Follow Rob paddling the Pickerel River over a weekend long trip, to an unknown campsite down stream, toward the Georgian Bay. Pickerel River is an arm of the larger French River, which also has a Provincial Park in it’s won right, that drains into the Georgian Bay to the West and St. Lawrence in the east. There are several connection other rivers and lakes through this area and was a well known route back in the “olden times” for logging.
Rob paddled through some windy days and especially rough through narrow sections of the river. In setting up the campsite, it resulted in windblown tents into thickets and trees. This is exacerbated by shallow dirt which, ultimately, you have to use rocks and ropes to guy out your tent. Camping on rock islands, sometimes it’s difficult to stake tent poles. To overcome this, using rocks to guy out the tent tied to ropes is the trick. If you watch the video, there are more tips and tricks on the guying and staking tent poles.
Typical of beautiful back country camping areas, Rob made some friends with woodpeckers along the way. Exploring some other sections of the river, bays, and lakes. Even though it’s windy, they made good use of their paddling time and navigating. Some fun tricks to employ on windy days, include using your paddle as a sail as your run the wind! Enjoying some Peller Estates dry red, as tasted in our Red Wine Video. Of course what’s exploring an area if you don’t find some magical dock appearances. Don’t really know what I mean? That’s ok, watch the video to find out!
Check out Rob paddling the Pickerel River!
Enjoyed this post? Check out more back country paddling videos here!
This is The North Face Stormbreak 2 review. Looking for your first tent or a new one to add to your collection that won’t break the bank? Cost of this tent is well worth the price and value!
Choosing your tent depends on your ultimate goal of what you’re looking for it to do and, to future proof your investment a bit, what you see yourself using it for (front country, back country, hiking, paddling… etc) in the medium term. My goal for this tent was 2 having a lighter smaller tent that will fit well in backcountry as my current one has suffered several challenges in finding good places to pitch.
Read on for more of the review and the video below!
Bottom Line Up Front
Good valued tent for under the price, but little heavy
Best for backpacking, runner up for car camping, not recommended for paddling.
Minimal gear storage in the multi-configuration and versatile vestibule, though no window
Large tent doors allowing for ease of access in and out of the tent
Footprint purchased separately
Waterproofness on average with other tents
Specifications (for nerds)
31sq feet (2.8m2)
5 lbs 5 oz (2.41kg)
43 inches (109 cm) height
Fly: 75D Polyester, 1200mm waterproofness
Floor: 68D Polyester, 3000mm waterproofness
Pros
Tub-styled flooring with extra side walls to prevent splash back into the tent in foul weather
Large vestibule and tent doors to allow for great ease of access in and out of the tent
Extra guy line support that pulls from loops attached to guy line points
Fast setup with identifiable (red) tab on the footprint and tent to orientate the tent
Cons
Vestibule door can easily get caught on the rain flap
Water can collect on the pitched roof of the tent
Little heavier compared to other ultra-light options
Stormbreak 2 Review Comments
For the Stormbreak 2 Review, this is a good valued tent. I would put this tent on the heavier side of tents for being a 2 person tent. Comparatively, my 3 person light-weight tent, is much bigger and just slightly lighter.
Wait a minute, I heard a 3 person tent is best for 2 people, dog and gear. Why have a 2 person tent for 2 people? There are several kinds of tents out there with “built in cargo space”, allowing for extra gear sometimes. My 3 person tent is definitely a 3 person tent with cargo space, in that I could squeeze 4 people in a pinch, with gear in the vestibule to keep things dry.
So why a 2 person tent if my existing one works well? The square footage and area of the tent is too big and so sometimes I’m finding it hard to place the tent in backcountry places. These spots can sometimes barely fit a 2 person tent. Furthermore, the weight of the tent is a mild consideration, but I’m not gunning for any ultra-light options here.
A quick coffee in the vestibule of the North Face Stormbreak 2
Best Uses
I found this tent to have its home in backpacking with two people. If you have a furry friend that you don’t allow in the tent, this might be an option, depending how big your furry friend is. I say this mainly because the vestibules really can’t store that much gear. Again, I’m not concerned about weight with it being at 5lb 5 oz (2.41kg).
Generally, when you’re backpacking, you’re self sustained with two packs and the vestibule can store just that, with most your gear still packed in the pack. I took this tent out paddling and had found having life jackets, paddles, fishing rods, other packs, we fast ran out of storage space in the vestibule.
Car camping would work with this as well as most of the gear and food would be kept in the car over night.
Not paddling as I mentioned, you run out of vestibule space quick. However, if you’re one that usually sets up a tarp anyways for storage, then go nuts on this.
I may consider taking this into the low alpine, but would be wary, as it is rated for 3 seasons and I don’t believe the pole structure would be able to withstand the weight of snow and high winds. I may also consider winter camping in this tent, so long as I know I’ll be covered from winds in an appropriate camping spot.
Highlight Features
The vestibule and tent doors struck me the most. There are so many ways to configure it and even use it as an awning on days where you want to hang in your tent but still get some shade from the sun.
On the tent doors, they are some of the biggest and most accessible doors. With my 3 season tent, I constantly kneel on them when I open them, and they’re kind of in the way a lot.
Deep tent pockets right next to the door is amazing. And they store a lot. I mean, a lot. This will help keep your tent organized as much as possible.
I was pleasantly surprised (confused at first) with a glaringly single red tag on the footprint and the tent. This helps orientate the tent quickly, on set up, in case of a scramble to set up in foul weather.
That’s it for the Stormbreak 2 Review, but still check out the video below for all the details!
Stormbreak 2 Review Video
If you liked this article you’re looking for more gear talk, check out:
Our fourth episode of Amateur Hour, where we’re not experts, but we have a little more experience than the lay person on various topics. This episode, we’re giving an introduction to overlanding! Check out our first episode here where we introduced ourselves and various topics on back country camping.
In this video, we explore topics such as:
What is overlanding: And differences than just 4×4
One involves camping and one doesn’t! But which one?
Upgrades: What are you first upgrades you should make?
Probably not what you’re thinking and can be less expensive than you think!
What kind of vehicle?
Spoiler alert, don’t take a Jetta (sorry Volkswagen). But you still could!
Other additional equipment that should be included as part of your first purchases – winches, recovery gear, lights?
What should I prioritize?! I need it all!
Making friends and finding groups. Because I’m lonely…
How to find trails and which apps to use to highlight information for you. This will answer the key thing to know: is my vehicle enough for the trail?
Have a mentor, connect with people you know, or try reaching out (I know, can be pretty nerve wracking and vulnerable to ask for help).
Mechanic skillsets:
Don’t go to places where you’ll screw up your Jetta, I mean, car; I mean, truck…
(We rag on Jetta because Damian took it out overlanding. BUT it held up great!)
You’re more of a mechanic than you think!
Watch the video, below, for more information!
To get you started, Damian’s 3 main tips to getting an introduction to overlanding
Know your limits, recognize you’re new to something
Bring a friend in a separate vehicle who can call for help
You don’t need thousands of dollars of gear to overland. There are campsites where you don’t need a crazy jeep.
Enjoy the video below!
If you liked this post, you may also enjoy these posts!
