Posts Tagged ‘outdoors’

Choosing the Right Sleeping Bag

Saturday, July 25th, 2009

Camping has exploded in popularity as many parents take their children for weekend camping trips. Camping in the United Kingdom, even in the summer months, is always a risky business. Not because of Bears or Snakes, but due to the uncertain British weather.

But, as long as yiou have the right camping equipment you and your family can have a lot of fun, regardless of the weather. One of the most important pieces of camping kit has got to be your sleeping bags.

There are a great selection of sleeping bags to choose from these days, some will cost only a few pounds but others can cost a small fortune. So how can you select the right bags for you and your family?

Probably the first consideration is the time of year that you will be using your sleeping bag and where you will be camping. If you only expect to be camping during the hopefully warmer summer months then you will not need expensive, arctic quality sleeping bags.

Another consideration is packing. Will you be hiking with your sleeping bag in a backpack or will it never need to be crammed into a small pack? If you expect to be hiking with your sleeping bag in a backpack then size and weight will be important considerations.

Its also worth considering who the sleeping bag is for, how big they are and what their comfort requirements might be. Some people (including my own partner) are never comfortable sleeping within the confines of a sleeping bag and lots of children prefer to have child size bags.

And finally we must, of course consider the price. You will find both down filled and polyester filled sleeping bags at a variety of prices. Down filled bags tend to be the most expensive and those that are suitable for all year round and winter use are at the top of the price list.

The most affordable option is likely to be a polyester filled bag that is suitable for the hopefully warmer summer months. But don’t overlook the need for a good sleeping matt or maybe an airbed if you want the additional comfort.


Enjoy Your Camping Days

Tuesday, July 21st, 2009

Each summer lots of people do like something interesting: camping. This is a great activity to be done with friends, family and relatives. It can be done on a single day or even the whole summer period. Since my childhood, I have been an avid camper. I started then going on some trips with my parents and years later with my friends.

Those days, I either go with my family (my wife and kids) or alone. I usually like to spend a whole weekend far from the city. We found a nice place like 2 hours afar near a nice lake. The kids do enjoy the location a lot. It is good for people to breath fresh air once in a while.

The equipment used in camping is very important. During that escape, you should carefully select what you will bring with you. Don’t forget things for the kitchen and of course the North Face Vario 23 tent. Bringing two of them is the right thing to do for the whole family. One tent for the children and the other one for myself and my wife. This tent has very good water resistance and is lightweight. Do not forget to pack another fishing pole in case you will go fishing and your main one will get broken.

My family found that camping is an interesting thing to do. Running, enjoying outdoors, walking are what my children love to do. Personally, I found camping as a great escape for the daily stress. Even when it is raining, there are places designed to accommodate campers. It is simply the greatest sport for my kids, my wife and I. No matter if it is a rainy or a sunny day, in both cases, we can enjoy camping

My final point is about health and its importance when doing camping. Always bring some medical equipment (kit) with your when going on a camping trip. The nearest hospital can be far away from your camping place and you need to be prepared for any emergency.


Advantages And Disadvantages Of Using A Canvas Camping Tent

Thursday, July 16th, 2009

Camping is a great way to experience the great outdoors and get to see part of the countryside. One of the main requirements for camping is a camping tent. This is one of the required camping supplies in order to be able to enjoy the camping trip effectively. This tent should be able to provide the camper with adequate shelter from any given element which may be present depending on the season. A canvas camping tent is one of the many varieties of camping tents to choose from. There are certain effects of using a canvas camping tent to be discussed.

Advantages Of Canvas Camping Tent

One of the advantages of using a canvas camping tent is its capacity to be inherently cooler than a nylon tent under a blazing sun. The natural color of the canvas camping tent easily reflects the heat of the sun and wards it off without absorbing much of it. Since the canvas camping tent is made of natural fibers and fabrics which can be recycled to an extent without causing any damage to the environment.

Another advantage of a canvas camping tent is the fact that it is basically easier to repair than any nylon tent. The canvas tent is made of a fabric that has a sturdy weave, this is actually on of its advantages also, which can be repaired by simply sewing a patch on the hole or sewing the cut or tear. The ease of maintenance is also another advantage of the canvas camping tent. When nylon tears, the fabric is difficult to mend and it is also difficult tot sew a nylon fabric.

Disadvantages Of Canvas

The main disadvantage of a canvas camping tent is its bulk and weight. A canvas tent is much more difficult to keep and carry than the lighter nylon tents. This means that the person carrying this will have a difficult time lugging the canvas camping tent around in the rough road. While canvas has a natural waterproof element to it, it is not altogether waterproof to some extent. Once this fabric gets soaked or wet under extreme rain, it will be even heavier than it was originally. A canvas camping tent may not be able to provide enough ventilation if it is closed due to the ravages of rain or snow.


