Ask Lemmy

• Don't go to bed with the same clothes you wore during the day. The perspiration will make you really cold at night
• Even though it's warm during the day, don't assume it'll be warm at night. The temp differences can be quite drastic
• pack your clothes for the next day in your sleeping bag so they're warm in the morning. I usually either roll them up and use them as a pillow, or put them deep inside my sleeping bag by my feet.

That most camping gear is horrendously expensive and over engineered.

Get old and used gear, repair things, and make your own if you can.

A good bug net and a tarp are going to be just as effective as a modern tent, and breathe better.

For a backpack, those old aluminum a-frame packs are so easy to repair, and you can clip/tie things to the frame.

Coffee. If you are a coffee drinker, get a way to make half-decent coffee.

Or tea, or hot chocolate if you hate caffeine. Nothing beats the feeling of a hot cup of something after a short, noisy, miserable night.

When cooking with a skillet, let the fire die down, gather as many hot coals as possible and set your skillet firm on top your coal pile.

When cooking with a pot, hang it above a low fire, in most cases you wanna make sure the flames aren't licking your pot.

This pic is from my last camping trip, if you wanna know how to build the tripod, there are pleanty of youtube videos on the topic.

Hammock tent. All the advantages of a tent and a hammock.

Don’t have to worry about your tent getting flooded, no need for an air mattress or sleeping pad.

Watch some primitive/bushcraft survival videos on YouTube. There's a lot of good tips and tricks, especially for when you aren't exactly prepared for camping (emergency situations) and need shelter, fire, food, water, etc.

Favorite channels:

• Bertram - Craft and Wilderness (off-trail camping videos)
• Coalcracker Bushcraft (lots of good info)
• Donnie Dust's Paleo Tracks (primitive tools)
• Primitive Technology (fire by friction, primitive crafting)
• Survivorman - Les Stroud (survival, cooking, history, etc)
• Woodsbound Outdoors (good info and demo)

Birch bark torn into strips and layers makes good kindling. Sticks with little strips cut out and frayed to the side makes good tinder. Cotton balls covered in vaseline are my firestarters of choice. Drier lint is also good. If you're using charcoal, the bag is great for that as well.

Wool socks. And for the love of all that is holy bring some seasonings. Salt and Pepper are great, but they even sell little seasoning bottles for backpacking that screw together. Trust me.

Get some sort of 5 gallon jug that has an on off valve for water. Helps if you want to wash hands or balls

If you're out bike touring, KOA's almost always have spots set aside for cyclists to camp. Both KOAs and state parks are really useful for showers and clothes washing. Was genuinely surprised how many state parks had both when I toured across the U.S.

If you're in Washington state, the state parks are legally required to find room for you to camp if you rolll up on a bike and they're otherwise full.

Lay a layer of logs on the ground before making your camp fire on top of it. Ideally larger ones. They'll lift the fire off the damp ground, improve air flow and act as fuel once the fire gets going.

If you're in bear country, you want to hang your food high from a tree branch. Not right next to the trunk, bears can climb like squirrels. It's really amazing how fast they can climb a tree.

Also hang toiletries; don't keep toothpaste or anything scented in the tent with you.

I never really see people doing this, but I've had a great time pitching my tent in the back of my pickup instead of on the ground. You get a perfectly flat surface and some foam or an air mattress make it pretty comfy.

Minivans and specifically the no longer made grand caravan (the ruined the design a bit with the pacifica). For two people you can do no prep camping. Throw whatever you think you might want in the back. Get to site and backup to the firepit. Throw all the stuff you brought in the driver and passenger seat and open the back. If its raining you can sit on the rear seat facing backwards and the rear door gives you shelter. At night you can just sleep in the back of the van since everything you brought is now in the front seats. Because you can flip seats up and down and such you can sit as you like and easily get the sleeping room. Done some very low prep camping this way. On another note the minivan has about as good a mileage as you get from a non car.

My friends and I just went camping. Instead of bringing eggs in egg cartons, put them in a Blender Bottle. Shake them up for easy scramble eggs and pour!

Pack a book. Everything from hammock backpacking to week-long glamping festivals, I've never regretted bringing one along.

• Tiny pop-up tent, easier to carry if you can fit inside
• Headlamps
• Sleeping pad or something to separate you from the cold ass ground
• Don't interact with the cute little bear cubs

You can dispersed camp for free in most national forests and BLM lands. Its pack-in pack-out for the most part but some spots have pit toilets. Freecampsites.net is my go to site for finding free camping

Bring bug spray.

I know some swear by the travel bidet (not for everyone), but for the masses, a pack of biodegradable “flushable” wipes are a great addition to your toiletry kit. Just one or 2 after you’re done with all of your other business leaves you nice and fresh for the day and can bury them if you’re backpacking.