Summer is here and with that a great opportunity to try camping for the first time. What are the essentials that you absolutely must have to be comfortable and safe sleeping in the great outdoors? We teamed up with Therm-a-Rest to provide a quick guide.
Our top three essentials:
1. Camping Mattress or "Sleeping Pad"
The camping mattress is one of the most essential pieces of gear for comfort in the great outdoors and over the years the technology has evolved so much that it seems like the mattress choices are endless. Not sure what closed cell, self inflating or light weight mean? Therm-a-Rest has an infographic to make it easy to figure out what kind of sleeping pad you need.
2. Sleeping Bag
Sleeping bags are like a blanket and a hug mixed together to keep you warm throughout the night. Similar to sleeping mattresses there are a ton of different types and technologies to choose from. The two major ones being the "fill" or the material that keeps you insulated throughout the night. Down bags can be extremely warm and compress more compactly while synthetic sleeping bags won't break the bank or leave you cold in damp or rainy weather. There's no "right" answer in the debate between down and synthetic because it really depends on your personal camping plan and budget but this guide will help you find YOUR right answer.
3. Headlamp
Unless you're camping above the Arctic Circle in the height of summer, you need a source of light to navigate during a night under the stars. While a flashlight will provide that, we recommend investing in a headlamp as it's easy to throw on your head and frees up your hands to roll out your sleeping pad or turn a page in your book.
