tarp in a waterproof bag, the sleeping gear in a saddlebag. The picture is not clear, the new tent back is significantly smaller than the old duffle. For a weekend camping trip, it looked like this:



And with the exception of the aforementioned chair change, I had all this packed! (old picture BTW)



The thing I am pleased about, is by putting the rain gear in the tail bag in the tank bag or a small bag, the sleeping bag can go on the back rack and one saddlebag becomes almost completely available for clothes and food for a week or a month. I love tinkering with my setup!

no picture required for this suggestion but.. I found that my frog togs in a there stuff sack make a great pillow, I have a pillow case in a zip lock bag in the stuff sack, so once tent is set up I put the pillow case over the togs and taaaaadaaaaaaaahh.. only draw back is if its raining and togs are wet.. you r kinda sol

The XT loaded up! I wouldn't have to carry so much if I was only bike camping. I was on my way to do a week of backpacking and had to be self sustained away from civilization. My small MotoFizz tail bag would work otherwise.

North Face 65L bag
Dirtbagz brackets and Ranger bagz
North Face 20 Degree Bag
Thermarest pad
Wal-mart brand 2 person tent (Rolled into a 5L sack)
Hiking Poles and Shoes/ Flip-flops
Hiking clothes
3L Camelbak
MSR Pocket Rocket/ Fuel
Spork/Knife/ Bowl/ Cup
Dehydrated Meals
Inflatable pillow
Flask of 12yr Scotch
Yamaha tool kit
Toiletries
A copy of "Zen and the art of motorcycle maintenance"
Wet weather gear
(2) MSR 1.5L fuel bottles
A stiffer rear spring and some extra pre-load

Maybe a few little things I forgot...


<a href="http://s27.photobucket.com/user/brokenheartstudio/media/Yosemite%202013/IMG_4111_zps4d24a8e6.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img src="https://www.advrider.com/advrider-photobucket-images/images/b/brokenheartstudio_Yosemite%25202013_IMG_4111_zps4d24a8e6.jpg" border="0" alt=" photo IMG_4111_zps4d24a8e6.jpg"/></a>

This thread gives me cabin fever. I'm off to check the weather, I need to go camp for a day or two.

Just spent 2 nights camping in NH, first time camping off the bike AND first time camping in a tent in 20+ years (that first time was horrible and scarred me for decades ). I feel like it's almost cheating since I have hard bags/trunk. I was able to pack all the essentials for 2 people. The Wolfman Dry bag held mostly clothes, toiletries and one small chair. The pico chair was strapped on top of that. Everything else was distributed throughout the bags/trunk. Spent most of the trip up and most of the trip home riding in the rain, heavy at times. The Wolfman bag worked great, not a drop got in.



And here is the setup at camp in NH.

Hillebergs are the best tents around if you can afford the $$. No question.

That looks a little heavy for the top rack. Was it hard to get in an out of the tour pack?

Packed for a 6 day trip:

Contents:


Loaded up:


At the campsite, mine is the closest tent in the pic

I'm sure it was higher than the recommended 25lb limit for the rack. I packed the heavier items in the saddlebags and tried to put the lighter items (clothing) in the bag. It was possible to open the tour pack but I kept all the stuff I would need while riding in the right saddlebag, that way I wouldn't have to open the tour pack.

Mate. A part of the appeal of a big tourer like that is that it has the hard cases and trunk. No need to feel like it is cheating. If you DIDN'T utilise those features... there is no point having them.

The main thing is you got back out there and didn't sleep with plasterboard over your head!!

CHAOS!