Travel Hack Of The Day: How To Organise Your Camping Kit
The main drawback of camping has got to be all the organising. As much as we hate to admit it, heading out for a camping trip is just not as simple as grabbing your backpack and hitting the road – there’s a whole bunch of stuff to consider before you actually step foot on a campsite.
To keep things easier, simpler and whole lot less stressful for you budding campers, we here at AWOL thought it was high time we laid out some top tips on camping – more specifically, a go-to guide for creating your own Camping Kit, a.k.a. everything you’ll ever need for camping, all in one convenient pre-packed box.
There’s really nothing worse than spending wasting two hours frantically searching for your trusty headlamp. Or extra batteries. Or your favourite pair of Explorer socks. Don’t worry… we’ve all been there. So it’s best to be prepared and organised.
Firstly, always keep your tent, sleeping bag, pillow and camping mattress together. It’s pretty rare that you’ll use these things for anything other than camping, so it’s best to keep them in a designated corner of your room/garage/closet so they never go walkabout and end up under your roommate’s bed or something.
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You should also always keep your go-to backpack loaded and ready to go with all your lighting (lantern, tent lights and/or headlamp – and don’t forget extra batteries) and kitchen stuff (gas stove, stove fuel, cutlery, crockery, pots, and mugs) to save you time when you start packing. These things are your non-moveables – never let them leave this marked spot and you’ll be fine and dandy come camping time.
Top tip: repack them in your hideaway spot immediately after you’ve returned from your last trip (clean them first, of course). It’ll save you some time in the long run, trust me.
Now that everything’s all ready to go you can start to think about food, water and clothing. Fill your water container, pack up some nonperishable food items (tuna and beans are the snacks of champions) and grab all the thermals you’ll need.
Depending on where you’re headed and for how long for, here’s a bunch of additional things you may need: a lighter, water bottle, duct tape, a coffee maker, camera, sunscreen (very important, even in winter), hand sanitiser, wet wipes (a few days without a shower can be rough), a tarp, a good book… the list goes on.
Most importantly, be sure to pack your pack right: light to medium weight things at the bottom (sleeping bag, clothes etc) your heavier items in the middle (walking boots, pots etc) and then your crushables at the top (basically things that wouldn’t break if they’re smashed against the ground/walls/other people – so no valuables).
Helpful? We hope so. So go forth and embrace nature – you earned it.
