Camping Gear, Hints and Tips
I have been camping and hiking with my family and Boy Scouts all my life and know the ways to go camping and what I really wished I had on that particular camping trip. With a little planning and know how you can be prepared and have a great time in the great outdoors.
First I’ll start with a list that you should use to pack for any camping trip. These are things that are essentials and should always be brought along. If anything needs an explanation I will give it afterwards.
Tent poles stakes
1 or 2 tarps 10 x 10 or the same size as the bottom of the tent
Canopy, enclosure or tarp for shade
Sleeping bags & mattress pads or air mattress (we feel a must at our age)
Clothes (my kid forgot a bag one trip & we stopped at Walmart)
Good walking shoes & one extra pair for camp
Rain gear cooking pots2 dish pans
Foodcook stovecooking utensils
FIRST AID KITmatches or lighterpocket knife
Rope or cordwaterextra fuel for stove
Bug spraysunscreen lotiontoilet paper
Flashlight with extra batteriespaper and pencil or pen
Personal hygiene kit (toothbrush & paste, soap, comb, hand towel, large towel, wash cloth)
There is probably a lot of things that you could also take along but a lot of it is up to you, these are things that you should have as a list and check off when you go and pack for that trip to the great outdoors. There has been many times, even the one were we stopped in town to get my kid some clothes, when we wished we had checked a list and we just didn’t bother.
Tent The tent can be any decent tent, there are many for sale that are good and it is pretty much up to you what kind and how expensive it is. I do recommend a couple of things before you use your new tent and once before going out the first camping trip that year.
Buy some seam sealer and thoroughly coat all the seams inside and outside the tent. This is the most likely place the tent will leak water and it costs about four or five dollars for a bottle or stick of seam sealer. The liquid kind in a bottle is easier to get into the tight seams and were the tent sides come together at an acute angle. The stick kind is easier to use on the flat seams where two large panels meet. It is up to you which kind you use but do use it.
Also every time you use your tent, put a tarp down on the ground that is the same size or larger than the bottom of the tent. When you buy your tent measure the bottom and go to Walmart or somewhere else and buy a cheap tarp to put on the ground. This will prevent sticks and rocks from poking holes in the floor and prevent water from leaking into the bottom.
You can also have an extra tarp with to use in a bad storm or for an emergency shelter. You can use some cord or rope and tie it over the tent if the tent starts to leak or use it alone for another shelter or tent. Just use the rope and tie it to two trees, the back of the SUV or other handy place to make a tent shaped shelter.
Sleeping bags and other stuffI always use my air mattress now a days. It keeps me off the ground and sticks and rocks from poking me. I have a large one that is the kind with two air chambers and is about two feet tall. I have a large tent. You can buy whatever you want and you can get air blowers that run on car lighters or an internal battery that you recharge with the car or at home.
You can also get folding ones or my son has one that is neat, you unplug the vent hole and unroll it and it blows up a little with air. When you roll it up you push the air out of it.
I usually take pillows with and have some small ones just for camping, Walmart sells quite a variety of smaller travel ones now. The sleeping bags do not have to be expensive or fancy, we don’t go winter camping and if it looks like it is going to get cold we take an extra blanket with and some sweats to sleep in.
One trick I learned along time ago when camping with Boy Scouts and my family. Before going to bed, change into clean sleeping clothes, whatever you like but they should be clean and dry. You will want dry socks and a knit hat if you are camping in colder weather. This makes sure you are dry and will be warm when you go to bed.
Clothing should be appropriate to the time of year and area you will be going. If it might be cold take some extra layers of clothes, not just a big fluffy jacket. If you dress in light layers and are able to put on and take off layers when you get warm and cold you will be more comfortable. If you have one large jacket or coat on you can’t get warmer or colder with it.
In the winter you can have long underwear, then pants and a short sleeve shirt, then a long sleeve shirt and a sweater or flannel shirt. Use a light jacket, one that is waterproof if it’s snowing. Then if it is really cold a pair of snow mobile pants or something similar and another layer of sweater, flannel shirt or wool shirt. This works very well and is a better way t keep warm than one large fluffy coat.
For you cook gear you should have a cook kit, Walmart and other camping supply stores carry nice and quite inexpensive group cook kits made of aluminum and steel for a reasonable price. You should have a large pot to boil water for cleanup as well as a few for cooking in.
A camp stove can be purchased for as little as fifteen to twenty dollars for a propane one from Coleman that is great for camping. It uses little propane bottles that are easy to change and store. You can buy lanterns that use the same propane gas too.
You can get white gas stoves and even lanterns that use the same liquid gas available from the store where you bought the stove. White gas is a little harder to use than propane, but you are sure of how much gas you have when you go camping. The propane can run out quicker than white gas.
Use two plastic tubs to wash your dishes in, take a small film can or other small container of dish soap from home to clean up with. They have small bottles of dish soap you can use also.
Plastic tubs are great for storing all your camping gear that does not just go in the bags they came in. The cook gear, tarps, rope, stove and fuel, and food can go into plastic bins. Everything can be easy to load, unload and store in the garage or basement with the large and small plastic storage bins and tubs. You can even use them as a work surface when preparing meals.
When using charcoal or gas stoves and pots and pans, use a paper towel with a couple of drops of dish soap and rub the bottom and sides of the pan with dish soap. DO NOT GET ANY NEAR THE TOP OR INSIDE THE PAN OR POT. Use it on the outsides and bottom when you cook using charcoal or gas stoves, the black soot that gets on the bottom of the pot will wash off very easily.
Take plenty of water on your trip, use plastic milk jugs or soda bottles and fill them up at home with clean water, this way you know the water is clean and don’t have to risk well water or other unusable water. You can buy five gallon and larger water containers but it is just as easy to use pop bottles or milk jugs that you wash out at home.
Always take a first aid kit with you, that has some essentials like band aids, first aid ointments and directions for first aid procedures. On the issue of safety tell someone you know where you are going and when you will be back. A friend, relative or coworker who you can call before you leave and when you get back who will know where you are going and when you will get back.
That way if something happens to you and you need help out in the woods or are stuck somewhere with vehicle trouble, you have someone who will know where to look for you. Many have heard of the man who had to cut his own arm off to get out from under a rock because he did not tell anyone where he was or when he would be back. This is a staple of Boy Scouts, always let someone know where you are going and never go into the outdoors alone.
There are other things you will learn are essentials for camping when you continue to go and learn what you need and what you don’t. Try to use that knowledge and always make a list when you go of things you should take next time. A quick note and then list of things before you go will be so much easier than turning around or stopping and having to buy a bunch of stuff when your on your way.
