Adventure Advice Vol. 4 With Luno Operations Manager, Nick W.
Welcome to our new series, Adventure Advice. Each month, we’ll highlight a Luno team member, sharing both a snapshot of their story and a few of their favorite camping tips. Expect us to cover everything from their go-to road trip snacks to car camping wisdom they learned the hard way. Long story short? If you want to step up your game and camp like a pro, you’re in the right place.
Who Is Nick?
Calm in the chaos. That pretty much sums up Nick W., our incredible Operations Manager. Born and raised in Bend, Oregon, Nick grew up snowboarding at Mt. Bachelor and backpacking in the Cascades. He moved to Colorado for college and quickly fell in love with climbing—a passion that continues to shape Nick’s life to this day. After college, he moved into his car and camped for months at the climbing mecca of Indian Creek in Utah.
Nick eventually returned home to Oregon and realized that a climbing paradise had been in his backyard all along. Of course, we’re talking about the world-famous climbing hub of Smith Rock. Nick now lives 15 minutes from the crag with his wife and two-year-old son and, often jets off for a quick sunset climbing session after putting his kid down to sleep. Shoutout to his life partner—and climbing partners—for helping him get after it during those tight windows!
When he’s not climbing or spending time with his young family, Nick’s wearing a ton of hats here at Luno. To be honest, he might even be wearing some helmets, too. His main focus is managing inventory and overseeing our supply chain, but he also helps out with our website backend, product launches, shipping and receiving, you name it. Chill, organized, and a crusher from the crag to the office, Nick lives and breathes the Luno ethos, and we couldn’t be luckier to have him on our team. Read on for tips and tricks Nick’s gleaned from life of adventure in the Pacific Northwest, the Rockies, and beyond.
Pit Stops: Rapid-Fire Q & A Interview
Q: What’s a bucket list road trip for you?
A: I’d love to go to Devil’s Tower in Wyoming. I’ve never been. It’s just really remote and far away from everything. It’s this legendary climbing spot—a sloped pillar that just sprouts up out of the earth—and it was in this old movie from the 70s, Close Encounters of the Third Kind.
On the way, I’d stop in Jackson, make a detour to Lander, and check out the Wind River Range in Wyoming. Then I’d spend a few days climbing Devil’s Tower for the main event. On the way home to Oregon, I’d check out Yellowstone National Park and the Sawtooth Range in Idaho. Sounds pretty epic to me!
Q: What’s your go-to Luno mattress and why?
A: I’m still a big fan of the original AIR Mattress but I can also say, I’ve been testing the new version of it and it has all the things I love about the original with some really awesome added features and improvements. You can set it up really quickly and inflate or deflate in a couple of minutes. Now that I’m a parent, I don't have tons of extended free time, so every minute counts on an adventure. I like it for quick overnight missions where you get out to a parking lot late, blow it up, and you're good to go. I can go to bed, wake up, climb a route or two, and still be home in time for kid duty. I can’t say enough about it, honestly. It’s super quick, easy, it’s super durable and still super comfortable—I sleep so well on that thing!
Q: What Luno accessories are you packing on a road trip and why?
A: I always bring the Gear & Shoe Storage Bag. It’s super nice to take your climbing shoes out of your pack at night and let them air out without stinking up the car.
I’m also a big fan of the Mesh Gear Duffel. I store my sleeping stuff in there in the summer, and on day trips to the hill in the winter I use it to stash my snowboard gear.
Last but not least, I love the Seatback Organizer, too. I use that to stash my keys and my phone at night, so I know exactly where those are in my car.
Q: Any other gear you don’t like to camp without?
A: My Jetboil and a headlamp.
Q: Favorite road trip snack?
A: It's not really a snack, but I always enjoy getting a sh*tty cup of gas station coffee on a road trip. Even though it’s objectively not good coffee, there's just something nostalgic about the watered-down pot of joe that’s been sitting there for six hours, with some crappy vanilla creamer in it. It just hits perfectly. [Nick laughs]
Q: Favorite camping meal?
A: Chicken pesto pasta. I pre-cook the chicken at home (more on that below). It’s quick and easy, and a great way to refuel after a day of climbing. It’s also packed with nutritious carbs and protein so I can be ready to send come morning.
Q: You’re heading out on a 3-hour drive tomorrow–what are you listening to?
A: A live Billy Strings concert, or maybe a live Greensky Bluegrass show. I like listening to live music when I drive.
Q: If you could have a car camping superpower, what would it be?
A: The ability to sleep through any noise or disruption.
