Homemade Backpacking Gear

by Jason Klass

Difficulty Rating:  1

Materials Sourcing:  1

One thing I’ve tried to do over the years is to simplify my in-camp procedures by reducing the number of odds and ends I carry.  Something that’s always bothered me is fumbling through my Ziplock of condiments to dig out that one specific spice I need for the meal at hand.  Then, I had one of those “why didn’t I think of it before” moments last week.  Simply put, I figured I could tape meal-specific condiments to their respective packages with masking tape, thus eliminating one more storage bag from my pack.  Now, I plan ahead so when mealtime comes, I have exactly what I need all in one place.  Just peel it off, and season your food.  If you’re making a fire, you can throw the tape and packaging in and have less garbage to pack out.  I tested it out this weekend and it turned out to be much more convenient without adding much weight.  Here you can see salt packets taped to the top of dehydrated eggs.

 

 

Multiple condiments can also be taped to your food packaging.  Here Parmesean cheese and salt are taped to the side of a Pasta Borccoli package.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Black pepper taped to instant mashed potatoes.

 

 

 

 

With the abundance of restaurant condiment packets available, there is no limit to the food and spice combinations we could create.  My only caveat is that you might not want to trust things such as ketchup or mustard packets with this method since they could potentially burst and create a real mess in your pack.  For that reason, I'll be limiting what I tape to my food packages to dry goods like salt, pepper, Parmesean, sugar, powdered creamer, etc.  One nice thing about this method is that it will be a perfect match for those who practice freezer-bag cooking.