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What's your ideal gear storage set-up? I've heard what a lot of people use to store their gear (eg; closets stuffed with tuperwear bins and sleeping bags, or the occasional dining room stuffed with gear), I'd like to hear what your ideal gear storage are would be like. Would it be a whole room? how would you keep it organized? I've been giving this a lot of thought lately and I'd like to hear some other opinions.

I guess I don't really know WHAT they have on TV these days. They don't have "Hiking with the Stars" do they?


Sgt Lumpy - n0eq

Bins, lots of Bins....Organized so you can just grab and go....

One of my Jeeps is preloaded for a four day camping trip and my day hiking and backpacks are also preloaded and stored in a closet. My closet is divided into three sections, camping on one side and hiking backpacking on the otherside. My popup camper is also preloaded for camping and so is my military jeep trailer that I use for some back country tent camping trips or cabin trips. I also have a high clearance 4' x 8' trailer that I use for tent camping (large tent). I have most of the gear in a deck box and some of the other gear is stored in the garage on a storage rack. I also bicycle tour and mtn. bike camp and the panniers for the mtn. bike are preloaded for four day trips. The mtn. bike panniers and the panniers for my touring bicycle I keep on the top shelf of the closet with the backpack and camping gear.

On a chair in the dining room ...

azbackpackr wrote:Do y'all recollect my old signature line? "A clean house is a sign of a misspent life."

I use it frequently...

Guess I'm not the only one with somewhat unorganized gear. I guess it's just whether or not you feel it's a problem! I must feel it's a problem!

@azbackpackr Downsizing is good! I wish I had time to go through all our stuff at once. I did my hanging clothes last month and got rid of my "fat" pants. Going to try to go through all the hiking/camping/backpacking gear this month. I did weed out a few books to make room for a new one. Ugh! Never ending!

@bknorby after visiting your house a few years ago, i'm using your system of hooks on the garage ceiling to store my backpacks, where i keep some of my backpacking gear as well. and, since i got my jeep, i haven't had the need for extra storage for car camping gear - i just keep the jeep pre-loaded. i have extra shelves in the garage for assorted gear (most that i really should get rid of - i mean, i really don't need four car camping tents, do i? ).

I love the garage for storage, but there are some things I prefer not to keep out there because of summer heat. I keep backpacks, sleeping bags, and basically anything clothing-related in an indoor closet. I like the "room-temperature" climate and it's a whole lot less dusty without having to have bags or bins for everything. I do have hooks and shelves for everything and it's all cleaned and resupplied at the end of any trip so that it is ready to go at a moment's notice. Batteries, headlamp, medicine, toiletries, snacks and energy drinks for a day hike, plus dinner and breakfast for an overnight are always at the ready.

The garage gets stoves, cookware, chairs, lanterns, tarps, and other more durable items.

Climbing gear, bike, skis, snowshoes, tarps, chairs in the storage room outside.
Backpacks, daypacks, sleeping bags, tent and bins of camping gear and food get the spare bedroom.

clearly i need more gear
mine fits in a closet on shelves and in bins, somewhat organized by activity
except for the kayak
and the bike

trekkin gecko wrote:
clearly i need more gear

Truer words have never been spoken.

You need enough gear so that you realize you need a bigger house. Then you start the process over again till that new house becomes too small for the newer and larger amount of gear. Repeat till death. Then your significant other sells the whole lot for twenty bucks.


Sgt Lumpy - n0eq

Hmmm... two mountain bikes... a recumbent bike... a road bike... a fixte.... two commuter junkers... two bike trailers, those are about to get their own dedicated space in a new storage room. Kayaks are stored under the house; no water around here! Ten odd packs, hiking gear, snow shoes, tents, camping gear: all going on racks and shelves in a new workout building... benches and weights will occupy the floor space... the attic will become stop over space for Warmshower visitors. 20+ pairs of runnning, hiking shoes getting new wall racks along with the seasonal assortment of hiking, running, biking clothing... and work clothes, all in yet another 120' space (...by code here we can build that size building without a permit, so I'm adding four to cover these specific dedications of usage).

My truck carries a dedication of multi-seasonal camping gear, along with an assortment of activity specific gear in the oversized box camper. I'm adding solar panels to charge the secondary battery system that runs my lights, computer, etc.

For my personal space; the little house I occupy, I am looking at that 100 item simplification living... wherein if you want to buy some new personal item you have to get rid of one already taking up space... and I imagine some odd organization system wherein ever item has a dedicated space? These are all the projects coming up for the summer and fall as I convert the property over to a cooperative, ideally filling it up with hikers and bikers!