Archive for the 'Camping Gear' Category
Ronda wasn’t going far, but it had become a habit to clip the portable GPS device onto her jacket and take it with her when she went for her daily walk into the woods with her camera. She nearly didn’t pick it up this time. She had bought the GPS
Garmin GPSMAP 76Cx Handheld GPS Device
device right after her move to a rural area; before she really knew the woods that she wandered through so often today. But now it was nearly automatic when she clipped the hand-held GPS device to her jacket ring and walked out the door. The path through the woods was well laid out, but there were times when she left the path. Today was one of those days. She was a big fan of the more elusive wildflowers, trailing arbutus and lady slippers. That glimpse of pink that she’s seen through the trees looked like the color she was seeking. Leaving the pathway for just a few minutes, it appeared she had wandered a little further than she had intended. Looking around she was somewhat unnerved to find that she had not the slightest idea of where she was. In fact, she was totally lost. The kids were at home waiting for snacks and she had told them she would be home shortly so she had to do something in order to make sure that she got back soon. The small hard lump in her jacket made her chuckle. She’d been so unnerved about being lost for a moment that she failed to think about the item that she’d tucked inside her pocket. A GPS device was exactly what she needed and she’d almost forgotten it. Pulling it out she punched the few buttons that would lead her home. As the door opened, and she walked inside, three faces smiled at her and a small voice piped up “We made you a snack”. She was absolutely positive that no matter what else she took with her on her evening forays, from now on that handheld GPS device was never going to stay behind again.
Jacob, Baylee and Austin
Camping can be fun, but also challenging. Finding a way to make a dessert for the kids while on a camping trip and getting the ingredients there along with your camping gear all in one place is generally the second challenge of the day. One dessert that is less difficult to accomplish and is a spin of the old favorite, s’mores, is more easily accomplished and carried along with you. Rather than simply using marshmallows, chocolate, graham crackers and the basic items, you can add some unique spin to your kids dessert. or regular smores, you’ll need several Hershey(TM) chocolate bars, along with a packet of graham crackers and some marshmallows.
For a little something different, try out spin-off s’mores, which actually have less fat, a few less calories and a unique taste, whether you make them hot or cold. The items that you’re going to need to take with you in your camping gear are all relatively easy to carry.
For our “something different s’mores” you will need.
- Several white chocolate candy bars
- Sliced strawberries (plastic picnic wear lets these travel well in your camping gear)
- Graham crackers
- A bag of marshmallows
Directions
Place a single layer of sliced strawberries onto the graham crackers. Top them with a square of the white chocolate. Roasting the marshmallows on a stick and heating them is a great touch and will also help to melt the white chocolate. Lay the roasted or cold marshmallow on the top of the chocolate and press another graham cracker firmly down on top. These can be done equally well either hot or cold. If you like chocolate dipped strawberries you can also use dark chocolate.
No matter how you slice it, campers love s’mores. White or dark chocolate, it’s not a camping trip without roasted marshmallows and s’mores around the fire. There has never been an easier way to make a dessert for the kids on a camping trip.
minutes longer because I had to go to the store to get a new tank filled with propane. This may happen to you too but when it happens during camping, its even worse. One option you have when camping that does not require any propane to cook a good meal is the Camp Cooker. If you’ve never used one you just gotta go get one now and add it to your camping gear. They are so easy to use and so cool. The kids can do this. It’s so easy. And you can do this too. You love it. buy two or three cookers to your camping gear so everyone can enjoy the fun.
Backpacking tents are lightweight tents and durable. But not so durable that they will withstand poor care and packing. You will extend the life of your backpacking tent if you follow the tips below.
- Pack your tent poles so they don’t bend, break or chip on the ends and cut into the shock-cords.
- Pack the tent stakes and poles in a stuff sack. Packing the tent poles and stakes with the backpacking tent could puncture the
MSR Hubba Hubba Tent
tent. Wrapping the poles and stakes in a beach towel first will also keep them protected.
- Make sure your backpacking tent is thoroughly dry before packing it, otherwise mold/mildew could form on the tent and break down the tent fabric.
- When folding your backpacking tent, lay it on grass vs. sand or gravel, then pack it in a stiff sack or your backpack if it fits.
- Keep in mind for winter packing… backpacking tents packed in the cold take about 20% more space then a tent packed in a warm house. So for winter camping taking a stuff sack that can give that extra space when repacking the tent out in the snow.
- When its raining hard, try not to lie your tent on the ground for too long as the water could make the tent about 10 times as heavy.
- Always clean sand out of the zippers with a vacuum cleaner to prevent the zippers from tearing. This will improve the life of backpacking tents.
Whether you go hiking, backpacking or camping, you will need some camping tools. Listed below is a short list of the main tools you should add to your camping gear.
Camping Tools you should consider adding to your camping gear
- Hammer (needed to pound in tent stakes)
Stansport Deluxe Fiberglass Handle Axe
- Hatchet (needed to chops firewood and cut twigs)
- Multifunction Knife (needed to cut rope, open bottles and cans etc)
- Broom and dustpan (needed to sweep floor of tent at set up and tear down)
- Shovel (needed to dig camp fire pit and clean out wood, ashes and garbage when camping is done)
Don’t forget to bring the above camping tools on your next trip. I bring al of these every time I go camping, One other thing I do is make sure the axe and knife are sharp because it’s a real bummer trying to cut stuff when these are dull. I use the grinder in my garage to sharpen both items. If your camp site already has a fire pit, you may be able to get by without bringing one.
