How to enjoy solo and family camping? Can gear be shared?

How to enjoy solo and family camping? Can I use the same gear for both?

I've put together some useful tips for those who enjoy both solo and family camping, or for those who currently only do one but want to try the other.

This article is based on an interview with a person in their 40s who enjoys both solo and family camping.

・Differences between solo camping and family camping

・Solo camping is freedom

The greatest appeal of solo camping is its freedom.

When to go, where to go, what to bring, what to leave behind. What about food and alcohol? What will I do there?

Everything is self-determined and self-responsible. If you fail, you deal with it yourself; if you make delicious food, it's all yours. The starry sky too.

It's never lonely. Thoroughly confront yourself.

・Family camping is about bonds and children's growth

In contrast, family camping shows changes with each trip.

Basically, I can only go camping with my family during Obon (as I live in a northern region, I can only take my children camping in mid-summer), but reflecting on how my children were the previous year, I am amazed by their growth.

From their first camping trip where they were excited to see the tent, they now hammer pegs and set up ropes.

They even became engrossed in the "Kobito Zukan" (a media mix content where a boy searches for "small creatures" hidden in nature, which was a huge boom about 10 years ago), carrying a net and venturing into the bushes, only to get scared of bugs and not being able to walk alone.

During the last camping trip, they made curry sandwiches with a hot sandwich maker.

Also, while my wife still does the cooking as she does at home, when there are moments where I can be relied on, even a little, like handling a burner or cutting vegetables with a knife, which is different from a regular kitchen knife, I feel happy and a bit proud.

I take the lead in setting up the tent. Since it's a five-person tent, I can't set it up alone, so my family helps by pulling and holding it.

I try to show leadership, but I always make mistakes somewhere. My children and wife make mistakes too.
But maybe it's because we're in nature, everything can be laughed off. The forest and sea absorb all the irritation.

・Interchangeable gear

・Lanterns and other lighting equipment

Too much light actually creates more shadows, and your eyes never adjust, leaving dark areas dark.

It's common to have three lanterns: a main one, a sub-one, and a headlamp for going to the restroom.

I realized that with minimal light, you can actually see a lot in the dark, so I started only bringing items that emit a soft glow.

In my case, I found my main lantern gathering dust at a friend's house and received it as a gift. It worked perfectly after just wiping off the soot. I believe its simple structure makes it durable, so I plan to cherish it for life.

I use a candle lantern as a sub-lantern.

I bought it because I was drawn to the ruggedness of a biker I met at a campsite who was using just one of these as his only light source.

It's just a candle, so it doesn't function very well as illumination, but the atmosphere is perfect.

Headlamps keep both hands free, preventing falls and injuries in the dark. While ambiance is important at the campsite, a headlamp is essential for night trips to the bathroom when your hands are full.

・Tarps

I use it for rain protection. I live quite far north, but summer in the north is fleeting. If I avoid the heat, it will be over too quickly.

I want to enjoy the strong sunlight, but if it rains, I won't be able to do anything, so I got a tarp.

With this, even with a little rain, I don't have to stay cooped up in the tent, and I even have the luxury of enjoying the sound of the rain.

・Chairs

I found it at a recycle shop.

It's incredibly comfortable. However, if the ground is soft, the legs will sink into the dirt, so it's a good idea to place empty cans or something similar underneath.

It's also convenient to have a mat for sitting on the ground, in addition to a chair.

I impulsively bought a set of two for about 500 yen including shipping from an online store.

Thanks to the urethane, it helps mitigate the ground temperature, and when folded, it becomes a pillow.

I used to have trouble sleeping when camping because I didn't have a pillow, but this has solved that problem.

・Burners and cookware

A Coleman split-type burner is recommended.

I use an old model called the Coleman HPX TABLE TOP STOVE Model 4020, but the current model would likely be the burner below.

I bought it soon after I started camping. I remember buying it based purely on aesthetics, without knowing anything about it at the time.

The advantage of a split-type is how easy it is to cook with. It's stable even when placing a pot on it, so I recommend it.

In my case, I also use another stove, a burner that can use gasoline, as shown below.

When I cycled across Hokkaido, I brought the Coleman I mentioned earlier, but I had to search for a hardware store every time the gas ran low.
This significantly restricted my movements, almost becoming one of the main purposes of my trip.

So, thinking that there would be plenty of gas stations along the national highways, I bought this one that uses regular gasoline.
Precise heat adjustment isn't possible, but you can even cook rice once you get the hang of it.

Such burners are called multi-fuel burners. Although precise heat adjustment is difficult, they are popular models because they can be used stably even in winter.

You can also buy just the fuel bottle to add as a spare.

I use a mess tin as cookware.

This is also for atmosphere. When I started camping, there was no internet and few specialized magazines, so I chose everything based on atmosphere.

This mess tin is one of them. It's dented from use, but it shows no signs of breaking, so I'll keep using it for a long time.

I also use a Sierra cup as a plate. The Sierra cup can be used as a plate, a cup, and a bowl, so I use it for all my meals.

It takes a bit of practice to hold, but coffee tastes exceptionally good in it.

・Gear that cannot be shared

・Tents

For family camping, tents inevitably become larger and harder to set up alone.

However, it's the first collaborative task upon arriving at the campsite, and working together to set it up deepens the sense of unity afterward.

・Tables

While I'm a "ground dweller" who doesn't use a table for solo camping, I want a table when I go with my family.

However, family tables tend to be too large, making them inconvenient for solo use.

・Chairs (for 2-3 people)

Two-person chair
When I first started camping, I thought it would be cheaper to buy a two-person chair than individual ones.

The folded dimensions are also thinner, so there are no problems with loading, but it's too big for solo use. Now, the children have taken it over.

・Fire pits

I bought it thinking that camping means yakiniku, and after that, a bonfire.

However, it was too large as it was meant for family camping. I found a smaller one for solo use, so I'm using that now.

・Try family camping too

If you've read the section on the differences between solo and family camping, you might have already realized that these two might be better considered as separate entities.
Solo camping, simply put, is a time when all five senses are heightened, a time to confront oneself.

In contrast, family camping, I believe, is an "event" where you can closely observe your children's growth.

There's no need for fathers to show off their strength.
How to hammer pegs, how to wash dishes with little water, how to start a fire, how to play in nature. With each trip, children become capable of more and more things, and what they can take on changes.

Looking at the bonfire, and then at my exhausted children's sleeping faces with my wife, I'm convinced that I didn't make any mistakes all year.
Family camping might be a space where you realize that as your children grow, you too are growing as a parent.