Five Essentials When Camping On A Budget

Camping can be quite an expensive activity especially if you are planning to stay out in the wild for a couple of weeks or even a few days. Most of your money should be spent on the bare essentials like food and water.

But camping doesn't always have to be about spending money on stuff like expensive tools and utilities needed for camping. You can have just as much fun by keeping the budget for camping to a minimum, whether you have the money or not.

In these tough economic times, think about the things you need on a camping trip more than the stuff that you want on the trip. Here are the bare necessities that you should pack when you are out camping.

• A tent – Shelter is important and if you don't have a tent, then you really should buy one. If you still have that tent that you used last year, then don't throw it away for a new one. You can still use that tent even it might have a few holes in it from last year's campfire. The important thing is that it protects you from the elements.

• Sleeping bag – If you don't have a tent, it doesn't mean that you can't go camping. In fact, if you have a sleeping bag, this makes it even all the more easy for you to go camping because you won't have to pitch a tent. You can just take comfort under a covered area of the woods near the clearing. Or you can just sleep next to the campfire where it's warm. Having just a sleeping bag is actually a blessing because you can pack lighter than you would have had too if you had a tent.

• A large cloth – Even if you don't pitch a tent, you still might need to bring a large cloth with you so that you can get the moist off the ground where you will use your sleeping bag. Just lay it on the ground before you put your sleeping bag on top of it so that any moisture on the surrounding ground or grass will be absorbed by the cloth.

• Matches – You don't have to bring gas and charcoal just to get a fire going. You can make do with what nature provides for you. But you will need a pack of matches if you don't know how to start a fire without them. Matches are cheap and these fit right in your pocket. Also keep one in your bag in case the ones in your pocket accidentally get wet.

• A knife – A good hunting knife can help you do anything. It doesn't have to be the expensive kind just as long as it is sharp and reliable. A good sharp knife will help you do a lot of things like chopping small pieces of wood, cutting and cleaning up fish that you can catch in a nearby river, and also as a form of protection in the unlikely event that you run into a wild animal.