First Aid Kit

It's always a good idea to carry a first aid kit with you when you are outdoors. They can be useful and be used to help treat anything from a twisted ankle, scrape, cut, or even bug bites and stings. You can find several capable first aid kits everywhere from Walmart to Cabela's but you should always go through the kit and add or subtract things that you think you might need for your particular situation.

This is my First Aid Kit that I keep in my camping/outdoors bag. It started out as an Adventure Medical Kits - Steelhead model, but I have added a few things that I thought might be useful. These include Benadryl, Chapstick, an emergency blanket, a water filter, water sanitation tablets, a lighter and several other small items.

If you start out with a commercial kit, and then customize it to suit your needs, you should be ready for nearly anything you might encounter.

Stay safe.

Hammocks Pros and Cons

After my last post on hammock camping, I decided to do another post highlighting some of the positives and negatives associated with hammock camping.

Pros:
Cheaper than a tent
Lightweight
Easy to carry
Quick to set up
Easier to stay cool
More versatile (don't have to have flat ground to set it up)
Out in the open, so you can see the stars and wildlife
Doesn't take up a lot of space, either packed up or in use
Comfortable

Cons:
Can be expensive if you buy many accessories
You have to have two trees or vertical objects close enough together
You can damage the trees if you aren't careful
It is harder to stay warm in cooler weather
Can be a strange experience the first time
Exposed to the elements and wildlife (tarps can remedy this)

Check out this video for great info regarding hammocks.

I'm sure there are more pros and cons to the hammock game, but that all I can come up with right now. Have fun and be safe.

Hammocks

I'm going to start off by saying I am by no means an expert at anything, just a regular everyday guy trying to help people out with ideas and choices about exploring the outdoors. With that said, when I first read about people camping in hammocks, I thought there was no way it would be for me, but after a little research and catching a hammock at a great price, I decided to explore the world of hammocks a little bit. Most people probably think of hammocks as those woven machines of death found on beaches and by the pools, where you spend more time trying to not be thrown off than relaxing. A hammock without wooden spreader bars is much more stable, compact, and comfortable.

What I found was that sleeping in a hammock when outside, whether it is a hunting, fishing, camping trip, or just a house that is too crowded during the holidays, makes perfect sense for me and my environment.

These are the hammocks most people think of, but hammocks
without spreader bars are way more comfortable, stable and compact.

As you might know, it gets pretty hot here in the South, and in particular Texas. I used to dread trying to fall asleep when camping in the summer because it would be so hot that you could barely breath. But after trying out a hammock, I've ditched the tent and sleeping bag for a Grand Trunk Skeeter Beeter Pro Hammock.

When sleeping in a hammock, you are more open to the wind, which can help cool you off. Combine this with the fact that you are laying above the ground, and the wind can blow over AND under you, and you have a setup that can be up to 20-25 degrees cooler than sleeping in a tent. I have tried sleeping in my hammock in the Spring, Summer, and Fall, which can all have temperatures north of 80 degrees. I haven't tried it out in the winter yet because I feel like it would be too hard to stay warm with the equipment I have.

This is the kind you actually want to use for sleeping in.

Using a hammock is quite simple, and a lot easier to carry around and set up that a tent. As long as you have 2 trees close enough to each other, you are in business. Most modern hammocks pack up into bags the smaller than a football. My hammock has a built in mosquito net that comes in pretty handy on muggy days when bugs are out in full force.

It takes less than 5 minutes to set up a hammock and by setting it up so that it sags instead of being tight, you can lay diagonally in the hammock and it will stretch out completely flat. This is by far the most comfortable way to sleep in a hammock and often puts me to sleep within minutes.

If you want to try your hand at sleeping in a hammock, they can be found at most major outdoor retailers for as cheap as $20 and as expensive as $200. It all depends on what features you are looking for. If you are interested, check out Grand Trunk or ENO hammocks as they can be had for reasonable prices and most models are made out of comfortable and durable parachute fabric.

So let me know, have you ever slept in a hammock? What about sleeping in a hammock appeals to you? Leave a comment below.

Links

Combined with a tarp and the right gear, you can sleep in a
hammock anywhere, anytime of the year.

Cabela's - Hammocks
Gander Mountain - Hammocks
Grand Trunk Hammocks
ENO Hammocks
Hammock Tips and Tricks

Camping in Style: RVs

For most of us, camping means a tent, sleeping bag, and maybe a cot or air mattress. For a select few however,  it means a climate controlled king sized bed in an RV.

RVs or Recreational Vehicles allow you to get off the beaten path like camping, but to do it in extreme style and comfort. Personally, I enjoy the tent experience, it's part of what makes camping great, although I certainly don't begrudge anyone who prefers to roll in style.

The only downside is RV camping is exponentially more expensive than traditional camping, although there are companies that rent out RVs to people who don't want to drop a tens to hundreds of thousands of dollars on purchasing one.

If you have a couple million dollars laying around you can have an RV custom designed around your wants and needs like this one:

Me? I think I'll stick with my tried and true tent and cot combination since I haven't won the lottery yet. What about you? Have you ever camped/slept/rode in an RV, or even own one? How was it?

GPS - Do you really need one?

