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Gadling goes camping (win free Coleman stuff!)
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Every once in awhile, when the writers over at Gadling get tired of the same old motorcycle rides across Asia and space flights, we just want to travel "simple." And that's when a camping trip can be great. Most of us, no matter how large or small the city we live in, are within a few hours' drive of some great unspoiled wilderness where we can pitch a tent, get a nice fire going and spend the night gazing up at the stars.With that instinct in mind I set out on a camping trip of my own last month to the great New England state of Vermont. But it also goes without saying that I am not really the camping type – leave me alone in the woods for a day or so and I would probably end up squatting in a ditch with nothing but a few strategically-placed leaves to wear as underwear. It soon became clear that I would need some good camping gear for my trip. But how does one pick appropriate gear for camping? If you work for a travel site, you just make a few calls. Soon I was chatting with Dawn at Coleman, who generously provided me with a few products to test out during my trip.
How did these products hold up in the wilderness of Vermont? Would my camping trip end with me trapped up to my neck in a sleeping back unable to get out? Read on to see what happened...
Coleman Propane Grill Stove
Don't get me wrong, sitting around a roaring campfire represents the quintessential camping experience. But when it comes to cooking, camping novices are not going to want to waste their time with anything more than hot dogs or s'mores on a big open flame. The fire either burns everything to a crisp or doesn't cook it well enough.
That's where a portable stove like Coleman's unit came in handy on my trip. Combining an open stove-top burner with a grilltop, it's just what you need to make yourself a halfway decent meal out in the open. I was quite pleased with the stove's open burner, which quickly boiled water and made short work of sautéing some vegetables. But the grilling side? Forget it. It barely ever got hot enough to burn my hand. It's best to keep to simple easily cooked items – so leave the soufflés at home.
Coleman Dynamo Lantern
I live in New York City, so the concept of total darkness is quite foreign to me. Out in the woods though, when the sun goes down, forget trying to find your way around by the light of the moon. You're going to need a flashlight or a lantern. The nice thing about the lantern I brought was it was powered by hand-crank – you just pull out the handle and crank it around a few times to give it a charge. That's both a positive and a negative – any time I needed it, I would crank my lantern for a good minute or so and be reward with a small match-size flickering beam. It's enough to find your way back to your tent but don't count on it to read Call of the Wild.
Interestingly enough, Coleman's lantern has another feature – it apparently charges cell phones. My problem with this? Neither me nor any of my friends was able to find a compatible phone among the 5 of us. Best check your phone model before counting on this baby to give your handset some juice.
Coleman Cool Zephyr Ceiling Fan with Light
Perhaps I'm just naïve when it comes to camping (the answer is yes) but this little unit was a godsend. Clipping easily to the roof of my tent with a magnet, this hanging unit not only provides a powerful light beam to illuminate your tent interior – it also has a built in fan to keep things cool. Trust me, when the sun hits your tent at 7am, and the huge down sleeping bag and nylon tent you're inside turn you into a human baked potato in a convection oven, you're going to want some ventilation. This unit is fairly small, inconspicuous but still highly useful.
Wrap-Up (and a contest!)
So did I discover any truths about the universe while I was out communing with nature and my new camping gear? Not really, unless you count the 20-30 mosquito bites I got as some sort of perverse, itchy knowledge.
What I did learn however, is that we like to give things away here at Gadling. Want to do some camping of your own? How about a portable stove, hand-crank lantern or light/fan unit to get your trip started right? Just leave an entry telling us about your favorite camping experience in the comments below and we'll draw a lucky winner by Friday, August 29th.
Now get out there and commune with nature!
Don't get me wrong, sitting around a roaring campfire represents the quintessential camping experience. But when it comes to cooking, camping novices are not going to want to waste their time with anything more than hot dogs or s'mores on a big open flame. The fire either burns everything to a crisp or doesn't cook it well enough.That's where a portable stove like Coleman's unit came in handy on my trip. Combining an open stove-top burner with a grilltop, it's just what you need to make yourself a halfway decent meal out in the open. I was quite pleased with the stove's open burner, which quickly boiled water and made short work of sautéing some vegetables. But the grilling side? Forget it. It barely ever got hot enough to burn my hand. It's best to keep to simple easily cooked items – so leave the soufflés at home.
Coleman Dynamo Lantern
I live in New York City, so the concept of total darkness is quite foreign to me. Out in the woods though, when the sun goes down, forget trying to find your way around by the light of the moon. You're going to need a flashlight or a lantern. The nice thing about the lantern I brought was it was powered by hand-crank – you just pull out the handle and crank it around a few times to give it a charge. That's both a positive and a negative – any time I needed it, I would crank my lantern for a good minute or so and be reward with a small match-size flickering beam. It's enough to find your way back to your tent but don't count on it to read Call of the Wild.Interestingly enough, Coleman's lantern has another feature – it apparently charges cell phones. My problem with this? Neither me nor any of my friends was able to find a compatible phone among the 5 of us. Best check your phone model before counting on this baby to give your handset some juice.
