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Basic camping equipment suggestions?

Belisarius

Belisarius

Bluelighter
Joined
Dec 13, 1999
Messages
11,027
Location
San Antonio, Texas
I'm thinking about spending at least some of Spring Break camping in Big Bend. I've never really camped before, though, outside of those places with yuppie-ish sheds with screen doors and public showers within walking distance. With that in mind, what kind of equipment or supplies would you all recommend for a beginner, outside of the obvious (tent, sleeping bag, backpack, water bottle, food)?

Thanks in advance!
 
are you car camping or hiking to your camping spot?

some stuff I would recommend regardless:

- lighter or matches
- some kind of kindling or firestarter, buy firewood at the place or gather some if its dry (are you allowed to have campfires in big bend? idk)
- flashlight or headlamp
- socks
- water
- map or compass
- medicine/first aid kit with just the essentials
- a "poop" kit lmao.... but for real. in a ziploc shove some toilet paper, tissues, and hand sanitizer if u want it)
- trail mix
- something to keep you dry if it rains (like a tarp)

Have fun! Big Bend sounds super sweet! Ive never been there before. Any ideas of what kinda stuff you're gonna do there?
 
I would suggest a good way of determining what you will need is to go about your average day and then try to equate that to a camping scenario.

Add the fact that weather, insects other people and who knows what other variables can then impact on your day.

ie you get up in the morning and probably have some breaky consisting of a cereal and toast. How are you going to keep the milk cool, where you going to keep it without the bottle breaking. How will you make the toast? What if its raining when you wake up?

After breaky you need to take a dump..............is there a proper toilet there or is it wilderness? how do you plan to dig a hole etc if its wilderness.

And so on and so on and so on.

Also spend time considering what you will be doing and how to make your experience as enjoyable, comfortable and fullfilling as possible?

That time you just spent on the internet............what will fill that time period while you are away.



So basically just go about your normal day and take notes and think things through and try and place yourself in the situation before you get ther5e so you have a chance of planning for possible situations that may arise.

I probably spend about 2-3 months of the year camping somewhere and with experience I tend to now be able to camp very comfortably in almost all weather conditions and situations. I tend to camp in rugged places where I will be totally alone other than my dogs or with my family and sometimes friends. There are absolutely no facilities where I camp so I pretty much take everything.

My favourite bit of camping gear is a portable hot water system so that I can have a hot shower each night. I always camp next to running water so water is never an issue. Why is it so special to me? Its just a really cool feeling to get rid of the outdoors ghrime which is much more than normal and feel refreshed.............plus showering in the open for the entire world of bugs and cows and snakes and roos to see is just awesome..............except when ther Kookaburras laugh at my weener...........lol.
one other thing. Do not underestimate the importance and value of a good nights sleep. It makes and breaks everything. One bad night sets you up for grumpy and stressed out the following day.
Ensure you are going to be 100% comfortable at night.
If its likely to be cold at night then do not use an air mattress as it will make it even colder for you as there is no insulation from the ground. Air beds are only of value in warm weather.
If it is cold then ensure you have a close celled mattress to p[rovide plenty of insulation. The thinner it is the greater the importance of ensuring a smooth ground underneath and always select a very level area that is not in danger of overhead branches coming down in a storm or likely to be a waterway if it rains.
 
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Something to consider: animals. If youre packing in, bring a drawstring bag or some rope to tie food up in a tree at night. Ive learned this lesson the hard way, even in kentucky (an area that was not bear country) and all my food was ransacked the next morning by raccoons. Dont keep food in your tent! Its fine while youre hiking but not when youre sleeping
 
Everything already stated is great advice. The one thing I find most valuable on top of that is a quality LED water resistant lantern. I can't even count the number of times I've been camping with friends and they've borrowed it, as it trumps their weak light source, as it actually puts off enough luminescence to see well on uneven terrain.
 
are we talking wilderness camping or camp ground camping? both requier a different approach.

