Don’t Forget These Commonly Forgotten Camping Supplies!

You’ve planned your outdoor adventure weeks in advance, you find a campground, you’ve checked your list twice, and you’ve got everything packed. It isn’t until you’re at the campsite that you realize you’ve forgotten something you never even considered. Forgotten camping items can throw all your plans into disarray.

These kinds of oversights can cause a disruption in your restful camping trip, as well as potentially creating unplanned stops to the nearest store. Blain’s Farm & Fleet wants to ensure your camping trip goes as smoothly as possible, so we put together a list of commonly forgotten items that you may have not considered to bring but sure come in handy once you reach your camping destination.

Don’t forget these items:

Water

When planning a camping trip, water may seem like an obvious item to bring, but it’s one that’s commonly overlooked. Aside from drinking purposes, water is required for various tasks while camping including cooking, cleaning, brewing tea or coffee, and keeping up with personal cleanliness.

Dehydration can cause many problems, including muscle cramps, fatigue, dizziness, and in extreme cases urinary and kidney problems and seizures. To avoid dehydration, the amount of water that a person should drink in a day depends on many factors. The U.S National Academies of Science, Engineering and Medicine recommends drinking 15.5 cups of water per day for men, and 11.5 cups per day for women.

However, when you are camping you don’t only use water for drinking, but for various tasks as well like cooking and cleaning. Water is essential for cleanliness and making tea and coffee. Because of this, you will need to bring more water than you may expect. Conventional advice says that you will likely use around 2 gallons of water per person, per day of the trip between cooking, cleaning, and drinking. You may need more water than you think, so it is best to be prepared!

Without the ability to do these tasks, your camping trip can become much more difficult and far less relaxing, which is why it’s important to come prepared with a large stock of clean water. You can buy pre-filled water jugs or use a portable water container to bring water from home.

Snacks

You may be keeping up with weather forecasting, but things can still happen. Camping may be all about cooking your favorite meals over the fire, but in the event of a rainstorm or being away from your campsite doing your favorite outdoor activity, it’s important to pack a variety of protein-filled snacks. Trail-mixes, granola bars, jerky, dried or dehydrated fruits, and sandwich ingredients are all good snack choices to bring along on your camping trip to serve as alternative food sources when cooking over a fire isn’t available.

Repair kits

When you’re experiencing the great outdoors, the last thing you want is to wake up in the middle of the night with a flat air mattress or to arrive at the beach only to find your inner tube has deflated. Accidents happen, and sometimes things get damaged, so when your camping tent has a small hole in it, or your sleeping bag has a hole in it, it is always best to be prepared. It’s always handy to have a repair kit on hand to make quick, easy repairs.

Wash Basin

This may not be a camping essential that you’d think to bring when you plan on “roughing it” in the outdoors but trust us, you’ll be thankful you brought it. A wash basin provides a convenient place to clean dishes while reducing water usage, which, if you’re at a campsite with no running water, you’ll want to conserve as much water as you can. A water basin on a picnic table also work nicely as a hand-washing station.

Hatchet or knife

Since firewood is usually at the top of most campers’ item list, it’s easy to assume you won’t need tools like a hatchet or a knife, but they are items that are highly recommended. Hatchets and knives come in handy when foraging for kindling and other fire-starter materials as well as for opening food packaging and protection from wild animals.

Plus, you can even attempt to enhance your whittling skills around the fire. It’s a good idea to bring a cover for your knife or hatchet for safety purposes as well as to keep your blades clean.

First Aid Kit

Even if you aren’t camping out in the wilderness, accidents can still happen. Regardless if you’re camping in a campground or out in the woods, you should always have a first-aid kit on hand. First-aid kits should contain all the essential items you’ll need to treat any potential accident you may encounter on your trip from minor cuts and scrapes to bug bites and poison ivy. You can buy pre-made first-aid kits or create your own if you want a more personalized kit.

First aid kits also can be useful in helping others that you may find out in the great outdoors. Accidents and things happen in the great outdoors, so this first aid kit can not only help yourself but may allow you to give aid to other’s in the great outdoors. Ultimately, it’s better to have it and not use it, then not have it and really need it!

Of course, you’ll have many more items that you’ll need for your camping trip, such as camping chairs, cast iron, duct tape, and a camp table but we wanted to provide you with a few items that you’ll most likely need but may not realize it. You can find all these items, and more, at your local Blain’s Farm & Fleet store.

The next time you plan a camping trip to a United States national forest or national park, check out our more detailed list of camping items, complete your Camping Checklist, and browse our Camping blog for more camping tips.