Camping is one of the most popular and adventurous trips that you can take part in with pretty much anyone including friends and family.
While the scenic beauty and closeness to nature is an experience to remember, there are also things that make this experience unpleasant. Moving to the wild is never easy after living a comfortable life in the civilized parts of the world.
However, there are a few portables you can have with you that makes the bad parts of the experience at least manageable.
Here are 5 things you should have on your list for your next camping experience to be much better.
1. Camping cooler
This is probably the biggest essential in terms of food and drinks. If you want to have something cold, there is no natural way for you to do it.
Unlike lighting fires and heating something up, the only way to keep something cold is to have a portable cooler. A camping cooler comes in the shape of a box with multiple thick insulating layers around it.
The ice inside will remain solid for long periods of time keeping all the ingredients inside at a very low temperature.
A small but clever trick is to use bigger ice blocks instead of small tray cubes as the bigger size will make them melt much slower. Also, keep draining the melted water outside as the water will make the remaining ice melt faster.
2. Camping mattress
Good sleep is extremely important when you go out camping as you will have more than the usual amount of physical strain on your body. And nothing ensures this more than a good mattress. You can choose between different types of mattresses like closed foam, air, and self-inflating.
All of these have their own pros, cons, and separate price ranges. But you should test them out and see what feels the most comfortable to you.
Get something with a softer and more comfortable material but also something with good insulation so that your body heat doesn’t escape outside and you end up feeling cold.
3. Medicine kit
Safety should always be your primary concern especially when you’re going so far away from the general society. So, make sure you pack a proper medical kit with all the essentials. Some antiseptic creams, different bandages, scissors, safety pins, knife, and sanitizers are a must.
Also, if one of your camping partners has allergies, make sure to pack medicine for any possible allergic reactions. Energy drinks will also help a lot as fainting is not that uncommon during longer camping trips.
4. Navigation equipment
The worst thing that is most likely to happen during a camping trip is getting lost. Since you have limited resources, it’s extremely hard to survive in the wild. And finding your way back on your own could be almost impossible unless you’re trained in navigating such terrains.
Even if you have your cell phone with you, you might not always have access to GPS signals when you go camping.
So, bringing along a compass and a detailed map of the area is very important. You should also learn to use them properly if you haven’t already.
5. Food and nutrition
You can’t expect to find edible food everywhere in the open. Sure, there might be a lot scattered around but you can never be sure if the fruit you just found is nonpoisonous.
You should take along nutrient and vitamin-rich food instead of just the tasty options. These nutrients and vitamins are what keep your immune system going and if you catch some kind of virus along the way, you need your body to be in proper condition to fight it off.
Clean water is also something you must carry enough of. You will usually not have problems finding places to refill, but still having enough quantity will bring down the risks of dehydration by a large amount.
Camping can definitely be fun. But there is also a potential for a lot to go wrong very quickly. So, making sure you have everything you need to have before leaving should be your top priority.
These 5 things that you should have on your list for your next camping experience will hopefully make it not just safer but also a lot more comfortable.
