Choosing camping gear is not about buying the latest, most popular or even the most expensive equipment. Camping equipment should be affordable and suitable for your needs. The key to choosing the right gear is to know what you will encounter on your camping trip. How long you will be camping also influences what camping gear you would need. Consider which gear is essential based on the terrain and weather conditions. You can still have many choices of gear which are still practical and functional even if you are on a tight budget. It’s easy to get distracted by all the gear you see in camping stores but you need to focus on the camping gear that you will definitely need and would later prove useful to your needs.

The strongest camping and hiking gear may be too heavy or lack the features you need so evaluate the conditions of the terrain and decide if you really need gear that may be overkill. Contact the local tourist office to find out about weather conditions and terrain before you start buying new equipment or before you pack what you have already. Sometimes you will go through a variety of conditions and terrain in the same camping trip so make sure you take this into account when choosing camping gear. If the weather is unpredictable bring rain gear and pack your gear in a waterproof enclosure so that it remains dry.

A camping checklist is something that evolves as you gain more experience camping. It not only makes sure that you carry everything that you might need but it also can be used to make sure that you don’t carry too much camping equipment. To make a dynamic camping checklist that you be useful for different occasions make a note of which camping gear you did or did not use and alter you list accordingly. The camping list may change from each camping trip as you encounter different conditions. This is the trial and error method for choosing the right camping equipment for you. As you take notes on which equipment works best for different situations and which gear you wish you had or how much of the camping supplies you had used up in your camping trip your list will become better, more useful and more customized to your individual needs.

With new technology camping equipment are increasingly lighter and smaller with new designs and materials. Choosing a lighter alternative to the same piece of gear can significantly reduce your overall load. It is not necessary to sacrifice certain essentials just to make your backpack lighter. A lighter backpack will help you travel more quickly and cover more distances in a day and put less stress on your knees, shoulders, neck and back.

One of the 8 Keys of Excellence kids 9-19 learn about at SuperCamp, The life skills and academic summer camp, is Commitment. Commitment is about doing whatever it takes, following your vision without wavering. When you do this, you literally can change the world. Anyone who has ever succeeded at something difficult did so by being completely committed to the goal. Commitment is the breath-taking moment of making a decision, jumping in, and going forward with gusto. The decisive act of making a commitment sets into motion an energy field of action to propel you forward.

To harness the power of commitment, think about what you love passionately enough to give it all you’ve got then give it. Commitment can spring from anything that inspires strong feeling. It can be motivated by a deeply felt aspiration, a strongly held principle, or the desire to make a difference in people’s lives. Commitment comes down to a simple moment of decision: Will you, or will you not, do whatever it takes?

Once you’ve made the decision to follow your passion no matter what, your commitment carries you through. It’s the “no matter what” part that holds all the power. You’re locked into staying the course. You may feel discouraged, even hopeless. You may lose all your confidence in yourself. It doesn’t matter. None of it matters. You’ve vowed to go on trying no matter what. Circumstances become irrelevant in the face of commitment.

Whatever it is that inspires you, give yourself permission to lose yourself utterly in what you love and you’ll have no choice but to commit. Simply let your passion take over and you will harness the titanic strength of commitment. Commitment is all about that moment when there’s no turning back the magic that results when you’re truly committed. It’s a mind-set where there are no other options. There are no more debates, no mind-games, no procrastination. There is only action, single-minded, focused, and pure. That commitment wields a mighty power and brings with it an intense joy.

To the uncommitted, the committed look strangely fortunate. Happy circumstances just seem to land in their laps. They seem, almost uncannily, to meet the people they need to know and find the opportunities they need. They see solutions where others only see obstacles. But the committed will tell you it’s not because they view things differently than the non-committed; it’s because they never stop looking for a way to make their dreams happen.