Camping Essentials

When venturing out into the wild unknown for a camping trip, making sure you are well prepared can be vital to your survival. Although most of those who camp often recommend packing light, we recommend packing smart. That means, taking all the tools you think you might possibly need, but yet not bringing the whole house with you. Luckily, camping tools have evolved significantly over the last two decades allowing us to carry more while carrying less.  Almost all avid campers would agree that brining with a source of fire, a multi-tool, and some sort of navigational device is vital to camping survival.

A fire source is of utmost importance when heading into any woods. Not only will fire keep you warm through the night, if you get stranded in the wilderness, but it can also function as a signaling device if you are ever lost. Furthermore, you are likely to need fire to cook whatever food you have brought with, or scavenged from the land.

The easiest, most convenient and transportable of any fire source is of course, a lighter. However, lighters can be troublesome in wet and windy environments. Not to mention, all lighters will eventually run out of fuel, so having a source of fire that has longevity and uses in all environments is an important consideration to make. Those that camp avidly and particularly the individuals interested in survival training always carry a secondary fire source, assuming they are carrying a lighter. Flint is the most common alternative, and this comes in many shapes, sizes and devices now days. However, the principle remains, by striking a flint stick, a spark is created, and thus fire. There are now even tools that can help to make the old style bow drill, but we feel if you’re carrying a manual fire source, it might as well be a flint kit.

If nothing else, even aside from a fire source and a navigational device, almost all survivalist and campers never even leave the house without a knife or multi-tool. Originally, knives or unique pocket knives were carried, but because multi-tools have become so transportable, they make sense to be carried and prepared for more with the same size pocket real estate. Multi-tools now come in all shape, sizes, tool assortments and functionality. Some tools are certainly more suited for specific individuals, specifically those that have tactical interest. For many of our campers, a standard multi-tool will usually do the job. However we recommend checking out best multi-tool to find the best multi-tool to fit your needs.

The navigational device has become common place in almost everyone’s pocket these days. Almost all smart phones now come equipped with a map or at the very least a compass. We have grown to take these for granted. It has become so easy to punch in an address or coordinate, press navigate and you are on your merry way. However, phone reception can be a common issue at many camping sites across the globe. That is, you will not have service and therefore no map! Oh my, I know its hard to believe, but it does happen.  Learning to use a compass and use a map should be on the top of priorities of any camper. It is shocking how many people cannot use a standard map, let alone utilizing a compass along with it. Although, the idea of using a map/compass combo seems straightforward to most, understanding how to properly utilize (especially in the woods with no reference point) it is a different story. There are many make and models of compasses and maps, but the functionality of them all remains the same. Of course, with the advent of technology, many corporations such as Garmin have done this work for us. This is an alternative to a map/compass but it should be considered that GPS devices still have to “acquire satellites” and batteries can and will die at the worst possible time.

Some of the shortest plan camping trips can turn into a long lost journey in the wilderness. Ensuring that you are best prepared for such an event can be vital to your survival. Of course, the principle of more tools is always better; this just may not be practical. Carrying at least the bare minimum of a fire source, multi-tool/knife and a navigational device will help to make your journey into the wilderness safer and hopefully a lot more enjoyable.