I made a video a while ago about finding Budget Friendly Camping Gear. I mentioned at the end that the best way to stretch your hard earned cash is to take care of your investment.
For those of us who aren’t on the road full time, our gear spends at minimum half of it’s life stored away in our garage if not 80% of it’s life.
How you store your gear has a huge impact on how long you’ll be able to enjoy it.
↠You know those silica gel packets you throw away when you get new shoes and other types of gear? KEEP THEM. Put them in the totes and bins you store your gear in to help absorb lingering moisture.
↠ Sort your gear into like piles, put kitchenware together, sleep systems together, and your luggage together.
↠Keep your gear in a place where it won’t be exposed to extreme temperatures.
Seam sealing on the rain fly of your tent is very susceptible to these temperature fluctuations and will start to crack and deteriorate over time which means you have to peel it off and re-apply a seam sealant to keep your rain fly waterproof.
↠ Make sure you dry out your gear thoroughly, if you can’t allow it to dry out at camp, dry it as soon as you can. Even if that means waiting until you get home and hanging it in your backyard or near a window. It should be dry completely before you put it away.
↠ Keep your tent Clean. If you come home from a trip and your tent is covered in dirt, dust, sand, sap, bird droppings or sap it’s worth it to extend the longevity of your tent by spot cleaning it with cold water and mild non detergent soap. If your tent is covered in sap, let the sap dry and then try to gently spot clean it with mineral oil or other alcohol based products like hand sanitizer. Make sure you rinse the spot well with cold water afterwards and make sure it’s dried before storing.
↠Store your Tent Loosely in a Cool Dry Place. If you can, place your tent in an old pillow case or a mesh bag that will allow the fabric of the tent to relax and breathe, which means it’s less likely to smell like a science experiment next season.
↠ Store your sleeping bag in a large mesh sack or hang it in your closet. If you store a sleeping compressed in its stuff sack you’ll damage the insulation over time and it won’t loft like it’s supposed to. If you noticed your sleeping bag isn’t as warm as it used to be that’s probably part of it. I’m going to re-emphasize here that it is important that you don’t store your expensive down sleeping bag in a garage that experiences a lot of temperature and humidity fluctuations or a damp basement.
↠ Clean your cooking gear when you get home -most food we cook on camping trips tend to be very salty. Cleaning your pots thoroughly at home before you store them will prevent rusting. It will also prevent things we may have missed at cap from growing once they have time to sit for a while.
↠ Clean your cooler with soap and water, they’re very susceptible to the bad odors if left to their own devices.
↠ Empty, Wash and Dry your Hydration Bladder so it doesn’t mold.
When you are on the road and out camping:
↠ Use a footprint to protect the bottom of your tent, a lot of people say these are a waste of space, but if you spent a pretty penny on your tent you’re going to want to stretch the life of it as long as you can. If you don’t want to buy the expensive footprint designed for your tent, you can buy a nylon tarp and cut it to the shape of your tarp, or you can get a sheet of Tyvek and cut it down to size.
↠ Always carry Tenacious Tape. Seriously. Just slip some into your first aid kit and think of it like first aid for your camping gear. It will patch down jackets, sleeping bags, sleeping pads, rain flys, and tent bath tubs.
↠If you get a hole in your down jacket, or sleeping bag, patch it right away so you minimize the loss of down.
Let me know down in the comments if you have other ways of making sure your gear lasts longer!
Other Resources:
↠How to Store a Tent Properly: https://www.rei.com/learn/expert-advice/how-to-store-a-tent.html
↠How to Store a Sleeping Bag: https://www.rei.com/learn/expert-advice/how-to-store-a-sleeping-bag.html
↠How to Clean a Hydration Bladder: https://www.rei.com/learn/expert-advice/how-to-clean-a-hydration-bladder.html