Product Review - Kickass 150W Solar Panels

After the Camping trip of unlimited destruction (TM) in autumn (which is a story in and of itself), I have had to replace or repair a number of bits of kit. My 120W solar blanket was one of the pieces that failed, and so after a lot of investigation, I settled on a new Kickass 150W bi-fold panel from Australian Direct.

Any questions? Let me know in the comments below.

Top 5 tips to make the most of winter camping

Chilly base camp on the banks of the Wellington River, Licola north.

Winter is a fantastic time to have a camping adventure in Victoria. From bush walking or bird watching to sitting around the campfire with a warm drink and a guitar - campfire karaoke my nieces call it - winter is an excellent time to take yourself and your family away from the everyday and make some memories.

From Licola on Grand Final weekend, snow in the hills

Our family does almost all of our camping between autumn and spring, and these days we rarely set up the tent during summer. Why? Because almost everything you love doing outside when you're camping you can do in the off season, without needing to reapply sunscreen and insect repellant every two to four hours, and without enduring one of those nights that is so hot that nobody gets any sleep.

Winter camping takes a little more preparation, and a bit more specialised gear in order to get out into the bush and have an adventure to remember. Here are my top 5 tips to making the most of winter camping in Victoria.

1. Sleep warm

My number one rule for enjoying camping - whatever the season - is that you need to sleep well. Good sleep is made up of two key ingredients: comfort, and temperature control. And in winter, temperature control means insulation.

Get up off the ground

If you're winter camping, then the ground is your enemy. Not only is it usually hard and uncomfortable, it gets very cold and will leach the warmth right out of you. So if you're looking at inflatable air beds, unless it has an r rating for its insulating properties, forget it.

Your sleeping choices are largely dictated by the type of tent you're using, but my personal preference is to sleep in an insulated inflating mat and, if the tent permits, a stretcher. My best ever camping sleep was using a Blackwolf Mega-deluxe mat on top of an Oztent Gecko stretcher. This is really a belt-and-braces kind of approach, but gives you the advantages of being up off the ground on the stretcher, combined with the comfort and insulating properties of the thick inflating mattress. There are considerations to this approach - not only does your tent need to be large enough to accommodate the stretchers, you also need sufficient room in your vehicle to carry it all. The advantages are significant however: a good night's sleep on a comfortable bed, with room underneath to stash your bags and keep the tent clean and clear.

It's in the bag

Not all sleeping bags are created equal, and this is never more evident than when you're camping in cold conditions. Your sleeping bag is probably the most important bit of gear you will take with you, and well cared for it should last you in excess of ten years, so it is worth considering it an investment, and getting it right first time if you can. So if the sleeping bag you're looking at doesn't come with a rating that uses terms like "comfort", "transition", and "limit", then my advice is to put it back and move on to a different bag, and possibly even a different store.

For cold weather camping, your sleeping bag choices come down to down versus synthetic, and budget. Down sleeping bags compress to a smaller package, and are the favourite for the hiker who needs to carry everything in their pack. Synthetic bags don't compress as well, and are a used by many a four wheel driver who is always camping out of their vehicle, and can cope with the larger packed size. Down bags are more expensive, but have always been my preference as I enjoy camping with space constraints and aspire to one day do some hiking camping.

Ritual 'airing of the sleeping bags' post camp.

Whichever way you go, a decent sleeping bag is a must, and can quite seriously save your life one if you're caught out in adverse conditions. Choosing your sleeping bag should be tailored to the individual, so take a moment to reflect on whether you're a "warm sleeper" or a "cold sleeper" and factor that in to your decision. My family are all kitted out with sleeping bags from Kathmandu that, when on sale, are pretty good value for money and offer a range of warmth ratings that allow us to put our eldest daughter (who gets very cold when she is tired) in a -3 rated Columbus Womens down bag, with our youngest daughter in a +3 Pegasus Down-Synthetic Hybrid bag.

The next decision is which liner to use. Sleeping bag liners were historically a tool to help keep your bag cleaner for longer, but they play a significant role in temperature control too. In hot weather, using a liner allows you to unzip your sleeping bag and use it as a light doona, and in cold weather a warm liner like the Sea To Summit Thermolite Reactor can add up to 8 degrees of warmth.

Next step - particularly for kids - is to stuff unused space in the sleeping bag, for example with a blanket or with their clothes for the next day. This helps reduce the amount of air inside the bag that needs to be kept warm, and can make getting dressed the next day that much more pleasant. Hot water bottles are a simple and easy way to help take off the chill when you first crawl into your sleeping bag; we wrap up our sleeping bag liners around the hot water bottle before getting ready for bed, so that the liner is toasty warm too.

