What's your best tip or hack for camping?
-
If you're out bike touring, KOAs almost always have spots set aside for cyclists to camp. Both KOAs and state parks are really useful for showers and clothes washing. Was genuinely surprised how many state parks had both when I toured across the U.S.
If you're in Washington state, the state parks are legally required to find room for you to camp if you rolll up on a bike and they're otherwise full.
That's great info about KOA and Washington State!
Love staying at state parks on bikepacking trips, the warm showers are always a lifesaver.
-
Any kind–drive-up camping, backpacking, RV camping, in the woods, at the beach, in a shelter, let's hear it all.
Put on some John Waters movies and load the karaoke machine with lots of Cher and Elton John.
-
Get the good shit! If its less than 40% DEET it ain't worth a damn.
This. You need high conectration deet or icardin, and you need to basically rub it all over your exposed skin and clothes. Then it works quite ok.
The best method is to apply bug spray and make sure someone else in your camp does not use bug spray. I swear the fuckers take the path of least resistance.
-
Any kind–drive-up camping, backpacking, RV camping, in the woods, at the beach, in a shelter, let's hear it all.
Headtorch.
-
Be prepared
Counter argument: be unprepared and ready to improvise. I swear half the fun is just zip-tieing random stuff together late at night in the light of your phone torch.
-
Any kind–drive-up camping, backpacking, RV camping, in the woods, at the beach, in a shelter, let's hear it all.
Coffee. If you are a coffee drinker, get a way to make half-decent coffee.
Or tea, or hot chocolate if you hate caffeine. Nothing beats the feeling of a hot cup of something after a short, noisy, miserable night.
-
Any kind–drive-up camping, backpacking, RV camping, in the woods, at the beach, in a shelter, let's hear it all.
Get some sort of 5 gallon jug that has an on off valve for water. Helps if you want to wash hands or balls
-
Coffee. If you are a coffee drinker, get a way to make half-decent coffee.
Or tea, or hot chocolate if you hate caffeine. Nothing beats the feeling of a hot cup of something after a short, noisy, miserable night.
For the coffee drinkers: https://velo-orange.com/products/soto-helix-coffee-maker?keyword=coffee. We use these as daily drivers with a really good manual coffee grinder. Added bonus: our coffee can be about the same as we get at home.
-
Coffee. If you are a coffee drinker, get a way to make half-decent coffee.
Or tea, or hot chocolate if you hate caffeine. Nothing beats the feeling of a hot cup of something after a short, noisy, miserable night.
What's your go-to brew method for camping? I find the Aeropress tough to beat.
Although my favourite camping coffee memories are with my parents' beat-up old moka pot and pre-ground beans from the grocery store. I love me a good cup of coffee, but sometimes the best cup isn't about the beans or the brew. It's about the time, space, and people you share it with. Some of my all-time favourite cups of coffee came out of that piece of crap moka pot.
-
If you're in bear country, you want to hang your food high from a tree branch. Not right next to the trunk, bears can climb like squirrels. It's really amazing how fast they can climb a tree.
Also hang toiletries; don't keep toothpaste or anything scented in the tent with you.
That will work in some regions. In others you may need to rent a bear canister. Talk to your local rangers to find out what's appropriate, it depends on the local bears.
-
What's your go-to brew method for camping? I find the Aeropress tough to beat.
Although my favourite camping coffee memories are with my parents' beat-up old moka pot and pre-ground beans from the grocery store. I love me a good cup of coffee, but sometimes the best cup isn't about the beans or the brew. It's about the time, space, and people you share it with. Some of my all-time favourite cups of coffee came out of that piece of crap moka pot.
wrote on last edited by [email protected]Mine is a small mokka/Turkish coffee pot with a removable handle. On a recent trip, someone bought a portable espresso thingy and it was a really nice alternative to the bottom-of-the-shelf cheap instant coffee we had otherwise. But to be honest, non-terrible instant coffee is fine for me, just don't get the ultra cheap crap.
At the end (or rather beginning) of the day I settle for "hot, caffeinated, does not make me want to spit it out". I'd rather drink the shitty cheapest possible instant coffee on a cool trip with nice people than the other way round.
-
Any kind–drive-up camping, backpacking, RV camping, in the woods, at the beach, in a shelter, let's hear it all.
