Hey, Cool Kids!

It’s especially cool this time of year here in Northwest Wisconsin. One might even say it’s downright cold! It’s the perfect season to curl up with a big, woolly blanket and keep warm. In fact, nearly the whole country was affected just a few weeks back when many states saw the coldest Christmas we’ve seen in decades with wind chill readings reaching as low as forty below.

A common misconception about blankets is that blankets themselves are warm. Unless you’re talking about an electric blanket, they don’t actually provide you with any heat. Where’s the heat coming from? Your own internal furnace! A blanket is only trapping in and surrounding your body with your own body heat that you give off.  

Northwest Woolen Mills knows this about blankets. They’ve been manufacturing wool and synthetic blankets for over 68 years! Located in Woonsocket, Rhode Island, this mill of the Brickle Group has made a living by providing comfort and warmth through their army blankets and emergency relief blankets.

Stay snug when the temperature drops with the Bunkhouse Plaid Wool Blanket, available right here at Everything Summer Camp. This bulky blanket is 60% wool with a cozy plaid design. Whether you’re wrapping up at home to stay warm in winter or draping yourself for added warmth around a campfire, it’s sure to keep you toasty and pleased.

But even more important than cold days and campfires, it’s a good idea to have blankets around for emergency situations. Have extra blankets around so you’re prepared to stay warm in extreme circumstances like a power outage. It’s also a good idea extra blankets in the trunk of your family vehicle.

Blankets are invaluable supplies when people don’t have gas or electric heat to keep them warm. Imparting humanitarian relief all over the world, Northwest Woolen Mills proudly provides blankets wherever they are needed. “Wherever there is a natural disaster or political strife,” they assert, “There is a good chance our blankets are there!”

Use the zoom feature when you hover over the main image of the product page on our site. It’ll allow you to get real up close and personal and see the fibers of this fantastic blanket. Naturally flame-retardant and easy to care for; just machine wash on a gentle cycle, add fabric softener to the final rinse, and tumble-dry on low heat. Get the Bunkhouse Plaid Wool Blanket and wrap up in this wool!

- John

Hey, Light Lovers!

Flashlights are essential to every camper’s packing list as you prepare for the overnight summer camp experience. We always want to offer the best of the best in child-friendly camping gear products and so we’re proud to offer flashlight and lantern options from one of the leading brands in quality lighting gear that’s incredibly effective and easy to use!

Always fans of ‘Bright Thinking’, we knew Hybrid Light was an obvious fit for our collection of flashlights and other lighting sources in our camping gear selection. Hybrid Light masterfully combines brilliant quality with a design that’s easy for kids to use. And, on top of that, they’re conscious of the impact they have on the environment!

Lighting the way since 2003, Hybrid Light’s products are made to generate power from sunlight. And, truly mastering their craft, the engineers at Hybrid Light have developed flashlights that store solar energy for years!

Just last month, I featured our Journey Seeker 300 Lumen as well as our Journey 200 Lumen Flashlights from Hybrid Light. Have a look at that Blog post to get a better idea of these flashlights when you click right here.

The PUC 150 Lumen Expandable Lantern & Charger is a top choice in camping lanterns since it can be powered by its micro USB port for rapid charge, using any light source with its built-in solar panel, as well as its 2000 mAh rechargeable lithium-ion battery that can hold a charge for 7 years. It generates 40 hours of light from just one full charge! This lightweight lantern cranks out 150 lumens to light up an area and it doubles as a flashlight when it’s collapsed too! Water-resistant, you don’t need to worry about keeping this around the pool or out in the rain.

Get a better look at these incredibly practical products from Hybrid Light by clicking right here and order the lighting sources you’ll want along for your nightly navigation throughout your camping experience! Stay bright and, as always, thanks for reading!

- John

Hey, Camp Folks!

During these cold, dark winter months of northern Wisconsin, it’s easy to get a little crazy about light. We throw them up all over our yards, the outside of our houses, and in darker corners and pockets indoors. Common at light shows, concerts, and plenty of other festivals, you’ll start seeing Glow Sticks as nighttime sets in. They’ve been around for decades, but originally weren’t used in celebratory fashion. They were military equipment.

It’s easy to see why Glow Stick technology was initially researched and developed for military use. The government contracted a chemist named Edwin Chandross in the 1960’s to investigate the process of chemicals that could emit powerful light without generating heat called ‘chemiluminescence’.

Glow Sticks need no batteries. They’re cheap. They have a long shelf life. They’re easy to dispose of. They can tolerate high pressures. They’re waterproof and weatherproof. And, in the right conditions, you can see one from a mile away. They’re also non-flammable and non-sparking, making them the only source of light safe to use in a disaster area immediately following the event. They’re used on a daily basis as markers for parachuters, landing zones, targets, as well as emergency lights.

