Articles · Topic
Articles about Camping
12 articles across 2 sections
Section
Self-Reliance
Camping, Avocations
New to camping? What camping is really like, which kind fits your household, how to plan a first night at a nearby campground, and what to borrow before you buy.
Headlamps for Emergency Preparedness: The Definitive Guide
Everything a household needs to know about headlamps for power outages and preparedness. How many, what features, which batteries, and why a headlamp beats a flashlight for most tasks.
Lanterns for Emergency Preparedness: Area Lighting That Keeps a Room Functional
LED lanterns for power outages: rechargeable vs. battery-powered, runtime math, placement, and why a lantern is safer and more useful than candles for household area lighting.
Portable Solar Panels (60-200W): Pairing Panels with Power Stations
How to choose a portable solar panel in the 60 to 200 watt range, pair it with a power station, and get real results for camping, outages, and off-grid power.
USB Solar Chargers: The Definitive Guide to Foldable Solar Panels
How foldable USB solar chargers actually work, what each wattage tier delivers in real sun, and how to choose and use one for outages, camping, and everyday backup.
Section
Gear and Buying Guides
Best Sleeping Bags (2026): Teton Celsius XXL, Coleman Brazos, The North Face Wawona, and Kelty Cosmic Down
Sleeping bags for households compared: Teton Celsius XXL 0°F, Coleman Brazos 20, The North Face Wawona Bed 20, and Kelty Cosmic Down 20, with what testers found about real warmth, owner patterns, how they fail, care, and who should skip one.
Best Sleeping Pads (2026): Therm-a-Rest Z Lite SOL, NEMO Switchback, Exped MegaMat, NEMO Tensor, and Klymit
Sleeping pads for households compared: Therm-a-Rest Z Lite SOL, NEMO Switchback, Exped MegaMat, NEMO Tensor All-Season, and Klymit Insulated Static V, with R-values, layering, owner patterns, how they fail, warranties, and who should skip one.
BigBlue 28W USB Solar Charger Review
The BigBlue 28W is the USB solar charger most worth owning. Here is what field testing and thousands of owners confirm, what it actually delivers in real sunlight, and who should buy something else.
FlexSolar 20W USB Solar Charger Review
The FlexSolar 20W is the lightest and cheapest USB solar panel worth considering. Here is what it delivers, what its PET surface means for longevity, and who needs more panel.
FlexSolar E40 40W Solar Charger Review
The FlexSolar E40 produced the highest energy output per ounce of any panel in independent testing. Here is what 40 watts, a DC port, and USB-C PD actually deliver, and who should get a smaller panel instead.
Jackery SolarSaga 40 Mini Solar Panel Review
The Jackery SolarSaga 40 Mini is a certified, well-built 40W panel with a 5-year warranty. Here is what the premium price buys you, what the proprietary DC port means, and who should get a cheaper panel instead.
Sleeping Bags and Sleeping Pads: The Definitive Buyer's Handbook
A calm, sourced buyer's handbook for sleeping bags and sleeping pads: what ISO comfort and lower limit ratings really mean, why the pad matters as much as the bag (ASTM F3340 R-values), down versus synthetic and bag shapes, wool blankets, sleeping warm in a cold house during a winter outage without fuel-burning heat indoors, what a sleeping bag cannot do (including for babies), honest prices, and what to check before buying.