Developing A Family Camping Gear Checklist

Going out on a camping trip with family members is a splendid moment worth preparing for. It is the perfect time to spend with the children as well as catch up with friends and romantic partners. But as exciting as a family camping trip can be, it can easily be ruined by a lack of sufficient preparation. There are so many things that can go wrong when pitching outdoors, such as unexpected weather, limited food or water, and sudden dangers and threats presented by the surroundings. These potential disruptions can be minimised and even eliminated by careful planning, and the best way to do this is to develop a family camping gear checklist.

A camping checklist can be as simple as a linear list of items needed for the camp. For large scale outdoor trips, such as a family reunion or a camp which involves multiple families, a slightly more “complicated” checklist may be needed. In such large scale camps, it is necessary for all parties involved to plan things together and integrate the plan with a “to do” checklist to make sure all items are not skipped or totally neglected.

When developing the camping gear checklist, make sure you categorize each item into several headings. Group each piece of equipment according to function, size, individual ownership, and in order of importance. Let’s go through each of these categories one by one:

1. Function. Each piece of equipment you bring must fall under a specific function or use. For example, all outdoor wear must be grouped under a single main category. The same thing should be done for tents and tent components, as well as for bags, day packs, cooking gear, and first aid medical supplies.

2. Size. It is also important to group camping gear according to their size, so that the campers will have an idea how to fit them into their bags and inside the vehicle. A lot of time is spent on arranging baggage inside the car prior to an outdoor trip, and this time can be minimized or shortened if attention is given towards planning, days before the trip.

3. Individual Ownership. In some instances, it is necessary to group the outdoor equipment according to who owns them. This helps the camping organizer or planner (usually the mother or father), to determine who among the family members already has a full set of outdoor equipment. This will help avoid last minute cramming among individual participants.

4. Order of importance. Not all the items in your checklist are equally important. Some of them, such as medicine and first aid kits, are a matter of life and death and should therefore be given top priority. Other top priority items are food, shelter and clothing. Make sure you have an ample supply of these needs inside your baggage before thinking of adding the items that you simply “want” (such as sports equipment, mobile gadgets, and other non-essential stuff).

Planning a family camping trip may seem like a daunting task, but it is well worth the effort. The prize for that effort is enjoyment, unforgettable experiences, a stronger family bond, and ultimately, the safety of your family.






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How to Protect Your Skin During Outdoor Activities

by IVY GUINGAB: Going on a camping, hiking, bushwalking or a solo travel? There’s the sun, the fresh air, the wonderful views, the exciting activities – these all sound fun and exciting. But there are some things you need to know before you can cause serious problems to your skin from the outdoors. If you’re planning on going outdoors, you would also want to make sure you include skin care to your outdoor plan. Keep the following tips in mind to make every outdoor activity fun and memorable without damaging your skin:

Protect your skin from the sun

Enjoy the outdoors while avoiding the painful sunburn. It’s no way fun to suffer serious and painful burns while you are away from home. More than the sunburn, prolonged sun exposure, according to dermatologists, can also cause spots, drying, wrinkling and the worst is skin cancer.

Protect your skin from the sun with sunscreen lotions or sprays with SPF (Sun Protection Factor) of 30 or higher.

Protect your skin from insect bites

There are so many ways to protect skin from insect bites but most outdoor lovers prefer insect repellent clothes. They do it for one simple reason -- they get rid of the hassle of having to rub insect repellent lotion on their skin. One more tip is to minimize exposed skin areas by wearing the right outdoor clothing such as long-sleeved shirts, long pants, boots and hats. Hop in an outdoor camping store and you should be able to check out recommended outdoor clothing for camping, hiking and the like.

Avoid skin chaffing

Skin chafing, a painful skin problem, is a result of skin rubbing against skin or clothing. It occurs mostly on your thighs, groin and underarms. First tip is to apply lubricants like petroleum jelly to these hot spots to avoid friction to the skin. Second tip is to stay dry. However, sweating is unavoidable during any outdoor activity. But you can avoid this by wearing proper outdoor clothing – choose the ones that fits right on you and the ones that are moisture-wicking.

Stay hydrated

Your body consume a lot of water during outdoor activities basically to get you going, to maintain proper pH balance, and to regulate body temperature. While it’s important to stay hydrated, your skin as well needs enough hydration to avoid drying and wrinkling. Instead of the ordinary water bottle, bring with you Camelbak 1L drink bottles. Camelback drink bottles are spill proof, and are 100% BPA-Free.

Features Of Exofficio Boxers For Outdoor Wear

One of the most cozy under-clothing that outdoor campers can wear (particularly men campers) are boxer briefs made by Exofficio. The said brand is known worldwide for underwear items that are suitable for camping, hiking, mountain climbing and other outdoor camping activities. If you are planning to purchase any Exofficio products soon, here is a quickstart guide that will help you:

 The Exofficio Give and Go Brief

 This is the most popular underwear line of Exofficio boxer briefs. Give and Go  (trademarked name) is breathable, meaning, air can easily penetrate through it so that the skin beneath will not sweat too much especially in humid conditions. It's clothing is also known to prevent too much moisture from occurring with the inner thigh area as well as the intimate areas.

Exofficio boxers and briefs are made of nylon or spandex, making it more comfortable to the one wearing it. Another good aspect of the Exofficio brief is its antibacterial finish. The boxer brief is actually created in such a way that it wards off harmful bacteria, therefore preventing skin allergies and infections from happening.

