Outskirts Overland Podcast
Welcome to the Outskirts Overland Podcast, your go-to source for all things overlanding! Hosted by a seasoned adventurer with over 15 years of experience, this podcast offers a genuine and down-to-earth exploration of the overlanding lifestyle. Whether you're a seasoned traveler or just starting out, join us as we delve into the essentials of gear and equipment, share captivating stories from the road, and provide practical tips for your next adventure. Tune in for insightful interviews, expert advice, and a community of like-minded explorers who share a passion for discovering the world beyond the beaten path. Get ready to fuel your wanderlust and embark on unforgettable journeys with the Outskirts Overland Podcast!
Outskirts Overland Podcast
The Rain-Ready Overland Arsenal
Ever found yourself caught in a downpour with inadequate gear, watching helplessly as water finds its way into every corner of your camp setup? Today's episode tackles the complete arsenal of strategies for conquering wet weather in the overlanding world.
We dive deep into the science of waterproofing with a comprehensive look at NikWax products – that two-part system that not only eliminates mildew smell but dramatically improves your gear's water-repellent properties. You'll learn exactly how to apply these treatments to maximize protection for everything from tents and awnings to your favorite camp chair.
Beyond gear treatment, we explore the overlooked essentials that transform rainy camping from miserable to manageable. Discover why trash bags deserve prime real estate in your packing list, serving dual purposes as both waterproofers and wet gear containment systems. We break down the clothing strategy that keeps you comfortable when everything around you is soaked – wool socks, quick-dry fabrics, and ventilated rain gear that won't leave you swimming in your own perspiration.
Vehicle considerations get special attention with a revolutionary three-step windshield preparation process that dramatically improves visibility during downpours. This isn't just about replacing wiper blades – it's about treating the glass itself to create optimal conditions for water shedding and wiper performance. You'll also learn why neoprene seat covers represent one of the smartest investments for protecting your vehicle's interior from the inevitable moisture that comes with wet weather adventures.
Whether you're planning a weekend getaway or a month-long expedition, these practical, field-tested techniques will keep you drier, more comfortable, and prevent the expensive damage that comes from improper moisture management. Your gear deserves protection – and so do you.
Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, welcome to Overscout-Overland. Excuse me, it is raining its life away today here, just night and crazy. And today is National Cheese Day. We went eggs yesterday, we got cheese today, so today is National Cheese Day. We went eggs yesterday, we got cheese today, so today's National Cheese Day, which is in itself a little weird, but hey, whatever, I'm not the National Day chooser-er.
Speaker 1:So it's raining like mad here, like crazy, crazy, crazy raining. All the freaking rain. I don't even that's about all you can say about it. It's just raining a ton. And when it is raining like this and this is, I mean, this isn't something that never exists, but there's a few things, when it comes to the rain, that you want to make sure you're prepared with. And as it was, I mean it's been pouring, pouring, pouring like my whole yard's underwater, not like exaggeratively, like I could take a remote control boat in my yard right now. My yard is flooded period. My yard is flooded Period and it's it just and I mean just Stopped raining for a minute, but it's rained all night and just based on the way that everything looks in my yard Again, in my yard it's not, it rained a lot, lot.
Speaker 1:So as I talk about, as I talk about rain, the first thing that I probably that I'd probably that there's a few things I want to hit on. Some are maintenance things and some are just things. So first things first. First thing I'd hit on is nick wax. So I have nick wax and it is as it says. It's nick wax so they make a wash so you can wash your stuff so that you can get the mold and mildew off of it. So even if you have, like stuff that's been sitting in the garage wet and you go to get it out so say like it did rain and you put your tent up and you just totally it slips your mind and you get it out, everybody knows the mildew smell. I, you know mold and mildew go hand in hand and everybody talks about mold and mildew. But every single person listening to this, listening to this podcast right now, when I say you know the smell I'm talking about when I talk about camp gear, from when you were a kid, you know. So if you're a kid that grew up at all in the 90s and you know early 2000s to 2010s as a child, you know what I'm talking about. Like that smell that tank gear has, because you put it away when it was wet and forgot to air it out because naturally, if you get back in it's still raining. You can't air it out in the rain further in the rain. So it's gotta I mean it's gotta, you gotta do something like that.
