If you take a quick Google of wild camping tips, you’ll gain a lot of lists of really obvious things like don’t forget to bring a tent and don’t forget to bring bug spray. Those are really obvious for a reason and you’re not stupid. So therefore we decided to put together a list of top tips for camping in the wild that don’t include silly tips. Wild camping doesn’t need a reminder to take a tent. It’s actually pretty patronizing to have that reminder. You need to be able to finish your camping game and make everything a bit smoother.
There’s nothing better than laying in the rain and the wind and of course in a tent, but knowing that you’re not on a dedicated camping site, that you’re out in the wilderness and doing things yourself. You’ve brought the binoculars and you can see the stars because there’s no light pollution. You can hunt. If you’re in a legal area to hunt, you can find amazing looking birds that you may not have seen on your usual commute to work. Wild camping is not something that’s easy to do, but it’s something that’s fun and raw and definitely all about nature. So let’s take a look at our top tips for camping in the wild.
- Add a key ring to your sleeping bag zipper. See, like we said, these are not the typical top tips. Sleeping bag zips are notoriously hard to find in the dark, and the last thing you want to do is have to put on a light every time you want to look for it. Adding a key ring to the zipper of your sleeping bag can help you to find it quickly and easily. Make sure that you pick something that’s light and not too bulky and something that’s not going to be annoying and get in the way when you’re trying to rest.
2. Some plastic bags for wet boots. When you’re camping in the wilderness, you’re likely also hiking in the wilderness. You should never put your boots inside the tent in case there’s anything muddy and wet on the boots or you’ve got ticks on them. Bring a plastic bag so that you can put your boots in them and that avoids bringing them into the tent in the first place. Bringing them in gives them at least a chance to drive, but having some newspaper can also make a big difference because you can scrunch that up inside the boot. That will suck the moisture out and allow you to keep using them so that you don’t just have to use them once.
3. Bring waterproof mats. You could even bring tarp if that’s all you have access to, but bringing waterproof mats is a good idea. When you’re inside the tent, you should have a waterproof base, but that doesn’t mean it won’t leak. Adding tarp or waterproof mats before you lay down a sleeping bag or any type of sleeping area is going to help you to nest and keep it waterproof. If you have an extra mat to go under the tent that will help too and you won’t lose anything from doing it. Plus it’s super cheap to be able to get some waterproof tarp or matting.
4. Use your clothes to make a pillow. When you’re camping in the world, unless you tend to bring your chunkiest, warmest fleeces and jumpers. So instead of having to pack an extra pillow, use those jumpers as your pillow. You don’t need to bring a pillow with you in your camping because you’re literally just sleeping for a few hours so that you can get enough rest to keep going. You don’t even need fancy inflatable pillows, especially when you can use the clothes that you’ve brought with you and save yourself the space.
5. Put your valuables in a wrist bag. Before you go to sleep, keep your key items that are easily accessible and necessary on a bag that is attached to your wrist. These bags usually fold down very small, so they’re very lightweight and you can attach them to a bracelet on your wrist. This way, during the night when you’re sleeping, you can keep your phone, your keys, your wallet, or any other important items very close to you and you won’t have to try and rummage around to find them. A head torch is also a good idea to keep close, but you may just want to keep that near your head while you’re sleeping so you can grab it at night.
6. Don’t fully inflate your mattress. If you have an inflatable roll mat or an inflatable mattress that you plan to sleep on top of in the ground, don’t completely inflate it before you get on. You need to take out some of the air so that it’s a bit soft because it’s not supposed to be a Lilo. If you allow it, some squidgy and some give, you’ll be able to absorb the curves of you and the floor so that you’re not going to end up feeling uncomfortable on a hard inflatable, which sounds like an oxymoron, but it’s not.
- Always bring spares. Thermal leggings, long Johns, socks, these are things you really cannot run out of when you are wild camping. In fact, it’s always a good idea to have spares of these items so that you can have hold of them whenever you need. You’re going to get wet, you’re going to get damp, you’re going to get muddy. So having spare socks to avoid trench foot and having spare leggings to keep yourself warm is smart.
8. Use your sleeping bag hood. Most people fight with their sleeping bag hoods all night long because they get in a tangle with it. But here’s the thing, you can either fill the hood with your clothes to use as your pillow, or you can pop it over your head and ensure that you can cinch it around your neck and your face. This will keep you warm and it will give you the impression that no bugs are going to get into your ears or your skin, which is always a worry if you’re sleeping in the wilderness.
9. Use your body heat for drying your socks. If you get desperate and you have to rinse your socks out, make sure that you bunch them up and keep them between your knees or your thighs while you sleep. It’s not the most glamorous way to do things, but they can only be dried if you keep them somewhere warm. If you’ve only got the one pair because you forgot all of the spares that we already reminded you about, then you need to make sure that you can wear dry clothes in the morning. Similarly, the quickest way to dry damp clothes when you’re camping is to wear them. It’s not particularly nice to put them on in the morning, but they’ll drive quickly as you start to walk.
10 Get to know what your tent sounds like. It’s so important that you understand how your tent sounds when it rustles. You also need to know what it sounds like inside your tent. When things are rustling outside, your brain is going to be on high alert because if you’re in the wilderness, so can anybody else be. And the last thing you want is to be worrying about animals creeping up on you, or even people creeping. You’re going to move in the night, so you have to understand that your movements are going to make noises. Practice those when the light of day is up and high so that you can know what the sounds like, are like, and feel comfortable in the night time.
11. Create an air hole in your tent. If you want to get a good night’s sleep, create some ventilation by opening the zip on your inner tent. It doesn’t have to be much but a centimeter or so at the top makes a big difference to have air flow through the tent. Make sure it’s at the top as well so that no animal can wriggle their way through the gap.
12. Try not to sleep. That does sound like a weird tip, but one of the biggest tips you can have for wilderness camping is not trying to sleep at all. It’s not about sleeping. Camping is the fun part but exploring the wilderness is the best. When you’re tucked up in your tent all night long, you’re going to miss out on so much. Try not to go to sleep at a certain time of the day unless your body really is craving it. You don’t need to have an elaborate setup for wilderness camping, you just need to make sure that you’re comfortable you just need to make sure that you’re comfortable.
Wilderness camping is supposed to be fun, and now you know the top tips are camping in the wild, it’s time to get started.