This is by no means a comprehensive Exofficio boxers review, but it sure does give you an idea of what to expect from this product line. The next time you think of going outdoors for a camping or hiking trip, consider buying any Give and Go brie from your local outdoor equipment store. 

Important Things You Shouldn't Forget When Camping Outdoors

Going camping is like going to a party. There are stuff that should be there, or else it wouldn't be fun. A typical party without food and drinks, good location, decoration, invited guests, chairs and invited guests just wouldn't be a lot of fun in most cases. The same is true with camping, if you don't bring the necessary stuff associated with the Great Outdoors, you run the risk of being bored out there.

Here are the things that you should bring with you and not forget:

Standard Set Of Camping Gear

A standard set of camping gear is the bare essentials. This involves a tent, camping shoes, a decent Black Wolf daypacks and a water canteen. Make sure you get high quality items from well known brands such as Exofficio, Northface, and Icebreaker, so that you won't have to worry about your items breaking down in the middle of your trip. It;s just plain annoying if suddenly your tent cloth tears or breaks down, isn't it? So make sure to get a sturdy tent and other gear.

The Icing On The Cake

After securing your standard camping gear set, now is the time to get the "icing on the cake". These are stuff that technically, you don't need to in able to survive, but they are indispensible for the camp to look at least like a fun expedition instead of a survival trip. Some examples of gear that fall under this category are Barmah hats, specialized liquid containers, comfy Northface fleeces, and digital radars. You know, things that you really don't need, but will make the camping trip more exciting to do.

Featured Camping Gear: Black Wolf Backpack

Today's featured camping gear is the Black Wolf Backpack. The term "black wolf" is simply a brand name and does not indicate any level of danger pertaining to black wolves in an outdoor campaign setting. That being said, let's look at the features and main highlights of this backpack:

 Sternum Strap

The bag can be carried by the shoulders, then supported by a horizontal fastener that embraces the waistline. This makes it easier for a camper or hiker to carry heavy luggage without hurting himself or herself in the process.

Single Main Compartment

The bag has only one main compartment or division, making it easier on the user to stack all clothing or equipment in one place. More often, backpacks are not able to carry enough equipment because too many compartments eat up a lot of space.

Hydration Packets

The Black Wolf backpack exterior has two hydration packets on the left and right side. This provides a good place to put water bottles or extra hydration beverages for the trip.

Outdoor Wear Reviews: Exofficio Underwear and Icebreaker Shirts

When going on an outdoor camping trip, you have to make sure that you are using the very best camping wear. While there are many types of outdoor wear available in the market today, you should only choose the ones that are well known in the industry for quality.

What I want to review today are two products: The Exofficio camping undies and the Icebreaker Tee shirts.

Exofficio Underwear Options

Exofficio is known worldwide for their extensive line of outdoor clothing, including foot wear, protective wear, and underwear clothing. Having a nice set of Exofficio undies is proven beneficial in outdoor activities because when you are in a camp, you tend to sweat more than you normally do.

The Exofficio underwear clothing line is known for its odor resistance Microbe Shield that prevents foul smell coming from dried sweat. It also prevents the massive buildup of microbes that sometimes lead to skin abnormalities.

Icebreaker T-Shirts

Icebreaker is another brand that is popular in Australia and New Zealand. They have a variety of outdoor wear such as Icebreaker tee shirts, jackets, leggings, vests, coats and many more. What’s amazing about their materials is that they are made from Merino wool, a material known for being able to regulate temperature . This means, if you are in extremely warm surroundings, you’ll feel just a little bit colder. If you are in cold surroundings, you’ll feel a sense of warmth with you. I’ve personally tried Icebreaker Merino clothing and can pretty much attest that it is really very comfortable and snug.

You can try out these amazing outdoor clothing and gear by visiting your local camping store today.

Exofficio Sizing Boxers: Vital Outdoor Camping Wear

Do you love going outdoors for camps and overnight hiking trips? If so, you may have experienced a lot of challenges during camps. Most of the time, insects can really be a nuisance. They bite at night or crawl inside your tent. In a lot of instances, the outside temperature can cause you to perspire more than usual, and when you perspiration dries off, this can cause a lot of skin problems. To prevent these bad things from happening and ruining your trip, make sure you use the right outdoor wear. And the most important piece of outdoor wear is your underwear.

Yes, you may laugh but your underwear is really very important to your protection during outdoor camping trips. Your typical home or office underwear just won’t cut it during camping and mountain climbing trips. I mean, do you honestly think that wearing undies with typical cloth material can really protect you against the elements of nature? The answer is a resounding “of course not”. What you need is specialized outdoor wear that is designed specifically for camping, hiking, climbing, skiing, and other types of activities.

I hate to drop names of brands in my blog posts, but the truth is I have found no other outdoor underwear brand that really does it all and gets the job done for campers. The name of the brand is Exofficio sizing boxer briefs. Ok, this is for men, but Exofficio has an entire line of products and items for both men and women. Of course, for me, I’ve personally found their boxer brief product really comfortable. Each time I wear it in an outdoor exploration trip, I can rest assured that no beetle or ant will crawl inside unwanted areas. Honestly, don't laugh. This is important. Even in humid situations, the Exofficio helps cool you down, resulting in little or no perspiration in the extremities of your body.

So the next time nyou go out on a camping vacation, make sure you add this item to your checklist and you’ll see the difference. For more outdoor camping tips, visit http://www.paddypallin.com.au today.