GPS stands for Global Positioning System. It is a system of satellites in orbit that are used to triangulate a users exact position, nearly anywhere on earth. It was developed in the 60s and 70s with the US military in mind. For a long time, the technology was only available to military forces and select others. It began to be available to civilians in the 90s and really started to gain popularity in the late 90s and early 2000s. The Russian version of GPS, known as GLONASS was in development for a long time and is just now becoming readily available to consumers.

The technology is now all around us. It is in most new cars, cell phones, cameras, computers, and other technology.

If the technology is so readily available and in most phones and cars today, you might wonder why you would need or want a dedicated GPS device.

If you are a person who stays close to civilization and rarely ventures off of the beaten path, you may need or want a dedicated device because your phone or car may    handle all your needs.

But if you are someone who enjoys going off the beaten path, camping, hunting, fishing, hiking, or any other outdoor adventure, you may want to consider getting a dedicated device.

Modern dedicated GPS units have much larger GPS chips than phones or car units. This allows better reception and service than car or phone units. With a dedicated unit you can get reception in much more severe or dramatic environments and unlike a phone, the maps are preloaded on the device.

On an iPhone for example, while you can download specific apps that will tell you your location, most of these rely on cellular service to show the location on an actual map.Devoted GPS devices have maps preloaded so you can view your location no matter what. You can also carry spare batteries to swap out in your device when the batteries die, while most phones have, either non-removable batteries or specific lithium ion batteries that must be charged. This allows much greater versatility in the devices use, as long as you have fresh batteries stored close by, you can continue to use your device.

Another reason for buying and using a dedicated device is the ability dedicated units to show much more data and to do it more precisely. While some phones can tell users their altitude or moving speed, dedicated units allow users to do much of the same and even more, but way more precisely. You can also track your path, and if you get lost, follow the path back to your car, camp, or home.

Some newer GPS units can also be synced with your phone and send texts or even phone calls from your phone via satellite service instead of cellular service. This could be the difference in life and death if you get into a situation where you need to contact someone, but are out of cell phone range.

If you are interested in geocaching, a kind of sport/activity where you travel to a pre-set location to find a "cache", a dedicated unit is essential because most geocache locations are listed only by longitude and latitude, which can be plugged into a GPS unit and provide precise directions to the location.

In short, while most phones can be configured or modified with apps to do the same things a dedicated GPS device can do, a dedicated unit can do the same things better.

As the technology has become more refined, and commonly available, prices have dropped on dedicated units. Today you can go to a Walmart, Cabela's, Bass Pro Shops, or Academy and pick a unit that has the exact set of features that you want or need. Some units with lower capability or features start out at less than $100. At the same time, you can find top of the line units that include barometers, digital compasses, cameras with geotagging software, topographic maps, and phone compatibility to send messages or calls via satellite network from three hundred dollars up to multiple thousands of dollars. Units are also available in with external antennas for better reception, physical buttons for use with gloves or other clothing, or touch screens for ease of use and varying interfaces.

Better reception, better features, better usability. If you are going to be "Off The Map" having a dedicated GPS unit is almost a no-brainer.

A basic GPS unit that will allow you to retrace your steps in the event that you get lost or turned around: Bushnell BackTrack II
A mid-level unit that has many essential features including barometer, compass, preloaded maps, and external antenna for better reception (This is the unit that I own): Garmin GPSMap 62s
Top of the line unit that includes communication abilities: Garmin Rino 655T GPS Radio
Top of the line touch screen unit that includes nearly every feature imaginable, including Wi-fi, 1080p video recording, touch screen, preloaded maps, weather radio, FM Radio, and the ability to communicate via satellite instead of cellular system: Garmin Monterra GPS

Weather

March 1, 2014 Commerce Weather Forecast

The recent weather in Texas is a good reminder how unpredictable the weather can be. When you are doing anything in the outdoors, whether it is camping or hunting or fishing, you should always be aware of changing weather and be prepared for the worst.

Texas weather is a good example how fast things can change. I can remember sitting in the drive thru line at a fast food place and before I ordered my food, the temperature was 99, and by the time got my food at the window, the temperature was 72. While a change like this probably wouldn't cause problems for people, it does illustrate exactly how quickly it can change.

March 2, 2014 Commerce Weather Forecast

You should always have a jacket and hat or some other cold weather clothing nearby in case the weather changes rapidly. I also keep a poncho and emergency blanket in my hunting backpack and my camping bag in case I run into bad weather or the temperature drops suddenly.

As far as clothing goes, fleece is always a good option because it is lightweight and can block the wind. Wool, although heavy is another good option because it retains its warmth even when completely wet, unlike cotton. I usually keep an Under Armour jacket packed in my bag as well. It is really compact, zips up into itself forming a pillow, and the Armourloft insulation, which from what I can tell is just Under Armour's version of Primaloft insulation, is incredibly warm and lightweight at the same time. I've worn this while camping in Big Bend where it got down to 17 degrees at night, and I've worn it while hunting for hours on end in temperatures as low as 20 degrees. Another compact, warm clothing option is any number of the jackets made by The North Face.

Links:
Emergency Blankets
Poncho
Disposable Bodywarmers
Under Armour Jacket
Men's North Face Jackets
Women's North Face Jackets