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Originally Posted by Sliver
That concrete nail idea instead of tent pegs is awesome.
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I've never really thought much about it, but I do this too. Always stupid to see the peg fold in half when you hit the edge of a rock. I remember the occasional time before we starting buying the concrete nails where we'd have to hammer a stick into the ground and carve a notch into the stick to keep the cord from slipping. After a while, we started keeping extras in the tent bag and just giving them to other families tenting with us because they hadn't yet replaced their pegs.
I don't have this, but I saw it once when I was young and I've always wanted one for camping. Seemed like the perfect hammer/hatchet for all intents and purposes. I looked it up this morning and apparently it's vintage? I still kinda want one even if I don't need one.
https://www.varusteleka.com/en/produ...-surplus/75769
Trying to pull out a peg without a proper hammer claw kinda sucks. You sometimes get guys who install pegs with mauls, but without a proper crow bar or claw, you end up abandoning the peg. I've seen other ones where there's a prybar on the handle, but the sleeves for the hatchet head are kinda hokey so it seems kinda dangerous to try and lever out a stuck peg/nail without risking damaging the sleeve/sleeve slipping off and cutting someone. Stupid design.
Quote:
Originally Posted by I-Hate-Hulse
Lots of great advice so far, but I think the key part of all of this is that you're doing this with small (small-ish?) kids? That changes everything. I was in a similar situation 3-4 years ago.
If there's one piece of advice I'd give - don't go nuts buying stuff off the hop. You know what you need for the basics having camped before - slowly refine your gear as you need to. Heck, you (or your S/O) might say - this is totally not for us - and you don't want to be stuck with all this unused stuff.
Some things that worked for us and our simple and cheap approach (assuming you have small kids)
- 2 nights keeps it simple, and enough to preserve your sanity
- The $20 butane burners are good enough (vs a coleman stove)
- Like everything else kids - it's about snacks. Smores / chips / jiffypop are always a hit.
- Waterguns are a cheap source of entertainment Them squirting a hot fire ring to make steam is endless fun.
- Bail if the forecast is terrible. That keeps the gear requirements simpler and cheaper. (i.e. no need for sub zero sleeping bags)
- Meal prep and plan the hell out of your meals and snacks in advance. As someone said above, prep sucks at a campsite with kids.
- Yes, YETI's are good, but if you're only there for 2-3 days, you don't need 7-10 days of freeze time. They also weigh a ton loaded. (I just went for a $120 Coleman Extreme 5)
- Costco level gear is fine for this 'simple and cheap' approach
- I've resisted getting too large of a battery bank. Our philosophy is that the point of camping is to teach the kids to get away from electronics and devices - otherwise I'd just rent a condo....
Some luxuries that make the experience better:
- The $200 propane fire pits are nice for firebans
- an inexpensive propane travel BBQ makes way easier (run off of same tank as firepit
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Good ideas. I'd also consider suggesting practicing back yard camping. If some gear is #### in your back yard, it'll be worse at a site in the mountains or whatnot. Figure out the nice to haves vs meh. Figure out how to stay out there the longest without always running back into the house for things. Teach the kids fire, knife and hatchet safety in the back yard so that they can help/contribute or self entertain when at a site.
IIRC, my parents would set up and my brother and I would be tasked with grabbing wood, setting up a kindling bundle/wood stack, searching for the news paper and starting the campfire. Use of pocket knives to make kindling from wood and create feather starters took time. Teach the kids to have awareness of their surroundings before swinging a hammer AND teach them to swing the hatchet/axe with legs spread so that if there is a miss, it hits the ground between the feet! People who swing hatchets and axes with one leg forward freak me out.
I'd also suggest looking around on Facebook marketplace and Kijiji for some deals. Some people go all out, buy a ton of stuff, piss off the family and have to get rid of the gear. Sometimes they have more stuff that is technically available than the listings they've put online that they'll be OK tossing into the deal for cheap on the spot (especially if the wife is floating in the background as you investigate the equipment)
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