May 30, 2008 by jakeswing
About a month ago I gave some tips on how to organize your camping equipment to make it easier to pack up and get on the road. I got a lot of comments on the subject and decided to write another with just a few more tips.
Here are some things to keep in mind when it comes to remembering all of the camping equipment needed, and keeping everyone happy. Make sure that there is plenty of clean water and Bathroom supplies handy. I know this is a subject that no one wants to talk about but everyone has to deal with but it needs to be done. The camping toilet is a piece of camping equipment that is a luxury to have especially on those 3-5 day camping trips. If you don’t have this piece of camping equipment there is an easy solution. I have an extra 3-4 person tent, I grab a 5 gallon bucket and a toilet seat from any local hardware store, I mount the seat on the bucket and put it in the extra tent, instant bathroom. Home made camping equipment is usually cheaper than store bought. You then dig a hole behind the tent to dump the waste in. Trust me the wife may think it’s disgusting at first but she will love it in the end and so will you, trust me.
I do have one more tip before I close. When you store your camping equipment make sure it is clean and dry. It will last so much longer, especially your tent. I know a lot of times when your are leaving the camp site you just want to pack up the tent and go but you can do more harm than you think. Ants can destroy your tent and other camping equipment if they are packed up with it. If there is not a clean spot at the campsite to sweep of the inside and the outside of the tent, make sure when you get home to open the tent back up to clean it inside and out. Any insects left on or inside the tent can eat little holes in the fabric and cause the tent to leak from the top or the bottom. The tent is probably the most expensive piece of camping equipment you have. It must be taken care of.
Tags: camping equipment, tents
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May 15, 2008 by jakeswing
My wife and kids and I went camping with her sister and family. They suggested that since they have an RV that can sleep 8 people that we all just stay in it instead of using our big 10 person tent. I thought “hey why not it’s got to be almost like sleeping at home”. Not so much, here is why.
I love camping and I don’t mind roughing it but my back is shot and I have to be comfortable to sleep. I own camping cots and I love them. Since i have had the camping cots, camping is so much more enjoyable. With that in mind I thought that the RV bed would be even better, and it was not. Except for the fact that the RV bed was bigger than the camping cot, the camping cot was comparable in comfort to the bed. The bed had a little more cushion but it had a hard piece of plywood underneath and the camping cot was softer. We still slept in sleeping bags to keep warm because we did not use the heater in the RV. We cooked outside, we sat outside and ate outside so we could have just stayed in a tent and been just as comfortable. Like I have said before, camping cots are very comfortable and very cost effective. So save some money and buy some camping cots and a tent instead of the big RV, and with the price of gas going the way it is you probably won’t be able to drive the RV much longer anyway.
Tags: sleeping bags, tent, camping cots, camping, RV
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May 8, 2008 by jakeswing
Did you know that you could affect the warmth rating of you sleeping bag just by trying to take care of it? You should always take into consideration a few key steps for the care and storage of your sleeping bags. Sleeping bags can all be professionally cleaned by cleaners who specialize in cleaning outdoor products, even down and synthetic fill. If you dry-clean a sleeping bag it will reduce the loft and your sleeping bag will lose warmth. If you would like to clean a sleeping bag yourself, it can be machine washed in a front-loader. Do not use a top loader, the agitator will destroy your sleeping bag. First, zip all of the zippers and turn the bag inside out. Second, use the gentle/delicate setting and wash your bag in cold water with mild powder or a special wash for the type of fill in your sleeping bag. Next your sleeping bag can be dried in a large commercial dryer ONLY on very low heat. Home dryer have been known to melt holes in the fabric. Check it from time to time to be sure your sleeping bag is not overheated. If your sleeping bag has down filer, take it out and gently pull the clumps of wet down to redistribute it. Some redistribution may be necessary to spread out the bunching for synthetic sleeping bags, as well. When storing your sleeping bag, be sure it is dry. Then, store your sleeping bag in a way that will not compress it, long term compression will damage the loft, reducing its warmth. Instead, lay the bag flat under a bed, hang it in a closet, or store loosely in a large bag. Proper care and storage for sleeping bags will lengthen the life of your sleeping bag.
