Extreme Cold Camping

Someone once called me crazy for camping in Idaho when it was -25 degrees out. I called them a joker. In other words, some people get a thrill out of extreme cold camping. Before you go, remember these precautions to stay safe.

Bring a bag made for your camping conditions. An excellent sleeping bag is never more important than when the temperature is below zero. I once tried to use my 15 degree bag as a simple -5 degree bag. I am positive I almost died that night. Before the night was through I had used my belay parka, 3 beanies, two pairs of pants and my down boots, and still was not warm. It seemed like my sleeping bag wasn't even warming me. Lying there, freezing rather than sleeping, I told myself never to make that mistake again. Before buying a new bag, I built a foam insert bag and a down cover to extend the range of my bag, this was a good option in a tight budget situation, but has nothing on my ultra warm bag.

Remember you can go home. I have insisted so many times that I could survive in the

cold, even without the proper neccessities. No one is going to blame you when you come

home and it is -20, but they just might if you get frostbite on your nose, or fingers and toes like I have. Trust me it is not worth saying that you are that tough.

Sleeping Bag - SP-1303-A

Why You Need A Waterproof Canopy As Part Of Your Camping Gear

Taking along a waterproof canopy on your next camping trip is a good idea. The canopy can be used for several different applications that will make the experience all the more enjoyable. In fact, you will wonder how you ever got along without one.  

Designated Kitchen Area  

One of the fun things about camping is the ability to cook outside. In order to make sure the camp site is organized and you can cook even if a little rain moves into the area, set up a waterproof canopy for the cooking area. You can easily set up the grill, position the cooler and even place a small table that is ideal for food preparation. If the canopy is large enough, you can even leave room for a couple of camping chairs to make the space a little cozier.  

For maximum benefit, invest in a canopy that comes with detachable screens. These can easily be snapped into place if mosquitoes become a nuisance. Assuming you are camping at grounds set aside for the purpose rather than in the forest, you can also zip up the screens at the end of the day and rest assured your kitchen will be ready for use first thing in the morning.  

Play Area for the Kids  

If you have young children along for the camping expedition, the waterproof canopy can serve as the designated play area. Accent the canopy with some type of comfortable cover for the ground, then let the kids enjoy their toys. The construction of the canopy makes it easy for the adults to watch the children and respond if one begins to wander off. Consider taking along an air mattress so the kids can have an afternoon nap in the play area rather than having to retire to the more confined space in the family tent. 

When choosing the right canopy for your camping trip, make sure the device will be large enough to serve the purposes you have in mind. Also make sure the frame can be assembled with a minimum of effort. Since the goal of a camping trip is to get away from the fast pace of everyday living, you don't want to spend a lot of your time putting together the camp site. If everything can be set up in less than an hour, that will leave more time to enjoy the sights, take in some fishing and allow yourself the luxury of not doing anything on a set schedule.

camping tent, camo, folding tent, 2-person

Benefits of Sling Backpacks for Your Back

Backpacks are extremely popular due to the fact that they allow you an easy means to carry many things while keeping your hands free for anything else you might need them for. Most backpacks are quite roomy which encourages you to put as much into them as they will hold. Doing this can create a hazard for your back, and has been the source of many back problems in young children.

For your safety, it is important to remember not to overload backpacks with heavy items whose weight could unknowingly hurt your back. If you need an easy transporting option for several heavy items, consider investing in a backpack with wheels. This way you can roll heavy backpacks to where you are going instead of putting all that weight onto your back and shoulders.

The combined weight of items placed in a backpack is not the only thing that can pose a threat to back health. It is important to pay attention to the style of backpack you choose to use for yourself or your children. There are certain backpack styles that can be harmful to your body regardless of how many books or things you put in them. Some backpack styles are better choices than others are when it comes to protecting your back from possible strain and injuries that can result from carrying even lighter loads incorrectly.