Coleman Cool Zephyr Ceiling Fan with Light
Perhaps I'm just naïve when it comes to camping (the answer is yes) but this little unit was a godsend. Clipping easily to the roof of my tent with a magnet, this hanging unit not only provides a powerful light beam to illuminate your tent interior – it also has a built in fan to keep things cool. Trust me, when the sun hits your tent at 7am, and the huge down sleeping bag and nylon tent you're inside turn you into a human baked potato in a convection oven, you're going to want some ventilation. This unit is fairly small, inconspicuous but still highly useful.Wrap-Up (and a contest!)
So did I discover any truths about the universe while I was out communing with nature and my new camping gear? Not really, unless you count the 20-30 mosquito bites I got as some sort of perverse, itchy knowledge.
What I did learn however, is that we like to give things away here at Gadling. Want to do some camping of your own? How about a portable stove, hand-crank lantern or light/fan unit to get your trip started right? Just leave an entry telling us about your favorite camping experience in the comments below and we'll draw a lucky winner by Friday, August 29th.
Now get out there and commune with nature!
- To enter, simply leave a comment below telling us about your favorite camping experience.
- The comment must be left before Friday, August 29th, 2008 at 5PM Eastern Time.
- You may enter only once.
- Three winners will be selected in a random drawing.
- Three Grand Prize Winners will be randomly selected to receive one of the following: a Coleman Propane Grill Stove, Coleman Crank-Powered Lantern or a Coleman Interior Tent Light/Fan
- Open to legal residents of the 50 United States, and the District of Columbia who are 18 and older.
- Grill-Stove is valued at $79.99, Dynamo Lantern at $34.99 and Ceiling Fan with Light at $19.99.
- Click Here for complete Official Rules.
Reader Comments (Page 4 of 4)
lrabdul24@aol.com Aug 28th 2008 3:02PM
The best camping experience I had was with my friends from high school. The barbeque we had did not cook the food all the way so we didn't eat. We were not allowed to have a fire. So there was no lite. Also it was a muggy hot Chicago night. Therefore we gathered everyone together and went skinny dipping. You had to be there.
Joanne Holmes Aug 28th 2008 3:06PM
My favorite camping experience was when I was younger we canoed the Wisconsin River into the Mississippi. This was a two week trip. We camped every night on sandbars. We ate drank and slept the river. The river was our home. The biggest challenge was meal preparation. We would canoe back and forth to shore to get wood to make our camp fires. We washed our dishes in the river. I think we consumed more sand then anything. I remember when I got home the grittiness was gone from my teeth after about a week. I wouldn't trade that experience in for anything in the world. But, that stove would have come in handy. Now a days we still camp but on land with the kids. That stove would still come in handy.
I think everyone should take a least 1 person camping that has never been. The experience will last them a lifetime.
Bruce Ingebretsen Aug 28th 2008 4:25PM
Years ago my dad and I were being inducted into an honoray camping society. It was a bitter cold December weekend. Each camper was dropped off at a location to spend the night. We were only allowed matches and a sleeping bag. I had stepped in a puddle and one sock was soaking wet. It didn't take long for me to run through my matches trying to start a fire with wet wood. I looked down the hillside to where my dad was set up and saw a blazing fire! Needless to say we were not allowed to contact each other and all I could do was simultaneously be proud of him and pity myself. I also made the mistake of taking off that wet sock. In the morning it was frozen solid. Some Camper!
nielarch@aol.com Aug 28th 2008 4:43PM
I,m a scoutmaster and my most interesting overnight camping experience was a night last summer above New Fork Lake on the western slope of the Windriver Range in north west Wyoming. Along with 12 scouts and 4-5 other adults we slept under the stars on our homemade ground cloth/rain tube. We started the night on top of the plastic grounclothes and then it rained, only like it can rain in Wyoming, lighting, wind, major downpour. We all quickly slid our bags inside of the tube portion of the groundcloth and stayed relatively dry. Until several of the scouts noticed that their plastic tubes had holes in them. So being the good leader I tried to be I traded them for my waterproof one. So they stayed dry and well I got wet, but we survived and eventually dried out the next day. Camping under the stars is great if your prepared. Our troop would be glad to field test all the above equipement in the real world.
Fred Aug 28th 2008 5:13PM
My kids are grown, now, but we enjoy recalling a trip to the rough country just west of Las Vegas, NV. It was early spring, and nights were cold.
After climbing around, then coming back to the camp for supper, we sat by our small fire until bedding down in the warmth of my Bronco.
With no rear seats and smoe modifications there was room for two small kids and myself.
In the middle of the night we all awoke to a bedlam of noise outside. Partial moonlight revealed a herd of wild burros who had come to visit and deliver early reveille!
To our delight they hung around for nearly an hour, stirring up the gear we had left outside, but doing little damage.
Next morning we hiked around but couldn't guess where our visitors had gone, but they were an interesting addition to our weekend.
