Going
camping? Next time, think about visiting
the Santee
Cooper Lake
Country
in South Carolina. If
you are not traveling in a Recreational Vehicle (RV), you might want
to bring along a ‘smart’ tent and some of the following hi-tech
camping gear.
Those
of you who have read my previous posts on ‘Smart’
Fishing Rods, ‘Smart’
Kayaks, ‘Smart’
Guns, and ‘Smart’
Hiking Sticks - you know I really don’t know what I’m talking
about. I’m just not a big outdoorsman and don’t really like to
fish, hunt, hike, or paddle around in a kayak. I much prefer to stay
at home and read about these topics or watch YouTube videos about
them.
That
aside, I do try to carefully research the topic I’ve chosen to
write about – and then add my two cents on the subject. In this
case, I decided to look into the topic of ‘Smart’ Tents and other
hi-tech camping accessories in case I ever decided to skip staying at
the Embassy Suites and go camping instead.
| Camping is an outdoor recreational activity in which participants, or campers, spend a number of days outdoors in order to better enjoy nature. Camping generally involves the use of a tent, campsite, motor-home, or cabin - although many campers simply enjoy sleeping out in the open air. |
Selected Articles on Hi-Tech Camping
The
following are a selection of recent articles about ‘Smart’
Camping and Hi-Tech Camping Accessories:
- I started my research by reading Smart Camping Tent Reviews Ratings Of Major Tent Brands rating major tent brands, but found little resembling what I would call a ‘Smart’ Tent.
- Engadget went a little further with their article on 6 tents that take technology off-grid. It touched briefly on tents of the future that set up in a snap, protect campers from lightning strikes and incorporate solar panels so you can keep your cellphone and lights charged. But there wasn’t much detail provided.
- The Best New Tents and Camping Equipment described the latest pump-up and self-erecting tents. Interesting but not what I would really call a ‘Smart’ Tent. However, the article did mention a number of really interesting camping accessories, like the Kraku light-weight stove which is about the size of a AA battery.
- Things finally started to got more interesting when I read 20 High Tech Outdoor Camping Gear & Gadgets by Hongkiat. For example, it mentioned the Eton Scorpion, a rugged NOAA weather/AM/FM radio with LED flashlight that also doubles as a tool to charge your electronic devices in the outdoors by hand crank or a solar panel. Other interesting camping accessories listed included the Nemo Helio Pressure Shower, Handspresso Wild Hybrid, and Petzl NAO Headlamp.
- Smart Technology 'LightInTheBox' listed a wide range of useful, rechargeable tent lighting solutions.
Other
selected articles you might want to check out on
hi-tech camping
include:
List of 39 Best Camping Gear and Gadgets for 2016 by Faveable
-
List of Camping Gear by CoolThings.com
-
Hi-Tech Camping by Popular Science
-
High Tech Camping Gear: 15 Gadgets You Need by The Cheat Sheet
Conclusions & Observations
Bottom
line, I was fairly disappointed in my search for information about
‘Smart’ Tents and camping accessories. I had expected to find
more significant advances in the development of ‘smart’ camping
tents, e.g. built-in solar panels, tent materials functioning as an
antenna and/or LAN, velcro attachments to connect various ‘smart’
devices... However, there are quite a few interesting hi-tech camping
accessories now available.
Nevertheless,
I
did stumble across the next
step in high-tech camping
– it’s called
‘glamping’.
Not
being a big camping enthusiast, I found this kind of interesting. For
an example of
glamping,
check out the following article - Ecocapsule
Provides A Hub Away From Home.
If
I’m going camping this is more up my alley, although a nice RV or
motor-home with
air-conditioning, heating,
TV,
refrigerator,
dishwasher, and
Internet service would
also suffice.
Before
you do go
on your next camping trip, take the time to read my previous articles
on
‘Smart’
Fishing Pole, ‘Smart’
Guns,
‘Smart’
Kayaks,
‘Smart’
Hiking
Stick…
not to mention taking
along a
drone
for fishing.
Finally
- Let me wrap this up with another
quick
plug
for Santee
Cooper Lake Country. If
you decide to visit the area,
you
will find many
places to set up camp along
the shores of
Lakes Marion and Moultrie.
These include several great federal and state parks, as well as
numerous commercial lakeside campgrounds. For example, check out the
following campgrounds near
the towns of Santee and Summerton,
S.C.
When
visiting Santee Cooper Country around Lake Marion, don't
forget to check out South
Carolina Travel Coupons,
Vacation
Rentals By Owner (VRBO) by Lake Marion,
and
FreeHotelCoupons.Com
Other
Selected
Resources
|
