I Glamp Camp

Wilderness survival is a merit badge that you usually pick up during your stay at scout camp. You learn the essentials for keeping yourself alive in desperate situations and you even get to put some of that knowledge to the test. I remember hiking into the forest at in my early teens with a few of my scout buddies and a group of other scouts. With nothing but a pocketknife and sleeping bag, we were instructed to build a shelter and survive until morning. As the sun dipped behind the mountains, a couple of us teamed up and started piling sticks against a tree. Without the luxury of a flashlight we put something together as quickly as possible and climbed inside. It just so happened that as I was climbing into my sleeping bag (which was situated on a large tree root), I found out that my zipper was broken! Man, I thought I was in for the real deal....and I was right. Tossing and turning all night, I kept on having dreams that thousands of little spiders were crawling all over my body. I have two little kiddos and to this day that was still the worst sleep of my life. The next morning I found the cause to all of the discomfort I had endured throughout the night. I was set up directly on the top of an anthill! I had to have had hundreds of ant bites all over my entire body, my legs and arms taking the blunt force of the attack.

Today, I sleep in tents or off the ground in a hammock. I have nothing against those that like to truly rough it out, sleeping on the ground under the stars. That is just not my cup of tea. In fact when I take my family camping we definitely like to keep certain luxuries at hand. However, we truly are campers, my favorite camping shirt reads "camping is in tents." That is exactly what we do and we absolutely love it. In fact, the North Pole has informed me to take all tents out of my amazon wishlist. My family may or may not be getting a tent upgrade for Christmas this year!

So yes my family and I sleep in tents and bring certain luxuries with us when we camp. These may seem lavish to some and not very lavish to others. If you camp in tents you will understand where I'm coming from. I will make a list of my favorite things that we take and will be taking with us next year.

First thing and fairly important, here is the tent we have been using.

The Coleman Bayside 8 person tent. We love this tent. One thing that really surprised us about this tent was the door. The door is shaped with tent poles and is hinged. Meaning you can open and close the door that is held by velcro, without unzipping it. The only time we zip it up is when we turn out the lights and hit the bed. You can still purchase this bad boy at Target. The other cool thing about this tent is the shape. It has the feel of a yurt or a dome but can easily fit 2 queen size beds on opposite sides of the tent. It even has a doggy door and closet space! If Santa finds our tree this year I'll tell you all about our new tent in the near future.

https://www.target.com/p/coleman-174-bayside-8-person-tent-orange/-/A-11117067

Coleman queen air mattress

http://a.co/iyhHFGW

I wasn't able to find this exact model on amazon but I will provide a link to a similar product. We use this for home, camping and vacations. We decided to splurge a little bit and get the built in pump with wall a cord since we planned to use it outside of camping. It has no use in the outdoors without a generator so I just hand pump this guy up. Takes about 15 minutes. The double layer and pillowtop makes this bed super comfortable and warm. We have had this for five years and getting the higher quality bed has definitely paid off.

Blackpine Sports Grizzly Ripstop Sleeping Bag

http://a.co/ilAwbgD

This puppy is a double sleeping bag rated to -25 degrees F. My wife gets cold in the summer if it's only 89 degrees outside. I decided to go with the over the top temperature rating for her sake and it was well worth it. This thing is big enough for two adults, a toddler, and a baby. This upcoming summer we will test that with a small kid and a toddler. This sleeping bag is 5 years old and it still looks brand new. The only downside is that it needs to be washed at a laundry mat that will wash sleeping bags fit for a king. Do yourself a favor and stay away from camp pillows, they are worthless. Take your pillow from home.

Wenzel Canopy

http://a.co/f2F7ESt

http://a.co/3urKRhm

This is the canopy that we bring camping with us when we have the space. Any canopy should do it but don't forget the screen walls. The best part about this canopy has nothing to do with shade and everything to do with keeping bugs off you. your food and hiding from horseflies. If you do camp somewhere with a lot of horse flies and bugs maybe bring the bug-a-salt to turn the problem into sport.

Bug-A-Salt

http://a.co/cGdXKuX

The bug-a-salt is ridiculously fun. Think Nintendo 64 007 on a whole new level. I have spent hours in my in-laws backyard taking care of the pest problem.

Biolite Campstove

http://a.co/cvHdp5H

I received a Biolite stove 5 years ago for Christmas. I have used it on every camping trip since I got it. The stove is fueled by small twigs and small wood chips. The stove has a fan that keeps the fire burning hot with very little smoke and creates energy that you can use to charge your phone or any other usb charged device like a gopro. I have cooked chicken, trout, steak, hamburgers, hot dogs, soup, and all sorts of good stuff with it. I love using it for getting water hot for cleaning or hot chocolate.

Rif6 Cube Projector

http://a.co/jgIofu2

We love out Rif6 cube projector. I actually scored one of these on ebay for $125. We haven't had a chance to use this yet out on a campout but I just purchased a screen that we can take to hang up in our tent or around are campsite. It has a nice picture up to about 80 inches and is great if you want to watch a movie in the backyard without breaking the bank. The aspects that I like the most about it are it's size 2"x2" and it has a 90 min. internal battery and can be charged with a usb charging station for longer use. It also has a mini sd card slot so you can put movies and pictures on it. No need to hook up the computer. Bring a speaker! I'll put up some pics of our setup when we start camping this summer.

Keeper Rooftop Cargo Carrier

http://a.co/7gamFBH

This came in handy this year. It got the job done without a lot of cost. When you go glamping you tend to need a little extra space. I used this 3 times this year and over packed it on our last trip. The stitching in one of the corners came apart and left a small

hole. I notified the company and they sent me a new one that day no questions asked.

Lux Pro Flashlight

http://a.co/8IBxWjG

Best flashlight I've ever owned. This thing is ridiculously bright. Make sure to get some rechargeable AAA's.

Coalatree Loafer Hammock

https://coalatree.com/collections/hammocks/products/the-loafer-hammockMy little boy loves hanging out on the hammock when we're camping. I make sure to keep it fairly low to the ground because someone always falls out when they are messing around. Coalatree is a local Utah shop with really cool outdoor gear and clothes. Show them some love and give them a follow on instagram.

So you can see that I bring along some unnecessary necessities when I take my family camping. We make sure we bring something for everyone in the family to help them be comfortable and have an enjoyable time. I have a lot of other items that didn't make the list this time, so maybe we'll do this again. Drop me a comment and let me know what your glamping necessities are. If you have any questions about this gear let me know, I spend a lot of time reading reviews so many of the items are 4 stars or more on Amazon. Everyone has different needs and expectations for gear, do your homework on youtube and amazon!

Thanks for taking a look into my world!

-Mike

#entertheoutdoors #camping #glamping