Tips of Making Up Your Camping Gear
March 31st, 2010 | by admin |
You are going camping! That is exciting. But with all of the things you need to bring, you are all confused and your idea of fun is slowly draining. How the hell are you going to start gathering up your camping gear. You personally need to ensure that you have all the basic camping gear in the right place before you start camping. Here are sure ways to help you round up your stuff to compose the best of your camping gear.
1) You may need extra camping gear more than you will ever know if you plan on camping for extended periods or if you are planning to camp outside of the cabin. Hence, you must plan your camping. If you are staying out in the wilderness instead of staying in a hikers’ cabin, then you have to carry a suitable tent, comfortable sleeping bags, or mosquito repellers. If you planning on staying longer, then there is a need for lighting batteries, more food supplies, or cooking equipments. It all depends on what you are planning to do on your trip. Have a list of activities to do alongside with the materials needed. Do not forget necessary items. As much as possible avoid the luxury ones. Do not bring things that you won’t be needing. The idea with outdoor travels is packing light for ease of travel.
2) Get information and discounts on the best camping gear from catalogues. Every now and then, camping gear manufacturers and stockers send out mags or flyers with festive sales, discounts, or special infos. So make the most out of it.
3) Go to the large shopping malls like Wal-Mart. They hold an array of basic camping gear available at a wide range of budget. They are also great for purchasing cheap but good enough camping gear (Just make sure to consider buying the more durable equipment, not just the good-for-one-use items, if you are a frequent camper).
4) Practical experience tells you that you can make your own camping gear. Gather up on some books or online tutorials and march to the do-it-yourself store. Most of the items you probably need are just lying around the house. This reduces your camping gear expenses at a fraction of the cost. Plus, doing activities like this adds in to the fun of camping.
5) Ask around among family and friends if they have the camping gear you need. There is always the practical benefit of mutual borrowing. Go ahead and buy one or two quality items that you can exchange. Just make sure that you do not cause damage to others’ invested equipment.
6) Before buying anything else, consider the best backpack you could ever get to hold in the rest of your camping gear. This is probable the one thing that you want to invest in. Buy a good quality bag with just the right size (style is not that necessary). You certainly don’t want myriads of mini bags or tied-to-rope items hanging around when you traveling outdoors. And trust me, you will know what and how much to put in right after you have a good idea of where to put it.
7) Check your food items. Consider taking in less by preferring dehydrated meals that are lightweight. When it comes to water, it is better to carry much as there may be no available safe drinking water around on the camp site. Bring very little sauces and seasonings like sugar and salt. You may not need jars and jars of them if you know what I mean.
Consider the time of the year you will be traveling. If you are going out on the summer months, then bring along light clothing. If you are going out on the cooler months, then pack heavier but warmer clothing. And you might be needing a quality rainwear regardless of the forecast.
9) Share your camping gear between hiking partners. Delegate who will bring what. This reduces the possibility of bringing more than you will need. You do not need too many flashlights do you? You get the idea.
So those are the tips. Escaping the great outdoors is exciting, and to consider carefully planning your basic camping gear can even get you a long way in having the best vacation ever.
Rachel Nunez
http://www.articlesbase.com/travel-articles/tips-of-making-up-your-camping-gear-698339.html
10 Responses to “Tips of Making Up Your Camping Gear”
By xmirage2kx on Mar 31, 2010 | Reply
Camping with an infant?
My wife and I are going camping in a few weeks and would like some advice on camping with an infant. During the day the temperatures will reach 80F but at night they could (possibly) drop as low as 30F. I want to make sure my 7month old is plenty warm at night. I have found I am warmer when wearing minimal clothes in my sleeping bag than when all bundled up. Should I bundle up my baby or strip him to just minimal clothing like myself? (Baby will be sleeping in the same bag as mommy)
Also any infant camping tips you can share would be great.
Note:
We have all the proper gear for camping (not the cheap Wal-Mart stuff) and years of experience camping and even teaching wilderness survival, but the whole "family camping" thing where you can still see your truck is new to us.
Extra details: Oh, and if it does get to cold we will head home as this trip is only a 30min drive so don’t worry, our baby will be warm one way or another.
By Chris L on Mar 31, 2010 | Reply
I don’t know the right answer but we are wondering the same think for our 7 month. I planned on dressing him the same as I do (regular long sleeve/pants with footies)& sleeping with him in my sleeping bag.
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By JuJuBean on Mar 31, 2010 | Reply
We took ours camping at a young age, but not infant. However, as a seasoned camper as well, I would use layers, like an undershirt and footed sleeper. I agree not to overdress, but as you know, if your feet stay warm, your body temp can stay regulated. A baby may not be able to stay as warm and an adult can during the night. Nothing worse than gettting cold feet in the middle of the night. If you can, make sure you bring somthing to set the baby in, like and pack n play. This way he can still play safely w/out too many limitations. Have fun.
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By elementoflife on Mar 31, 2010 | Reply
I remember my parents took us all from day one (well as soon as spring hit). I don’t remember for myself but when my brother was a baby he was put into a tiny mummy bag. this was back in the early 80s – I assume you could still find one (it was down filled). We also all wore toques (woolen hats that is). His, I remember, had ear flaps and could be tied up, or snapped under the chin.
There is a really great store here in Canada, called Mountain Equipment Coop. I assume you could order from them, from the States (I am assuming you are in the states as you used Fahrenheit instead of Celcius…). Anyway, that is where we and most of my friends (who have young babies/kids) go for their supplies.
