Or: The Burly Dad’s Ultimate Camping Gear Guide
There he stands—a handcrafted hunter’s axe upon one shoulder, bits of bison meat in his beard, and a faraway look in his eyes as he stares through the campfire. The flame-charred Dutch oven is scraped clean of his award-winning, camp-cooked, seven-layer Mexican lasagna. The kids are giggling and licking marshmallow off their fingers, mom is getting the beds ready in the glowing tent, and Dad—he surveys the scene, calmly, comfortably, and holds it all together.
So let’s set him up with the proper tools for the job. The ideas in this gear guide are somewhat random, and range from a $2.99 coffee maker to a $600 tent and a few dozen options in between. Most of these gifts revolve around the principle of craftsmanship: i.e. a perfectly pitched tent, a one-match fire in gusting winds, a gut-warming dinner, and a clean, safe, organized campsite. Anything you can give your father to better these campcraft skills is a gift that keeps on giving. In other words, give a Dad a pizza and he eats for one day; give him a Dutch oven, some welder’s gloves, and a cookbook and he’ll feed his family all summer long.