This weekend a few of us NWI INGO member's went camping with our sons and here is a bit of what I learned being a newbie camping.
1) Lanterns are best suit for not being moved around, use a small flashlight if you have to move around at night.
2) Duct tape is a godsend when you break a lantern to get it to work again (sort of).
3) A tent fan is a great idea to ensure you don't end up with condensation on the inside of the tent. It won't help much with keeping you cool but does move the air around. Bought this one (Coleman - Lighted Tent Fan - CPX? 6) for $32 and it was the BEST investment for this trip.
4) A simple foam mat feels oh so good at the end of the night when you are dead tired. Better than sleeping on the ground of the tent.
5) Camping is a miserable humid dirty experience but I would have it no other way. It makes you really appreciate the comforts of modern life once you get back home. (speaking as a suburbs person)
6) Baby wipes, Baby wipes, baby wipes... (Outhouse is something else!)
7) A vest with a zillion pockets is a keeper to ensure you have room for all your stuff on the go (wipes, flashlights, etc...)
8) Ear plugs at night = good sleep. They really help tune out all the animals and bug noises.
9) Father/Son time while camping is precisions even if it did rain, we were hot, sweating like pigs and dirty.
10) Water (even when warm) is the best thing on earth when it's hot and humid. All the cold pop, kool-aid, etc. in the world is meaningless. We had cold pop, cold kool-aid and yet we drank water the majority of the time while there.
11) The Zero Goal lighthouse lantern will charge a smartphone via it's USB port (Lighthouse Lantern | GOAL ZERO) PROVIDED the smartphone has at least some charge. If the phone is dead (0% battery) then the lantern just like the USB off a PC will NOT have enough 'juice' to jump start the phone. So make sure you don't get below 5% before you charge it otherwise it will not work.
1) Lanterns are best suit for not being moved around, use a small flashlight if you have to move around at night.
2) Duct tape is a godsend when you break a lantern to get it to work again (sort of).
3) A tent fan is a great idea to ensure you don't end up with condensation on the inside of the tent. It won't help much with keeping you cool but does move the air around. Bought this one (Coleman - Lighted Tent Fan - CPX? 6) for $32 and it was the BEST investment for this trip.
4) A simple foam mat feels oh so good at the end of the night when you are dead tired. Better than sleeping on the ground of the tent.
5) Camping is a miserable humid dirty experience but I would have it no other way. It makes you really appreciate the comforts of modern life once you get back home. (speaking as a suburbs person)
6) Baby wipes, Baby wipes, baby wipes... (Outhouse is something else!)
7) A vest with a zillion pockets is a keeper to ensure you have room for all your stuff on the go (wipes, flashlights, etc...)
8) Ear plugs at night = good sleep. They really help tune out all the animals and bug noises.
9) Father/Son time while camping is precisions even if it did rain, we were hot, sweating like pigs and dirty.
10) Water (even when warm) is the best thing on earth when it's hot and humid. All the cold pop, kool-aid, etc. in the world is meaningless. We had cold pop, cold kool-aid and yet we drank water the majority of the time while there.
11) The Zero Goal lighthouse lantern will charge a smartphone via it's USB port (Lighthouse Lantern | GOAL ZERO) PROVIDED the smartphone has at least some charge. If the phone is dead (0% battery) then the lantern just like the USB off a PC will NOT have enough 'juice' to jump start the phone. So make sure you don't get below 5% before you charge it otherwise it will not work.