Speaker 1:So nick wax makes a wash that you like excuse me that you spray on like it's like you essentially wet the tent, spray it on and then rinse it off. You can scrub it in Like again, if you've got a mildew smell, you could like scrub it in with a, like a what am I thinking? Like a wash mitt or something, so you get that smell out of it. But they also make, uh, it's called a. I think it's a solar wash. I don't want to misspeak here, but I think it's a solar wash wash. I don't have it in my possession at this current moment, um, but it is. It is a solar wash.
Speaker 1:So you wash all your stuff and then there's a waterproofer. So whenever I use it there's a two part system. So you use the wash and then use the second part and that is where you get the waterproofing. So that way your stuff, water beads off of it and stuff. And one place where I noticed this a lot like. I use this stuff.
Speaker 1:I've talked about Nick Wax like many, many times on this podcast, so I use this stuff. Well, I have recently, right before I went to More Expo at the end of April, my truck had been at the shop getting lockers put in which you guys are all aware if you've been listening but it had rained right before I dropped it off. So it had sat with the tent up and the awning up for a month in multiple different heat cycles and things for a month in multiple different heat cycles and things. So I got the awning and the tent out and I used the wash and then I used the re-waterproofer and I don't think that my awning was ever as waterproof as it is now.
Speaker 1:Like water beads up on it and for those of you that know, when something's hydrophobic meaning water doesn't want to stick to it like Teflon, ceramic, like all those things it beads because it doesn't soak. So when you see little dots of water versus like lengths of water, that means it's beading and it's protecting it, which, in a lot of ways, that's going to protect it from the UV rays too, it which, in a lot of ways, that's going to protect it from the UV rays too. So hopefully you know between the fabrics of the product that you got, as well as you know the knick wax and everything else. Hopefully your products are not ending up with excuse me, hopefully your products are not ending up with anywhere Like any of the, any of the uh, what am I? What am I talking about? Like, fading, like, hopefully your products aren't ending up with any of the fading or potentially weakness and ripping and everything else from just being, you know, getting beat up by the UV rays.
Speaker 1:So Nikwax is one thing. Nikwax also makes a wash and a re-waterproofer for your gear and well, not even re-waterproofer. From my understanding, it adds some waterproofing properties period. So you could put you know things in there and it's going to, it's going to elevate there, I don't know, hydro. It's going to, it's going to increase their hydro. Yeah, what's the word? I'm thinking of Hydrophobic properties.
Speaker 1:So Nick wax is freaking great, like not even a, not even a thing that you should be questioning. I'm, and I'm pretty sure, like nick wax has been around forever. It's been. I think I used to get in like yellow bottles, like I'm talking, 30 years ago. Stuff's been around forever and I've been washing tents with it forever because you know I tense for hunting. You know rain happens like wet weather happens, it's not it's not novel that you get rained on and it's and it's not novel that if you've got good gear you want it to last. You could probably prolong cheaper gear with the stuff. Honestly, anyways, on and on and on about nick wax.
Speaker 1:You want to have you. You want to make sure that you're treating your stuff so that it's clean, mold and mildew free and you're increasing the uv protection and the and the water beating essentially waterproofing properties of your gear. That's huge. If nothing else, you should at least be cleaning and re-waxing your rainflies, like if rainflies are something you have. That's something that I would prioritize having it on. So not going to fix it's not going to fix that you get condensation inside your tent or anything like that, but it does help the exterior of these things, and not that you can't wash the interior to get the mildew smell out, but it's not going to water. I mean maybe it, I don't know you, but it's not going to water. I mean maybe it, I don't know You'll figure. It's up to you if you want to do that, but condensation does get in the tent but it's not going to fix that. That's an airflow issue. So, as it's raining, nick wax.
