If you’ve purchased any camping supplies lately, then you know how expensive camping can be. Ultralight tents, fancy sleeping pads, cooking equipment… it adds up fast. But the truth is, you don’t have to spend a fortune to have a great time outdoors.
Hunters, hobos, and Depression-era campers got by for generations with stuff they already had lying around, and a lot of their tricks work just as well as the pricey gear sold today. The camping tips in this post came from a video by Forgotten American Skills, which you can watch below.
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1. Cotton Ball and Vaseline Fire Starters
Work petroleum jelly into cotton balls and store them in an old pill bottle. Each one burns for a few minutes, and a $4 batch makes over 100 fire starters. Here’s how to make it.
2. Dryer Lint Kindling
Stuff dryer lint into empty toilet paper tubes for tinder that catches on the first spark. For longer burns, pack lint into egg cartons, pour melted wax over it, and cut them into pucks.
3. Trash Bag Rain Poncho
Cut a head hole and two arm holes in a 55-gallon contractor bag and you’ve got a fully waterproof poncho for about 50 cents. Pack a second one to cover your gear.
4. Frozen Water Jugs Instead of Ice Packs
Freeze milk jugs or water bottles about three-quarters full and use them in your cooler. They stay cold much longer than ice packs, and you get cold drinking water once they melt.
5. Sardine Can Oil Lamp
Poke a hole in a can of oil-packed sardines, thread a twist of paper or cotton through it, and light it. It’ll burn for over an hour, and you can still eat the fish afterward.
6. Pool Noodle Sleeping Pad
Split a few foam pool noodles lengthwise and lash them together for a pad that can’t pop or deflate. Closed-cell foam is what the expensive pads use anyway.
7. Duct Tape Wrapped Around a Water Bottle
Wrap a few feet of duct tape around your water bottle or trekking pole so you always have it. It’ll patch tents, air mattresses, boots, and just about anything else.
8. Steel Wool and a 9-Volt Battery
Touch both terminals of a 9-volt battery to fine steel wool and it’ll start glowing right away. Drop it into some dry tinder and you’ve got a fire, even if your hands are numb or it’s damp out.
9. Bread Bag Socks
Slip a plastic bread bag over a dry sock before putting on your boot. It keeps moisture out and traps warmth, the same idea behind the “vapor barrier” method mountaineers use.
10. Tin Can Hobo Stove
Cut a feed opening near the bottom of a large coffee can and punch vent holes around the top. It burns twigs and pinecones you find on the ground, so you never have to carry fuel. Here’s how to make it.
11. Crayon Emergency Candles
Light the paper wrapper at the top of a crayon and it’ll burn for around 30 minutes. A dollar-store box gets you a pack full of tiny emergency candles.
12. Mylar Emergency Blanket Liner
Line your sleeping bag with a $2 space blanket, shiny side in, to reflect your body heat back at you. It can stretch a cheap summer bag into chillier nights.
13. Corn Chips as Fire Starters
Oily chips like Fritos and Doritos burn surprisingly well thanks to all that grease. Light one and it’ll flame up long enough to get your kindling going.
14. Contractor Bag Pack Liner
Line your whole backpack with a heavy-duty contractor bag, then twist and fold the top over. It keeps your gear dry better than a rain cover since water can’t get in from below.
15. Water Jug Headlamp Lantern
Strap your headlamp around a clear water jug or Mason jar with the light facing in. The water spreads the beam into a soft glow that lights up your whole tent or table.
16. Wool Army Blanket Instead of a Sleeping Bag
A surplus wool blanket costs $20 to $30 and keeps you warm even when it’s wet. It’s heavy, but it’s nearly indestructible and won’t melt if a spark lands on it.
17. Paracord as a Multi-Tool
A hank of 550 paracord costs a few bucks and can hang a bear bag, rig a tarp, replace a bootlace, or string a clothesline. Pull out the inner strands and you’ve got fishing line and sewing thread too.
18. Tampons for Tinder and First Aid
A tampon is compressed cotton sealed in a waterproof wrapper, so it stays dry forever. Fluffed up, it catches a spark easily, and in a pinch it can be used to soak up blood from a cut.
19. Flower Pot Candle Heater
Set a few tealights in a tray and cover them with two nested, upside-down clay pots, which soak up the heat and give it off slowly. Only use it somewhere with good ventilation, never inside a closed tent, and don’t expect it to heat much more than a small space.
20. Newspaper Insulation
Crumpled newspaper stuffed between layers of clothing or into your boots traps air and holds in body heat. Depression-era hobos stuffed their coats with it and called them “Hoover blankets.”
21. Ziploc Bag Waterproofing
Seal your phone, wallet, and keys in a freezer bag to keep them dry. You can even use your touchscreen right through the plastic.
22. Pill Bottle Match Safe
An empty prescription bottle makes a free, watertight match case. Glue a piece of striker strip inside the lid and toss in a few cotton ball fire starters for a full fire kit.
23. Windshield Sun Shade Sleeping Pad
Lay a reflective car sun shade under your sleeping bag to bounce your body heat back up and keep the cold ground from stealing it. You can also prop it behind you at the campfire to reflect heat your way.
24. Egg Carton Charcoal Starters
Put a charcoal briquette in each cup of a cardboard egg carton (or fill the cups with lint and wax) and light the carton. The cardboard burns slowly and evenly, so you don’t need lighter fluid.
25. Tarp Shelter
A 10×12 poly tarp costs about $15 to $20 and can be pitched as a lean-to, an A-frame, flat roof, or other types of tarp shelters with just paracord and a few stakes. Learn a few setups and you might never buy a tent again.
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