Adventure Advice: Nick’s 8 Tips For Car Campers
Pre-Cook Ingredients To Maximize Adventure Time
If you love to cook at camp, awesome. All power to you. There’s something really fun about taking time to prepare an elaborate meal at camp, assuming you have the time to do so. As I mentioned already, I have a toddler at home, so I’m not going on a ton of long camping trips right now. Usually, I’m doing quick overnights, and the less time I spend cooking, the more time I can spend climbing.
With that being said, if you value efficiency as much as I do, it’s a smart play to pre-cook ingredients at home. I especially like to do this with meat, as it saves me a ton of time, and I don’t have to worry about handling or storing raw meat at camp. I also like to prep and cut veggies at home before traveling to help streamline camp meals. Usually, after a big day of activities, or even a big day of driving, I want to eat as soon as I get to camp!
Jetboil For The Win
When it comes to boiling water, a Jetboil is unbeatable. I mainly use my Jetboil for making coffee in the morning, whipping up elaborate dehydrated meals, or heating up water to do the dishes.
Even when I camp with a traditional two-burner stove, I like to have a Jetboil on hand. It’s very efficient in terms of fuel intake, and much easier to store and deploy than a two-burner. Plus, if I’m cooking for a group, I can do eggs and bacon on the two-burner, and coffee in the Jetboil.
Speaking of coffee, here’s a bonus tip for you: I’m a huge fan of Luno’s Campers Blend Instant Coffee. It’s as delicious as it is easy.
Ice-Free Cooler
I like to use ice packs instead of ice in my cooler, and then I store my food in Tupperware containers. Between the compartmentalized containers and the ice packs, my food never gets soggy. This system is pretty simple and makes food storage and management much easier.
Maintain Your Motivation And Find A Balance
I think my biggest advice for new parents who love to be outside is to maintain your motivation.
Getting outside is tough as a parent, not to mention camping with a toddler, but it’s important to still prioritize what’s important to you.
Sometimes, even if you’re tired and run down, you just have to go for it. That might be going for a hike with your kid on your back or going climbing after the little ones are asleep. I know it’s easier said than done, but do your best to stay motivated and get after it!
With that being said, family comes first. You’ve got to balance it all. You have to be a good partner and stay on top of things like cleaning the house, chores, all of that. But if you’re on top of things and communicate well with your partner, there’s no reason you both can’t find little moments to still do the things you love, whether that’s as a family or solo.
Heated Nalgene Hack
This one’s an old mountaineering trick. On cold nights, heat up water (thank you, Jetboil), pour it in a leakproof Nalgene, close it tightly, and then tuck that Nalgene into your sleeping bag. It’ll warm you up for hours.
Maps Over Apps
This might be my most controversial tip, but here goes: ditch the navigation apps when you’re on the open road. Yup, I said it—put your phone down!
Using an old-school paper road map is really fun, plus it helps you build instinctual navigation skills that come in handy when hiking or backpacking.
I have a map for every state I plan on driving through on a trip, and they’re fun keepsakes to have around.
Plus, these are just good skills to have. After all, everyone is so reliant on their phones these days. What happens if your phone dies?
Compartmentalize Your Gear
Personally, I’m a big believer in keeping everything organized, compartmentalized, and systematically packed. For instance, I keep all of my kitchen gear in a Gear Tote, all of my sleeping gear in a Mesh Gear Duffle, so on and so forth. That way, I always know where my gear is when I need it most.
Turn Your Old Tent Into A Car Camping Garage
Camping in your car is a much more comfortable experience than camping in a tent, so I spend most of my nights on the road in the back of my rig on a Luno AIR Mattress. However, I still have old tents from my tent camping days, and I’ve found a cool way to keep using those tents on car camping trips.
Essentially, I use my tent as a garage. I’ll stash things like my cooler in it, and use it as a gear garage for my climbing gear. It protects my climbing rack from the elements and hides it from public view.
An added bonus of this is that when if you ever drive away from your campsite, people won’t snatch your site as your tent is still set up.
A Little Adventure Advice Goes A Long Way
Whether you’re new to the game or you’re a road trip veteran, learning from the pros can be super beneficial. That’s why we started this series—to help you level up and camp like a champ—and we hope you enjoyed this month’s edition of Adventure Advice. Maybe you learned a new gear storage hack, got inspired to try a new camping recipe, or simply gained the confidence to embark on that adventure you’ve been dreaming of for years. Regardless, thank you for reading, and stay tuned for more Adventure Advice in the not-so-distant future!