Speaker 1:Second thing. So that's preparing. Second thing preparing you want to have trash bags with you. Why do I say trash bags? Trash bags are good for two reasons when it comes to wet weather. One to put like say you've got, say it's extremely wet and you've got some things you don't want to get wet under any circumstance. Say it's extremely wet and you've got some things you don't want to get wet under any circumstance. There's waterproof bags, there's all this stuff, but double trash bagging some stuff is about the most effective waterproof forever, and I use those force flex ones. So even so, it can even stretch. You can get all kinds of other stuff compression bags, waterproof bags, all these things. They're not like some fancy solution, but trash bags are a good thing to have because they're a waterproofer and they're a good place to put stuff that is wet, so that you can put it near stuff in your camp gear and things, excuse me, so it doesn't make them wet, if that also makes sense. So trash bag is another big one, excuse me.
Speaker 1:Wool socks? That is another one. You're probably thinking wool socks, wool socks, a weird one. Wool wicks away moisture from the skin. So wool socks is another big one, they don't know. And I say wool socks and I think everyone's thought process to wool socks is that wool socks, in some way shape or form, is, um, like warmth, and I think it's just more temperature regulating myself than warmth. So wool socks, you can get thin ones, but I get wool socks. You can get thin ones, but I get wool socks just to keep the moisture away from your feet.
Speaker 1:Then, naturally, you want your rain gear. Ok, so you want your potentially your umbrella, your rain jacket and any type of pants you might want. And then you will want to have waterproof shoes. And I say waterproof shoes. That sounds so weird, but like most, most all hiking boots are waterproof. It are all of them waterproof, absolutely not, and you can find them that aren't waterproof, but by far and large, I say 60 or greater of all hiking boots are waterproof, across the spectrum. And again, to keep your feet dry, one thing about rain gear that I think to consider. So, anyways, that's what you should bring Now.
Speaker 1:Considerations with this gear. You know the knick-whack's pretty easy. Like you've preventatively brought your, you've brought all your stuff. Okay, you've got. Your tents been retreated. Your auntie's been retreated, you may be retreated. Your rain jacket and umbrella with your Nick wax products? Okay, so that's good, you're good. Now those are. Those are ready for the rain and the sun. Okay, because it protects the UV rays. You've got all your stuff with you. Well, rain gear, boots included is extremely good at what it does. Okay, so it's made to keep water out, but thus so it's not as breathable. So you're going to want to also have the thought that you're keeping this stuff loose.
Speaker 1:I learned in the military you don't ever want tight fitting rain gear because you want to have room for it to breathe. You know, while you're moving, I tend to like rain jackets that have zippers at the armpits and pants that have zip, two-way zippers. If you have rain pants so you can unzip them from the top and the bottom to kind of get some air through them, because you'll get condensation in them, just like your tent, and then that's a misery. Like you don't want to have pruned skin from the inside of your rain gear. That's not a good scenario. So I like to have stuff that has zippers along it. Some of this stuff has zippers in the back. Even some of it has it in the armpits, some of it has it on the chest, but that way you can open those up to get air in without making yourself too wet.
Speaker 1:But at the same time, rain gear is a double-edged sword where you're kind of gonna battle the whole time with rain gear. My whole experience with rain gear using it a ton is you're gonna battle. Do you want the water from the outside or the water from the inside, because you're gonna sweat in it so you're getting wet from that, or you're gonna get wet from you know whatever. So breathe, keeping it to where you can breathe, is super important. Then one thing that water that I'll bring up about when it's wet.
Speaker 1:So say you're a hiker or a thick-thighed let's say thick-thighed individual, and I'll say thick, not big, like they don't have to be, but water makes chafing about 75 million times worse. Sand makes chafing bad, wet sand makes chafing even worse. But wet fabric chafes way worse. So this is where I'd say it's important for you to bring like body glide, some type of Vaseline, something along those lines, for those high wear spots to try and keep them moisturized so you don't end up, you know, just rubbing your skin absolutely and completely raw, just walking, sitting, whatever you can end up with like some raw skin.