Sling backpacks are a great choice for your back than many other types of backpacks. A sling backpack allows you to effortlessly shift your backpack from behind your back to the side of your hips or to your front, to give your back a rest. Since you can keep shifting the sling backpack without having to stop and remove the backpack and replace where you want it, you can prevent your back, hips, or stomach muscles from becoming overly strained and tired while still walking towards where you need to be.

Sling backpacks are widely available online and through many retail outlets and local stores. Sling backpacks can come in many exciting colors and styles that appeal to young children, teens, adults, and even grandparents. Many sling backpacks also have added features that expand their versatility and popularity. Sling backpacks are making impressing strides in popularity as you can see them being used in elementary, middle, and high schools, on college campuses, at the office, on the sidelines at soccer games, and on the streets, as many people like the hands-free carrying of multiple items that backpacks offer them.

Backpack - BK-1252-A

Backpack Styles: Which is best for you?（2）

If you are intending an all-out expedition lasting a week or more, then you should consider a full pack, which are backpacks that have room for all the gear you'll need to survive in the woods for weeks. Most full packs have either an internal or an external frame, and can offer as much as 6,000 cubic inches of packing space. A full pack backpack like the High Peak Katmandu 70 + 10 Internal Frame Backpack may offer features like a full rain cover including hood to keep you and your gear dry in wet weather. Look for additional features like a bottom zipper to allow access to the bottom of the main compartment and multiple places to attach other gear on the outer backpack.

How does it fit?

Adjustable straps are all well and good, but some backpacks are a better fit than others. A backpack that does not fit comfortably can leave you with an aching back, or tire you out to the point where you have to quit hiking early. Some points to watch out for include:

How much packing space do you need?

What can you fit into 1,000 cubic inches? How about 5,000 cubic inches? In general, the following rules of thumb apply:

If you are selecting a pack for day trips or around the town use, then you should be fine with a day pack that has a capacity of up to 1,500 cubic inches. Kids' backpacks can be proportionally smaller.

If you plan on taking weekend trips or doing light backpacking and hiking, then you may want a backpack that's substantially larger. A capacity of 1,750 to 3,000 cubic inches will provide plenty of packing room for clothes and gear for one person on a weekend camping trip.

If you are carrying gear for more than one person, or for an extended trip, look for a full pack with over 3,000 cubic inches of packing space. A full pack with an external frame will distribute weight evenly and make your backpacking trip a pleasure.

Inspired by vintage hunting gear, This hiking pack focuses heavily on timeless

combined fabrics and retro distressed design. The hiking rucksacks combined

with rugged cotton canvas, waxed canvas, distressed cowhide and pigskin.

We designed it with an easy collar stud closure, meaning it can be opened and

closed without fastening buckles. It's also equipped with two exterior side

pockets, a exterior front pocket, a interior zip pocket and two interior slip

pockets. So it's extremely functional and tough.

Whether you are a women or a men, this hiking pack is an ideal choice for you.

Don't forget to take it around you when go to school, climbing, hiking.

Backpack - BK-1225-A

Backpack Styles: Which is best for you?（1）

Whether you are an avid trekker or a student whose longest hike is across your college's campus, the backpack style that you choose can, quite literally, make or break your back. If you are in the market for a new backpack you will find yourself faced with hundreds of choices and styles. Between internal frames and external frames, padded straps and cubic inches of packing space, there is a lot more to consider than simply the aesthetic appeal of a backpack. The question is how do you decide which backpack is the best backpack style for you?

The best way to determine which backpack to buy is to ask yourself a series of questions to narrow down your choices.

Why do you need a backpack?

The first question that you need to answer is why you need a backpack in the first place? How will you use it? A backpack that would be used to carry all of your belongings on a trek across Europe should offer far different features than one that is used to carry diapers and formula for your daily runs around town. Likewise, if you are heading out on a long distance trip through mountainous terrain or the woods, you could benefit greatly from bringing along a pack that can carry a lot of equipment comfortably without being too heavy.