The website is
http://www.mec.ca/Search/search.jsp
I hope that connects you to the infant supplies… I think the bunting suits would work really well for your purposes. Just make sure that you don’t dry them in the dryer (especially with fabric softener) because it’ll reduce the heat trapping ability of the fabric.
Hope that helps!!
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By thehuntressrose on Mar 31, 2010 | Reply
If your child is not sensative to it, my suggestion is bundle with wool. Be careful with the socks – most socks have elastic which hinders circulation and can cause coldness in the extremeties – those cute onesie’s with booties are the best.
Keep cotton out of the night time equation. Babies are much more moist than adults and will have bigger issues if damp clothing is kept against their skin. Use a non-flammable synthetic material if the kid’s got allergies.
PLUS, children are at a higher metabolic rate than adults. Hence cold is less than an issue than you would think. Be careful not to OVER bundle your bundle of joy. You can accidently cause heat exhaustion or worse…
My suggestion is line the inside of your tent (including floor) with space blankets making sure they do not touch your bedding (condensation problem) this will keep your tent a good 10-20 degrees warmer than outside depending upon how good your metabolic rate is and if your tent is windproof.
Baby during the day should be treated with a good insect repellent that’s organic (check out Burt’s Bees stuff.) Think about the normal temperature at home. If the campground is at that temp then no prob – do the same as home. Treat your baby like a little one of you two.
You have layers of clothing – baby should too. You have a hat to shade from the sun – baby should too. You concern yourself with water – baby should be well-hydrated.
Really, if you use your common sense it will be ok. Kids are actually less sensative to temperature issues than we are and they are more flexible and adaptable to strange and new surroundings than we are.
Concern yourself more with keeping all things out of your baby’s reach. Pine needles especially. Nature is not childproof… =J
HAVE fun! I went camping with my parents since I was born… Other than the one time I wandered off at 3 and met a bear (who surprisingly didn’t et me) or the time I picked up a water snake at 6 years old… Well it has been quite a journey and over all pretty safe.
Best things for a kid are outside and do not need batteries. So glad you are taking your little one on this journey.
References :
http://www.burtsbees.com
By eyeore on Mar 31, 2010 | Reply
I have taken my 4 kids camping since they were less than a month old. I always dressed them like I dressed myself. I would recommend that you get the baby his own sleeping bag, mine always had their own ( I was too afraid I would suffocate them being with me). In the evening, I would heat up some water and fill one of the small nalgene bottles and put it in the bottom of their bags which heats up the bag and tends to keep their toes warmer.
Sounds like you are experienced campers, just use your best judgment. Teach you baby what you know and enjoy from the start then as he gets older he will enjoy it as much as you.
Don’t forget to take some of baby’s favorite things.
Have a fun, safe trip.
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By Jewel on Mar 31, 2010 | Reply
I don’t think you need to be worrying as much as you are, especially since you have lots of camping experience. The family camping thing is really a piece of cake.
My daughter has been camping since she was less than six months old and has grown up loving it.
As far as the nights are concerned, you are on the right track by having your baby sleeping with your wife…or both of you. On cold nights sometimes I would have my daughter in my sleeping bag…sometimes we would zip two sleeping bags together and the three of us would sleep in there with baby in between us all snuggled up. I would always cuddle her close for the body heat though. The warm sleeper pajamas are ideal..again, that is what I used. The covered feet are important.
This should be warm enough, but just in case, bring an extra blanket or comforter with you in the tent and put it in a handy spot. If your wife wakes up in the middle of the night and feels cold or feels the baby is cold she can just grab it and put it on top of the sleeping bag for a little extra warmth.
As far as keeping your baby occupied, bring a portable crib for daytime naps and containment. Whatever his favorite toys are at home are perfect to bring along for camping, of course not including the big bulky ones. If it does not get too hot in the daytime, an empty tent with a few toys makes a great playhouse. A screen house that closes, if you have one, also works well, especially if it is too warm to be in a tent during the day.
We used to have a little chair that attaches to the side of the table and sort of hangs off the table. When camping the chair worked fine with the picnic table and we used this instead of a high chair.
Have a great time….you know what to do and what to bring…you will be fine. You really shouldn’t need to cut your trip short and head home in the middle of the cold night!
References :
http://www.your-camping-guidebook.com
By Ralph T on Mar 31, 2010 | Reply
Camping with infants…This can be tough. We have years of camping experience, and we also have five kids. So camping went on the back burner til they got a bit older. One of the best tricks (My mom did it with me) is to get some cheap mosquito netting from Walmart, or a surplus store and rig it to the top of the babys playpen. You can put it on with a bungee or two. Here in the southeast that is the hardest part of camping with a tyke, keeping the bugas from eating him. I would not worry too much about the babys temp while you are asleep, if he is is mom’s bag he should be cool. UNless the temps are below freezing, just her heat will keep him warm. Make sure he has plenty of ventilation though. A papoose style pack is well worth the investment, they did not have supercool ones like they do now when our kids were small enough.
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By Joe P on Mar 31, 2010 | Reply
Just don’t go. It may not be worth the hassle and no fun anyway.
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By Yote' on Mar 31, 2010 | Reply
I saw the coolest new item in the new Cabela’s catalog, almost wish I still had one small enough to use it!
Mine are ages 9-16. It’s an inflatable playpen!
References :
http://www.cabelas.com/cabelas/en/templates/links/link.jsp?id=0056015518420a&type=product&cmCat=SEARCH&returnPage=search-results1.jsp&QueryText=aircrib&N=4887&Ntk=Products&Ntx=mode+matchall&Nty=1&Ntt=aircrib&noImage=0