Speaker 1:I've had raw skin, like, for instance, I, you know, wearing regular pants. I've like rubbed my knees wrong from walking in wet pants and then that is not pleasant and then again like different subject field, but then again you chafe it. Potentially it's bleeding or something blisters. Well, now you're in a first aid situation you could have prevented. So, just thinking of stuff like that, you could also wear like a tight Under Armour type layer or smart wool type layer that would protect the skin from the outer layer of wet clothing. But that's up to you, because once you get into like those technical layers it can get really expensive. And you could also just like Vaseline high wear areas.
Speaker 1:Like you know, vaseline is like a couple bucks and I know that's a random thing, but I use Vaseline a lot Like wind burn when it's windy and dry, chafing when it's wet, protecting cuts and wounds because again it's petroleum-based, which is essentially what keeps stuff out. With the triple antibiotic ointment stuff like that It'll get you through a pinch. So it's one of those things that, like for overlanding and camping. Is Vaseline on everybody's list? No, but it's on mine. Vaseline is something you should have. Sunscreen is something you should have Like those are the bug spray, like some stuff you just need to have all the time, but that's an in-depth conversation for another time. Okay, you Excuse me. So you want all those things you want to have?
Speaker 1:If the weather is projected to be wet, I also recommend clothes that potentially could dry fast. So say it's going to rain. I'm in short sleeves and shorts and I end up putting on rain gear. You know, top and bottom, I'm going to sweat, I'm going to get wet in what I have on. I've brought this up before on the podcast.
Speaker 1:I almost always wear like Huck brand swim trunks when I'm camping, with the built-in like mesh underwear, because they're quick to dry. Like they, you don't have to worry about your underwear also being wet or even carrying underwear as well. Um, for a guy, okay, like for a guy. If you're a girl, though, I know they make shorts with built-in underwear, like Nike does, lululemon does, adidas does, and I would say that that is going to be an intelligent choice because you can take them off. They're going to dry quick. It can be as wet or as humid, but just even a little bit of airflow will dry them out. And you're still not dealing with also having underwear that's potentially wet just more wet stuff to store too.
Speaker 1:Back to the trash bags, because using a trash bag to waterproof stuff is not very glorious, but when you've got stuff that's all muddy and nasty, you don't want to put that in your fancy pants waterproof bag. So you want that. Trash bags for that, just for the waterproofing purpose. That's just what you want. That trash bags for that, just for the waterproofing purpose, and that's just what you want. So I think those are great things to have prepared and have with you as the weather is rainy, because, like right now, it's been raining here in the midwest, but not it's been raining in the mid, but not like like not severe weather, just rain. So when it comes to that, you really are just. You could be out in it Now. A month ago we had like tornadoes and stuff. Well, that's probably just not smart. And then you're worried about trees falling, lightning, all kinds of other things, safety concerns when it comes to camping or just being safe in general. That could make it more trying to get that done. So that's something to think about. But it's raining right now.
Speaker 1:If you go camping today, you put your stuff up and it continues to rain, you're going to open it back up and it's going to be less than ideal. And everybody, like you, don't want to be using Dawn on your stuff, like I. Don't. Dawn potentially dry it out or you won't get all the residue off. Like everybody in the world understands the mold and mildew thing, like, if you've been camping for any amount of time, you know you got to put your tent up, air it out. You're awning your camp chairs, all of it. I mean, I've, I nick waxed my freaking camp chairs. Did it help them out? I don't know, but I did it. Could it help them out? Yeah, so why the heck not, you know, just along with treating your clothes with permethrin and letting them dry out before summer hits and you've got ticks and gnats and chiggers and everything else, prep your gear or at least have the stuff sitting on the shelf at home. So if it does rain and you get home, you're not in a scenario where you get ready to go back out and you're like I can't even breathe in here. It smells so bad. Have your stuff, wash it, move on with your life. It's just a smart thing to have, smart thing to do, but yeah, so the just the water is in itself is something.