A day packis meant for light trekking, when carrying a lot of gear and weight is not an issue. If your main use for a backpack is to haul stuff around with you for use during the day, then a day pack like the Travel Gear Ur Gear Backpack will work just fine. The DadGear Basic Black Diaper Backpack is a daypack with special features designed specifically for parents toting along an infant or toddler. Other daypacks are designed with students in mind and offer features like outside pockets for MP3 players and cell phones.

A pack like the High Peak Black Diamond Backpack is the ideal compromise between a lightweight day pack and a full pack meant for longer expeditions. The High Peak Black Diamond features over 1,500 cubic inches of packing space, foam-padded shoulder straps and a chest and hip belt to help keep the pack attached to where it belongs on your body. It also includes hiking features like holders for a shovel, ice axe and snowboard. While it does not have an internal frame, it does feature a removable aluminum support bar to give the backpack additional strength. Finally, it is compatible with hydration systems for packing along filtered water and making it easy to access while trekking.

Decent vintage hiking packs to recall the good memory.

Backpack - BK-1228-A

Tactical Backpacks: Must-haves for the Active Police Force

Police officers are required to carry plenty of equipment especially during field operations as part of their job, said equipment of which are best carried in backpacks. But not just any backpack, however, because conventional backpacks are unsatisfactory for the demands of the job – only tactical backpacks will do for police officers on the job!

What are tactical packs in the first place? These are part of the standard load-bearing equipment of military soldiers and police officers used to carry extra weapons and ammunition, food rations, medical supplies, tents and sleeping gear, and extra clothes, among other important items necessary for survival in the field.

To say that tactical backpacks are must-haves for police officers is an understatement indeed. Here are a few reasons why police officers should have their individual tactical packs while on the job of serving and protecting their fellowmen in their official capacity.

Larger Space

Tactical backpacks are also designed with as many pockets and compartments as possible because of the wide variety of items that must be placed inside. As previously mentioned, these backpacks are designed to carry everything that a police officer – or a civilian using it for camping or travelling, for that matter – will require on the job especially during tactical missions. Thus, the more space provided by the backpack, the better for the purpose intended.

Where conventional backpacks only have a single large compartment and a few pockets in the front and sides, tactical packs are chockfull of compartments and pockets necessary for packing everything except for the kitchen sink, so to speak.

With all these features of tactical backpacks, it's no wonder that even non-police officers are buying these bags for their own uses

Backpack - BK-1210-A

Backpacking Around The World: What You Don't Need To Take

Picture the scene: you've just stepped off a ten hour bus ride that you were assured would take 3 hours. You're hot, you have dust in your eyes, your bottled water is down to the last warm plastic-flavoured drips and you're craving some food that doesn't look like a skewered insect. Behold! You spot a hostel gleaming at the end of the lane so you adorn your trusted backpack and head towards that paradise of beds, cool beer and delicious curry. You have 2 choices

Your backpack contains at least one of the following: the plug for the plug-less bath in the land of showers, a fleece just in case Asia's climate takes a historical plummet, a thick jumper based on the same reasoning, a pair of hard core trekking shoes when you've been prancing over mountains in your 1 dollar flip flops, a 2.5 kg iron chain and lock (waterproof variety) to protect your backpack in all eventualities. You get the picture. You struggle a few steps but the shouts of the tuk tuk touts prove too tempting for the lift to the hostel, even if you know it's at the 'special' touristica price.

You carry a simple roll of toilet paper for those doubtless bouts of traveller-tummy, a guide book for some handy advice, spare undies, toothbush and paste, a scarf-it's multi-purpose, shampoo, cash and passport. The essentials. And you're away...at the hostel in no time, a cool shower, a clean bed and a cool beer in your hand. You know it makes sense

It has the comfiest straps of the bunch, and a goggle pocket with a separate

lens pouch for covering your bases when it comes to vision in the backcountry.

It has the comfiest straps of the bunch, and a goggle pocket with a separate

lens pouch for covering your bases when it comes to vision in the backcountry.

Backpack - BK-1217-A