outdoors
Turn beginner camping into experienced glamping with these tips — Part 4
Part 4 of the beginner camping series with practical finishing picks for comfort, utility, and camp flow.
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Part 4 - Tools & gear
Gear gets overstated a lot in outdoor culture. That is not me pretending I do not love gear, because I absolutely do, but you do not need to go insane on day one to have a great trip. This is still beginner camping. First up: even if you are not camping often, I still think a solid pocket knife is worth carrying for general outdoor use.
I am not a knife collector like my partner here but I have a small rotation for different uses.
One daily-carry option I like is small, light, and still gives you a genuinely useful blade:
Kershaw Mini Iridium
At this price it is hard to beat. You get D2 steel, a solid lock, and a really easy carry profile. If you just want one clean recommendation and move on, this is a good one.
My second option is the trusty:
Morakniv Companion fixed blade
These are crazy value for money and come lightsaber sharp. You won’t feel bad about using them hard at the price point either and they will take whatever you throw at them.
If you want more of a foldable pocket tank, one of the best choices is the tried-and-true Zero Tolerance 0350.
It is not a lightweight option, but it is absurdly tough. Mine has taken all kinds of abuse and never seemed bothered by it. If you want a hard-use folder, this is a beast.
Next up: you probably want either a hatchet or some kind of compact axe, and Fiskars is still one of the easiest brands to recommend. I would buy Fiskars-brand air if they sold it.
Their splitting axe is more of an all-purpose camp tool for me. It comes sharp, the safety holster is actually useful, and it holds up. Pair it with a Fiskars Hookaroon if you are tired of bending over a thousand times to move wood around camp.
My Fiskars stuff ends up in about half my camping photos for a reason. Final note here: a sharp-tooth style saw is wildly useful. They cut faster than a lot of people expect, and they save your hands from doing everything with an axe. Fiskars makes good options here too.