Camping Essentials

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)

Gear Review: ENO hammock and accessories

Spring is coming on fast and everyone is getting back in the groove of weekend camping trips and weeklong backpacking trips!

I previously did a review on the Hennessy scout hammock. But recently I got a new hammock system called the Onelink! 

Eagles Nest Outfitters (aka ENO) makes great hammocks that are a little easier on your bank account and just as fun as a Hennessy. ENO hammocks are different than Hennessy in the sense of their customizability. When you buy an ENO, you buy everything seperately, even the straps. Even though it can be a headache to find everything you want, you can really customize what exactly you want in your system. 

I got what's called a Onelink. This is ENOs only system that is fully put together. It includes the hammock, straps, bug net, tarp, and stakes. I'll talk about each one in this review along with a few other things I added in. 

First off, let's compare size. The Onelink fits into an included durable stuff sack. When all packed up, it's about the size of an average backpacking tent. Compared to the Hennessy Scout, it's a little bigger, however in the picture, I have another tarp in the bag which makes it a little bigger. 

Everything included in the Onelink. 

With the added tarp. 

The Onelink compared to the underquilt. 

A full ENO set. 

So first, let's look at straps. ENO has 2 kinds of straps. The slap straps and atlas straps. The Onelink comes with slap straps, but they accidentally sent atlas straps instead :). I prefer the atlas straps because they are simple and make it easy to adjust tension. When you look at the picture, you can see the atlas straps are much longer than the Hennessy straps, about 9 feet long. They are almost set up like a daisy chain and you clip the harness into the loops to adjust the tension. 

The orange you see is reenforced threads to keep the straps from stretching. They are a little narrower than I expected but they work amazingly well. You could actually use these straps with Hennessy hammocks too and I suggest that if you go with Hennessy, get atlas straps as well. 

When rolled up, both straps fit into a stuff sack a bit smaller than the stake bag. 

Next, let's look at the hammock itself. The hammocks come in a large variety of color so you can get what you like. Unlike Hennessy, ENO does not have snakeskins, but then again this hammock doesn't really need them. The hammock itself is very lightweight and comes in a stuff sack that's just a little bigger than my hand. It's so lightweight that you can drape it over a shoulder to keep it off the ground. 

The stuff sack is actually built-in to the hammock and doubles as a gear pocket to hold snacks, phone, etc. 

Because the hammock is lightweight and thin, it feels weak, but is actually the opposite. At first it may feel like you need to be gentle, but you get used to it. All the hammocks are triple stitched for strength. The single nest and doublenest both hold up to 400 lbs.

The Onelink has the option of 3 different hammocks: pronest, single nest, and doublenest. The pronest is the smallest and lightest so I would recommend it only for children. I have the single nest which is a slim hammock made for smaller adults. It fits me perfectly, but if you're close to 6 feet, get the doublenest. The double nest adds a foot in width and is a little longer. If you're smaller and want a hammock you can wrap around yourself to act as a windbreak, the doublenest is for you.  

It is very comfortable and you can sleep in it about any way you want and you can sit in it sideways as a chair. 

Setting the hammock up is very simple. The hammock has a carabiner on each end. This one came with aluminum carabiners but you can get steel ones. The carabiner just hooks into the loops on the straps. Try to use the same loop on both straps to keep the weight even. If you decide to leave the hammock a little loose, the tension will be more on the sides of the hammock. If you tighten it, the tension will be more in the middle. 

Ok, so now let's look at the Gaurdian bug net. I'm actually happy with how this net sets up. Like the hammock, the bug net has a built-in stuff sack. When it's packed up, it's about the size of the hammock. 

To set it up, just unclip one side of the hammock and run it through the openings at the top of the net. Next to the carabiner on the hammock, there's a knot. Cinch up the net ABOVE the knot as shown below. This helps keep bugs from sneaking in and holds the net in place. 

After securing the ends, along the top there's clips to secure it to the included ridgeline. When I tried to set up the ridgeline, I found it was too short so I ended up using my bear bag line. If you get the net, you may want a new line. 

I've heard people say that the net feels constricting when you're in the hammock, but I do not find this to be the case. If you think it will be a problem for you, get a doublenest hammock. The netting has no-see-um technology to make it a little more invisible when you're inside. You can still see the netting, but not significantly so this helps with the claustrophobic  issue. 

The net has a zipper door on one side so you want to make sure it's on the side you want to get in on. I like to put the door on the side that's the stuff sack is on. 

Now let's look at the tarp. ENO has several tarps and there's many tarps on the market today. Most tarps are interchangeable with other hammocks. 

The Onelink comes with profly, dryfly, or fastfly. Mine came with the profly so I will show you that one. 

