Customer Reviews

Camping Made Easy: A Manual for Beginners with Tips for the Experienced

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Camping Made Easy is an excellent manual for all of those who are interested in camping, but don't know how to get started. The author outlines practically every aspect of camping that you can think of, including: equipment (with great buying tips), types of camping spaces, cooking and food in various situations, backpacking, hiking, biking, canoeing, wildlife watching, and fishing. There is also lots of really great information about camping (and related activities) with your kids, something that I think most readers will appreciate. I can't think of any questions that you will have that will go unanswered with this book.

The author discusses the basic how-to's of each activity, gives great suggestions for figuring out what kind of equipment you do (and don't) need, offers some suggestions on howt to aquire equipment on a budget, and how to squeeze the most fun out of your trip. He even helps with organizational ideas for storing and caring for your equipment, including his own packing lists.

Experienced campers will find lots of neat tips for making camping life a little easier. For example; if you have ever struggled with a slippery sleeping pad under your bag, try applying some glue or tent sealant to the pad. After it dries, you will have instant traction!

I highly recommend Camping Made Easy. The book is highly useful, incredibly readable, and even funny at times as the author recounts his own experiences in the wild. If nothing else, the menus offered for camp eating will certainly stir a hunger!

[I always liked camping when I was young, but didn't get many chances to do it, as the rest of my family didn't care for it - so I promised myself that when I grew up, I would take my kids camping] Now, with two young kids, I started to look around for updated information about how to camp. I found this book in the library, and liked it so much that I bought it. Mr. Rutter offers good advice on equipment, clothes, and camping with children. My wife and I have purchased several items based on Mr. Rutter's suggestions in the book, and we have yet to be disappointed. I would highly recommend this book for anyone who is interested in camping; especially those families with younger children.

My two sons and daughter wanted to go camping. Whenever I do something new we all go to the library first. I found this book "Camping Made Easy" and I couldn't put it down. I took it to the beauty shop, work, and football practice. By time I was half way through my book had a thousand little yellow stickies of what I needed to go back over or write down at home. Why bother? I needed the book so I purchased it! This is a much needed manual and you can be sure it is the first thing that is packed in my backpack!

I have read this book 15-20 times now and have continously enjoyed it each time. I would say the only misgiving I have is that some of the equipment the Mike recommends is no longer available.

This is a very broad book -- covering a number of topics from car camping to canoe camping. Since we have children, we appreciate the fact that the book is a family camping book!

Pick it up if you want good book to get you into camping.

What a delightful book, multiple photos and illustrations, personal stories, and a wealth of experience! Book covers how to start out and some examples of layering good for Alaska and desert camping. Tents, tarps, sleeping bags (now I know waht the benefits of a mummy bag are but also why I've always hated them!) How to keep your gear stored to be able to be ready in a flash.

Packing lists, campsite information, good food, simple food, water purifiers, you name it. Sections on fishing and canoeing I skimmed over, but the emphasis on family fun and making things simple, rather than an endurance contest, makes this book a informative, easily readible resource.

I'm on my third time through, still picking up items I missed the first time - or that I wasn't experienced enough to need yet. If you're planning on camping with the family, or just looknig to make a solo trip more enjoyable, pick it up. It's like having a great friend to give you patient advice on making some good choices in camping.

I have been camping a few times but not for several years. This is a really inspiring book about camping. It is very readable, and full of great tips. It is touted (accurately) as a manual for beginners with tips for the experts. Don't be surprised if you find yourself heading to the nearest outfitter after reading this!

I have reconsidered my review on this book, now that I have taken a camping trip. I like the book a lot better, and I am taking my review from 3 stars to 4.

The author has clearly done a lot of camping, and has a lot of useful information to impart. The writing is still on the awkward side, but I think better of the organization.

My original observations still stand. Information is imparted to the reader as it occurs to the author. Terms are used before they are clearly defined; many are never defined. For example, the author launches into a discussion of tent flys without explaining what they are or what they do. If you know a little bit about camping, you can probably follow the author without too much difficulty, camping is not calculus, but having to fill in the blanks is annoying and confusing. I am sure I missed useful information.

Second, the book is based entirely on the author's personal experiences. He has done basically no research outside of what he and his friends have used or done. Since the author has been camping since he was a boy, some of his advice is already out of date. The absolute dependence on personal experience is especially limiting with respect to equipment. He can tell you what he uses and likes.

Third, the pictures in the book are awful. There are a lot of small, grainy black and white photos of his family and friends camping, but very few good illustrations that add information to the text. For instance, the discussion of the different types of tents is very poorly illustrated. The descriptions of tent types, without illustrations, is not very informative if you don't already know what the different types of tents are.

Despite these major drawbacks, I found the book is worth reading. The author clearly knows a lot about camping. The book is something like a long conversation with a friendly and enthusiastic, but non-professional, expert. I am a person who did some camping in high school, but has not camped in many years. I am planning our first family camping outing - a car camping trip. I needed a book to help me organize the project and remind me of many of the details which I had forgotten. I took this book out of the local library, and I don't regret the time spent reading it.

Having used the book to plan our first family camping trip, I am pleased to report that I the trip went very smoothly, with no major hitches and nothing forgotten. I also came to appreciate Mr. Rutter's narrative style - his little stories make it easier to remember the information in his book.

In summary, I would say that Mr. Rutter is not a great writer, but he is a great teacher - and that is probably what you are looking for when you buy this book.

I got this book when I decided to follow a my lifelong dream of seeing the country, and I didn't want to do it from a motel room. This book gave me all I needed to know to get started buying gear and how to survive my own cooking in the woods.
My only complaint is an editorial one: Has no one ever told this author about first and later references? Every single photo of his children and every reference is of "My son, Jon-Michael" or "My daughter, Abby." After the first time or two, I KNOW the childrens' names and who they are and could have stood not having the "My son or daughter" with every reference.
Just an annoyance - it really was a good book to get started camping.

I have camped for years, yet I still picked up new info with this book! It gave me an even greater appreciation for a simple way to travel. My family is being slowly converted from condo freaks to campers and the info in this book helped!

I found useful information on equipment I needed to purchase, sleeping bags, sleeping pads, day pack, and more. It explains situations you may encounter while out and about. The pictures are black and white, certain equipment out dated, but I found it useful, and a bit entertaining.