Tags: care, cleaning, sleeping bag
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April 29, 2008 by jakeswing
Choosing a quality camping air bed can be frustrating and time consuming. Don’t you wish you could inflate it, put it into a pool of water and see if it is leaking or not, because all camping air beds seem to leak right? Wrong!
Most modern styles of camping air beds are not made from the cheap thin plastic materials they used to be. You can really tell by the touch and feel of the new camping air beds that they are made from a much thicker material. Some are made with a memory foam topper built into the air bed itself. There are also self inflating camping air beds, air beds with pillows built in and actual sleeping bags built into the camping air beds! The sad part is that with quality comes price. Most of these high quality camping air beds are very expensive considering that you can buy a standard everyday camping air bed for about $35 dollars. Don’t get me wrong, the standard air bed will work for a little while and it will leak sometime soon, but the old saying of “you get what you pay for” really comes into play here. The higher quality camping air beds are going to run about $175 and higher. Now I don’t know what a good nights sleep is worth to you while you’re camping but, it could be worth investing the money and having a good quality camping air bed to sleep on.
Tags: camping, camping air bed, sleeping bags
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April 25, 2008 by jakeswing
Over the years though many improvements have been made to the family camping tent that has made life a heck of a-lot easier. I think one of the biggest improvements is the actual size and ease of assembly of the family camping tents. The fact is the only tents that were really easy to set-up were the little four person pop-up dome tent. It took probably 5 min total to erect. Now these new family camping tents that can fit ten to twelve people easy are even easy to set-up. I own a 10 foot by 20 foot tent myself and my wife and I can get it fully set-up in about 10 minutes. It has four rooms, three doors and is well ventilated and waterproof. These newer family camping tents also have shoe racks, removable room dividers, a rail to hang your clothes inside the tent and removable shelves. Now these tents do have some draw backs. Some weigh about 25-30 pounds. Mine is in that category but it came with a wheeled case that is very easy to repack. We have had this family camping tent that we call the Taj Majal for about five years and love it. It is still in very good shape even though we use it quite a bit. If you have been reluctant to buy something this big don’t be. They are really not so bad to set-up and repack and the extra room is heaven trust me.
Tags: camping, dome, family camping tents, pop-up, tents
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April 24, 2008 by jakeswing
I wonder if we are going to start moving backwards and just start living anywhere we can set up camp, get back to basics. Camping equipment would become essential to everyone who is not in the super rich category. Could you imagine just moving all of your belongings out into the wilderness somewhere. Building a campsite to live in while you try to build a structure from trees or logs to live in. In a way I think it would be kind of neat for a little while, but I would not want to do it forever. Camping is fun but enough is enough even with the quality of the camping equipment today. Camping equipment has come a long way in quality even from lets say 10 years ago. With new light weight weather resistant materials. Even sleeping bags have even gotten lighter weight and warmer. I hope it does not come to this, that we all have to get back to nature and live off the land, but if we do the camping equipment we have now should be good enough to keep us comfortable for a while.
Tags: camping, camping equipment, sleeping bags
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April 22, 2008 by jakeswing
Camping is primitive, dusty, and just a get back to nature kind of experience. It is supposed to be challenging on the body. It is not supposed to be comfortable and luxurious. Thats what I used to think.
I use to be one of those guys that said, you have to sleep under the stars on the ground for it to be camping people, but not anymore. I use a camping air bed. With age comes wisdom and the need for a pain free morning. In my younger days, in the military, my buddy’s and I would go camping. We would take the bare necessities, sleeping bag, food, fire and maybe a tent. That was it! Anything else and you were too soft to camp with us. We would sleep on the ground, stay up all hours of the night, wake up cook breakfast on an open fire, we were outdoors men…… Then it seems like overnight I got old. My body started aching when I slept on the ground, so I got a bed roll. Then came the thicker foam mat, then I bought my first air bed. I felt like such a softy, but there is no way now that I would go without my camping air bed now. The air beds are a life saver. If I had to sleep on the ground with twigs and rocks under the tent, there is no way I could even stand in the morning, much less fish or hike or anything like that. I do not know how the average person out there thinks but, air beds are one of the best inventions for outdoor living that i have seen. Now if someone could come up with a compact comping cot that would be even better.
