While some adore the luxury of the modern camping experience, there are others who wish to stick with the basics. 

Here are some simple winter camping tips and tricks to help get you started and make you feeling more confident in your winter trip.

But before you do, take a moment to reflect on your past camping experiences. Think about which items were most useful and which ones were just a waste of space.

An honest evaluation of your gear can help you make better choices in the future. And if you’re new to back-to-basics camping, this checklist will help you make sure you don’t forget anything important on your next trip.

This list covers all the essentials for a successful winter adventure:

1. Backpack or duffel bag (with extra pockets)

Your bag should be large enough to fit everything on this list, as well as any extra items you might need, like a book or journal. Try to keep your bag light and compact so that you’re not carrying around more than what’s necessary.

2. Heavy duty sleeping bag (with an insulated cover)

Look for a sleeping bag that has an insulation rating of at least 20 degrees Fahrenheit (F). If you’re going on a longer trip, consider bringing two sleeping bags so that one can be used as an under-quilt in case it gets really cold at night.

3. Camping Tents

A tent is one of the most important pieces of camping gear you’ll need on your trip. There are many different types of tents available today, ranging from small backpacking tents to large family-sized tents. If you’re going solo or with one other person, I’d recommend getting a two-person tent that offers enough room for both people and their belongings inside. If there are more than two people traveling together, a three-person or four-person tent will do just fine as well.

4. Sleeping pad (foam or inflatable)

 Your body heat will be lost through your torso while sleeping, so it’s important to stay warm while you rest up at night. Therm-a-Rest NeoAir All Season pads are lightweight, high quality pads that provide insulation from the ground and help keep you warm at night.

5. Thermal underwear top and bottom 

Thermals are a must-have for winter camping because they keep you warm even if it gets really cold outside. You can get thermals from most outdoor stores or online retailers like Amazon. If you’re going on a long trip, consider getting two pairs so that you always have a clean set of clothes to wear in case one pair gets dirty or wet — especially if your campsite doesn’t have laundry facilities!

6. Waterproof boots or gaiters (waterproof hiking boots are ideal but snow boots work too)

It’s easy to get caught up in buying new gear at every opportunity, but if you already have a good pair of waterproof boots, there’s no need to rush out and buy another pair for winter. Instead, invest in some good gaiters that will keep snow and mud from getting inside your boots after a long day on the trail.

Winter camping can be an incredible experience if you’re prepared properly. And while cold weather may seem to bring increased complications in planning and execution, with a little pre-trip planning, your journey won’t be too much different than that for summer trips. As long as you remember to take the same essential items, your trip will go off without a hitch.

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It’s an excellent opportunity to experience nature, reflect, and enjoy your own company in a quiet and natural setting. You don’t need to worry about other people’s schedules or “be on” during your trip; it’s one of the most relaxing experiences that you can enjoy alone.

However, there are a number of things to consider when you’ve never been solo camping before, so listed before are some tips and things to remember before your solo camping trip.

Tips For First Time Solo Campers

There are many things you can do to prepare for your first solo camping trip, and it is essential that you prepare and make sure you’re ready. However, don’t let the fear of going solo camping stop you from enjoying the process, do your best and slowly test your solo camping skills.

Build Up To Solo Camping

Solo camping is a great experience, but diving right into a solo camping trip with no previous camping experience can be a mistake. If you’re interested in camping and building up to solo camping, start with going with friends or try booking a camping trip with a company that will take you out the first few times.

It’s important to make sure you understand the basics of camping, test out your gear, and have help close by if there are issues.

Once you’ve got a little experience, you’ll be ready to push forward with a solo camping trip, knowing that you have everything you need and the expertise to deal with any issues.

Learn Camping Skills

Learn the skills you’ll need for solo camping before throwing yourself into a dangerous or uncomfortable situation. Before you head out by yourself, get somebody to teach you or practice camping skills with others around. Once you’ve comfortable, you’re set for a solo camping trip.

You should practice and learn at least the following skills:

• Navigation with a compass
• Pitch your tent or create your sleeping environment
• Build a fire
• Options for creating or finding clean water
• How to set up your campsite.
• How to handle wildlife, including things like bears.
• Learn to read weather forecasts so you don’t go out in storms.
• Take an outdoor first-aid course to address any injuries you might sustain

Talk to guides or friends who go camping to see what else you should know, including information on the local areas in which you plan to solo camp. You might pick up some hints or tips from others.

Document Your Trip

Before you ever go for your first solo camping trip, you need to learn how to document where you’re going and who you should be telling that to. At a minimum, you should be telling family or friends where you’re going, when you’re expected to return and any other information that could help if you don’t come back on time.

You can also document all this information and leave it on the counter at your house; you can also check in with rangers or other workers in the location you will be camping.

Your goal is to make it as easy as possible for people to find you if there is a problem.

Emergency Equipment

You should also be looking for an emergency device that can help rescuers pinpoint your location. This is extremely important if you plan to hike or leave your campsite at all.

Whether you’re an experienced hiker or don’t plan to do much, you never know what will happen or how the weather can change on you. So keep the device on you at all times when you leave your campsite, especially when you go hiking.

A cell phone won’t cut it as the reception could be poor, so a dedicated emergency beacon or satellite phone would be required.

So, ensuring that you document and tell your plans to people and have a way to communicate your location will be essential to keeping you safe if anything happens while you’re solo camping.

Pack Light But Essentially

The key to a fun and comfortable solo camping trip is picking the right gear to keep you safe, comfortable, and happy. You need to consider what is essential and how you can make things lighter for yourself.

You will be hiking all of your equipment to your campsite by yourself and will need to set everything up by yourself. So weight and understanding all of your equipment will be important.

Essential items would be, but aren’t limited to:

Shelter

You have a few options for your shelter; you can pick a tent, live under the stars, or bring a tarp. Your bedding and preferences will determine the best option; however, colder environments would do better with a tent.

The other big factor will be how heavy your shelter is; a tarp is exceptionally light, but you can get 1-2 person tents that are less than 5 lbs and even as light as 2-3 lbs.

Having a tent adds weight but also allows you to feel safer and store all of your items inside the tent. You should make sure that you can set your tent up at home before you go into the wild.

Bedding

Bedding and shelter go hand in hand; if you’re going for a tent, getting a sleeping bag and a mat for comfort would be a good idea. The tent + sleeping bag + mat will be the heaviest option but potentially the most comfortable for your solo camping trip.

Many solo campers opt for a hammock and either sleep under the stars or put a tarp overhead to keep light rain away.

You could also look for bivy sacks, which are essentially sleeping bags with weatherproofing around them. They give you the warmth and comfort of a sleeping bag without needing a tent. It’s minimalistic but an alternative to hammocks.

Cooking

While solo camping, you don’t want to rely only on cold snacks; being able to heat some real food will help keep you warm and a lot happier by having something good in your stomach.

A basic gas cooker with a single pot is all you need; just make sure that you bring enough gas or limit your use.

Lighting

Having a headlamp and some other lighting can be helpful if you need to maneuver around at night or check on anything that you may hear or want to see when it gets darker. Headlamps are great because it keeps your hands free when you’re alone solo camping.

Shovel

Having a shovel or entrenching tool may add some extra weight to your pack, but it’s extremely helpful when you’re digging a bathroom, and the right entrenching tool can even be used as a toilet seat when you’re done.

Now you be all set for a whole load of adventures! Let us know how you get on by using #Wandelen in your posts…

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