# Camping necessities **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [April 7, 2016, 4:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/camping-necessities/751411 "2016-04-07T04:20:47Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![WhyNot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c77e96/32.png) [@WhyNot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WhyNot)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2016, 11:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/camping-necessities/751411/42 "2016-04-07T23:35:45Z")
> [@Muffin](#): > > Truth. Sit back in the evening in a long-back legless Crazy Creek camp chair and you risk finding yourself waking up in the morning still in the chair with a blanket thrown over you. Those things are way to comfortable. You’re going to find me in the chair 'cause I can’t get out of those mutterfrackers. Give me a nice [director’s chair](http://www.cabelas.com/catalog/product.jsp?productId=1748327&destination=/catalog/browse/camp-chairs-stools/_/N-1115044/Ns-CATEGORY_SEQ_558326880) with a table for my drink and plate, cover it with a sheepskin for snuggles, and I’m a happy camper. But those newer camping papasan chairs are awfully tempting… ---
**Author:** ![LouisB](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/dfb087/32.png) [@LouisB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LouisB)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2016, 6:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/camping-necessities/751411/43 "2016-04-08T06:04:18Z")
I’ve forgotten who said this so I can’t give credit—just remember that mother and father bears give their children candy that is wrapped in little bitty sleeping bags; or words to that effect. ---
**Author:** ![PoppaSan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/poppasan/32/189_2.png) [@PoppaSan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PoppaSan)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2016, 1:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/camping-necessities/751411/44 "2016-04-08T13:03:31Z")
> [@Lacunae\_Matata](#): > > I have been persuaded, against my better judgment, to go camping this weekend. We will be in a tent, at a state park, with an available electric hookup. It’s supposed to be near-freezing overnight, so I am definitely bringing a drop cord and radiant heater, plus tent, air mattress, pump, plenty of blankets, food and drinks, sun block, bug spray, and first aid supplies. I haven’t camped out since age 9. I am not an outdoorsy gal.\*\* What am I forgetting\*\*? I’ll answer to the bolded part. How about asking whomever invited / persuaded you to tell you what to bring? I’m going to assume for a minute they’ve camped before in the expected weather in the expected or similar location. They’ve already figured it out if they want to do it again. Plus they are already bringing some supplies so you might just need to worry about your personal effects and maybe a gift supply such as good spiced brandy that tastes better heated. I’ll agree with vetoing a heater like the others upthread unless there are no campfires allowed because of fire danger and you want to sit outside for a while. Also the only bugs I’d concern myself with are ticks. They might be about if temps are above freezing. ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2016, 1:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/camping-necessities/751411/45 "2016-04-08T13:39:35Z")
The advice above is good. No heater, good sleeping bag, closed-cell foam pad, hat, headlamp, entertainment, pee before bed. The person who talked you into going will hopefully bring most of what you need. Make sure to coordinate with them. It would be silly to each bring a tent, for instance. I wouldn’t worry too much about bugs at those temps. If you do get a tick, don’t panic. It probably takes more than 24 hours for a tick to transmit lyme, so you have plenty of time to remove it gently. We bought an awesome tick remover from our vet. (something like this one > **[CONTECH Tick Twister Pro - Chewy.com](https://www.chewy.com/contech-tick-twister-pro/dp/101422?dept=dog&utm_source=google-product&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=hg&utm_content=Contech&utm_term=&gclid=Cj0KEQjwrZ24BRC098fr-OqnuMkBEiQAKQ9lgLpGhm6VmUyZeknpOcR_EoHinvyEPKutkkMdCfCC2fQaAp4c8P8HAQ)** > > Buy Contech Tick Twister Pro at Chewy.com. FREE shipping and the BEST customer service! you slide the prongs on either side of the ticks mouthparts, then twist and gently pull to force the mouthparts together and remove the tick. My cat used to get lots of ticks. 🙂 ) ---
**Author:** ![Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/13edae/32.png) [@Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stranger_On_A_Train)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2016, 1:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/camping-necessities/751411/46 "2016-04-08T13:58:09Z")
> [@PoppaSan](#): > > I’ll answer to the bolded part. How about asking whomever invited / persuaded you to tell you what to bring? I’m going to assume for a minute they’ve camped before in the expected weather in the expected or similar location. They’ve already figured it out if they want to do it again. Never assume. I once went backpacking with a coworker who assured me of his experience. Morning after the first day I came to find out he’d worn cotton socks (and pretty much cotton everything else) and his feet were blistered like crazy and were also starting to get infected because he hadn’t washed and cleaned them the night before. I got him back out by filling a pair of sock liners with foot salve, dropped him off at an ER for treatment (it was that bad) and left him to bus it home. The o.p. is wise to ask for independent advice and has gotten a lot of good recommendations from this thread. Stranger ---
