For the question of what to bed leep on, you have three basic choices.
- The original blowup air bed. These can be single or double, can be used as a
spare bed around the home or while camping.
- Foam sleeping mats. These have long been the favourite choice of hikers as they are
light weight and insulate the sleeper from the ground quite well. They also do not puncture
or leak like an air bed is prone too.
- The self inflating mats are the new kids on the block, so to speak.
They are light weight and quite compact, allowing them to be a valid choice for hikers.
They are also warmer then a foam mat, due to their air contained within foam construction.
On a side note, the traditional air bed can also be used as a toy for swimming pools and rivers.
From someone who has done several float / hikes down the surrounding creeks and rivers,
I would never be without the traditonal air bed to add diversity to my bush walking. :)
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The camping stove can be considered in three basic stove groupings.
- The hikers camping stove, which needs to be lightweight and easy to carry. These can be either
gas stoves or liquid fuel stoves. The liquid fuel stoves are more temperamental and harder
to use, make a roar like a jet plane while cooking, but do allow for the ability to get local fuels.
An important consideration if trekking in an emerging country.
- The standard gas stoves for the family camping excursion, which generally has multiple burners
and works with a standard gas bottle. The consideration with this type of stove is how many burners
do you want, and what do you want to set the stove up on. (a table, their own legs .....)
- Third main choice is the african cast iron stove or oven, that is used with a fire to cook.
A roast meal through to a damper can be cooked in these, but you must remember that they can
only be used at camp sites where you can guarantee fire wood.
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