Last weekend I took my 12 year old son camping for the first time. This was his first experience spending a night in a tent. He is used to the great outdoors and has spent many a night with me stalking wild boar in the field or from a high seat in the forest.
My equipment is quite old so I invested in a Jack Wolfskin Gossamer 2 tent and and as a treat I bought him a Nieto Patrol Knife. Sadly, we had to use a campsite but it wasn’t too bad, and he enjoyed the experience. The weather was pretty good so the tent wasn’t really tested but from the reviews I have read it is one of the most waterproof tents in its class. There was very little condensation and no bugs!
The knife was an impulse buy and didn’t cost too much, about GBP 60. It split wood with ease, and it created sparks from the flint from the get go. After a clean, it sliced tomatoes and onions for the beef burgers! And it still feels razor sharp. We hiked the length of the lake about 10km in 2 hours with a couple of stops for photos and a break.
Going forward, I will have to get a new tent for myself and the Gossamer 2 is top of my list, also considering the JW Skyrocket 2 and the Salewa Litetrek 2. Open to suggestions as well! Ground mats are also needed as exercise mats just don’t cut the mustard.
The most important thing is that he enjoyed it; next time we will bring a fly rod because there was plenty of trout rising
My equipment is quite old so I invested in a Jack Wolfskin Gossamer 2 tent and and as a treat I bought him a Nieto Patrol Knife. Sadly, we had to use a campsite but it wasn’t too bad, and he enjoyed the experience. The weather was pretty good so the tent wasn’t really tested but from the reviews I have read it is one of the most waterproof tents in its class. There was very little condensation and no bugs!
The knife was an impulse buy and didn’t cost too much, about GBP 60. It split wood with ease, and it created sparks from the flint from the get go. After a clean, it sliced tomatoes and onions for the beef burgers! And it still feels razor sharp. We hiked the length of the lake about 10km in 2 hours with a couple of stops for photos and a break.
Going forward, I will have to get a new tent for myself and the Gossamer 2 is top of my list, also considering the JW Skyrocket 2 and the Salewa Litetrek 2. Open to suggestions as well! Ground mats are also needed as exercise mats just don’t cut the mustard.
The most important thing is that he enjoyed it; next time we will bring a fly rod because there was plenty of trout rising
