Having basic camping supplies is a great insurance to have, just in case. It can be both camping and prepping equipment. Your tent, sleeping bag, outdoor cooking supplies, and forms of electricity-free entertainment, are all ripe for testing, as well. The last thing you want to do, in an emergency, is realize that there’s something you need and/or have overlooked. And testing your equipment doesn’t have to be a complicated ordeal. In my case, I had a friend invite me over for backyard camping, for their birthday. Great! So I brought my camping equipment in order to test it out.
My Tent Experiences
The tent was small, quick, and easy to assemble. You may decide to buy for comfort, or get a larger size, in order to accommodate a family. In my case, I decided that ease of set-up was what I was going for. It may be helpful to set up the tent without the anchoring spikes, so as to test how well it does without them. Next, I unrolled my sleeping bag and threw it in. I got everything done in about ten minutes or so.
But then, that night, I slept in the tent, and realized that I’d be much more comfortable with the addition of a few things – an inflatable pillow, and a camping lantern. So I subsequently bought them online. As for the lantern, I managed to find one that was powered by hand-cranking, and included both a lantern and radio.
Seeds
At home, you can gain familiarity with seed storage, by planting your seeds instead of just saving them. When you plant them in your garden, you get to see how quickly or slowly the plants develop, how much space they require, how hearty they are and what conditions they like best. A garden gives you the opportunity to figure out how to save seeds of your own, that you’ve harvested. There are many videos online, for the novice in this, and growing your own seeds often means that you’ll get a whole lot more than you’d get in a store, by simply buying seed packets. But the knowledge of how to save seeds will be much more valuable to you, in a crisis situation.
Store What You Eat
With a dry food storage, make sure to include foods that you’ve eaten before, or that you’d readily eat in the event of an emergency. A dry food storage doesn’t need to be an expensive proposition. It can be as simple as taking a plastic bin with a lid, and adding in granola bars/protein bars, raisins, crackers, insta-noodles, canned meats, and dried fruits. Make sure to store extra pet food, if you are able to do so. And a collapsible, portable pet bowl may be a great addition to your bug-out bag.
In closing, try and find opportunities to use your prepping equipment, instead of just stashing it away, and you may be surprised by the things that you’ll realize you need. Doing so now, may save you much time and heartache, in the event of a crisis. – S.L.D.
I have started using my camp stove in my kitchen. Learning to keep the temp right is the problem. My frozen biscuits were good but my brownies were a lot burned.
Did you try a baking stone?
We went on an family camping trip two years ago that involved 4 families of relatives, ages 4 to 70. Got to test many of the preps that I always carry in my truck. Tent, sleeping pad-inflatable pillow, propane coffee maker, water filters, freeze dried food, solar inflatable lanterns, and more. Kids had a ball with the glow sticks at night. This stuff is all pieces of gear I carry in my truck in the event we get stranded anywhere up to 200 miles from home and have to hoof it. I keep 2 collapsible sports carts in the truck to haul our supplies. Everything is inventoried, lessons learned in the USMC.
Did you include an insulating ground pad with your sleeping bag? I’d do that long before a pillow and light. I use the stuff sack for my sleeping bag (top quilt actually) and put clothing in it for a pillow. As for lighting an LED headlamp serves multiple purposes. But then if I am in a tent (camping hammock in my case) during a catastrophe it will be because we are forced to bug out and any extra weight is an issue larger than most think. I’d suggest y’all do some serious camping/backpacking with your gear to figure out what is best for you and how it works. Start in your backyard lab first and then expand the adventure into adverse conditions.
I should have been more specific about the ground pad. It is a moisture barrier. I keep several small 2″ flashlights on lanyards in my kits, batteries stored separately. I find that this kind of lighting works better for me than head lamps. The light is always on the thing I’m most interested in and is less likely to signal my position than a head lamp.