If you are at a camp ground you may want a camp stove, cooler full of food, air matris, radio....things that would be too cumbersome in a wilderness setting. are you going to be campnig far from you vehical or without one? that limits you to what you can carrie on your back...and believe me, that aint very much. bed roll, knife, hachet, enough water for the time you are out there.

water is heavy as shit! 2 days = 2 gallons of water at about 8 pounds each. more days means more water. food requiers ice and that reqiers a cooler. more stuff to carry and more weight. If you have never carried wieght around on your back in the woods you will soon learn that after walking about 200 yards, 30 lbs feels like 150lbs. just to be comfortable you will need about 60 lbs of gear alone and thats not including food or water.

my best suggestion is to do a "test camp" where you are close enough to your vehical to bug out to the store when you realize you need somehting and you can make multiple trips back and forth so you don't have to carrie it all at once.

you will need a tent and something to keep you off the ground while you sleep. the earth sucks the warmth right out of your body and you will get really cold without it.
fire starting kit ( lighter and news paper or 9V batery and steal wool...ect)
a cover for warmth and a cover for rain
water and food (or a means to pureify water and catch/kill your own food)
some sort of light (flash light or lantern)

This is the bare minimum and its going to be 20-30 lbs of weight to carrie depending on the amount of food and how big your tent is. for most this will not be a fun experience. I love to do it because I have the skills to do it and think it is fun...most people wouldn't last a day IMO.

To make it a more enjoyable experience you will need a cooler of food, drinks, snacks and a means to prepare it like pots and pans or scewers, a camp stove, an open fire grill st up...ect. you will need a chair, your own fierwood, and something to pass the time. bug repellant is a must!!

gathering your own wood is an option but you would be surprize how hard it is and you will burn it up much faster than you think. you will need 2-3 times as much "tree litter" fire wood as you would seasoned and split logs.

primitive wilderness camping is great fun but its not for everyone and alot of people make the mistake of saying "it will be great...me in a tent, under the stars, a little fire...what could go wrong"...they end up cold and hungry and bored out of their wits until they trek back to the car in the dark and drive to Best Western.
 
Re Euphoria:
I'll be driving out there. Any way you slice, I'm going to scope out the place first. Good suggestion on starting "yuppie"-ish and working my way up. ;)

For the record, they don't allow open flames, so it looks like the camp stove is a must...

Thank you all for your advice! :)
 
Ohh Matt2012 you sound like you have similar skills to myself and would probably appreciate the types of places I camp.
I will be honest, I tend to camp very comfortable nowadays but thats what happens when you get into your 50s. I only camp where I can get the truck to nowadays but always where its a wilderness area that very few people know about.
There is rarely if ever any phone coverage which is great and we can camp for weeks without seeing another living soul. Following a scare a few years ago I now own a sat phone just in case but thankfully have never had to use it.
I have often considered the idea of setting myself a challenge of living off the earth totally for a few weeks to a month. Actually it was a topic of conversation during a trip at christmas and I pointed out to my mate that around late Feb it would be quite easy in the area we were in as there were myriads of blackberry bushes that would be ripe about then plus ploenty of running clean water loaded with trout and opportunities for rabbit trapping.
Biggest problem for most would have been the solitude if your not used to it...........for me thats something i am very used to and actually seek.

But yeah you sound like you would be a fun person to go outback with.



Belisarious............if this is your first time then take advantage of the net and do plenty of research. Its usually stuff like weather and insects that make or break campers, well here in Australia anyways so just consider that. Here in Aus if you are camping alone or doing any sort of hiking into wilderness then its important that someone knows where you will be and that you have a plan of action in case something goes wrong such as a fall and broken leg or whatever.

Above all............have a great time. Nothing beats getting in touch with nature and sadly less and less people are doing it nowadays.
 
My list that I've compiled from last time I went camping:

tent
tent equipment
flashlight
batteries
bug spray
toilet paper
mouthwash
matches/lighters
mirror
shower towels
alarm clock
sunscreen
brush
soap
sleeping bag(s)
blanket(s)
tarp
pillows
water
garbage bags
band aids
deck of cards
camera
two tarps
can opener
table cloth
fire starter
dish soap
dish cloth
kitchen stuff
umbrella
wire clothes hangers / marshmallow sticks
beach towels
swim suit
flip flops
hat
deoderant
clothes
coat
sunglasses
toothbrush/paste
shampoo/conditioner
 
Put a tarp under your tent so that the bottom of your tent stays dry. Morning condensation will soak the bottom of the tent if you don't use one. You don't want to roll up a went tent if you can avoid it.
 
