Camping and hiking

Camping and Hiking season: Is your family ready?

Regular camping and hiking is already challenging, and with kids, it can even be a bit more challenging than usual. Don’t you agree?  But… it’s not impossible, it can even be tons of fun! It might even be a great way to get your kids interested in the great outdoors and if you make all the necessary preparations it’ll make sure that your kids maintain an active lifestyle that will help them be healthy! 

Of course, hiking and camping can be a little dangerous sometimes, so you’ll need to prepare well for it.  Anything can happen, so it can’t hurt to be a little over-prepared!  If you’re looking to camp and hike with your kids anytime soon, here are some of our best preparation tips and how to make it a little more enjoyable than your usual camping trip.

 

Be familiar with the lay of the land.

Do lots of research on your hiking trail and your camping spot. If you see anything that might not be right for your family (unsafe swimming grounds etc) – it’s best to avoid that trail/spot.

Pick a well-known camping/hiking spot, and pick a date where there are fewer people so you and your kids won’t be sharing with too many people which will make it more enjoyable.

 

A sturdy but easy to build tent goes a long way.

It’s rather easy to find what you’re looking for now, especially since there’s the internet now. Two things you need to look for- make sure that you’ve checked both the specs and check the reviews. 

Your tent is going to be your most important item on your camping trip, so don’t settle for anything less than the best. Look for the highest rated tents in different online stores (and for the best price).

If you’re doing an overnight camping trip, then it’s absolutely imperative that you bring a portable light source. Some excellent LED light bars are great sources of light. Simply attach them to the corners of your tent and you should have your tent well-lit.

 

Bring a reliable food and drink container.

You’re looking for something that’ll be enough to keep the cold or heat in, and like your tent don’t be afraid to splurge out on this- you’ll be using this for a long time, and if your first trip goes really well you’re bound to have many more.  That makes both your tent and your cooler important long-term investments.  Make sure to pack in all the important safety gear too, such as a first-aid kit, or other mobile lighting equipment such as flashlights for when it gets dark (that’s if you’re doing it overnight).

Now that the most important gear is out of the way, here are some fun additions that we recommend:

Invest in a reliable power source for your mobile devices such as a Powerbank. However, don’t use your mobile phone often- show your kids that this is an offline trip with limited gadgets so you can all ‘switch off’ and enjoy the scenery!

Don’t miss out on any memories while you’re on the trip so bring a camera to capture them all.  Big DSLRs are a bit hard to lug along while on a camping or hiking trip, so the perfect one to bring along is an action camera. And, since you’d want your kids to take videos and pictures of their own, it’d be great to get a simple action camera that’s a bit like a point and shoot camera, on top of it is durable enough to withstand shock if ever they let go of it.   If you’re thinking that action cameras are way too expensive to buy just for a few hiking trips, look at alternatives in the market other than a GoPro- for example, cameras at Elinz are an excellent alternative, with all the features found in most action cameras at a great price point.  The wrist-wrap controls are also great for keeping your hands free. With the action camera mounted properly, you should be able to capture all that’s happening while you’re out hiking.    A drone is also a great alternative, but make sure that you’re supervising your kids while they’re trying it out or you’ve at least show them how to use it properly. You’ll be capturing these memories that your kids can look up anytime when they grow up.

Remember to stay safe, have fun, and always look for creative ways to build memories with your children!

About the author

John

John is a writer for Elinz, an online electronics store based in Australia

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5 rounds of

  • 5 inch worms
  • 10 push ups
  • 10 squats
  • 30s – 1min plank
  • 30s – 1min bridge