Camping requires knowing simple hacks to make life easier and safer whenever you’re in sync with nature. For example, a 2020 camping report disclosed that fires account for sudden problems that could have been avoided 50% of the time. Therefore, it’s essential to acquire specific skills to keep you and your environment safe as you camp. That said, here are three hacks you should leverage.
Use Doritos and pine cones for kindling fire
Usually, it takes forever to show a flicker when a camper tries to light a fire on forest wood. This could be due to wet wood or young tree branches, as they contain more moisture than older trees. Fortunately, you can leverage Doritos and pine cones in this situation. Doritos contain viscous oil, making them excellent for starting fires.
On the other hand, pine cones are suitable for outdoor fires because they release creosote (a tar-like substance) when burned. Moreover, they are naturally explosive, making your job easier. Furthermore, dig a shallow hole in the ground, surround it with rocks and allow your campfire to burn from within, as campers have used this trick for centuries.
Create your mosquito repellant
Sage is a herbaceous plant that contains specific chemicals that repel mosquitoes and other pests. Therefore, you can throw in a few sage plants into your campfire to keep your campground pest-free. They are also safe for indoor use, so you can leverage them for your roof top tents.
Turn your headlamp into a lantern
You can strap the headlamp to a sizeable opaque container while the light sits within it. As a tip, use a white jug because that shines better. With this hack, you do not need any sophisticated camp light to illuminate your immediate surroundings. While some campers fear that a headlamp can burn the plastic gallon, that news is false.
An emergency blanket keeps the tent cool
Emergency blankets are meant to keep the user warm but have you ever wondered what the silver coating is for? It is designed to reflect the sun’s rays and acts as a barrier to prevent heat from seeping through the tent fabric when spread across your tent’s top. Therefore, if you’re camping in the summer, this hack will prevent your tent’s interior from feeling like a preheated oven.
Waterproof your shoes
Beeswax is an excellent coating for your camp boots due to its water-resistant nature. That way, your shoes will not be soaked in with water or moisture. If you don’t have beeswax, any waterproof spray will work just fine. Watermarks left on shoes or camp boots permeate and damage the inner lining of natural or synthetic leather, and that’s why waterproofing them is a hack to leverage
Pack more toilet paper
Did you know that you can pack more toilet paper in your medium to large-sized Ziploc bag? You only need to remove the centrepiece brown cardboard to help flatten the roll. Therefore, instead of packing two rolls of toilet paper, you can now double it to four while saving space in your bag at the same time.
Although this is not an exhaustive list, hopefully, you learnt about a few hacks that will come of use to you at your next camping adventure. When the timing is right, hacks like those indicated here can be life-saving.
