“The rich man buys once, the poor man buys twice.” In other words, the rich man can afford to buy quality gear that performs its intended function and lasts a long time; the poor many buys cheap gear that either breaks or does not work and needs to be replaced after a short period. I see/hear this saying touted around the camping scene quite regularly. Quite frankly, it annoys me. If we all waited … more »
Our Lifetime 4’ bi-fold, height-adjustable table is a handy piece of camping kit. It can be used as a standing height bench, standard height table, a low table for the kids or as a side table while sitting down. Sturdy camping tables that allow food preparation and washing up at a suitable height for standing up are hard to come by. Most of the benches marketed as camp kitchens are only 80 cm … more »
Our DMH Outdoors stainless steel mugs appear to have excellent insulation properties, as discovered on a recent camping trip. We only took the bare essentials on the camping trip. This included a gas cooker that mounted directly to the top of the gas bottle, as well as a moka pot to brew our morning coffee. While we had brought the moka coffee pot, I had not thought to pack the kettle for boiling … more »
Sleeping warm and comfortably is very important while camping. Getting a good night’s rest sets you up for a happy day, no matter what the camping challenges. A bad night’s rest will probably leave you grumpy only seeing the negative side of the camping experience. Do you really need to go out and buy that expensive sleeping bag to get a good night’s sleep, or can you make do with household items you … more »
I tend to view OZtrail camping gear as mid-range. It is reasonably priced for okay quality: sometimes quality can be excellent, such as my experience with the OZtrail UltraRig poly tarps; other times quality can be bad, such as my experience with the OZtrail Junior Deluxe folding chair. We bought the Oztrail Junior Deluxe folding chair maybe two years ago (I can’t put an exact date on it). The chair has been taken to a couple of parties … more »
After using a traditional swag and enjoying how comfortable it was, I decided to purchase a Burke & Wills Ironbark swag to add to my camping kit. There are a few reasons for this. Firstly, I think that a swag is a more practical solution to self-inflating air mattresses (the big ones can be time consuming to roll up and are still bulky) and sleeping bag (sleeping bags are not easily washable; a … more »
Making your own traditional swag or bedroll in the style of an original Australian swagman is easy using just a sheet of canvas, mattress, blanket, pillow and rope. Today we do not have to carry a swag long distances on our back so we can add in a few extra creature comforts, but why spend $400 or more on a top-of-the-line mass-produced swag when with a little ingenuity you can be sleeping just as … more »