**Author:** ![blondebear](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blondebear/32/1022_2.png) [@blondebear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/blondebear)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2016, 2:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/camping-necessities/751411/47 "2016-04-08T14:48:40Z")
All this talk of necessities and preparation! Doesn’t the OP know that the best camping stories are the ones where things go wrong and people are miserable? You get a _ **lot** _ more mileage out of a tale of survival than from a weekend spent in worry-free comfort! 😃 ---
**Author:** ![enipla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/54ee81/32.png) [@enipla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/enipla)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2016, 3:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/camping-necessities/751411/48 "2016-04-08T15:02:27Z")
Make sure to keep your boots in the tent at night. They will stay a tiny bit warmer, and dry. Putting on wet frozen boots in the morning is not much fun. ---
**Author:** ![WhyNot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c77e96/32.png) [@WhyNot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WhyNot)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2016, 3:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/camping-necessities/751411/49 "2016-04-08T15:21:23Z")
> [@Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](#): > > Never assume. Truth. It boggles my mind how many experienced campers - people who have been camping for YEARS - show up to a campground for a 2 week stay with one pair of shoes, often sandals. And no first aid kit. And sometimes not their medications. Or menstrual supplies. Granted, we’re not exactly roughing it at festivals, and yes, we have a First Aid here, but come on…what did you think was going to happen when it rained and your shoes got all soggy?! I have band-aids, not Wellies! Sure, let’s bandage up your feet and then shove them back into dirty wet socks and dirty wet shoes, that’ll help. :dubious: (I actually love it when old soldiers volunteer in First Aid. They know a thing or two about treating trenchfoot, and they’re not afraid to chew your butt out for being an idiot!) What did you think was going to happen when you left that opened blister uncleaned overnight instead of treating it from your own first aid kit (that you didn’t bring) in your tent (that’s leaking and molding because you didn’t tarp it) because it was “too far” to walk to First Aid in the dark (and you forgot to bring extra batteries for your flashlight)? Congratulations, you earned yourself a referral to the Urgent Care an hour away for antibiotics. It’s not just one or two people, it’s several dozen out of a thousand people or so. And many of them do it every single year. :smack: ---
**Author:** ![Lacunae\_Matata](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/8491ac/32.png) [@Lacunae\_Matata](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lacunae_Matata)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2016, 4:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/camping-necessities/751411/50 "2016-04-08T16:53:05Z")
Solved the issue by not going. Horrible migraine for me, and poor Tony can barely walk today after having to sit in mediation meeting yesterday. ---
**Author:** ![Urbanredneck](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/ea5d25/32.png) [@Urbanredneck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Urbanredneck)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2016, 6:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/camping-necessities/751411/51 "2016-04-08T18:03:10Z")
> [@blondebear](#): > > All this talk of necessities and preparation! Doesn’t the OP know that the best camping stories are the ones where things go wrong and people are miserable? You get a _ **lot** _ more mileage out of a tale of survival than from a weekend spent in worry-free comfort! 😃 That is the way with the Boy Scouts. The boys love to brag about mud, rain, snow, and extreme temperatures. Granted a 12 year old coming home caked with mud doesnt make Mother too happy but oh well. ---
**Author:** ![Helena330](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/helena330/32/531_2.png) [@Helena330](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Helena330)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2016, 6:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/camping-necessities/751411/52 "2016-04-08T18:07:40Z")
> [@Lacunae\_Matata](#): > > Solved the issue by not going. Horrible migraine for me, and poor Tony can barely walk today after having to sit in mediation meeting yesterday. I was hoping you could get out of it but not the way you and Tony did. I hope you both feel better soon. ---
