12 DIY Camping Hacks That May Surprise You

Any camping enthusiast will tell you that you’re going to forget something almost every time you go on a trip. Sometimes, the item can be minor and not be missed; however, there are other times when it can make or break the trip itself.

Fortunately, thanks to camping’s popularity and human ingenuity, many DIY solutions are available. Some tips are shared quietly through word of mouth, while others are presented in articles like this one. This article aims to show you some lesser-known camping hacks that can help make your camping life a little less stressful when you inevitably forget something. 

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Hacks at a Glance

Here’s a summary of hacks that require minimal equipment and expertise:

1. Make Your Own Fire Gel – Bar soap and lighter fluid come together to make a strong firestarter.
2. Pack Your Sleeping Bag Efficiently – Throw the stuff sac away and pack the sleeping bag in your pack.
3. Tent Packing Made Easy – Pack your tent loose to get rid of the struggle of fitting it back into its original bag.
4. DIY Lantern with a Pop Can – A makeshift lantern using a pop can and a tea light.
5. Cotton Ball and Vaseline Firestarters – Create reliable firestarters with these household items.
6. Cut Paracord Without a Knife – A clever friction-based method to cut your paracord without a knife.
7. Clean Titanium Cookware – Creosote is stubborn to clean and can cause corrosion. Boiling water and a dishwater tab can get rid of it.
8. Dry Your BIC Lighter Quickly – Get it working after an unfortunate soaking by using fabric and friction.
9. Hang Your Pack Without Hooks – Use a branch off the ground and a tree to hang your back.
10. Headlamp Lantern Hack – Turn a water bottle into a glowing light source with your headlamp.
11. Coffee Grounds as Insect Repellent – Keep bugs at bay with this aromatic trick of smoldering coffee grounds.
12. Snack Your Way to a Fire – Use chips as an emergency firestarter; A lot of brands work!

Detailed Hacks

1. Make Your Own Fire Starting Gel/Paste

Fire gel is an excellent tool for starting fires, especially in very wet conditions.

Materials Needed:

Instructions:

1. Take a bar of Irish Spring soap and grate it using a cheese grater to create small flakes.
2. Fill a glass or thick plastic container with the shavings.
3. Add lighter fluid until the shavings are submerged, put on a lid, and leave it for 2 hours.
4. Come back and stir with a stick. It should form a putty-like compound that can easily be lit with a lighter or ferro rod.

This will stay lit with a strong flame for a long time, helping dry out the small kindling in rainy weather.

2. Packing Your Sleeping Bag Efficiently

Forget the struggle of repacking your sleeping bag perfectly every time. Before your camping trip. Take your sleeping bag out of its stuff sack, line your pack with a garbage bag, and then place the sleeping bag inside. Push out all the air and pack it down, creating a solid base for your other gear.

This is an excellent method for keeping your sleeping bag dry on rainy days as you’re traveling. Alternatively, if your sleeping bag gets wet from condensation in your tent, you can separate it from the rest of your gear so nothing else gets wet. Don’t leave it like that for too long though as it needs to dry out as quickly as possible.

3. Tent Packing Made Easy

If your tent never fits back into its original packaging, try this instead. Take the tent out of its stuff sack, place the poles and stakes inside your pack, roll up the tent, and attach it to any straps on your bag. If your backpack is big enough you can stuff it in there as well.

This method also simplifies packing your gear, eliminating the need to fit a tent and its stuff sack into your backpack like a game of Tetris.

4. DIY Lantern with a Pop Can

If you forgot a source of light but have cans of pop or beer kicking around, you can use these to make lanterns. Just be sure to keep some emergency tea light candles in your fire kit and you’ll be good to go.

Materials Needed:

Instructions:

1. Cut a pop can down the middle from top to bottom, then make horizontal cuts at the top and bottom.
2. Pull the flaps open and place a tea light inside.

The reflective interior of the can amplifies the candlelight, creating a makeshift lantern.

5. Cotton Makeup Removal Pads and Old Candle Wax Firestarters

You’ve probably heard of making cotton balls and Petroleum jelly as an effective firestarter, but that can get messy and still can’t get wet.

