Gear

Camp of Approval

Five Things to Rough It With

Sleeping under a lean-to. Living off the land. Eating what you kill. Sure, that’s one version of camping. But our version includes more beer. And other things that’ll make your campout far more hospitable. Anyway, watch out for ticks.

FOR HUNTING. OR WHITTLING.

Objectively Good-Looking Knives

When you need it: To cut rope. To carve your name in a tree. To fend off possums.
You’ll call on: This arsenal of attractive handmade knives from a Dallas-based knife-maker. We’re talking nine-inch hunter’s blades with Damascus steel and giraffe-bone handles. That’s bone. From a giraffe.

FOR WETTING YOUR WHISTLE

Beer in Concentrated Form

When you need it: You require something to drink around the campfire. Something like beer.
You’ll call on: A four-pack of beer concentrate. Just mix it with water and carbonate it with a carbonator (they sell that, too). Tastes like pale ale and weighs less than a 12-pack.

FOR SEEING IN THE DARK

An Honest-to-Goodness Lantern

When you need it: To illuminate your face during ghost stories. To see stuff at night.
You’ll call on: This handsome, hand-forged copper lantern. It’s powered by a tea candle. Which is powered by a match. So bring matches.

FOR SUSTENANCE

Beef Jerky. Elk Jerky. Other Jerky.

When you need it: Lunch. Dinner. Post-hike snack breaks. Basically, when you’re hungry.
You’ll call on: This wonderland of jerky. Because they’re experts at curing animals (beef, elk, kangaroo) and packaging them up in containers that fit neatly inside your fanny pack. We mean backpack.

FOR CARRYING IMPORTANT STUFF

This Thing Holds Whiskey and Soup

When you need it: To hold spirits. To heat soup. To accomplish both simultaneously.
You’ll call on: This military-grade canteen that’s sheathed in an aluminum boiling cup. Use the former for drinking and the latter for warming up whatever you just made from three berries and an oak leaf.