The Bed That Counts When Off On A Mountain Trail

Wednesday, July 15th, 2009

After having hiked over the mountain path for almost the better part of the day, one is just looking for the right place to settle down. The welcome site of the camping tent beckons you. It is time to unpack and have the packed dinner. One is looking forward to sliding into the comfortable and cozy sleeping bag that is rolled up. It gives you a satisfied feeling that there is the sleeping bag for you to slide in, zip in and drift away with the cool wind all around and millions of stars in the sky watching over you.

It is not practical to carry with you a bed when you go camping, trekking, hiking or mountaineering. A sleeping bag is an improvised bed for you to sleep in designed to be carried by you wherever you go. It is a protective bag resembling a blanket with a zipper. It provides the softness of a bed with the soft padding. It keeps you warm with its thermal insulation. There are two types of sleeping bag. The first is the one that looks like a blanket fitted with, on one side or on both side, with a zipper. This can be folded, rolled up and bound with cords or straps and carried in your backpack. The second is the mummy bag as it resembles a mummy. It is broad on the head side and tapers as it goes to the leg side. But this cannot be folded nor can it be easily rolled. It is better stuffed into the compression sack or the stuff sack and carried in your backpack.

There are a variety of sleeping bags that you can buy in the market differing in their water withstanding capacity and insulation capacity. The Marmot Hydrogen 30 sleeping bag is an example of a mummy bag that keeps you comfortable at 30 Fahrenheit.

The insulation capacity, capacity to retain heat and water absorption capacity is different for different sleeping bags. Faster insulation is provided by synthetic fill sleeping bags. It also gives more warmth even when it is wet. Water is not easily absorbed. It is not possible to easily compress this sleeping bag. It takes up more space when packed into the backpack as a result. The heat retention capacity of the down fill bag is better though the insulation capacity is lower. The bag is lighter too.


Comfort And Ease: That’s What Makes Backpack So Popular

Wednesday, July 15th, 2009

Backpacks are variously called as rucksack, knapsack, or pack. Nylon or canvas is the most common material that is used to make backpack. A heavy fabric best suits a backpack for heavy loads. The lightweight backpack uses ripstop. Travelers prefer to use backpack when traveling. It is now popular amongst them. The preference for backpack is because of the ease with which you can move around with it. you also do not feel the strain as the load is comfortable shared between your legs and hips besides the shoulders.

Canvas and nylon are used commonly to manufacture backpacks. Nylon has advantages over canvas. They are lighter in weight than canvas. Its high melting point makes it safer from catching fire. It is tougher than canvas. It does not tear and wear easily. It has a high durability. The contents are safer inside a nylon backpack. It resists molds, animals and insects. Its high flexibility makes it easier to handle. Nylon can be made in any color making this an attractive material. For all these reasons, nylon is more widely the preferred material for the manufacture of backpacks.

Three varieties of backpacks are sold in the market. The first is the frameless backpack which is the most common of them all. The second is the external frame backpack that is useful when the load to be carried is more and heavy. The third is the internal backpack which is not meant for heavy load, but is very comfy when it comes to carrying loads with you. Osprey Argon 110 review gives an example of a backpack that packs with it a lot of comforts.

The backpack once packed can be closed with a zipper or a buckle mechanism or drawstring with a cord lock. There are also straps to restrict the movement of the contents inside the backpack when one is traveling with the backpack. When deciding to buy a backpack, there are a number of factors that you need to consider. The first is the extent of load you intend to take. The second is the duration of the trip. The third is the terrain whether plain or steep. Of course, there is the budget you need to also consider.


Camp Out And Energize Yourself

Wednesday, July 15th, 2009

A popular recreational activity that is carried out outdoors is camping. Those who involve in camping are called campers. They leave behind a busy and hectic life, their work and worries back in the urban cities and towns. They take off on vacation to areas where nature is in abundance which are not populated or sparsely populated. They spend a few days and nights camping. Usually camp sites are designated camp sites as you would see in a national park. Some are privately owned camp sites. There are many publicly owned camp sites one could choose from. Some sites offer some minimum facilities that may include cabins for campers to stay.  But then there are also camp sites that offer you all the luxuries and comforts of modern living. This will cost you a lot. Some sites have some kind of rudimentary structures. There are sites which simply does not have anything special for camping. You will have to just live it out in the raw. The campers will have to subsist with whatever they have managed to bring with them.

It is indeed exciting to go camping. It is also not expensive. Enjoyable camping activities that are possible are many such as hiking, climbing, fishing, swimming, canoeing, hill hiking, or biking. These are carried out amidst the vast expanse of the varied settings that nature offers. Camping is of many kinds. There is the car camping where one sets up tent beside one’s car. There are those who are homeless that the only way they seem to be able to live is by camping out wherever they can. But these are not the camping one does for recreation. Camping for recreation refers to very short duration stay in a natural surrounding untouched by civilization.