Speaker 1:As far as vehicle considerations when it comes to water, I've talked a whole lot about like making sure your tent's this, making sure this is that when it is rainy like this, one thing that I think is extremely important is windshield wipers. Okay, so when you're in the backcountry and maybe nobody's done this, maybe I'm, you know, maybe I'm alone here, I'm alone here. But if you've ever had windshield wipers go to crap in the backcountry, when you've got like mud and dirt and sand and stuff on your windshield and you're doing the whole like hand out the window with a rag thing, that sucks super bad. So now that it's the season for rain, one thing I'd recommend for everybody to do vehicle consideration-wise is, very simply, what you can do is I use Bosch icon wiper blades. So, first things first, bosch icon wiper blades. They almost always last me a year, no matter what. But one thing that I do that I think is extremely important is before I were not before maybe simultaneously put the wiper blades on, but I clean the windshield.
Speaker 1:Now a lot of people are gonna be like okay, but one thing you got to think about on the windshield is contaminants can get in the glass and that's going to affect not only the glasses ability to shed the water but the wiper blades ability to connect to the glass. So what I do is I clay bar, so like clay bar, something you use to get contaminants out of clear coat on cars I clay bar the um, so I clay bar the windshield. When it comes to clay, and you guys can look this up. But and I can talk about it here but you usually want like, uh, some type of detail spray. Sometimes I use just use soapy water, like water in a spray bottle with a little Dawn, because you don't want dry clay on any surface. So you want to spray it with a bunch of water and then use the clay just in a back and forth motion across the whole surface of the glass, and you can do this on all your glass. If you want to do like, if you've got a rear window in your vehicle that like is always seemingly catching all the dirt like, you can do this on any window. But clay can clay the window. As the clay gets dirty, fold the clay over. That's how claying works, so do the window, clay it, and then I use New Finish. It's in an orange bottle. You can get it at Walmart, autozone, o'reilly's, advance Auto Parts New Finish. It's a wax that's been around forever, but really it's probably the first sealant that was ever made. And I take that sealant and I put it on like wax on my windshield, wait for it to flash. What flashing is is when it kind of whites, when it gets white, and then I wipe that off with a dry towel and make sure I get all the excess off. So dry off all the big chunks, take your glass cleaner, spray it on and then wipe it off, and now you've cleaned and protected your windshield with new wipers.
Speaker 1:Thirdly, getting Rain-X washer fluid. I tend to, when I think I'm going to be dealing with heavy debris, I like the Bug, the green Rain-X washer fluid. You can't go wrong with the orange though, okay. Okay, like the orange is the all season, it's gonna get rid of bugs, it's gonna clean your windshield, it's gonna handle cold temps, like it's good, down to like negative 20 in the summer months when it's dusty, and everything else. I think that the bug one just cleans my windshield better from debris. So that's the one I like to use.
Speaker 1:But the reason you want that is that's just continuing to not only add, like lubricate your wipers, it's adding that rain x to the windshield that you just fully actually clean the contaminants and protect it with that new finish. So I think you're, when it comes to rain and vehicle considerations and your vehicle, your windshield is a huge one you could take these same exact steps like, say, you're somebody that's had issues with your fog lights or your headlights, you can do all that exact same process on your headlights and your fog lights and you're not going to end up with stuff stuck on them either turn signals, whatever. So if there's anything that's pertinent to safety, signal, whatever, and it's and it's and it's like a cleared surface, like, again, lights, windows, stuff like that you could do the same exact process on that and it's going to save them like a lot. And and just like the nick wax when you add that stuff. So when you add that new finish, just like the nick wax, not only is add that stuff, so when you add that new finish, just like the Nick wax, not only is it protecting it, it's also adding a layer of UV protection, so you're not ending up with faded headlights and fog light covers and stuff like that. Now you're not going to fade the freaking windshield glass, so that's irrelevant, that's a mute point for that.
