Never been camping before, what do I need?

I am planning an overnight camping trip for the family to Uwharrie, I have never been camping before, could somebody give me some tips on what I need and don't need? What do I need to look for in a tent? Brand, type, material, features, etc...? All info will be appreciated!

Coleman is usually fairly good medium priced stuff. They rate there bags for the temperature. I always get them, a one grade lower temperature rating than I think I#m going to need, you can always unzip them if things get too hot. If your just going out for one night, battery powered lights and self heating rations are your best bet.
Carbon monoxide kills, no matter how cold the tent gets, no unapproved heat sources.
Get two matching sleeping bags and you can often zip them together into one big one. Camping increases your appetite, in more ways than one.
A tent with an awning is handy if it rains.

Eureka makes pretty nice tents....just make sure it has a rain fly and plenty of stakes....get a piece of tarp to set the tent up on, that way you can help to avoid tearing the bottom of the tent on something.....

Take a small folding shovel if you can find one...like the military type...

lots of bottled water....flashlights....

trash bags

keep your food sealed up super tight and inside your vehicle....unless you want visitors at night

EDIT: I actually have a Coleman tent, and 8mud is right, they are nice and very reasonably priced

This stuff is your best friend, we call it cascade cologne around here.

Also Steak is your friend freeze it before you go works great it thaws while you hike fish whatever and its perfect by the time you actually want to cook it.

JNickel101 said:

Eureka makes pretty nice tents....just make sure it has a rain fly and plenty of stakes....get a piece of tarp to set the tent up on, that way you can help to avoid tearing the bottom of the tent on something.....

Take a small folding shovel if you can find one...like the military type...

lots of bottled water....flashlights....

trash bags

keep your food sealed up super tight and inside your vehicle....unless you want visitors at night

EDIT: I actually have a Coleman tent, and 8mud is right, they are nice and very reasonably priced

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Sure enough don't forget the shovel and another trick that can make life more pleasant is, to carefully pull the cardboard center out of a roll of TP the inside end will come out with it. Pack it inside a plastic sandwich bag with a twist tie. Pull what you need out of the center and you don't even have to take the roll out of the bag. Really comes in handy when it rains.
I have a dozen duffel bags, pack your stuff in plastic garbage bags. Actually put the plastic garbage bag in the duffel and then pack it.
A thousand little tricks to being comfortable and keeping you stuff dry if it rains.
Most places you have to bring your own wood with you if you want a fire. Don't count of finding much, though it is still pretty early in the year.

For meals I cut my meat up mix it with seasonings at home and then freeze it. That way you alrady have a premade meal. Like stated before freeze it and then you can thaw it as needed. Coleman stove and I cook a lot on my griddle. Then make a shake and cook pancake mix at the grocery store and pre cooked bacon for an easy breakfast.

I would take a hammer to drive stakes in the ground and buy extra as they often can get stuck and have to stay behind. I have bought 2 cheap walmart tents. The first lasted about 8 years. the second I have used for 2. An air mattress is my wifes friend for sleeping. If not an air mattress you have to put down a foam pad or mother earth will pull your body heat out of you and you will freeze..

Bare essentials are tent, sleeping bag (or blankets), Non cook type foods (like ceereal and PB&J) and a night light. Something to start a fire. and a change of clothes. IF I think of anything else I will post up. Camping for us is like being at home with all the crap we take.

Don't forget the toilette paper!

I'm leaving to go camping/ wheeling in about an hour I'm just going to sleep in my Jeep since it's just me in my rig. Who needs a tent when you have a jeep?

X2 on the colman stoves I have one that I use all the time even when I'm @ home

Thanks for all the info guys! Keep it coming! I googled "camping list" and found several lists, but they had like 17 billion things on them, and being that I am NOT going to be out in the middle of BFE(actually a couple miles from the Eldorado Outpost), I'm trying to figure out the stuff I NEED, so far I am coming up with.......

tent
tarp(to put the tent on)
extra stakes
hammer
toilet paper
sleeping bags
blankets
pillows
air mattress or foam pad
broom/dustpan
light source
bottled water
non-perishable food
cooking food
coleman stove(unless a grill is available at the site)(I think they are?)
zip-loc bags
trash bags(for clothes and garbage)
coolers/lots of ice
insect spray
shovel
entertainment(football, frisbee, board games,etc...)

Did I miss something? Keep in mind I am NOT compiling the "ultimate" camping needs list, just the stuff you gotta have.

