There’s something about heading off to visit Mother Nature, with nothing but you, lots of trees and a cheerful campfire. It’s the best way to experience total peace and quiet. There are no other people, no smog, nothing to do but relax for the weekend. If this sounds irresistible to you, then make sure you do some planning before you head off.

Check out what sort of camping gear you already have. While you might be keen to escape the modern world, it might not be so much fun if you’re sleeping on hard ground with a thin sleeping bag and it starts to rain. Don’t worry if you don’t have all the gear you need for your great escape into nature. If you look online you’ll find plenty of sites where you can look at camping gear, compare different styles and brands, then buy what’s right for you.

It can be a bit more difficult to know what you need if you’ve never been camping before. Generally, a tent is necessity. You can chance the weather, but that’s only for the very hardy souls! Perhaps if you’re going to be close to some well protected caves you can get away without a tent, but otherwise you’ll be very glad you have one when that thunderstorm rolls in. Persistent insects and wildlife are also less of a nuisance when you’re in a tent.

If you’re planning on cooking any food over the campfire, a good campfire grill makes life much easier. If there are fire restrictions or there’s no wood available for a campfire, then take along a camping stove. You’ll also need some basic cooking utensils, including some pans. Never use your best utensils out of the kitchen; they inevitably get burnt, melted, lost or almost impossible to clean.

Just in case the stars aren’t sufficient, a strong torch with fresh batteries or a camping lantern can help. If you need to go wandering in the night, you’ll want to be able to check out your surroundings. For sleeping, make sure your sleeping bag is suitable for the conditions you’ll be encountering. If you have a lightweight summer bag and it starts to snow, you won’t get much sleep because you’ll be shivering the whole night.

If you’re really planning to get away from the world, to the point that you won’t be near your car at night, then you’ll need a backpack to carry everything with you. Modern designs are truly wonderful, with all sorts of features to make carrying a pack more comfortable. You can find packs suitable for anything you might plan to do, including strolling round a local park right through to heavy going trekking in the wilderness. Take the time to think about what you need to use the backpack for, perhaps even visit a camping store and chat to the salesperson, but if you choose wisely you won’t regret it.

Remember, in the end it’s important to travel light when you’re going camping. You don’t want to have so much stuff in your backpack that you can’t even lift it! It’s easy to get carried away and buy far too many things and spend a lot of money, but it doesn’t need to be that way. Take the time to think about the sort of camping you’re likely to do, where you’re likely to go, what the weather conditions will probably be, and then choose carefully. By doing that, you’ll get the maximum use out of whatever camping gear you buy, and so you’ll get great value for money.

Truck tents are becoming more and more popular everywhere from West Coast to the East Coast and all the cities in between. Most stores are selling out of truck tents. Truck tents are a great way to incorporate the extra space from the back of the truck as your own personal camping area. For the price of a regular hotel you can purchase your own tents that will last for several years. These tents are easy to put up anything used almost anywhere in less than 20 minutes.

Sleeping outside is always a fun way to spend family time why not use the bed of your truck as your tent you will be surprised at how easy a truck tent is. You can also purchase an air mattress to use in your truck tent, then you’ll be off the ground and sleeping on a comfortable mattress. These types of tents are very new but they are growing in popularity every day.

There are two major types of truck tents; one that has its own floor and one without floors. If you choose a tent that has a sewn in floor you will have to take out everything from the bed of your truck before you can put the tent up. If you purchase a tent without floors, then you can leave your gear in the truck while you set up the tent.

Some companies that sell truck tents will recommend that you face the truck a certain direction when camping. Usually the manufacturers will recommend that the front of the truck is facing into the wind. If you do decide to face your truck into the wind you may notice that it will help keep the rain out of your truck or tent. Many of the higher and truck tents are tight enough that it does not matter which way you face your vehicle.

Another major difference between truck tents is the type of polls that are used. Some manufacturers give tent poles that are color coded so they are a lot easier to install. For the tents that do not come with color coded tent poles many people do adjust to this and learn quickly how to install their truck tent correctly. Another downside to the variety of tent poles is that some tent poles actually require you to crawl inside the tent in order to put the tent up.

If you enjoy camping and you own a truck you should definitely try a truck tent. They are great way to enjoy the outdoors while sleeping off of the ground. Because you’re sleeping off of the ground you’re less likely to get wet from the ground. Also the sides of the truck offer you more protection from the wind and cold and you may find that you are warmer in a truck tent than you would be an irregular tent. Truck tents are a great new way for families and couples to enjoy the great outdoors together they do not cost very much money and you can find tents to fit almost every model of vehicle. The next time you are thinking about buying a new tent consider buying a truck tent.

The Australian swag has been around for a long time but not in it’s current form.

Swags, or swag bedrolls as they are also known, are becoming the must have camp bed for camping, fishing, outback adventure, motorbike clubs, school camps and staying overnight at friends.

Traditionally they were used in the outback as a travelling bed roll by the station workers (most have heard the tale of the jolly swag man) but more and more they are becoming used by city folk interested in a weekend fishing trip who want a quick, easy, tough roll out bed that protects them from rain and midges.

Essentially the modern swag is a thin tough mattress in a canvas wrap around, sometimes with insect meshing where the vents are.

They differ from tents in two aspects, the first being that the swag is usually made from canvas whereas most tents these days are made from nylon which doesn’t breathe. This means that in rainy weather when you are inside your swag there is no build up of heat and condensation as happens in closed in nylon tents. The second difference is that swags are a lot quicker and simpler to set up (or at least they should be).

There has also been a shift in swag making away from the traditional heavy cotton canvases of the past fifty years which, when wet, became very heavy. Your modern swag is likely to be made from the new industrial canvases being made in Australia which combine lightness with strength.

When choosing a swag you should consider whether you will be using it for more beach or bush as there are different features that suit both. The bush swag should probably have a slightly heavier mattress or some sort of cold stop to contend with the ground cold that can be a factor, particularly in winter, whereas the beach swag should definately have some sort of screening against mosquitoes and midges.

Remember also that ants, especially green ants, need to be guarded against as a dry swag is just what they love when wet ground is rising.

In other articles we go into more detail as to what you should look for and avoid when choosing a swag as well as how to care for your swag so that it lasts a lifetime.