A Quick Tasty Camping Meal

I got excited when I first tried the Madras Lentils by Tasty Bite, not only because it tastes great but that I could take this product camping with me for a quick hot meal. I wanted to share this tasty little product with my readers because, I don’t know about you but I’m always looking for quick and delicious foods to take camping.

Tasty Bite refers to this product as an entree but, I like it as a meal. I like to crumble Tostitos Scoops in my Madras Lentils I think they go great together. To me, the Madras Lentils tastes a little like chili, you’ll have to try it for yourself and see what you think. Whether you’re camping, hiking, hunting or even kayaking, for a quick hot meal, just put Madras Lentils in a pan and heat it up on your camp stove, canister stove or liquid fuel stove and enjoy! I hope you enjoy this product as much as I do.

Camping Can Be Comfortable

Camping in the rugged outdoors, sleeping on the floor of a tent doesn’t have to be uncomfortable. Most seasoned campers are using air mattress beds.  Camping air mattresses have several purposes, the most obvious is a thick cushion of air to sleep on versus the hard ground. An air mattress that keeps you off the ground will also have an insulating affect and will keep you warmer. Most airbeds have a flocked surface that will keep your bedding or sleeping bag from slipping off of the air mattress.

The Intex Prestige Downy air mattress is one of the most versatile air beds. This air mattress has a pump that operates on 4 D cell batteries, this means you can take this air mattress virtually anywhere! This air bed is rugged for camping use and nice enough to use at home as an extra bed for guests.

When you are getting your camping gear together for you next outing don’t forget the air mattress, after all who says sleeping outdoors has to be sleepless. We all love our creature comforts, sleeping outdoors should be a pleasant experience!

Ice in a Jug Has Two Purposes

I am a huge fan of saving money when I go camping so I like to fill several plastic jugs with water and freeze them, you can use 1 gallon or even half gallon size jugs. The neat thing is they stay frozen longer than bag ice and as the ice melts you will have extra drinking water. If you are going to be camping for longer than a few days the extra drinking water will definitely come in handy.

Have camping tips you would like to share, just fill out the comment box, we’ll take a look, if your tip is approved we will post it with your name included.

Family Camping at its Best!

The Copper Canyon 1312 is one of Eureka’s most popular family camping tents. The 1312 is a cabin style tent that sleeps 8 people and its vertical walls offer maximum interior floor space that is ideal for use with cots. The floor space is 13′ x 12′ but has more area than a 14′ x 10′ tent because the vertical walls make the tent so spacious. The 1312 can be one large room or use the removable divider curtain to make two rooms. Parents can sleep in one room and kids in the other or, sleep in one room and store your gear in the other. Bring along friends and have your own private room, the possibilities are endless!

Eureka! uses StormShield cloth in its large family tents because it withstands longer periods of exposure to UV rays, and it has excellent tear strength and waterproofness. Durability has not been over looked by Eureka! You expect long term durability for you money and who could blame you, the Copper Canyon 1312 is designed for heavy traffic and years of quality family camping.

Portable Power for Camping

Camping enthusiasts who enjoy adventuring “off the grid” but hate lugging around power cords or batteries will love the convenience of this alternative energy source. Items such as a portable solar charger are typically lightweight and can provide power to a multitude of devices, including laptops, small TV’s, air-pumps, cell phones and AM/FM radios.

An example of a portable solar charger tailor made for campers is the Solo 15 by Brunton. It uses a lithium battery pack that weighs only 4 pounds and is rechargeable through a vehicle, a household wall outlet or by using Brunton’s Solar Panels. The Solo15 provides enough juice to run any video camera for up to 100 hours.

Using portable solar devices, we can tap into this power in even the most remote places in the world.

Coffee Lovers are Going to Love this Coffee Maker

The Brunton BrewFire is the most portable coffee maker ever. This is a new product for Brunton and I must say they have soared like an eagle with this 8 cup beauty. The BrewFire looks just like a coffee maker you would have at home the only difference is you don’t have to plug it in. No it’s not battery operated, it is fueled by either propane or butane fuel so you can take it anywhere. Just put in your favorite coffee, add water, turn the knob and flip a switch, that’s all there is to it and in 10 to 12 min. you will have a nice cup of hot coffee. The double walled, vacuum sealed stainless steel carafe will keep coffee hot for 2.5 hours. The Brewfire coffee maker is perfect for camping, tailgate parties, picnics or anywhere you want to make a pot of coffee. This coffee maker will definitely not be disappointing.