Camping tents form important equipment for campers. There are a variety of tents of different sizes and for different seasons. There are tents for single person and for the entire family. The  Tetragon 1210 is one such for the entire family. It features six windows, two doors, mesh ceiling for ventilation, polyester bathtub floor and double-coated StormShield polyester fly. It also offers two separate rooms.

There are camp sites that have basic facilities close by such as water supply, electricity, bathrooms, restaurants and laundry. There are also sites that do not have any of these where one will have to just be with what nature provides. There are also those that have additional facilities such as hot water, kitchens, showers, boats and canoes, home theater systems and bicycles.


Home Away From Home In A Tent

Wednesday, July 15th, 2009

Life blends with the surroundings. One learns to relate to the flow of life and the activities around you. But with development and progress, science and technology and the human creativity, we have changed our surroundings remarkably. In the wake of the march of progress, we have also laid waste what nature had created in its wisdom. The surge of growth has transformed landscapes into concrete jungles. Speed and time have become costly. Technology has been harnessed to make this transition as smooth as possible. We have even tried to recreate nature in small patches here and there just as nature intended to exist.  

We do realize the need to keep a live connection with nature. We recognize that this requires that we plan to make this connection consciously. And the opportunity is usually available in the form of leisure which we then decide to deploy for precisely such a goal. The leisure industry and the tourism industry too have geared itself to cater to this rising need of urbanized lifestyles. A variety of options are there before us. The adventure tours, the nature trails, mountaineering, canoeing, camping, riding the rapids and traveling by bicycles or motorcycles to the interiors. Some of these are expensive while others are reasonably priced.  

Careful planning and organizing are required if one is planning to go camping. You need to assess what you will require at the site. Topping the list of your needs is obviously the camping tent. They come in different shapes and sizes. A comfortable ultra light for a three some is  the north face spectrum 33 tent

The camping tent secures its occupants from rain and the cold winds. It also offers reasonable protection from the insects and reptiles around. But in order to make your experience worthy, there are a number of other camping equipments that you would like to have with you. This includes such useful items as knife, flashlight, stove, first aid kit, utensils, insect repellants, clothing, maps and compass. You may also need light furniture. Camping equipment dealers offer these specially made items which are both handy and light so that these can be transported.

 


A Great Way To Camp Out With Camping Tent

Wednesday, July 15th, 2009

A camping tent is on the top of the list of campers. Tents are just not merely portable but can be set up quite easily. The tents are also environmentally friendly as they have little impact on the natural surroundings. Tents will have to be chosen according to the season that one intends to go camping. There is the one-season tent which can stand up to light showers. This tent is suited for summer camping. Heavy rains and moderate snow can be endured by the three-season tent. This can be great for autumn, spring and summer. It has good ventilation and also protects from the wind and insects. But these cannot withstand heavy snow.

The four season tents can withstands winter snow, but have less ventilation making it difficult if the climate is hot. These tents are also heavier. There are four season tents that can be converted to three season tents by unzipping a roof panel or by just removing pole sections. There are the expedition tents that are meant to withstand extremes of climate such as heavy snow, very heavy rain and strong winds.

The size of the tent you may require depends upon how many of you are there as campers. You need to take into consideration the season. Sometimes the larger tents are partitioned into separate sleeping areas. There are tents useful for tough outings in the mountains with sealed seams, adjustable air vents, reinforced pole clips and strong waterproof high performance canopy. You could check out Marmot Alpinist Tent for one such.

The color of the tent is varied. There are the low visibility colors including the green, brown or tan. These are not easily visible from afar. There are tents in bright colors for purpose of easy visibility so that the tent can be spotted from afar or from up in the sky. This is to help campers to locate the tents when they are lost. It can also help those searching from the air to locate the tents. Stores specializing in the sale of camping equipments also sell tents. You can set up the tent fast and easy. The tent canopy is connected to the poles with the sleeves and clips. Normally the poles are made out of aluminum. This makes the poles light weight. The fabric used for the canopy is usually out of nylon and coated fabric.


As Good As A Bed, The Sleeping Bag

Monday, July 13th, 2009

After a long walk trudging along the winding paths through the thick woods, scrambling through the rocky mountain or wading through the shallow strong currents in the murky stream, there is no greater desire than to hit the sack. After a hard day, the thought of a good night sleep to rev you up for yet another hard, but thrilling, day ahead is exciting.  The sleeping bag beckons you. There is nothing more valuable then than this humble sleeping bag.