At the same time that these new inventions were being used in their practical functionality, Glow Sticks emerged in a completely separate and surprising application. People found the aesthetics of the light from Glow Sticks had a certain appeal in a party and festival sort of setting.

Glow Sticks debuted on the music scene in 1971 at the Yale Ball in New Haven, Connecticut when a concert-goer and his friend visited the factory where his father worked assembling Glow Sticks. They filled their backpacks full of these cool lights and hauled them to the concert that night.

Within the first few songs of the show, the boys had started cracking open the Glow Sticks and handing them out to the crowd. No one had ever seen anything like it before. The awesome lights in the dark night brought the music to a stop and the whole show to a standstill. People were spellbound!

Glow Sticks remain an important part of military gear, but are certainly prevalent in places like clubs, parties, and festivals…even summer camp! Show your true colors in the Color War with a Glow Stick that never stops and get our LED Mini Glowstick from Nite Ize. We also offer the Nite Ize NiteHowl LED Necklace for hands-free lighting. Check out these and other lighting options from Nite Ize by clicking here. Thanks for reading, Camp Fans. And, as always, Happy Camping!

- John

Hey, Winter Warriors!

No matter where you go, this season whether it’s out on shopping excursions or long trips to a relative’s home, you’ll want to make sure you stay in the Spirit of the Season. And the best way to do that is with an endless supply of hot chocolate! Keep that creamy drink coming and make sure it stays piping hot in the proper container. We offer plenty of bottles that are insulated so your hot drinks stay hot for hours on end. Check out the selection we have here at Everything Summer Camp:

Insulated Bottles
Made of durable pro-grade stainless steel with Hydro Flask’s TempShield™ Insulation. The 24oz Standard Mouth Flex Cap Water Bottle maintains temperature for up to six hours for a hot drink. The 32oz Wide Mouth Bottle can do up to 12 hours.

Tumblers
Given similar construction with durable pro-grade stainless steel and their trademark TempShield Insulation, Hydro Flask’s 20oz All Around™ Tumbler as well as the 22oz Tumbler are capable of keeping your hot drink hot for as long as six hours.

Coffee Mug
Built with the same sturdy and insulated production, the 12oz Coffee Mug from Hydro Flask is provided with a closeable, press-in lid and its exterior offers a soft-to-the-touch finish that feels good in your hand as any good mug should. This Mug keeps drinks hot for hours.

Outside the Hydro Flask brand we have a few other options like the S'well 17oz Stainless Steel Vacuum Insulated Water Bottle which can keep drinks hot for up to 12 hours as well as the S'well 25oz Stainless Steel Insulated Water Bottle which keeps drinks hot for up to 24! We also offer the Camelbak Horizon 12oz Insulated Camp Mug that maintains temperature for hours.

So enjoy staying warm from the inside-out when you leave your home this winter with the proper hot drink for the season in hand! Shop these great options and, as always, thanks for reading!

- John

Hey, Scare Enthusiasts!

Keep the spirit of Halloween alive within the spooky walls of our Seasonal Halloween trunks. These trunks are great for safekeeping all your Halloween decorations but it’s an eye-drawing piece of decorative furniture as well. Keep it out in your hallway or at the front door for Trick or Treaters to see!

And when the season comes to its close, you can pack up all your fake spider webs and lawn ghouls and trick or treat baskets and pumpkin-carving tools and keep them organized in one, tidy trunk! These Seasonal Trunks are sure to frighten your friends and family (especially your baby brother or baby sister)!

Made of heavy-duty birch plywood, these ever-watchful, harvest-spirited camp trunks contain cats, bats, goblins, and ghouls of colossal creepiness as well as cuteness featured on our DuraShell exterior with an extremely scary and high-definition print UV-cured directly onto it! It's pretty cool.

Our Seasonal Trunks are the same size as our best-selling Happy Camper trunk and they include the same high-quality metal hardware to keep the lid securely shut. Use the trunk for day camp, Halloween storage, Fall décor, and more. The Creep Show Designer Trunk also includes extra wide handles on the sides to make carrying your ghoulish goodies even easier.

Keep your cavernous trunk neat and orderly by snagging a Grab a Glide & Go Tray and LidMate Organizer. The accessory organizers are perfect for pairing with your trunk to bring some order to the chaos. If this trunk doesn’t scare you too much, go ahead and order a Seasonal Trunk for yourself today… I DARE you! You can get a closer look when you click right here. Happy Halloween! And, as always, thanks for reading!

- John