I am happy with this tarp. It's a larger tarp and definately keeps out the rain and wind. It's a little bigger than my Big Agnes sleeping pad rolled up. The tarp has a built in ridgeline that secures to the trees your hammock secures to. You want to secure the ridgeline right about the same height as the straps. After securing the ridgeline, the fly has a little device to allow you to tighten it as you want. It also makes it so much easier to center the tarp over the hammock. 

The lines that run to the stakes have the same device, making it easier to tighten the fly. After tightening, make sure to tie a half hitch like in the picture below to keep it from slipping (not that it slips. Just precaution). 

A small note on the lines. All the lines on the tarps and the ridgeline that comes with the net are stiff and feel like good, solid lines. However, after setting up once, I noticed the lines begin to fray and get the little "fuzzies". Simply put, the lines wear easily. So you may want to replace them with something that will last a while such as paracord. 

I also got another tarp seperately that I prefer to use called the house fly. This fly is about the size of a tent and give you almost full coverage. It's great for bad weather and winter. It sets up exactly like the profly but it almost reaches the ground (depending on how high you set it). 

The tarp is also very large so you have ample space inside. 

Like every other tarp, you can flip one side over. So if you want the open air, but also need a windbreak, you can. Or if you're camping and want to relax in the hammock, but don't want to be inside the tarp, you can have it on one side. 

The significant difference between the house fly and other tarps is the ability to close it up like a tent. There are flaps at the end the can be staked down to close the ends!

The lines that go to the stakes also have the same device as the profly. However, the flaps at the end also have buckles so you can unbuckle it to get in. 

If you want to leave the ends open, you can roll them up and and secure them with built-in buckles. 

Another difference between these 2 tarps is the amount of stakes it uses. The profly uses 4, whereas the housefly uses 8. When you get a tarp, it will not come with stakes so you have to get some. The Onelink does come with stakes however.

If you decide to get stakes, don't get ENO stakes. They aren't bad stakes, but they are short and smooth, making them easy to pull out. I have aluminum but they do make titanium that are a little longer. I set this up in moderate wind and the stakes kept pulling out. They also don't have hooks on them, only a small hole to feed the line through. It is only big enough for the lines that come on the tarp, so if you decide to replace the line, it may not fit in the stakes. As always, I recommend MSR groundhog stakes. Since the ENO stakes do come with a nice stake bag, I put all my stakes in there. 

I mentioned in a previous post about my hammock underquilt. I figured I may as well show you that too.  

I have the Vulcan underquilt which is a full length quilt made of nylon. It has primiloft insulation and you can actually get a 4 seasons that has extra primiloft. The cool thing about this quilt is the fact that it is synthetic but compresses like down!

The quilt has elastic cord that runs the whole length of the edges and has about a foot extra at each end. The extra is what clips into the carabiner (as shown in the picture below). Where the cord comes out of the quilt, there's clips to hold the quilt in place and keep it from sliding. You can use these to move the quilt along the hammock to fit how you sleep. You can also use them to cinch up the quilt to make it a torso quilt. These clips are on almost every ENO stuff sack so if one breaks, you can take one off a stuff sack to replace it. 

The quilt fits very well under the single nest. I think it would fit the doublenest but it will probably be a stretch. It really does help keep the hammock itself warm. The ends of the quilt also have elastic cord that can be tightened to keep air from flowing between it and the hammock. Just make sure the ends of the cord are tied well or they will pull out and will cost you 3 hrs of frustration trying to rethread it. 

This underquilt is only a 3 seasons quilt but I have used it in winter and it makes a significant difference. If you are going to camp in winter a lot, I would recommend upgrading to a 4 seasons instead. Overall, a great quilt. 

A little trick I like to do is put a ground cloth under my hammock to put my pack on, then cover the pack and stake it down. Since I have the house fly, I take the ground cloth and spread it out under the hammock and stake it down, making a floor. Then I set my pack on it and out of the way. I don't have to worry about the pack getting wet because the house fly covers it well. If I'm worried about dew, my pack has a rain cover I can pull out. The advantage to this is I now have a floor to stand on before getting in the hammock. I can take my boots off and set them aside, then hop in the hammock. Makes life so much easier! This setup also eliminates the need for a vestibule like tents do because you have ample space and can spread out. I recommend looking into doing this. I just use a small tarp from Wal Mart in the sporting goods section. It's a small, blue, lightweight tarp in a black mesh bag. It's the perfect size for a small tent and is great for the ground cloth in the hammock, not to mention it weighs almost nothing. 

I recommend trying ENO. I used to be biased to Hennessy until I got this. Just goes to show how much is out there and what happens when leave your comfort zone (discover you like something you never thought you would ). It is very comfortable and gives you so many options. I can use any of the flies with my Hennessy as well as the straps. Overall, a comfortable setup. 

Hope this helps in your hammock buying decision. Hang safe and see ya later.