Tags: air bed, bed roll, camping, camping cot, sleeping bag, tent
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April 17, 2008 by jakeswing
A few years ago the wife and I were out driving around and she suggested that we should hit some garage sales. I reluctantly said yes. I used to think garage sales were all junk. I have enough of my own junk why buy someone else’s? So we are driving around and we are going through garage after garage and then she comes up to me and says she has something to show me. She points to these two old camping cots! I’m thinking to myself these are about $5-$10 a piece, I am not paying a penny over $4. She tells me that these camping cots, that are in pretty good shape are only a $1 a piece! Sold! I have never spent a better $2 in all my life. They have been a life saver. I believe you should never camp without a camping cot. Air mattresses are good but they deflate sometimes and get holes, but camping cots you just unfold and go. We still have those old camping cots and still use them. we are planning on getting another set pretty soon because these are on their last leg but I think I have gotten my dollars worth. They are by far the best garage sale buy I have ever made.
Tags: air mattresses, camp, camping cots
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April 16, 2008 by jakeswing
Family camping tents are better made than ever with the advancement of technology, and are constructed of the most durable and weatherproof materials. While it may not be the optimal experience to camp in inclement weather, with these tents it doesn’t have to be the worst thing ever either. While deciding on the perfect tent for your family there is a certain criteria to keep in mind. Before style even becomes a consideration, it is important to find a well made family camping tent. When you find a tent that you really like, check online message boards for honest reactions to the products performance. There are several websites available that are designed to provide consumer opinions.
Once you have found several family camping tents you like, then you can narrow down your selection according to your personal preferences. Some family camping tents are a large one room design, while others have a tunnel between two “rooms” that children find a lot of fun. The best family camping tents are the ones that will fit everyone with a lot of comfort. Though some would say that there is nothing comfortable about a tent, having enough room for everyone is essential for a good trip. If everyone is cramped within the family camping tent, they are not going to sleep well and will be cranky the next morning. If you have a family of five, you should get a tent meant to fit even more people. That way everyone has room to move and even roll in the night. Not everyone sleeps in one position for the entire night. In fact, that is rather rare. Also consider the size and space available in the vehicle that will be used for camping trips. Many models are made to be compact and space saving for smaller vans and cars. These are just some of the things to look for when investing in a family camping tent.
Tags: camping trip, family camping tent, tent
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April 16, 2008 by jakeswing
Camping is as enjoyable and as fun as the people on the trip make it. It is definitely not for everyone. It’s dusty, unsanitary, and sometimes primitive, but sometimes it is just great to get away from civilization for a couple of days.
It is a challenge to cook on an open fire, that’s why it is always good to invest in a camping stove of some kind. My favorite is a two burner Coleman stove. You can pretty much use it as a regular gas stove, The Coleman stove just doesn’t get quite as hot. Some of the things that are quite good and easy to cook you don’t even have to bring with you.
The first is fresh fish. Fish is one of the easiest thing to cook on a bar-b-que. My favorite way to have it is with lemon and garlic. Grab a sheet of aluminum foil put the fish on it. Put some garlic salt an butter inside the fish, close it up and put the lemon slices on top. Close up the foil and seal it as best you can, and put it on the grill. Cook for about 15 minutes and you have a great dinner. So the only camping supplies you need for dinner is the Coleman stove and cooking utensils. You can eat the fish right off the foil, easy clean-up. I’ve had some horrible cooking experiences. All in all the best advice I can give is just to try different things, not just the usual hot dogs and hamburgers. Get creative and have fun.
Tags: camping supplies, coleman stoves, cooking utensils
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