You sleep in a bed with a pillow 365 days year but more often than not, you probably don’t pack a pillow with your camping gear, right? Why not? I’ve made the same mistake and end up using a bunched up shirt or a duffel bag covered
Grand Trunk Travel Pillow
with some clothes. It doesn’t have to be this way. There are options. The Grand Trunk Travel Pillow, Wenzel Pillow 12″ x 20″ Omega II Poly, and the Chinook Down Pillow are all great options to add to your camping gear. Check them out and if none of these options suit you, pack your own pillow from home with your camping gear. You won’t regret it and you will enjoy a better night’s sleep and have more fun camping each day. You will wake up more refreshed and ready to go.
Mt. Washington - WITHOUT FLY
The word “Vestibule” often appears in the description for backpacking tents. But a vestibule can also be found in family camping tents and dome tents. If you are like me, may not know what the word vestibule really means and why it is of any value to the tent owner.
Wikopedia defines a tent vestibule as “The spare room of a tent in which gear can be stored; mostly common in backpacking tents”. This is somewhat helpful but I can store gear in the corner of the tent. So what’s the big deal?
A Vestibule is really the extra space created around the tent… under a rain fly, but normally with space with no tent flooring. You can store coolers, bikes, chairs, backpacks and other
Mt. Washington - WITH RAIN FLY
camping gear you want to keep out of the rain or snow which is great. You don’t have to keep packing and unpacking your car with all your camping gear.
To illustrate this, the Mt. Washington backpacking tent pictured shows the tent with and without a rain fly. Note that the rain fly is bigger than the tent, fully covers the tent and actually extends 28 inches beyond the actual tent creating an extra 11 square feet of space at the front of the tent. The space is the vestibule.
This space does not have a floor but can be used for storage of extra camping gear. Other tents may have more than one vestibule. They may have vestibules in the back or on the sides of the
Mt. Washington - Floor Plan (Vestibule 11 Sq Ft)
backpacking tent. There may even be enough room in the vestibule to accomodate an an extra camping sleeping over night. Simply put a tarp on the ground or use a cot.
The vestibule is normally located by the doors. So if there are two doors, there may be two vestibules. Chinook makes some tents with Vestibules that are screened and allow you to sit in the space bug free and enjoy the outdoors.
So next time you are looking for a tent, check out the Vestibule(s).
You know camping is fun and relaxing but one of the key things to bring to make it even more fun and relaxing is to bring your kids friends. It’s safer too. But don’t forget that you’ll need room in the tent for your kids friends to sleep. Most families today seem to have 2-3 kids which means you’ll have potentially 6 kids total plus the two parents for a total of 8 people. The Eureka! Tetragon 
Model 1210 camping tents is an excellent family-sized camping tent that sleeps 8 and features 2 rooms with a removable divider that your kids and their friends will love.
Your kids will be happier when their friends are with you. Their friends will get to hear your family stories around the campfire and when you need some time to yourselves, your kids will have their friends to play with.
Sure, you will need to bring a little more food and other camping gear but bringing your kids friends will be very rewarding and one of the best decisions you’ll make this summer.
One of the great unknowns in our lives is why kids always want to be bigger and older while adults always want to be smaller and younger. As adults, our most fond memories tend to be those spent during our childhood… when we had no responsibilities, no aches or pains, no bills to pay and nothing to do but make friends, have fun, eat and sleep. While us adults constantly exercise to 
maintain our youth and pay our bills on time to keep the things we’ve bought or stay out of trouble, we forget to have the kind of fun we had as kids. Kids look at adults as old people and big people because kids can not see over the counter top in the kitchen like an adult can or reach the top shelf in the refrigerator or lots of other things we see all the time and take for granted.
So when kids has to duck down to get into kids tents, this makes them feel bigger and more adult-like. You know how you feel when you have to duck under a short door-way or get into a tent. You feel big too. Kids play is not sophisticated. Just going in and out of kids tents is lots of fun for them. It mayseem repetitive and boring to us adults sometimes, but that’s because we’ve done it before. It’s new to a kid and exciting. Kids make up their own games with kids tents. They go in and out of secret tunnels and do lots of pretending. Try pitching kids tents under your deck or in the middle of a play ground or even your garden. Your child will soon turn that kids tent into a jungle shack or forest den. Get your child a “Fun Zone with Tunnel Hole” tent from Pacific Play tents and you’ll see what I mean. You can set it up inside or outside and your child will play in this tent for hours asit will be their very own fun zone.
Your camping gear needs to include something to store your clothes in. It’s likely you have one or more suit cases or suit bags in your home if you do any kind of traveling. A suit case works great for storing clothes if you are traveling to a hotel or to the home of a friend or family member and need your clothes kept neat and 
wrinkle free. But when you go camping, you normally don’t need to keep your clothes pressed and you seldom bring dress clothes. Therefore, a duffel bag is normally a better choice for storing your camping clothes.
Multiple suit cases can also get kind of bulky in the tent. However, you can stuff lots of leisure clothes into a duffel bag and keep the clothes more easily accessible as well. I can’t count the number of times I have used my duffel bag as a pillow when camping. Just put a towel or some of your clothes on top of the duffel bag and use you own body heat to keep them warm for use in the morning. Some duffel bags are also water proof and will ensure your clothes are kept dry over night. I recommend you get one or more duffel bags and add them to your camping gear. Consider a medium sized duffel bag for short camping trips and a large duffel bag for longer trips. I recommend the Browning Salt Creek Duffel bag which is available in medium and large and has a big main compartment, two end pockets and one rear pocket. The pockets can be used for underwear, socks and toiletries. The big main compartment can be used for shirts, shorts, pants etc.