Gear

Nobody wants to be uncomfortable when they're camping—especially when trying to sleep. A sleeping bag is a standard part of any camping sleep system. It's also a vital part of staying warm and comfortable in the wild. So yes, sleeping bags are comfortable, but their...

Tents typically say how many people they can sleep, but that doesn't necessarily mean you'll be comfortable by cramming the maximum number of people in there. Ross and I have a three-person/three-season tent for this exact reason. We're just two average-sized people,...

Thinking about buying a new camping tent? Or wondering how much longer your current tent will hold up? Unfortunately, tents don't last forever, and their lifespan depends on a lot of things. 4 common types of tents and their estimated lifespans Tents come in various...

Planning a beach trip and wondering if you can use your camping chairs on the sand? You're not alone! The answer is yes, you can use camping chairs on the beach, but you might have trouble keeping it stable and staying upright. It really depends on the design of the...

As someone who loves camping but also suffers from lower back pain thanks to working at a desk all day, I know that finding a comfortable sleeping surface can be a challenge. Sleeping on the ground in a tent can be a recipe for a painful night, leaving me feeling...

Have you ever gone camping and had something unexpected happen? Maybe your tent was damaged in a wind storm, or your camping stove malfunctioned, leaving you without a way to cook your meals. These situations can be frustrating and even dangerous—especially if you're...

A camping trip is guaranteed to leave you feeling a little grimy. And if you're camping in hot summer weather, the sweat from your scalp can leave you with some pretty greasy hair—even after as little as a day. As someone who's learned to go as long as two weeks...

One of the worst parts about camping is that you can't always guarantee a good night's sleep. If you already suffer from back pain, the idea of going camping can seem daunting. But it doesn't have to be. What the science says about camping mattresses and back pain At...

Camping stoves are great for cooking or boiling water while enjoying the great outdoors, but what about indoors? Ross and I pondered this once when our power went out right before dinner. "We can still make food with our camping stove!" I said to him. We had a...

Sleeping bag liners are an optional piece of sleep gear that can be added to a sleeping bag. They basically look like a thin sheet of fabric in the same shape of a sleeping bag so that they can fit right inside. Once placed inside your sleeping bag, you can get in and...

Camping gear can be expensive. If you're planning to camp on a budget, you'll want to know when the best time of year to buy camping gear is, and ideally when it goes on sale. Elise and I have spent far more money on gear than we'd like to admit, but we've gotten...

You might already know about four-season tents, but what in the world is a five-season tent? Five-season tents, explained A five-season tent is basically designed to withstand more extreme winter weather conditions than a four-season tent. Four-season tents are ideal...

For most people who get into camping, one of the first things to figure out is a tent and sleep system But understanding the difference between a three-season vs. four-season tent can be confusing when you start getting into the details. What is a 3-season tent vs. a...

You’ve heard of three-season tents… but what is a four-season tent? And do you really need one? “Four-season” suggests that it can be used no matter what time of the year it is. But what does that actually mean? What makes a tent 4-season? A four-season tent is...

There are lots of different tents out there. If you’ve been led to believe that you need a three-season tent for your camping trips, you may be wondering… what is a three-season tent, anyway? The term implies that it can be used for three out of the four...

People who love camping never have enough gear (or so they say), which is the perfect opportunity to explore some super funny camping gifts that are both useful and amusing. Whether you’re shopping for a birthday, the holidays, or some other special occasion, chances...

Whether you’re camping in the shoulder seasons (spring or fall), braving winter’s chill, or even just experiencing below normal temperatures in the summer, having an extra heat source in your tent can make all the difference. But is it safe to use a heater...

You know that your cold weather camping checklist is probably going to look a lot different than your summer camping checklist... But how, exactly? Honestly, it depends a lot on exactly when you’re going camping (early fall versus late spring) and where. You can still...

When Elise and I were just starting out, we had no idea how to set up a tarp for camping in the backcountry. Our tarp set-ups would always end up lopsided, with at least one loose side that we could never figure out how to keep taut. The set-up process was always such...

The first time Elise and I went on a canoe camping trip, we didn’t even know what a canoe camping food barrel was. We did, however, notice several other canoe campers carrying them. We didn’t even have waterproof packs. Needless to say, everything got soaked once...