Travel Tips

Where To Purchase Your Camping Equipment

Do you like to go camping? Do you go with friends or family and do you help with the planning? If so, then you almost certainly already have a lot of the items you require, but as you doubtless already know, there is always something you have to purchase for each trip. If you are planning your first trip, then it is to be hoped that this short piece will give you some tips.

In fact, there are quite a lot of sources of camping gear. Some offer better value for money than others, some offer low quality gear and others offer high quality at high prices. The trick is to be somewhere in the middle, where you can get good quality equipment which is fit for purpose at the correct cost and this is what we will help you to do.

One of the first points to comprehend, and it is very useful to understand this , is that a camper needs camping gear, ie the tent, sleeping bag, et cetera and camping supplies, ie food, insect repellent et cetera. It is helpful to realize the difference because some camping shops sell both gear and supplies, whereas others just sell one or the other.

Starting with camping gear. You can buy camping gear on line at dedicated camping shops, at department shops and at eBay and Amazon. The trick here is to do some research first to find out what is the best of what you require and how much it costs and then to go looking on line for that particular item manufactured by that particular manufacturer. You will absolutely save money by purchasing on line, but you have to be more careful of fakes.

Army and Navy Surplus shops are pretty good too. After all, if it is decent enough for our fighting forces it is not going to fall apart the first time it rains or blows a bit. I have always found it difficult to come out of an army and navy store without purchasing anything, even if they did not have what I went in there for. I always end up buying a new compass or a knife or some other knick-knack.

Department stores are next and you can pick up good deals out of season, otherwise they tend to be expensive and you have to be cautious of not buying ‘kiddies gear’ meant for use in the back garden by mistake. Sports stores and dedicated camping shops are usually very reliable, selling the best gear at the top prices.

Now on to camping supplies. To be honest, what do you eat while camping that you do not eat at home every week? Moose, squirrel, possum, deer? Well, you are not going to take that with you anyway, are you, so you may as well get your camping supplies from your favourite supermarket.

Or you can go to the camping shop and pay over the odds for ‘specialist foods’ and ‘survival rations’, but again, to be honest, you would be better off acquiring things like that either on line or at the Army and Navy store again. If you want to try out some of these army rations, it can be fun, but get them at knock-down prices from the A&N.

Owen Jones, the author of this article, writes on a number of topics, but is now concerned with the egg crate foam mattress pad. If you would like to know more, please visit our website at Egg Crate Mattress Pad For Sale.

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