Camping Accessories
Archive for September, 2009
Inexperienced campers are prone to making mistakes until – by virtue of trial and error – they figure out what works and what doesn’t. Some newbies pack like they’re going to a faraway land for an entire month, and others leave out critical equipment and supplies. But these aren’t the only false steps taken by amateur campers. They soon learn the importance of selecting the appropriate camp site.
When hiking in high altitudes, you can’t just hammer in your tent stakes wherever you wish. Consider the wind, rain and other elements that might affect your comfort during the night. Look for a well-insulated stand of trees or a large rock outcropping and pitch your tent on the leeward side. This will keep the wind from piercing your tent in the night or blowing your supplies all over the mountain.
I was camping recently when the subject of tent floor protectors came up and it was argued that they should be placed inside the tent instead of under the floor. The argument was that if the tent floor protector was under the tent it would funnel water towards the tent floor.
The problem with this argument is that you will be tripping on the protector whenever you are in the tent. In addition if the floor is over a rock or a root there won’t be anything to protect the floor when you step on that spot. The protector should be slightly smaller than the tent to prevent it from funneling water under the tent. Camping tent accessories should be used as the manufacture intended to get the best value out of them.
In a recent article I covered what to look for in a youth’s sleeping bag. A Stansport sleeping bag called the Scout Rectangular Sleeping bag is perfect for a youth. It is made with nylon out shell to help keep it clean. The cost of the sleeping bag makes it affordable.
The Scout Rectangular probably won’t last for 20 years but when you are buying for youths that isn’t real important. The reason is when they go off to collage they will want a new one that they will take better care of. So a good sleeping bag while they are young and a better one when they will appreciate it seems like the way to go.
So your child or a child on your Christmas list needs a sleeping bag and you are trying to understand what kind. Having been around kids and their parents for years there are a few things that are fairly consistent. There are exceptions, but it is rare that their parents will allow them to sleep outside in real cold weather. Therefore the real expensive sleeping bags are a waste of money.
A youth’s camping gear will be used more often at their friend’s house and thrown on the ground or other less than clean places. Sleeping bags can be washed but every time you do wear them out a little. Keep the cost down and get them something in addition if you need to.
I recently wrote an article about a cabin tent for grandpa’s cabin. Eureka has been in business for over 100 years so they have learned a little about tents. An Eureka tent that works well for having all the grand kids at grandpa’s cabin is the Eureka! Pine Lodge. The Eurkea! Pine Lodge is a cabin style tent allowing for camp cots and people to stand while dressing.
The polyester construction means that is durable for the long periods it will be pitched. This is not a tent to be taken on most camping trips since the weight is more than you would want to carry a long distance. The exception is if you have a SUV and can drive right to the site. If you need a tent heater there would be room and still have room to sleep.
There are times you need a special tent for special occasions. A Christmas gift that will get a lot of use is a camping tent that will hold up to a lot of abuse. The type of camping tent to buy depends on its intended use. One special situation is a tent that works great at grandpa’s cabin when all the grandkids or great grandkids are there.
The tent needs to hold a lot of people and take abuse. A cabin tent works best since it allows people to stand up and use camp cots if needed. Weight of the tent isn’t a big consideration since it would be stored close to the site it is pitched or taken to the site in a vehicle. A cabin tent needs to be durable since it might be pitched in the same location for weeks.
The one necessity for everyone no matter who you are is water. Water purification comes in several forms. One type is adding chemicals to your water to kill the bacteria or viruses that might be in the water. Since I don’t like consuming chemicals if I don’t have to, I prefer a water filter when faced with unknown water quality,
A Katadyn water filter is used by the U.S. military to filter water when they send troops to remote areas. A Katadyn water filter uses ceramic and pleated microfiltration to purify the water. Water from lakes or streams may look and smell great but in recent times more and more residue from our life style makes it into our water. It makes sense to filter it.
Cooking over an open fire is always easy and we don’t always stay in public campgrounds with grills. Even when we do the grill isn’t always easy to have a pan over the fire. That is one reason campers use camping stoves. A great Christmas idea that is an alternative to a camping stove is a camp grill.
Build your fire and after it is going good put this over the fire. Put your pans on this and let the fire cook your food. Many campers don’t think of this when buying camping supplies so a camp grill is something that will be remembered as a great gift. Just be careful when building the fire so it won’t be too big.
An Eagles nest hammock as a Christmas gift is a wonderful idea for the person who will take it on vacation. The big reason it works great on vacation is it packs into the size of a grapefruit. Take along some rope and you can tie it to a tree high above the ground.
Imagine being in a hammock in the shade of a tree overlooking a beach. While most people are baking in the sun your gift recipient will be out of the way of bugs and kids playing games. The money they save by not going to tourist traps will be a gift that keeps on giving. Actually I suggest a double in case the opportunity to rekindle a romance is there.
Buying an adult Christmas gifts is always a challenge since most adults are in position to buy for themselves what they really want. The trick is to find something that they want but don’t get around to buying. A camping hammock fits into that category. There are several different types to get depending on the projected use.
The person who uses the hammock on camping or hiking trips needs a hammock that takes up very little space when being transported. There are hammocks that are intended to be used at home and take up a lot more storage space. Some hammocks are intended for a deck and come with their own support brackets. Be sure that the hammock is secured properly to avoid a sudden fall.