Speaker 1:But just treating your, making sure you've got good wiper blades and not not just getting wiper blades, thinking that's the solution. Look at both sides of that pairing. You know the wiper blade is the side that's coming on the glass, but also consider the glass is dirty. So make sure you clean your glass and then together or clean then wiper blade, not wiper blade, and hope for the best. Eventually you're gonna end up with skipping wiper blades, wearing down your wiper blades too fast, and you're gonna think the product sucks, and really to you. So think about all that stuff.
Speaker 1:And those are the considerations and things that I do. I mean I do these things. I do these things thought like thoughtlessly, like this is not something. I'm like oh, I should talk about the podcast and I just am getting better. Like I told you guys, I got to get the most high tech thing here pen and paper writing stuff down as I think about it. Like I'll even pulled off the road the other day and was like I need to talk about this damn Nick wax and I need to also talk about how what cleaning your windows for you know, for the rain, actually is.
Speaker 1:A lot of people just use glass cleaner. That's freaking across the board. This is good advice for you to use on your wife's car. This is good advice across the board. You're not going to end up with as much snow stuck on your windshield. I mean it's just good advice as far as the windows and lights and stuff is concerned. The other stuff, I mean if you have rain gear, like I'm in the Subaru, I'm in my Forester right now, so I don't have all my rain gear and stuff, but my rain gear, you know, gets put up wet regularly. That'll start to make your inside of your vehicle stink too. Again, heading back, put it in a trash bag, get it home, use the Nick wax wash and you know, wash and renew I'll call it the two part there for your clothing let them dry back out inside, put them back in the vehicle. Now your vehicle doesn't sink too. I also. So vehicle consideration, you know.
Speaker 1:Essentially, number two I am a very big fan and have done this for a long time neoprene seat covers. Now this subaru I'm at my forester comes with some type of like technical, I don't want to even call it a fabric. They're the subaru. So I have the wilderness and I'm not going to talk about this car too much. I'll talk about it on its own. But there's a waterproof interior, not waterproof, water resistant, like. If I dump a glass of water in my seat it's not going to soak it up ever.
Speaker 1:So this would be an instance where you don't need a seat cover. So if you've got like I don't know what other vehicles have, but like if you've got a raptor, an fx4, bronco, raptor, whatever ranger, maybe the pro 4x versions, the z, z70, zx2, zx2? Is that right? Z. Whatever the Chevy version of the top of line off-road, maybe you have that. I don't have that in my truck.
Speaker 1:So I have neoprene seat covers and I have rough country ones because, quite frankly, like, like and you can do what you do, it's up to you. But I have rough country ones because they're just so much less expensive and the neoprene seat covers save the seats because, again, you want to keep the like when you have fabric stuff but you don't want the water sitting on it, seats included, like they'll get nasty. That fabric and foam is gonna get gross because you it's sweat, mud, rain, everything else it soaks in. You can't get it off and it's going to stink and break down and just be a pain and you're going to end up in a bigger bill of detailing to get it all cleaned out from the stink and grossness than the seat covers cost. So I'm a huge fan of neoprene seat covers than the seat covers cost. So I'm a huge fan of neoprene seat covers.
Speaker 1:Pretty much since I've known neoprene seat covers existed, I've had them on my last, like three, four trucks and they're great. You know, for me I like them. I have them in the back seat too because they're spill prevention. Like just the other day my daughter spilled a whole like Coke Zero and guess what? It just pooled and I just soaked it up, sprayed a little you know interior cleaner and moved on about my day. It didn't soak into anything, it didn't do anything. It's a preventative.
Speaker 1:Um, you know, kids are sometimes I think about like and that's not an overland talk, but that's a talk for another day. But I could even just talk about like how to set your car up best to handle you know, little kids in the car when it comes to stuff like, even like seat belts and stuff like these. Things get gross and kids are just gross. So can be. So, anyways, that, conclusively, a couple vehicle things, things, a couple of pre-planning things, maintenance things, all things, the things and things and things, all stuff you should be looking at and thinking about when it comes to wet weather and camping, vehicle based camping. So I will catch you guys tomorrow. What is today, tuesday? Have a good freaking Tuesday, I think, and I'll catch you guys later. Bye.