Lastly thermal underwear makes great pyjamas when you're camping, but consider buying two sets if you're winter camping as wearing the same thermals day and night can be a bit much!

2. Layers

Winter camping is all about layering your clothing. As you're moving from your tent to the campfire, to going for a bush walk or spending time at the table preparing a meal, your temperature is varying throughout the day. My layering wardrobe is made up of:

• Thermal top (base layer, or can be worn over a tee shirt)
• Tee shirt
• Fleece
• Vest 
• Wind-blocker softshell jacket
• Waterproof jacket

The first four make up my bread-and-butter wardrobe, with the wind-blocker or the waterproof jacket being used if the conditions require it. I tend to mix and match my gear a bit depending upon what I'm doing, so if I'm washing dishes at night I'll be wearing a tee shirt, thermal top (with sleeves rolled up) and my Drizabone vest, then throw my fleece on over the top when I move away from the warmth of the kitchen area. First thing in the morning will be thermal and fleece, with the oilskin vest on over the top if my core is still feeling a bit cold.

I run fewer layers on my bottom half, but pants or jeans that you can wear over your thermals are a must in my opinion. A beanie and a pair of gloves should also be in everyone's winter camping wardrobe.

Lastly, if your feet get especially cold, be prepared to layer your socks! A thin pair of socks covered with hiking socks or nice big fluffy socks can give you enough warmth to keep the chill off your toes. Just remember to bring some shoes that you can loosen off enough to fit your extra-padded feet inside.

3. Hot meals

Winter camping and campfires go hand-in-hand in my books, so I've developed a love of cooking over the campfire over the years. Whether you're cooking over a fire or on a burner, putting a little thought into your meal plan in advance gots a long way.

A tripod allows for adjusting the heat under the oven.

Porridge is a quick, easy, and deliciously warm way to start the day, and with enough sweet condiments for people to add is usually a winner with almost everyone. Our family loves maple syrup on porridge, but honey, fruit, or even regular sugar will do the job.

One morning each camping trip we will do a hot breakfast for everyone. Often it has been pancakes, which are easy but time consuming, however most recently we cooked up a batch of bacon, sausages and eggs, and did delicious breakfast rolls. (My culinary camping skills are not quintessentially vegetarian, but it can be done!)

Cooking the evening meal over the campfire is not only a fun challenge, but a great excuse to light up the camp fire earlier in the afternoon and to spend the rest of the day right next to it, so it's win-win in my books. While I find grilling over the fire a bit hit-and-miss (or to be more accurate, a bit black-and-charred), I've been getting pretty good results doing roast lamb and beef in a cast iron camp oven. We also branched out this last trip to cook up a batch of campfire Goulash which went down a treat for the crew after a hard afternoon bush-walk up in the Cathedral Ranges.

Enjoying a hot meal is probably a given for many people, but the forward planning required makes

Browning meat over the fire.

this a point worth making. Camping is to a large extent the art of doing what you need to with less, and when the temperature starts to plummet in the late afternoon and people start to feel the chill, serving up a piping hot meal can make the difference between a miserable, grumpy evening and a happy family enjoying a brisk evening around the fire.

In the case of the campfire goulash we enjoyed this last camping trip, I volunteered to remain at camp while the rest of the crew went off on a walk. With a plan of serving dinner around 6:00 - 6:30, that required the fire to be lit by 4:30 so that it would have enough heat to start cooking around five o'clock. Working backwards, I found myself splitting firewood at around 3:30 in order to get dinner served up on time! Of course dinner could have been just as easily - indeed more easily - cooked over the gas stove, but the whole point of camping is to have an adventure that is different from the everyday, and I find cooking over a campfire to be incredibly cathartic and rewarding. And from the perspective of surviving and thriving in winter camping, getting the family gathered around the fire with a hot meal on their plate just as the temperature starts to drop is a great way of keeping everybody warm and happy.

4. Go under cover

Sometimes you will get lucky, and you will get a gorgeous spell of winter weather with blue skies and sunshine every day. But don't bet on it.

Having some plans for shelter is essential for enjoying a winter camping trip. Your plans will vary depending on the size and make-up of your group, but here are a few options to consider.

Your Tent

Tents with a front awning provide additional living space.
Many have optional walls to enclose the area.

As a source of shelter, your tent is your safe haven. Card games like Uno are a great activity to keep everyone entertained in an enclosed space like your tent, and can be done with minimal preparation and hopefully minimal impact to the setup inside your tent.