^ Welcome to bL sir! Let me know if you have any questions or there is anything I can help with. PM me link in my sig.
 
euphoria said:
Something to consider: animals. If youre packing in, bring a drawstring bag or some rope to tie food up in a tree at night. Ive learned this lesson the hard way, even in kentucky (an area that was not bear country) and all my food was ransacked the next morning by raccoons. Dont keep food in your tent! Its fine while youre hiking but not when youre sleeping
Click to expand...

I second this, and want to add you that should also remove anything with fragrance from your tent. I put all my food up in a tree once and had a bear sniffing my tent in the middle of the night because I left skin lotion in there. Scary experience. You do not want to wake up to a bear!
 
euphoria said:
Something to consider: animals. If youre packing in, bring a drawstring bag or some rope to tie food up in a tree at night. Ive learned this lesson the hard way, even in kentucky (an area that was not bear country) and all my food was ransacked the next morning by raccoons. Dont keep food in your tent! Its fine while youre hiking but not when youre sleeping
Click to expand...

This. Tie your trash and food up in a tree at night.
 
A chair. One of the great joys of the wilderness is the banter and contemplation that occurs around a campfire.
 
^chairs are bulky and hard to carry. you can sit on a large rock, dry grass or gravel, or just throw down a blanket :)

or if you have to bring a cooler (which I usually consider necessary to keep my beer cold, lol) you can just sit on your cooler!
 
Tampons (if you're female)
books
notepad
pen/pencil
ramen noodles
balance bars
instant coffee/ tea
baseball hat
sunscreen
button down shirt (lightweight)
leggings or long johns
sports bra (if you're a girl)
aloe for sunburn
bug spray
the obvious tent, sleeping bag, tarps (one for over and one for under the tent)
trail mix/ nuts and seeds
dried fruit
a watch
extra phone battery/ car charger
binoculars
tweezers, bandaids, first aid type stuff
extra plastic bags for wet clothes
clothesline for wet clothes
biodegradable soap and shampoo
canteen/ reusable water bottle
Coleman stove
sunglasses
a pair of glasses if you wear contacts

the list goes on~
 
MazDan said:
Ohh Matt2012 you sound like you have similar skills to myself and would probably appreciate the types of places I camp.
I will be honest, I tend to camp very comfortable nowadays but thats what happens when you get into your 50s. I only camp where I can get the truck to nowadays but always where its a wilderness area that very few people know about.
There is rarely if ever any phone coverage which is great and we can camp for weeks without seeing another living soul. Following a scare a few years ago I now own a sat phone just in case but thankfully have never had to use it.
I have often considered the idea of setting myself a challenge of living off the earth totally for a few weeks to a month. Actually it was a topic of conversation during a trip at christmas and I pointed out to my mate that around late Feb it would be quite easy in the area we were in as there were myriads of blackberry bushes that would be ripe about then plus ploenty of running clean water loaded with trout and opportunities for rabbit trapping.
Biggest problem for most would have been the solitude if your not used to it...........for me thats something i am very used to and actually seek.

But yeah you sound like you would be a fun person to go outback with.


Belisarious............if this is your first time then take advantage of the net and do plenty of research. Its usually stuff like weather and insects that make or break campers, well here in Australia anyways so just consider that. Here in Aus if you are camping alone or doing any sort of hiking into wilderness then its important that someone knows where you will be and that you have a plan of action in case something goes wrong such as a fall and broken leg or whatever.

Above all............have a great time. Nothing beats getting in touch with nature and sadly less and less people are doing it nowadays.
Click to expand...

I have wanted to try it for some time too....its been a long time for me since I did the primative thing. I have never set a snare in my live for rabbit :( fishing and hunting, gathering edible plants though I can do. I really love being out where you have to rely on yourself. I camp for fun mostly. there is somthing to be said for having a real shitter and clean water at a camp ground but I would love to give a real survival situation a crack sometime just to see if I could do it without S&R have to come and find me. :)

you are totally right about it being a sad thing that less people do it these days. The reason we have game to hunt is because the hunters pay for wildlife conservation via hunting licenses and game tags. the reason we have land to camp on is because people who like to do so pay for land conservation and improvements. the more people we can get to enjoy the outdoor activities the more funds will be available for keeping the forests from becoming parking lots.

The only issue I see is that you are in AUZ...I would be lost trying to find food and water there without help. we live in totally different worlds. you would totally own me out there. here in the foot hills of the Appilations I could get it done but out there...I would have to stay in the camp grounds :)
 
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