Oh and of course, a couple of pocket knives

Looks like a good list!

pocket knife
about a dozen lighters stashed in various places, you always want to be able to make a fire.
first aid kit.
bucket to hold water in case the fire get's out of the ring.

not sure about where you live but here in CA we need fire permits....free from the Forest Service and required to have ANY open flame in a National Forest or BLM area.

hotrod22 said:

Thanks for all the info guys! Keep it coming! I googled "camping list" and found several lists, but they had like 17 billion things on them, and being that I am NOT going to be out in the middle of BFE(actually a couple miles from the Eldorado Outpost), I'm trying to figure out the stuff I NEED, so far I am coming up with.......

tent
tarp(to put the tent on)
extra stakes
hammer
toilet paper
sleeping bags
blankets
pillows
air mattress or foam pad
broom/dustpan
light source
bottled water
non-perishable food
cooking food
coleman stove(unless a grill is available at the site)(I think they are?)
zip-loc bags
trash bags(for clothes and garbage)
coolers/lots of ice
insect spray
shovel
entertainment(football, frisbee, board games,etc...)

Did I miss something? Keep in mind I am NOT compiling the "ultimate" camping needs list, just the stuff you gotta have.

Click to expand...

Looks like a pretty good list... add a few sticks of firewood (It's expensive at the Outpost or at the grocery stores in town) I don't think there is any restriction on fires, but if there is, it'll be posted everywhere A bucket, gallon jug, or an empty cooler is handy for dousing the fire when you leave...

Most (all?) the 'improved' sites have cast iron grilles, but a propane stove is a bit handier for cooking side-dishes or boiling water for coffee. You can do it all on the grill though, just a bit messier/slower.

Don't forget the cooking tools (spatula, fork, tongs, pans/skillet, percolator if you require non-instant coffee) seasonings and stuff to eat off/with.

Bring a wire brush or something to clean the grille, charcoal/lighter and a little bit of dish liquid, scrubby pad & a couple towels/dishrags. Alum foil is handy for covering the grill and cooked food. A roll of paper towels is handy as well.

I like little jars to keep dry or liquid stuff in... salt, pancake batter mix, coffee/sugar, cooking oil & such. Also you can raid the McDs & Hardees for tubes of catsup/mustard/relish, salt/pepper/sugar packs etc... Rubbermaid tubs are good for bread, chips etc... the birds WILL raid your stuff if you leave it out. I usually bring a tablecloth & butt-pads to sit on... those birds also leave their little 'gifts' on the tables/benches as their way of thanking you for the meal.

Sometimes the yellow-jackets out there can get fierce... a 2l bottle with a little bit of sugar-water or soda in the bottom, set back away from your site helps bait & trap them rascals. No bears or other big eaters in these parts yet... just possoms, coons, squirrels, deer & birds.

If you didn't want to cook much, or every meal, The grill at the Eldo Outpost is pretty good. Troy is 10 or so miles south on 109@24/27... McDs or Bojangles, a little burger shack, a Mexican place, and a pizza place all right at or within sight that intersection. Food Lion for groceries is maybe 3/4 mile west of there on 24/27. Edit: see you are coming from Fayetteville...there's also a Food Lion and a WalMart in Biscoe, both of which are on 24/27 on your way in.

All the sites have toilets... Arrowhead CG (up the hill from the boat launch ramp) has the 'million dollar' bathrooms & showers and is the most 'civilized' & non-dusty (paved driveway/parking) Some of these sites have AC power & water for RVs. Badin Lake loops have gravel drives/parking and small toilets/showers. All have hydrants for fresh water...not in the sites but alongside the driveway loops.

If you are lucky, there a few sites in Badin Lake CG that you can get 'waterfront property.' Great for watching sunsets & swimming/fishing/boating, but are real hard to get 'in season.' We'd usually stake a claim for one on like Thursday and pay the extra nights. If you do that, you have to make it look like you are there though (pitch the tent at least) You can also reserve & pay for many USFS campsites online (reserveamerica.com IIRC) That works too.

Camping can be as involved or basic as you like. We're kind of in the middle... but I've been doing it since I was a little kid and kinda know the drill. After you go a time or three, you'll figure out what you needed and what you didn't need. Key is having fun, making do & not stressing over the little stuff. Don't spend a giant wad of cash on stuff until you decide if you (and the family if ya have one) like it.

Heres a link to the online reservations at USFS facilities:

http://www.recreation.gov/homeLeft.do?topTabIndex=CampingSpot

Yup,charcoal lighter fluid is always a good thing to keep in the rig,i have been keeping some road flares in as well lately to start a fire in case of an emergency. We also take this stuff called - stingeze - for skeeter bites or bee stings . It comes in a green bottle with a yellow cap about the size of an eye drop bottle thingy. Works really well,just dont get where it dont belong,kinda like the stuff the dentist gives you for numbness. I also always carry extra garbage bags for picking up other peoples litter.
Man i hate to see that. Have fun on youre wilderness adventure.

You got them bigfoots in Carolina ?