How comfortable you are and how much sleep you get will depend upon what sleeping bag you have chosen. A synthetic bag is cheaper than a down bag. It is also easier to clean. A good insulation is critical. The ground on which you sleep determines how much cold you need to insulate. It may be a camping tent that prevents the chill wind. Or it may be an open hut or an open space that allows the chilly wind to sweep down. The floor could be wooden and warm, or cold as cement.

 The synthetic bag offers good insulation. The insulation also lasts longer. The down bags offer more warmth than the synthetic fill ones and are best suited for winter. These are also lighter. The down bags are good for taking along on a long expedition. But if the weather is wet, the down fill bags lose their insulation. You must take good care of the down filled bags so that they are not damaged even though they are more durable and long lasting. The synthetic bags are less expensive.

The rectangular sleeping bag is more spacious than the mummy shaped bag. But the insulation of the mummy bags is better than the rectangle bags. While the mummy shaped bags are rolled, tied and packed into a sack, the rectangular bags can be folded and secured using straps or chords. The helium marmot bag is ideal for long treks, particularly up into the mountains.

Sleeping bag should be chosen keeping in mind how long you will be traveling and the weather and environment that you will have to face. It is important to ascertain whether the climate is wet or dry. You will be happy that you did all these before choosing a sleeping bag.


Travel Easy With Sleeping Bag

Monday, July 13th, 2009

You get to know the real comfort of bed when you have to sleep out in the open. For long, one had to manage as much as one possibly can with the imaginative use of blankets and pillows. Yet, these do not match up to a real bed. Sleeping bags were designed with such situations in mind, of sleeping out. It resembles actually a blanket, but with a zipper. The sleeping bags provide the warmth as a bed and also the warmth and insulation. The most important function of the sleeping bag is that one can easily transport it wherever one goes. Sleeping bag has become an essential part of camping equipment.

The sleeping bag protects you from the wind and keeps precipitation out to a great extent. You are protected from the outside. The insulating materials that are used in sleeping bags are either synthetic such as PrimaLoft. Or it could be down fill. Sometimes wool and cotton too are used to make sleeping bags. The synthetic sleeping bags are better insulators and water is not readily absorbed. It can also be folded like a blanket. The down fill bag is the better one for retaining heat. It can be compressed too. But the synthetic sleeping bags are cheaper.

Sleeping bags are available in two shapes namely the rectangular sleeping bag and the mummy shaped ones. The rectangular sleeping bags are bigger resembling a folded blanket that is zipped. It has straps or cords for securing the bag once it is folded. The mummy shaped bag has a broad and open portion at the shoulder tapering down as it comes to the leg side. It is smaller but has a better heat retention capacity. It cannot be folded but has to be rolled and stuffed into a sack for it to be carried easily. Sleeping bags are found with camping equipment dealers. A light sleeping bag that is comfortable is the  marmot atom bag .

The synthetic bags are advantageous under wet conditions as compared to down bags. They are also cheaper than down bags but heavier. Finally the sleeping bag that you chose will depend upon the conditions where you intend to use. But then with a sleeping bag you can sleep anywhere.


At Home With Nature In A Camping Tent

Saturday, July 11th, 2009

Eco-tourism, adventure-tourism or nature-tourism is increasingly becoming an attraction in the leisure industry. Tourists are attracted to the wonders of nature. The tourism industry offers these pleasures usually at an exorbitant cost with their sophisticated package that includes expensive places to stay, be they hotels, resorts or cabins. Outdoor camping has become a thrilling adventure of its own. Camping is moreover less expensive and can be tailored according to one’s likes. It is usual for campers to take off for a few days and rough it out with the elements of nature in its full glory. Usually they opt to live out without any shelter, or take shelter in crude structures or tents. The tents come in different sizes suited to different purposes. Popular among them are the transportable camping tents. The camping sites are usually public or private.

 The mobile camping is popularly associated with backpacking. The campers carry with them light camping equipments across long distances if they decide to hike, trek a mountain or go to interior and remote locations. This type of camping is cheaper than using motorhome or a trailer for camping. Amongst the camping equipment is the camping tent that they carry around as a backpack. This makes it possible for them to set up camps where they want to, or in locations that are distant and isolated.

 Amongst the varieties of camping tents that are available to the choosy camper is the all season two person camping tent that you could choose the  north face mountain 25. It can protect you from strong wind, and heavy snow or rain. It comfortably houses two persons with two entrances and vestibules. You have a good view of the outside through the polyurethane windows which keeps the biting cold from sneaking in. Naturally heavier, the tent is easily carried as a backpack.

 While camping tent no doubt is an important camping equipment, there are a number of other essential items such as utensils, furniture, personal care products, sleeping bag, first aid kit and flashlight. These equipments are portable and light weight making it easy for campers to carry around. However, this could cost you a tidy sum and so check and compare prices. Camping easy and comfortable brings you both the physical and mental energy surging through in abundance.