Vickie Naylor Aug 28th 2008 6:27PM
My favorite camping trip was our first camping trip 24 years ago. We camped in a tent with our 6 children ranging in age from 2 to 9. The tent was very crowded but we had a blast anyway! We did all the typical camping trip stuff from fishing and canoeing to make s'mores around the campfire. Most of our friends told us we were crazy for trying to camp with 6 children. But if lying on the ground counting stars with my children is crazy, lock me up 'cause I would and did do it again and again and again!
Cindy Aug 28th 2008 7:23PM
My favorite camping trip had to be the 1st time I took my husband (city slicker) camping. My son and I loaded up the camping gear and then we waited an hour for my husband to get ready. We set up our tent and went to the neighboring campsite where friends had set up.We sat around the fire fire laughing until we had tears running down our faces. We were watching my beloved husband trying to figure out how to get his air conditioner, fan, and TV in the tent. We were a little cramped that night but very comfortable.
cfhinsat Aug 28th 2008 7:24PM
Although we'd never been rafting before, my husband and I went on a white-water rafting trip with our son and his soon-to-be-wife many moons ago (15+ years). Since our son was a white-water guide on the Rogue (OR), we thought we'd just do the milder part of the river. No, he got passes to the wicked part (only so many rafts per day are allowed on the wild part of the river). From where we launched, it would be nearly three days before we could get out via any road. It was a wonderful, glorious adventure. The temperatures that summer hovered above 100+ with water temperatures below 70. We didn't dump the raft once! Although we did fold it in half a few times. After making camp the second night, I decided a bath would be in order. I went upstream behind some rocks. The water was freezing, but somehow liberating. I then began to hear the roar of a BIG engine coming upstream FAST. Much to my surprise, a jet boat came around the corner, full of tourists!! (My 'dear' son hadn't told me that the boats come up the river EVERY evening at the same time!) The Rogue isn't that wide, and since I was already out quite a way, I decided the only thing to do would be to STAND UP and give the camera-wielding tourists a bonus for their buck. I've never seen so many heads jerk around or so many flashes in my life! To this day I wonder if my "crazy naked lady in the river" photo is included in anyone's family vacation albums.
Cummins Mahoe Aug 28th 2008 7:50PM
As an Infantryman in Vietnam, we camped daily in some of the most lush tropical forests and landscapes untouched by human presence. Use of the helicopter to insert us into areas of majestic beauty made this camping experience unbeatable. Waterfalls, mountainsides, and sandy beaches of the South China Sea, all receiving our footprints for the first time made it a memorable time. The new technology of camping gear would have served us well, even in those times. Being from Hawaii, it is hard to contrast other areas of Mother Nature's beauty, to compete with our own, but hands down, Vietnam's pristine region was unmatched.
Jen Aug 28th 2008 8:11PM
I just went camping in the Catalina Mtns. north of Tucson, Arizona this past weekend. What a blast! I cooked the best potatoes of my life, just wrapped them in foil and put them in the fire for a couple hours. They tasted like twice baked. Good thing though, we had the coleman stove you wrote about. It did a great job, cooked 3 NY strips and a turkey burger on the grill part. Nice and quick, and easy clean up. I would love to have one of those stoves, they are great! And the stars up on top of the mountain were amazing, I had no idea there were so many out there.
DebMcD Aug 28th 2008 9:21PM
I've camped with my husband a *lot*, but the best time was when I left the tent pole behind at the previous campsite and he set up a tarp at our site at the Grand Canyon south rim. Our site was absolutely perfect for this, with two trees to tie some rope to and drape the tarp over. The edges came just below our cots (we're deluxe campers!), and he draped a second tarp across the back, for privacy.
Early the next morning we were awakened by claps of thunder and flashes of lightening. In short order rain was bucketing down - and we were snug and dry in our tarp shelter. After the rain ended, we walked around the campground and saw virtually every tent hung up to drain, turned inside out, and sleeping bags hanging everywhere. We had not a drop in our 'primitive' tent.
Sharon Aug 28th 2008 11:51PM
The most exciting camping trip I had was when I was camping in Coos Bay Oregon. We had seen a mother bear and a club earlier in the day. That night I needed to go to the bathroom. When I unzipped the tent I could see just enough by moonlight that there was something furry sitting in front of the tent. As I tried to wake my husband and zip up the tent as fast as possible I felt the animal licking my hand. Thinking for sure that it was the bear and we were going to be eaten that night you can imagine my relief when I became aware that it was a large dog and not the bear. He was still in the campsite when we awoke the next morning and he stayed the day with us. People in the campground had been feeding him for some time. The owner of the campground found someone to come and take him and give him a good home.
Rod Aug 29th 2008 6:52PM
In early March my friends and I decided to take camping trip in the High Desert and since we were boneheads from San Diego we didn't quite realize how unprepared for the temperature drop we really were. During the day it was in the 70's and we all had shorts and t-shirts on but at night for two nights in a row it dropped to 33 degrees. Needless to say after the first night we had to go to town and buy propane heaters, extra sleeping bags and warmer clothes. Of course a month later we went back extra-prepared and it only got down to about 55 degrees.