Tarps are your friends. Obviously get the footprint sized ones for your tent but bring extras. I like to have one in front of my tent for shoes and things to keep it cleaning going in and out. Or I like to use it to change on if my tent is too small. Great to throw over or wrap things to avoid the dew in the morning. Got to bring a tarp
-
Any kind–drive-up camping, backpacking, RV camping, in the woods, at the beach, in a shelter, let's hear it all.
wrote on last edited by [email protected]That most camping gear is horrendously expensive and over engineered.
Get old and used gear, repair things, and make your own if you can.
A good bug net and a tarp are going to be just as effective as a modern tent, and breathe better.
For a backpack, those old aluminum a-frame packs are so easy to repair, and you can clip/tie things to the frame.
-
Tarps are your friends. Obviously get the footprint sized ones for your tent but bring extras. I like to have one in front of my tent for shoes and things to keep it cleaning going in and out. Or I like to use it to change on if my tent is too small. Great to throw over or wrap things to avoid the dew in the morning. Got to bring a tarp
Plus you don't have to even buy the manufacturer's special ground tarp for your tent. I picked up a huuuge tarp at a yard sale for like $5. And cut a footprint-size piece for my tent and had oceans of tarp left over for other camping and household uses.
-
Headtorch.
Instructions unclear. Applied fire directly to forehead.
-
Any kind–drive-up camping, backpacking, RV camping, in the woods, at the beach, in a shelter, let's hear it all.
Minivans and specifically the no longer made grand caravan (the ruined the design a bit with the pacifica). For two people you can do no prep camping. Throw whatever you think you might want in the back. Get to site and backup to the firepit. Throw all the stuff you brought in the driver and passenger seat and open the back. If its raining you can sit on the rear seat facing backwards and the rear door gives you shelter. At night you can just sleep in the back of the van since everything you brought is now in the front seats. Because you can flip seats up and down and such you can sit as you like and easily get the sleeping room. Done some very low prep camping this way. On another note the minivan has about as good a mileage as you get from a non car.
-
Plus you don't have to even buy the manufacturer's special ground tarp for your tent. I picked up a huuuge tarp at a yard sale for like $5. And cut a footprint-size piece for my tent and had oceans of tarp left over for other camping and household uses.
Good point. I got to do that. I have one that's a little too long for my footprint. I'll have to cut it to make it exact
-
Any kind–drive-up camping, backpacking, RV camping, in the woods, at the beach, in a shelter, let's hear it all.
If you're car camping or RVing, I started bringing my tree limb shears with me camping to cut up kindling from dead branches. So much faster and easier on the shoulder than a hatchet. If they're small enough, breaking them over my knee is fine, but I sometimes find good thick ones and I can't break that sucker down without a sharp tool.
Bring a bucket. Buckets are useful. I have 2 different collapsible kinds, but I also keep a good ol 5 gal paint bucket from the hardware store. It carries wood, water, is a trashcan, can be a seat, used to wash clothes or dishes, can be used as a toilet in an emergency (ideally with a trash bag liner and some kitty litter)...I love buckets.
Use a pill organizer to bring a variety of cooking spices in a tidy lightweight caddy.
Have a good first aid kit always.
-
HARD DISAGREE! I fucking love camping in the winter, as there's nothing worse than waking up in the middle of the night hot asf.
The whiney southerners unable to take a simple 40° night was my least favorite part of scouting. Clowns crying whilst I curled up in a snowbank. Losers!
Half-Jokes aside, I grew up cold and have a monstrous tolerance, but winter camping is often great, build the fire high, and find your Sisu!
My slightly littler cousin doesn't appreciate the cold so much, so she also wraps herself in tomorrow's clothes, good call
I had winter camping every year in scouts. We two subzero night in a quinzhee hut one year. It was awesome. We did the old boiling water in a nalgene water bottle in our sleeping bag before bed and slept great in the cold. Great memory
-
I just pack an eye mask
I keep losing my eyemasks.
I started lightly tying a bandana around my eyes. It works great! I always have a bandana around. Not sure why they can manage to stay unlost but my eyemasks can't. I look like I'm headed to the firing squad, lol, but I need it to be dark to sleep.