Relying on your main tent as your primary rain shelter is not my preferred plan, however. I hate playing the "I can't find my ..." game when trying to get the children off to bed, and playtime inside the tent during the day invariably leads to a fair amount of rearrangement and disorder in my experience. I like it even less when it's my things that can't be found by the time my bedtime rolls around, so I prefer to keep the family tent more as a safe space for family members to retreat to if they want a little time alone, or somewhere quiet to read.

The Car

I'm the first to admit that I don't quite understand this one, but my youngest and her cousins love playing inside the car. It's warm and dry, and it means they're in a safe location where I know exactly where they are, so why not? The keys are safe in my pocket, so they're not going to go anywhere!

Awnings

Adventure Kings awning providing cheap and easy shelter.

We have an awning mounted to the side of our four wheel drive, and it has paid for itself many times over. Throw on a couple of side walls or improvise with a tarpaulin, and you can shield off an area from inclement weather and make a cozy space for a game of cards or a board game, or provide a shady spot to sit and enjoy a snack or read a book. On one trip we had to pack up camp in an absolute downpour, and the 4WD awning provided a quick and easy place for a couple of kids to stay out of the rain while Mum and I ran around packing up the rest of camp.

Gazebos

Each family brought a gazebo, providing both kitchen / eating
and living areas under cover.

Especially when we go out with larger groups, the gazebos form the centre of base camp. As a large, sheltered space to establish the camp kitchen and provide a protected living area, the humble gazebo can't be beat. Of course not every trip requires the gazebo to be set up - my most recent trip, it stayed in the trailer the whole time - but when the weather is too hot, too sunny, too windy, or too wet, the gazebo provides a huge amount of shelter and liveable space.

I'm particularly fond of setting up the gazebo when camping with a number of kids as it has tended to provide an element of structure to the campsite, which makes giving instructions that much easier. Things can be found in the crates that are underneath the gazebo, or in the esky that is underneath the gazebo, games can be played on the picnic rug under the gazebo, and so on.

Tarpaulin, poles and ropes is enough to keep things dry from
both dew and rain. Bring your chairs undercover overnight.

If you're short of space or not wanting to over-invest in single use items, it's amazing what you can do with a tarpaulin and a few spare tent poles. We camped a number of years relying on only a couple of tarps, poles and guy ropes for our outdoor shelter, and it truly gives camping a very adventurous, kind of Swiss Family Robinson sort of feel. But it only takes on experience of the tarpaulin coming down over your head while you're using the gas burner to appreciate the robust genius of the modern gazebo.

Lake Cobbler Hut, Lake Cobbler.

Huts & Shelters

One of the aspects of the Victorian High Country that I adore the most are the array of huts, picnic shelters, and other structures scattered throughout our glorious mountain ranges. The high country huts are primarily for emergency refuge and you should never plan to camp there as your accommodation, but they can be a great place to spend a rainy afternoon undercover, both as a shelter and as a window into Victoria's history.

Investigating the hut at Bentley Plains.

Many of the camping grounds that are managed by Parks Victoria will include an undercover picnic area or BBQ area which can provide a sheltered spot for a game or to cook up a warm meal or a snack. As with the huts be prepared to share the space with others who may need a little shelter too, and always aim to leave the area in better condition than you found it.

5. Bring friends

I think this is true all year round but especially when you're winter camping and there's a real prospect of spending some time huddled under shelter keeping dry or gathered around a campfire keeping warm, having good company there is a real game changer.

We camp with family nearly every trip. Sometimes it's just my family and my wife's sister's family. Sometimes my wife's parents come along with their tent, my parents bring their caravan along, and we have other families coming along to join in. Every trip is not just an adventure going somewhere new or trying new things, its a chance to hang out with people we enjoy spending time with. It works out well for our kids, too. Camping is not just enforced time with their sister, but is time to run amok with their cousins, and the kids get to hang out with others the same age and work out their own entertainment to suit themselves.

It can also help ease the burden of getting all the gear if you're just getting started. One person brings the gas stove, another brings a gazebo. You get to share the cooking, share the planning, and share the adventure. It's a great way of spending time with people you care about.

Bonus tip - locking crates

One of the best investments you can make for tent-based camping is crates with lids that lock down. It gives you a structure for organising the food that you bring, a safe way to put all that food into the car or trailer without getting squashed or lost, and provides a last line of defence against the cheeky critters who prowl around the camping grounds in winter looking to score an easy meal from unwary campers!

On this point though, the crates are only truly effective if you actually put the lids on and lock them down. We've had possums try to pry the lid off our crates on more than one occasion, and they helped themselves to some tortillas and rolled oats when we were looking the other way on our most recent adventure.

Have a question? Leave it in the comments below!