Skip to Content

camping

Get Wild with the National Outdoor Leadership School

Filed under: Luxury Travel & Hotels, Sports, Green

Wind River WildernessIf your summer vacation consists of lolling around in front of the air conditioner sipping a chilled beverage -- and you're not so happy about that, challenge yourself by signing up for a National Outdoor Leadership School course.

This Lander, Wyoming-based outdoors school primarily serves the school-aged -- teaching teenagers and college kids about leadership, nature and survival in the wilderness in courses that can run as long as a full semester. But it's less well-known that NOLS also offers classes for adults, which typically run a couple of weeks.

I joined one of their programs in the Wyoming Wind River Mountains almost exactly three years ago, and as a decidedly non-outdoorsy New Yorker, I will never forget it. In fact, I count it among the hardest things I've ever done -- but, since I didn't have to be helicoptered out I counted it as a raging success. (I hardly ever discuss how, on the last night, I took an instructor aside and said, you know, I've just realized that my people aren't woods people.)

I learned a lot about how you live a day-to-night life in the back country, for example, how to not freak out when crossing streams by jumping from rock-to-rock with a heavy pack on one's back, and how to keep hiking with two sprained ankles. Glamping this is not, but if you want to end the summer with a sense of pride and accomplishment, a NOLS course might be just the ticket.

Glamping and Rafting on the Salmon River

Filed under: Luxury Travel & Hotels

Glamping Salmon RiverGlamping, the combination of glamour and camping, is really catching on and for good reason: who wouldn't enjoy all the adventure and fun of camping without the 'roughing it' factor?

Far and Away Adventures
specializes in high-end luxury wilderness vacations along Idaho's Salmon River and they're offering a customizable glamping and whitewater rafting package called American Safari that includes stand-up tents with interior tent rugs, comfy elevated beds, exterior solar lights, steamed hand towels and showers. Dining is organic, gourmet, and done by candlelight on white tablecloths and fine china by the riverside complete with a personal wine sommelier. Other available amenities include riverside massage therapy, personal concierge service, and your pick of activities and adventures. The American Safari packages run for 6 days and 5 nights and are meant invoke feelings of old-time African safari expeditions, with rates dependent on how you personalize your trip. Get more info/book your adventure here.

The Colim Camper Concept

Filed under: Luxury Cars & Autos

colim camper
I love the outdoors and I love nature but I also love indoor plumbing and sleeping in a dry, comfortable bed at night. So I'm one of those who would love camping a lot more if I could afford a camper to do it in, and this Colim modular camper by Christian Susana would certainly fit the bill. Although it boasts several fun features and can be customized to the user's preferences, the real attraction of this design is the detachable 'cockpit' at the front that makes jaunts away from the campsite not only easier and more convenient but also more environmentally friendly. That's what I call luxury.

Via psfk

Glamour + Camping = Glamping (Seriously)

Filed under: Luxury Travel & Hotels, Services


The camping season is still in full swing around most parts of the country, but swiftly cooling temperatures (especially at night) are beginning to weed out all but the most hardcore of tent-pitching types. The good news? You don't have to be hardcore to enjoy camping during this season, or any other, thanks to a new trend called "glamping."

Glamping (makes me laugh every time I say it) is a term derived from the phrase "glamorous camping," and the idea is to bring nature and luxury together. Amenities vary depending on where you go, but many glamping packages include things like big, plush beds in your tent, personal butlers, gourmet food, wi-fi internet access, spa services (in a tent), and top shelf wine, liquor, cigars, etc. Rates start around $695 a night for a couple and can go as high as $50,000 a week for a family.

Via psfk

Handpresso, Make Your Own Espresso on the Go

Filed under: Dining, Gadgets

The name might not be particularly sophisticated but the idea is a fun one: portable espresso whenever and wherever you want it. No need to rough it the next time you go camping! Well, not in the hot beverage department anyway.

The Handpresso works by using your own personal manpower to create the necessary pressure by pumping the handle, after which the machine produces one shot of espresso. And according to our sister site Slashfood's product review, the espresso isn't half bad.

For me part of the fun of camping is drinking something different, like coffee made in a steel pan over the fire, and laughing about how bad it is. But then I can't remember the last time I actually went camping so maybe there's something to bringing a little bit of home out with you to the wilds. $155

Via Shiny Shiny

Mountain Hardware Stronghold Camping Tent

Filed under: Gadgets


I recently endured about 48 hours in a rustic cabin in the mountain woods of central Idaho. I am not a big fan of camping and assumed a cabin would be more comfortable than a tent. That may be true for most tents, but this Mountain Hardware Stronghold Camping Tent isn't most tents. Besides looking really cool, this tent has plenty of ventilation for those muggy summer nights. With three zippered doors, a roof vent, and five perimeter vents, you are bound to get a nice cross-breeze going. If you are in to camping in the snow, this tent has you covered as well. A perimeter band around the floor of the tent allows you to create a water proof seating area on benches carved from the snow. It's doubled-walled and the dome shape minimizes wind load. At around $3,000, it is a bit pricier than my rustic cabin, but surely well worth it.

Sundance Teardrop Trailer

Filed under: Gadgets, Luxury Cars & Autos


Whether you love camping for just a few nights or for weeks on end, this Sundance Teardrop Trailer is bound to make the whole experience more enjoyable. Its size makes for a happy medium between uncomfortable pitch tent and gas-guzzling RV, and manages to take the best conveniences from both. Inside it's big enough to house a full-size mattress with a skylight, LED lights, and ventilation system, and outside the hatchback opens up to reveal a shade over the stove, pump faucet, a Coleman steel cooler, and storage space for all the supplies you'll need. $24,000.


Via Style.com

Designer Airstream is Stocked with Goodies

Filed under: Gadgets, Luxury Travel & Hotels, Luxury Cars & Autos


Aimed at a younger market than the usual camping trailer crowd, this Design Within Reach Airstream comes with some additional accessories and modifications that make it a little trendier and more appealing to the "mobile young modernist" consumer. Among featured items there's a Nelson Ball clock, Heller Dinnerware place settings for 4, recessed lighting, a skylight, a Tom Dixon Wire Coat Rack, and of course a furnished kitchen area, lavatory, and shower. The fun stuff doesn't stop there, with panoramic windows, a fabric awning, Tripolina chairs, a Sony sound system and TV, and (deep breath) the list just keeps going and going. Want one of your own? No problem, but it'll cost you $49,066.


Via bookofjoe

A Tent with Power Outlets to Keep Your Gadgets Going

Filed under: Gadgets


Die-hard campers will think this gadget is for sissies, but I think it's outrageously handy for the majority of "casual" camping types. Whether there are some creature comforts you just can't live without or you simply need some light for a card game on a rainy day, the Eureka N!ergy tent will take care of it with three 12 volt power outlets handy for plugging in everything from a fan to a reading light, or even a laptop computer. However you will need the Eureka E Power Pak (which is sold separately) to make it all work.

The Eureka N!ergy tent comes in three different sizes, the middle size (8 person/3 season) sells for $199.90.

Featured Galleries

Aperion SLIMstage30 Speaker System
Fortis Spaceleader Volkswagen Design White Watch
Gustafsson & Sjogren Stockholm watches
Sensai Summer Skin Care and Makeup Must-Haves
Four Season Provence
Casa Noble Tequila
Turks & Caicos Style
Ulysse Nardin Lady Diver Watch New Colors
Vacheron Constantin Historiques Aronde 1954 Watch