Sitting Around a Campfire is so Relaxing

My fondest memories are sitting around a campfire, trying to stay warm, telling campfire stories or being told stories by friends and family. Just staring into the bright red coals with the flames flickering around them is so relaxing to me. With that said lets talk about building a fire.

Pick out a spot in the open away from dried grass, brush, trees and other campers. Don’t build a fire close to your tent, sparks from the fire will fly up in the air if there is a breeze, it could catch your tent on fire. Set up a fire ring, if one is not provided where you are camping, then you can make one out of large rocks. The fire ring will hold the ashes, contain the fire, to keep it from spreading to far out on the ground. I like to bring along my own cut wood, just encase the area I am camping in is scarce for firewood.

To start a fire you will some small tender like-loose bark, small sticks, pine needles, dry leaves, newspaper or anything that will catch fire easily. After you have a small fire going, start gradually adding larger sticks of wood. A folding saw or axe works great for cutting some of the larger sticks. As your fire gets larger and hotter you can add large cuts of wood. There is no certain way you need to place the larger cuts of wood on the fire as long as you have air flow from hot coals to the top of the fire this will keep the large pieces burning. Keep adding wood until you have achieved a nice controllable size campfire.

Raging, blazing campfires are not safe and could cause flying embers to set a neighboring tent or camper on fire or even start a forest fire.

Building a campfire is common sense, once you have built your first campfire you will be well on your way to becoming an expert fire builder. Use common sense, be aware of your surroundings and be safe.

Share with us, your experience building your first campfire.

Lightweight Mummy Bags Just for Women!

I like that Eureka! has taken the time to consider that women who love to camp and hike need a sleeping bag made just for them and Eureka! has done something about it. Eureka! has produced the Woman’s Silver City and Casper sleeping bags, specifically patterned to fit a woman’s body. The Silver City and Casper mummy bag is cut narrower in the shoulder section and has a more generous cut in the hip area. The woman’s Silver City sleeping bag is rated at +30F, the carry weight is 2lbs. which is very lightweight and has a space saving compression sack that packs down the ultra performance sleeping bag to a small size. This excellent sleeping bag also comes in 2 lengths, more short to average height women will enjoy the regular length while taller women will want the long length. The woman’s Casper sleeping bag is rated at +15F, the carry weight is 2lbs. 12ozs. which is also lightweight. The carrying weight difference in the long length vs. the regular length of the Silver City and Casper sleeping bags are just a few ozs. Both the Silver City and Casper sleeping bag have an inside stash pocket that is a perfect for an MP3 player.

Women who love camping, hunting, hiking, kayaking or any outdoor activity that demand the best out of their outdoor sleeping gear, will appreciate the quality of Eureka! women’s Silver City and Casper ultra performance sleeping bags for years to come.

Improve Flame and Fuel Efficiency in Your Camp Stove

Camp stoves need to be cleaned regularly to keep them working properly. There is nothing more disappointing than wanting to cook a meal and your camp stove won’t light or the burners are so plugged up it takes forever to cook anything.

Wipe out your camp stove with warm water and dishwashing soap or a foaming stove cleaner to clean splattered grease and food debris; dry thoroughly after rinsing to prevent rusting. For heavy grease build up or boil over you will want to disassemble the burners to deep clean them, an old toothbrush works great for cleaning camp stove burners that are plugged from a boil over. If you get water in the manifold make sure you dry it thoroughly rust will prevent the fuel from flowing to the burner properly. You will want to lubricate the pump cup or any parts that get lubricated with a machine oil 2 times a year. Store your camp stove in a sealed plastic bag when you are not using it, this will keep your stove dry, clean from dust and crawly critters. Take care of your camp stove and it will take care of you when you need it the most.

Hammock Camping is Great Fun!

What a way to enjoy the outdoors! I can’t imagine a better way to relax, than to kick back in a hammock stretched out over a stream, listening to the sounds of the water moving moving over the rocks below me or the sounds of a breeze moving thru the trees above me. The great thing about hammock camping is, the hammocks are lightweight to carry and pack down small. A single wide ENO hammock will pack down to the size of a softball, a double hammock will pack down to the sized of a grapefruit. Backpackers love the hammocks as another option to packing a tent simply because of the lightweight and small size. Most popular hammocks today weigh around 12 to 22 ozs. and are made from a high strength nylon that will support 250 to 400 lbs. of body weight. There are hammocks made from cotton, like the Roatan Hammock that will weigh over 3 lbs. and support 450 lbs. of body weight. Hammocks come in an array of fun colors! Hammocks are versatile and can be used in the backyard, for camping, on a boat, on a deck or anywhere your imagination leads you. Give hammock camping a try, venture out, create new experiences! Happy Camping!