Camping & Canoeing Expert Kevin Callan has spent his life helping people appreciate the out-of-doors by GETTING them out-of-doors through camping and canoeing. A prolific author and featured guest speaker, he takes some time out to touch on a few of the many pre-camping camp gear checklist. All the steps are meant to keep campers aware of what may be ahead and be prepared to embrace all that mother nature has to offer.
Top Camp Gear items to check and fix:
1. Seam seal your tent to make sure it’s waterproof, put vaseline on the zippers, get a tarp to place on the inside, and bungie cords on the tie-down lines.
2. Canoe – a nice wash with soap and water and then buff up the composite outside shell with a high-quality car or boat wax.
If they’re any scratches deep enough to stop my thumb nail in its tracts while moving it across the hull, I then consider placing a layer of gelcoat on the weak point. I’ll even consider placing a skid plate on the bow or stern if needed.
– oil your wooden canoe gunwales (not varnish)
– same with paddles
– varnish wooden seat frames, yokes and thwarts. They’re static items. Varnish is like putting a plastic coating on the wood. It’s when a wooden item needs to flex that varnish becomes an issue.
3. Wash your sleeping bags (good tennis ball trick for drying them in the dryer.
4. Clean the black off the cooking pots – or not (they work better that way)
5. Maintain/clear your cooking stove – clean the gas lines.
6. Soak/clean your water filter with bleach.
7. Sharpen your axe and knife – and polish/treat the leather sheath.
8. Check your air-mat for holes.
9. Make sure you’ve got plenty of bug repellent – they’re coming out soon!
10. Check your first-aid kit and resupply it – check for out-of-dates meds ***and pack one for your dog as well.