Radio Amore boss and comfortable camping aficionado Indrek Migur states that reconnecting with nature shouldn’t require you to either liquidate your life savings or wrestle with mosquitoes for your life. Read here his tips and tricks to make a camping trip joy, not torture.
“Reconnecting with nature shouldn’t require you to either liquidate your life savings or wrestle with mosquitoes for your life. You can also forget about the overpriced sheds on Airbnb, which often turn out to be garden houses with views directed at the owner's kitchen window. So here are some tips to guide you in turning your next wilderness trip into a curated, semi-comfortable experience, while maximizing comfort and minimizing expenses.”
- Invest in a larger-than-life tent and invite your closest friends to be partners in this endeavor.
- A good camping location is at least half of the success of the experience, so take some time and start zooming in on Google Maps with your full web-scrolling mastery and attention.
- After locking in the camping spot, assemble a team. Make sure to invite the builder, the chef, the joker, and, if you’re courageous enough, also someone whose actions and morals are still less known to you (for added drama).
- If you’re planning to leave the city early, agree on the meetup with your companions to be at least an hour earlier before the actual exit from the city boundaries. This can help avoid running frustratingly late and give your camping buddies more time to prepare, since every group of friends has one or two members with a unique sense of timing for the duration of events.
- Pack in your bag a bunch of MacGyver tape (duct tape in layman's terms). Socks, pants, bags, tents, bottles, glasses - everything can be fixed with some nice black sticky synthetic rubber and polyethylene film. If every millimeter counts in your backpack, wrap it around your reusable water bottle or hard liquor. It can also be used as a good conversation starter.
- Pants with removable legs? Leave them at home and commit to separate long and short pants. Style, even in the wilderness, is still important. Also, they’re not even that comfortable.
- Don't be stingy when packing lighters and matches. You'll lose some on day one, guaranteed. For added preparedness, weatherproof your matches by coating them in nail polish. This can also be a surprisingly meditative activity.
- Throw a frisbee (proper size, not the mini type) into your packbag. It's not just for tossing; it's your group's entertainer, a makeshift cutting board, an emergency dinner plate, a 1.5-liter water container, and a surprisingly effective campfire fanner. Also, a far superior and stylish sports activity than padel can ever aspire to be.
- Upon reaching your designated sleeping spot, ensure the tent is pitched and all stakes are firmly in place before you start with any bottle popping.
- In the absence of matches, a lighter, or a magnifying glass, you can use an inflated, water-filled condom to ignite a fire by focusing concentrated sunbeams. Only moderately difficult.
- You can utilize Doritos chips to start your campfire. Ignites easily and burns brightly. Plus, if you don't need them for fire, they can also be used as food.
- When making a campfire by the lake, position yourselves so the fire is between you and the lake. The smoke almost always moves towards the water, unless a strong wind decides otherwise.
- By increasing the amount of rainproof gear you pack, you can reduce the likelihood of rainy weather.
- To avoid making the most out of the damp and cool Estonian summer nights, stuff your next day’s outfit loosely into your sleeping bag, cuddle them all night long, and they’ll be nicely warm when you wake.
- Ambiance is everything. Forget harsh battery-powered lights and embrace the soft glow of candles, lanterns, and some forehead lights with a red glow, allowing you to navigate the darkness.
- Set aside your attention-stealing digital rectangle and entertain yourselves with some playing cards, somersaults, and horror stories.
Bonus ideas
A proper Swiss Army knife, which can be used for both opening wine bottles and constructing hunting sticks
Thermacell (or at least a litre of some type of mosquito repellent liquid spray)
Baby food. Calorie-efficient and surprisingly tasty, also for adult babies
Two-person sleeping bag or even better, a full set of fresh bed linens to feel properly deluxe
Camping chair - an absolute game changer
Tent slippers - to keep your living quarters mud-free