This method involves melting down old candles and dipping cotton makeup removal pads until they are fully saturated. Once dry you can crack and twist the disc, light it, and have a waterproof firestarter that can burn for up to 5 minutes.

Materials Needed:

Instructions:

1. Melt the candle wax in a double boiler pot and throw in the cotton pads.
2. Poke them until they absorb all of the wax and let them sit and harden for an hour or so.

6. Cutting Paracord Without a Knife

No knife? No problem. If you need to cut some paracord to length for hanging a tarp, then this is an excellent friction-based method that works every time.

Just be sure to use 550 paracord, which is common to find for camping. This is because it has several smaller strands inside the paracord that make it easier to cut through.

Materials Needed:

Instructions:

1. Tie an overhand knot on each end of the cord you want to cut.
2. Lay it on the ground, place your feet on the knots, and use the excess cord to create friction by pulling it back and forth under the taut section.
3. The cord will fray and snap as long as you put enough pressure behind it.

7. Cleaning Titanium Cookware

Creosote buildup on titanium cookware can be tough to remove. It can also start to corrode the material if left on long enough. This method involves minimal scrubbing and won’t damage the titanium on the cookware.

Materials Needed:

• Dishwasher gel tab
• A large pot of water

Instructions:

1. Boil enough water to submerge your cookware, add a dishwasher gel tab, and then submerge your cookware for about 15 minutes.
2. Let it sit for a minimum of 2 hours, or ideally, overnight. Most buildup will dissolve, and the rest should easily scrub off with a dish pad.

8. Drying Your BIC Lighter Quickly

BIC lighters can be a pain to light after they get wet, and that’s because the striker can’t light the flint until it’s dry. Luckily, there’s an easy method that can bring the lighter back to life in a few minutes with a little elbow grease.

Instructions:

1. If your BIC lighter gets wet, shake it upside down to remove trapped droplets.
2. Rub the top on a rough fabric for several minutes. Once you see sparks, it’s ready to light again.

Avoid over-rubbing, as excess flint shavings can cause sparks.

9. Hang Your Pack Without Hooks

Placing your pack on the ground upon reaching camp isn’t always ideal, particularly if the ground is wet. At times, nearby trees are stripped of branches, leaving nowhere to hang your pack. However, if you can find a sturdy, fallen branch, this method always comes in handy.

Materials Needed:

Instructions:

1. If you lack hooks to hang your pack, find a branch as thick as your wrist.
2. Hold it against a tree from behind, with the edges protruding.
3. Loop your backpack straps around the ends. The weight of the pack will secure it against the tree.

10. Headlamp Lantern Hack

Headlamps are great if you’re alone, but you can use a water bottle to help cast the light in a wider area so that everyone can enjoy it.

Materials Needed:

• Headlamp
• Water bottle (gallon jug works best)

Instructions:

1. Wrap your headlamp around the water bottle with the light facing inward.
2. Turn it on, and the water inside will diffuse the light, creating a soft glow that is both beautiful and effective.

11. Coffee Grounds as Insect Repellent

Spilling precious coffee might seem sacrilegious, yet being unable to savor it outdoors due to pesky insects is its own tragedy. Fortunately, the very coffee you’re enjoying can help establish a temporary mosquito-free sanctuary.

Materials Needed:

Instructions:

Coffee grounds smolder well due to their moisture content. Place them in small piles around where you’re sitting them and light them until they smolder, much like incense. The smoke will repel mosquitoes so you can enjoy your coffee in peace.

12. Snack Your Way to a Fire

All of your favorite greasy snacks also make for excellent fire-starting material. This can be helpful if you are trying to start a fire after a long rainfall and all of the tinder is soaked.

Materials Needed:

• Crunchy snacks (e.g., Cheetos, Pringles)

Instructions:

Crunchy snacks are surprisingly flammable. Place some under your kindling and ignite them. They burn longer than expected, often up to 5 minutes which is plenty of time to dry out small kindling.

Final Thoughts

Camping is all about connecting with nature, but it also requires resourcefulness and creativity. Next time you go camping take a look at the items that you typically bring and see if they can serve some other purpose other than what they were intended for.

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