Not So Impulse Buys - GSI Kitchen Kit and Sleeping Bag Update

This weekend's camping trip was the testing ground for my two new pieces of gear. First, the sleeping bag - this bag is so nice. So light, it packs away easily, it doesn't take up very much room. But I bought a 0 degree bag and it was NOT needed on this trip. The temperature probably didn't go below 10 degrees at night and Tim and I were quite toasty in our two man tent. I had the Western Mountaineering bag completely unzipped, just lying on top of me, with one whole leg out the side and both arms out of the top. It was still a bit sweaty. I brought my 7 degree backpacking sleeping bag to use as a possible liner and I would have been better to just use this instead.

As for the GSI Crossover kitchen kit - this thing was the best purchase!! We used every single component of this kit. The spoon for the rice, the spatula for the eggs, the tongs for the chicken. There were complaints about the cutting board being too small, but I put it on my plate and then used it. The plate kept the already cut and not yet cut food off the ground, but with the cutting board I didn't cut into the softer surface of my plate. The spicer held salt, pepper, cajun seasoning, and garam masala for our different meals. Tim didn't like how hard the olive oil bottle was to squeeze, but I think it kept him from putting unnecessary amounts of oil in the pan. The dish soap bottle may seem small, but you only need a couple of drops - it was lots for our weekend long trip. The scrubber and towel were super handy for doing dishes. I even found a component of the kit I hadn't realized was in there - a pot scraper! Perfect!

Doing dishes in the lake - I hope the fish like bits of egg!

Score! Compact pot scraper!