**Author:** ![Muffin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/muffin/32/4341_2.png) [@Muffin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Muffin)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2016, 6:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/camping-necessities/751411/53 "2016-04-08T18:07:51Z")
Hope you’re feeling better soon. ---
**Author:** ![Urbanredneck](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/ea5d25/32.png) [@Urbanredneck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Urbanredneck)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2016, 6:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/camping-necessities/751411/54 "2016-04-09T18:00:19Z")
To the OP, before this issue comes up again you might try just either camping out in your own backyard for a night just to see how your tent and sleeping bag arrangements feel. ---
**Author:** ![Lacunae\_Matata](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/8491ac/32.png) [@Lacunae\_Matata](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lacunae_Matata)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2016, 6:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/camping-necessities/751411/55 "2016-04-09T18:26:18Z")
The tent we had intended to use is actually the kind that encloses the back of a vehicle. If we had gone, we would have slept on the air mattress in the back of the Suburban (or Tony on the mattress and me in the middle seat, considering how restlessly he sleeps. I had no intention of getting trapped between the spare tire and someone twice my size!) And the heater I had intended to take was one of those small electric radiator type deals - no exposed heating elements nor worries about carbon monoxide. But we are reprieved from deciding whether to go up just for tonight. The other campers gave up. The wind is so bad that tents won’t stay up and boats can’t go in the lake. So there’s that. ---
**Author:** ![Scumpup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ce73a5/32.png) [@Scumpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scumpup)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2016, 6:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/camping-necessities/751411/56 "2016-04-09T18:40:55Z")
You should still be prepared to amputate your own leg, just in case. ---
**Author:** ![Lacunae\_Matata](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/8491ac/32.png) [@Lacunae\_Matata](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lacunae_Matata)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2016, 6:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/camping-necessities/751411/57 "2016-04-09T18:44:46Z")
> [@Scumpup](#): > > You should still be prepared to amputate your own leg, just in case. I have that first aid kit. Seriously. ---
**Author:** ![Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/13edae/32.png) [@Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stranger_On_A_Train)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2016, 6:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/camping-necessities/751411/58 "2016-04-09T18:59:56Z")
But do you have a suture kit to reattach the limb afterward? Stranger ---
**Author:** ![Lacunae\_Matata](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/8491ac/32.png) [@Lacunae\_Matata](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lacunae_Matata)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2016, 7:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/camping-necessities/751411/59 "2016-04-09T19:18:24Z")
Yup. ---
**Author:** ![Hocus\_Pocus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/41988e/32.png) [@Hocus\_Pocus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hocus_Pocus)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2016, 7:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/camping-necessities/751411/60 "2016-04-09T19:19:48Z")
Speaking of losing a leg… Here’s a great way to help out those who have: [https://www.crowdrise.com/adriannestrongrunsbostonmarathon/fundraiser/limbsforlifeorg](https://www.crowdrise.com/adriannestrongrunsbostonmarathon/fundraiser/limbsforlifeorg) ---
**Author:** ![Lacunae\_Matata](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/8491ac/32.png) [@Lacunae\_Matata](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lacunae_Matata)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2016, 7:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/camping-necessities/751411/61 "2016-04-09T19:33:55Z")
(Believe it or not, two of the weekend campers have already lost legs, and Tony was a breath away from the same a few weeks after the wreck - MRSA and enterobactyr, umpteen antibiotics, including 6 weeks of IV teflaro -sp? - and hyperbaric therapy. Through the years, I’ve been on scene for a lot of major first aid. My kit reflects that. Everything from airway support to a suture kit to super glue and those newer clot packs. I don’t play a doctor on TV, but I can do a decent imitation out in the wild!) [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/camping-necessities/751411.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/camping-necessities/751411.md?page=4)