Camping Dilemma

[nuttyprof]

Originally Posted by kramster

I took an expensive fan fret German made CF guitar camping ..it lived to camp again... not that it will ever go again.

Do you have a Leviora you're not telling us about?

[kramster]

Was the Road Trip one from back in the day..I was super duper careful with it for sure... some how it was sent to a second time about a month later...Mmmmm... but that was a bonus

I think nephew K and I shared that honey, a sweet instrument. I did not take mine camping--I kept mine comfortable and secure.

[ManyMartinMan]

Hilarious. I’ve never shied from taking a guitar anywhere, including camping. I thought the whole “buy CF you can take anywhere “ was the whole point.

[raysachs]

Originally Posted by ManyMartinMan

Hilarious. I’ve never shied from taking a guitar anywhere, including camping. I thought the whole “buy CF you can take anywhere “ was the whole point.

I never thought the point of carbon fiber was "take it anywhere" - to me it's simply about not having to obsess over humidity and temperature and storage of nice instruments that can get wrecked just sitting in your house if you're not careful. THAT's what they're uniquely unaffected by. But you can still break one quite thoroughly if you leave it out on a camping trip and someone falls into it or knocks it over onto a rock, or steps on the neck accidentally. Or if a burning ember finds it's way onto it, I'd imagine it could melt a hole in it or at least damage it. It's still a valuable and somewhat vulnerable item. The thing it's not vulnerable to is humidity and temperature, but those aren't the primary risks of taking it on a camping trip.

I mean, if you're OK taking a chance with something as pricy as an X20 Woody, by all means, go crazy - it'll PROBABLY be fine. I wouldn't be OK with that risk. So I'd take a $150-$250 guitar on that sort of outing, but not a $3000 guitar. That's my opinion and I'm sticking with it...

[Res Ipsa]

Feet propped up by the fire. Picking tunes on a CF guitar. Friends. Stories. The great outdoors. Life is good. No worries.

[Zeke63]

Thanks for all of the replys. Still not sure what I will decide. The group that is going is all older and so the activiety level is moderate at best. Right now I am leaning toward just bringing my old Loar parlor. I would just be sick is something happend to the x20. I know one of the guys is bringing his older d18 which I do think is nuts.

[TheChicagoTodd]

Fun topic.

I would not bring my X20-12 camping because of the price. I would bring my Journey Overhead which I bring with me whenever I travel. Still a $1000 guitar, but at least not $3000.

IMHO, everyone might feel differently about this topic (as we have seen here), and I respect both arguments, but I know I would not bring mine.

Peace out....

Todd in Chicago

[Acousticado]

Although I own an X20, for such situations, I’d likely bring my Cargo, which I have done many times before. That said, my X20 is a gloss black vertical weave (like the June Select Series), but with the textured crystal ice back and sides which definitely makes it more durable. I’ve only had it since this past May and did take it to a boys cottage card party weekend, and was glad I did. So I’m pretty sure I’d consider taking it camping. I think I might think twice though if there’d be a chance that many people may play it. With the Cargo, I wouldn’t worry at all. It’s nice to have a couple of really good options.

[Frettingflyer]

I bought CF for the travel, and mine all travel, including flying, camping etc...so far nothing more than normal minor scratches, and very few of those because I do take care of them.
Now, if I expected a bunch of drunks....that may change my mind, but playing around the campfire is just a great experience made better by CF.

[Jim in TC]

Originally Posted by Zeke63

Thanks for all of the replys. Still not sure what I will decide. The group that is going is all older and so the activiety level is moderate at best. Right now I am leaning toward just bringing my old Loar parlor. I would just be sick is something happend to the x20. I know one of the guys is bringing his older d18 which I do think is nuts.

Many years ago, now, a buddy brought his D-18 to a beach party. Next morning we were having our coffee and thinking about a little music and realized his guitar was nowhere to be found. Well, actually, found soon enough, still on the beach near the burned out fire. Alcohol was, I will admit, involved.

[Song]

7 days camping with 6 buddies. Hmm.
Is this RV or tent camping? https://youtu.be/DXSkkzmFkeU

[Scootch]

Remember, there's always that one guy that thinks it's hilarious to swat someone on the fanny with your guitar.

The same guy swears he never broke that brace.

True story. Happened to my first guitar.

[seamusknives]

The primary reason that I tried C.F. was because of the temperature/humidity swings here in St. Louis. I never had any obvious damage to my wood guitars over the years but they were always in a controlled environment. It was still an always present fear that I was tired of having, though. Once I made the jump to C.F. I realized that camping would be enhanced with some real music. For 55 years I've been driving the 1,000 miles to canoe / camp in the Boundary Waters Canoe Area. This is wilderness camping and involves lots of portaging along with the paddling. I just love the MN/ Ontario woods! A travel-sized C.F. guitar would be optimum but I always thought their sound just a little diminished for what little increased carrying benefit I'd get for that one week annually. I also learned that, for me, a hard shell case is just too heavy on portages and now rely on the gig bag for protection.

[Earl49]

Originally Posted by Zeke63

.....Right now I am leaning toward just bringing my old Loar parlor. I would just be sick is something happend to the x20. I know one of the guys is bringing his older d18 which I do think is nuts.

Since you already have the Loar on hand, just take it. You might wish that you had the X20 along, but at least you won't be worried. And you'll know how you feel about it all for next time.

I too would be sick if something happened to one of my good guitars, but that is why I have all-risk coverage as a rider on my homeowner's policy. We have good instruments, so we take them out and play them. If you think an X20 is expensive, think about some of my wife's flutes. The least of her fleet is more expensive than a tricked-out highly customized Emerald woody. And yes, they go camping with us.