As far as the tent goes the way they size them is by how many sleeping bags can fit. That leaves you no extra room to do any thing but sleep. It's nice to have some extra room for your clothes or a dog,lights and crap. Plus if it rains and you all want to be inside you will be cramped. I've got a Big Cahona Eureka tent and it's nice and stong and huge but it weighs like 45 lbs and packs the size of a large stuffed Military duffle bag. My older tent is a Siera designs and it is bad ass. Light,strong,packs small but big big bucks.
Worth every penny if you want to spend that much. I got mine used while in high school and I'm 44 now and it is still a great tent. One story about it. I was racing Hobie Cat sailboats at a big race in TX. Everbody, like 50 of us pitched tents on a peninsula. When a huge storm blew in half the tents blew away,24 were blown all the way over flat riping and breaking poles on some. And one 20 year old Sieara Design that everbody marveled at how it stood like a rock. Now I knew to pitch it tight and had a lot of experiance with it but it is really an amazing tent. The wallmart and other tents look the same but they arn't. About 10 years ago I took advantage of the then liftime warrenty and they sewed in a new zipper and new mesh windows.What a deal in the long run. The big Eureka family tent is hard to set up alone and it's just a hassle. They make nice small tents too. If I had to do it over I'd bring the old 3 man sieara for the kids and would have bought a new high end 3 or 4 man tent for me and the wife. The kids think it's cool to have their own place. The tent is so thin and you put them so close together you can wiper at them thru the tent and the loose any fear. Make sure that when you go to sleep the wife and kids all know where the flashlight and toilet paper are and where to do the deed in the middle of the night so they won't wake you. It's a lot of work just to sleep but very well worth the experiance. Have fun! and don't foget to test pitch your tent in some nice grass so you don't go thru a learning curve at night,in the rain,wind rocks ect.

Low Range said:

You got them bigfoots in Carolina ?

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I've always wondered about that - is it "bigfoots" or "bigfeet?":laugh3:

Seriously, tho - what you take camping depends largely upon the comfort levels of the people involved, and the "amenities" available on-site. Most kids out here go to "campgrounds" where there are showers and heads.

I tend toward minimalism when I camp - but I enjoy the challenge.

If you're going to get a bucket, get a "folding" canvas bucket or two. They'll slowly evapourate water out the sides, which helps keep it cool. Hang them up to dry for about an hour on your last day, then collapse them and stow them.

A good pocketknife (it need not be a Swiss Army knife, but it does need to be solid! Gerber and Benchmade come readily to mind...) is an essential tool. Have one folding knife you can stick in your pocket, and one fixed knife for bigger jobs (I prefer either a Navy diver's knife, or an Army bayonet. The tang goes the full length of the handle, and there's a metal plate on the heel end that you can use for an ersatz hammer.)

If you're taking a tent, a smallish hammer/mallet (not larger than two pounds; rubber, wood, or rawhide works best) and a nail puller/flat bar to retrieve your stakes.

A small ax or hatchet can come in handy, and can double as a hammer.

Carry a good lighter on your person, keep a good one in the rig, and a small packet of "strike anywhere" wooden matches dipped in paraffin for 2/3 of their length are waterproof. Scrape the wax off with your thumbnail before striking.

A road flare can usually get damp wood started, where a match or lighter will not. Set it low in the fire pile, surrounded with kindling.

Pack one more day of food than you think you'll need - two or three, if you're in an area that can get cut off by foul weather. This also applies to hikes - carry a bit more food than you think you'll need. It can make a difference.

I don't usually take a tent - that's what the old T-10 canopy is in my rig for. Tent, ground cover, sleep cover - supplement with a small blanket if need be.

If you weren't a Boy Scout, get the manual anyhow. There's a LOT of stuff in there you'll find handy if you need it - and it's cheap insurance. "Fortune favours the prepared mind." You can take some of the things from the manual, use them to make games for your kids, and they'll learn something useful in the process...

Enjoy yourself camping - and one thing about it I've always wondered... How can you "get away from it all" if you end up "taking it all with you?" Probably why I tend toward minimalism...

LMAO no Bigfeets yet, but we got plenty of gators & bears out east, and bears & wild piggies out west. The middle of the state just has deer & other little critters.

I didn't see it mentioned anywhere,but the fold up camp chairs and tables are nice,and they don't take up much room.

woody said:

LMAO no Bigfeets yet, but we got plenty of gators & bears out east, and bears & wild piggies out west. The middle of the state just has deer & other delicious little critters.

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fixed

Just for fun ,on the Largefoot issue go to this site and punch in youre state and county ---- bfro.net --- Kinda creepy some of it .

By the way ,yes i do believe. Ever find a bear carccass out in the woods,how bout a cougar ? Hmmm
I live in Yakima county ,Washington state and know all the areas with sightings well.
It is kinda fun,,enough of that ,,Have a good time one and all :wave: