Camping is a fun sport and can be very adventurous.
In today’s day and age, camping is mostly done in campers and “rouging it” is
now defined as not having an air conditioner. However, I consider camping to
actually be out in the sticks without the luxuries of home.
When you start out camping, it can sometimes be
overwhelming as to what to get, where to go, what to bring, etc. If you don’t
know what you’re doing, the expenses can add up and you can gain a large gear
closet trying to figure out what you need.
So, what do you need to start out? First ask
yourself a few questions. What’s the purpose of your camping? Is it to have
something to do on the weekend with the family? Are you wanting to start
backpacking? Do you want the high adventure and survival? The kind of camping
you want to do will determine what you get. Also ask yourself what kind of
camping you’re interested in. What are you comfortable sleeping in? If you want
to just go out on weekends with the family or if you have never camped before,
you may want to consider tent camping. If you are interested in backpacking and
spending a lot of time camping, you could consider a hammock. If you want the
adventure and survival feel, you could think about tarp camping. Think about
what you are comfortable in before buying. If you have a bad back and can’t
sleep on the ground, there’s ways to work around it. So just think about it
before deciding.
Now you know what kind of camping you want to
pursue. Next comes deciding what to get. I advise sticking with cheaper gear to
start out with, then move to better stuff when you decide you like it. If you
have camped before and kind of know what you’re doing, you may know a little
more about what you want.
If you go with a tent, you have endless options. Tents
come in all shapes and sizes for different climates. If you are planning on
just having something for casual camping with the family on weekends, you can
just run to Wal Mart and get an Ozark Trail or Coleman brand. I recommend
staying with those two brands. There’s many others, but some are junk and won’t
last.
If you are planning on backpacking, you want a
smaller, lightweight tent. This can start to get pricey. The brands that make
lightweight backpacking tents can charge quite a bit. Ozark Trail does make a
small, lightweight that is reasonably priced. Big Agnes, Eureka!, and Hilleberg
are great brands, but again, you will pay a small fortune for some of these.
When deciding on what size to get, try to stick to a
general rule. Tents are rated at their sleeping capacity. However, I recommend getting
a tent that holds one more person than you are planning on having. For example,
if there’s two of you camping, get a three person tent. This gives you some wiggle
room and allows room for gear.
If you are looking at hammock camping, you may have
a fewer options than with tent camping. There aren’t a whole lot of brands that
make camping hammocks and the ones that do, don’t make twelve different styles.
Hammocks are different from tents in the regard that you don’t have cheaper
brands and expensive brands. If you want a comfortable hammock to sleep in, try
to stick with ENO, Hennessy, or Hammock Bliss. They are the better hammocks
that are comfortable and that will last a while. Most hammocks are customizable
so you can essentially get a setup that you want. You can get one brand that
you find comfortable, but a tarp from another brand that you like better. You can
mix things up to make a custom hammock.
Tarp camping is a little different. You aren’t
sleeping in a well established shelter and away from the elements. Imagine
taking a tarp, making a floor, then draping one over a ridgeline. That’s
essentially it. You are under a single tarp. That’s why I urge you to not go
with that unless you are adventurous like me or like survival type stuff. The
upside is price. Tarp camping is the cheapest because all you buy is a tarp,
rope, and stakes. You can use a regular utility tarp from a hardware store, to a
couple hundred dollar tarp from a good brand. Hilleberg makes great tarps
designed for just tarp camping, but they are very expensive. If you want a tarp
that’s easy to set up, you can simply buy a hammock tarp. Some good hammock
tarps only run $20.
OK. So you have your shelter. What next? You need
something to sleep in. You probably already have a sleeping bag, so you’re
halfway there! I recommend looking at the temperature rating on your bag. Every
time I buy a sleeping bag, I look for a specific temperature rating. Assess what
temperature you may be sleeping in, then get a bag that is rated for about 10
degrees colder. This gives you some room there in case it gets colder. Deciding
on whether to get a down or synthetic bag is totally up to you. I recommend
looking at my previous post (Down vs. Synthetic). Like tents, there are several
brands out there that make sleeping bags. If you want a good brand, I would get
Big Agnes, Slumberjack, or North Face. There are other good brands out there
and Ozark Trail makes some good, cheaper ones as well.
To compliment the sleeping bag, consider a sleeping
pad. This is also preference. Some people like sleeping on the ground, other
can’t tolerate it. I don’t have a whole lot of experience in these because by
time I started to get into them, I went to hammock camping and haven’t used a
sleeping pad since. I do know that an air mattress is much better than foam.
Foam sleeping pads are great for insulating, but air mattresses are much more
comfortable. Again, what kind of camping are doing? If you are with the family,
you can get large, queen sized air mattresses. You can also get compact
backpacking ones. If you get a backpacking one, decide what style works for
you. There are different shapes and sizes and some have different contours than
others. If you get Big Agnes, you can match the pad with the sleeping bag and the pad will slide into a slot on the sleeping bag. But again you have to buy all Big Agnes to do that and it gets expensive.
We now have what we need to sleep, but what next? Well,
there’s some essentials for camping, whether you’re camping on the weekend or
backpacking. I will only give you what’s essential. There are so many options
out there that you can get and other cool gadget. There are some things you can
get that, in my opinion, start to add luxuries and take away from the camping
experience.
If you are camping overnight, more than likely you
will be cooking. Therefore, you need cooking gear. If you’re getting into
backpacking, refer to my previous post “My Gear List for Backpacking”. If you
aren’t backpacking, you will probably be cooking over a fire and not with an
ultralight camp stove. A lot of people just take hog dogs camping and cook them
on the end of a skewer. But if you want to actually cook something, you need
some extra stuff. A skillet is a good thing to have. When not backpacking, I
like using cast iron. You may also need a cook pot. You can find some smaller
ones at Wal Mart that work just fine. Of course, you can’t forget the most
important thing: a stainless steel coffee kettle. In addition to all these
things, you need something to hold these utensils over the fire. You can get a
stainless steel wire grate that goes over the fire. These work great, but I
prefer to use cast iron. Don’t forget the essentials such as silverware and
other utensils you may need for cooking. Of course, when backpacking, you
really condense these down.
In addition to all you need, there are some things
that do make life easier. Flashlights are important for the obvious reasons. You
can also add in some camping chairs, lanterns, toilet paper, trash bags, wipes, paper towels, and folding tables. This is not
a comprehensive list of what you need, just the essentials. Now that you have
what you need, it’s time to find a camping spot.
(stay tuned for part 2)
