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Summer = camping

Are you a camper? Or a wannabe camper? Maybe you want to dip your toe in the water and don’t quite know where to begin. I’ve been there, and I know it can be overwhelming. The aisles at Canadian Tire are filled to the rafters with gear. Do I need a special container to store eggs? Do we need to buy an axe? Bear bells? What’s the best way to avoid getting eaten alive by mosquitoes?

Here’s a tip, if you’re just starting out I suggest you buy a few lightweight sleeping bags and then beg, borrow and buy the rest of it secondhand for your first time out. You never know, you might just hate camping. I hate to be blunt, but let’s face it, camping is not for everyone. (And just for the record, we love camping. We’ve been going with the kids ever since they were two.)

Here are a few ideas of some of the things you can snag from your local Used.ca site, such as UsedOttawa.com. CHEAP.

Tents

Show your Canadian pride with this Tim Hortons tent, start the party in this 5 persons tent or go into the wild, protecting yourself from bears by sleeping in a rooftop tent.

 

Boats and canoes

Trailers and transportation

In fact, there are plenty of campers and trailers on the site right now – look! Whether it’s a 5th wheel you’re looking for or a vintage trailer, you’ll find it.

Camp stoves

Get one with a couple of burners (you know, in case you can’t get that fire started and your kids are STARVING). Or you could get a portable BBQ, definitely easier to light than a wet fire pit.

A source of light

Because it gets pretty dark in the woods. You can go for the traditional camping lanterns or for a unique, and extremely breakable, glass propane lamp.

A backpack

For when you hit the trails: One barbie backpack for the toys, a carrier for happy children and a 80L backpack for all the food.

Folding chairs

When you return from the aforementioned trail, exhausted, you’ll be glad you thought of these. Sure, you can go for the traditional foldable nylon camping chair, but why don’t you explore your creative side with this foldable chair and get a camping high chair to keep your child from exploring too many of the bugs during dinner.

Hunting/gathering equipment

Fishing-rods and/or hunting equipment. For the die-hard outdoor, nature and hunting fans, how about a fold up hunting cabin?

Cooler

And a place to store your perishables. The standard igloo cooler keeps things cool, the electrical car cooler keeps them cooler and the coolest of them all is undoubtedly the vintage coca cola cooler.

What else am I missing?

Are you a camper? We’d love to hear what’s on your “must bring” list (besides the beer of course).

Mother of two imps and wife of one. Writer, photographer, pro blogger, adventure-seeker, Ottawaholic, social media evangelist and lover of STUFF. Also known as @missfish on Twitter.

7 Responses to “Summer = camping”

[…] all about camping gear over at the UsedEverywhere blog today. Tell us, what’s on your “must bring” […]

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FireMom

We take our teeny tiny battery powered radio (that, in our home, is just for weather stuff when the power goes out) so we can listen to tunes. So far it works for all since we all listen to the same music. I predict that will not always be the case!

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    Andrea Tomkins

    A radio is a must! We have a small hand-crank radio. No batteries needed!

Krista

rubber boots, rain gear (and red wine!) in case of inclement weather. 🙂

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binki

I bought a fantastic tent off usedOttawa last winter. It was exactly what I needed (big, high quality, good shape) for CHEAP.

I heart UsedOttawa.

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Jesse funk

Camera ( point and shoot ones)

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[…] Last week I wrote about some cool camping-related items from the UsedOttawa website. Well, I’m still browsing. It’s been non-stop really. As some of you might already know, my family is venturing into a big home renovation. I’ve given myself the title of “chief decorator and ideas person” and so I’ve been scouring UsedOttawa for some great finds for our home. […]

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