Hey, Summer Camp Fans!

As you start thinking about summer camp preparations, you’re going to need a good sleeping bag for those chilly summer nights—nights you spend underneath the stars. Make sure you’re equipped with the appropriate camping supplies.

For today’s blog post, I’ll be discussing the key differences between Kelty’s revolutionary DriDown Sleeping Bags as opposed to other Kelty sleeping bags that are insulated with regular down. I’ll start by going into what DriDown is and why it is vastly superior to an untreated, regular down or synthetic down.

Sleeping bags that are insulated with plain down or—worse—synthetic down are certain to lose the light loft that they once had when you first got ‘em. As moisture slowly seeps inside, it adds up, and over the years, your sleeping bag becomes more or less ineffective at keeping the warmth inside where it belongs.

The worst part about it: there’s nothing you can do to stop it.

Exclusive to Kelty Sleeping Bags, like the IGNITE DriDown 20°, DriDown consists of a natural down insulation which gets treated with a polymer that works on a molecular level. This gives each and every separate plume of each and every downy feather a hydrophobic finish which prevents the down from absorbing moisture.

It’s not invincible to the affects of water—it’s not waterproof—but this down will stand up to water 10 times longer than untreated down. That should give DriDown a good ten more years than any other insulation can endure. It also retains 63% more loft after it’s been exposed to humidity and moisture.

As advertised, DriDown keeps warmer, stays drier, and dries faster—33% faster, in fact! The Kelty Ignite DriDown Sleeping Bag lets internal moisture out and keeps the warmth in. It’s good enough for temperatures that hit dew points.

It’s even environmentally friendly as opposed to sleeping bags made with a synthetic insulation that contains petroleum. DriDown is made with natural down—a renewable natural resource.

Until next time, Readers! As always, thanks for reading!

- John

Hey, Camp Buddies!

Today’s blog post shines the spotlight on another company whose excellent product we offer. Previously, we took a look at Woolrich, discussing the products they make, their early beginnings, and the company’s longevity.

This blog post features everyone’s favorite camp chair place: Crazy Creek which has been bringing comfort to the outdoors since 1987. A very good year as it was the same one that delivered the birth of Everything Summer Camp!

It all started on a dark and stormy night in Colorado when Rob Hart and his Outward Bound campers found themselves wet, glum, and sitting on fallen logs and tree stumps. Camping is hard enough with weather that agrees, but without that weather, camping wasn’t very comfortable.

Rob knew it didn’t have to be that way, but how? He knew he wanted something better to sit on, but what? You can’t expect to go camping carrying a lawn chair on your back!

But it wasn’t long until the idea came to him, based on an old wooden canoe chair that Rob’s grandfather used to use on camping trips. Rob went straight to work creating many different designs and prototypes until he had come up with a warm, dry, and cushioned seat.

This was something he could relax in after a long, hard day of roughin’ it!

After quickly hiring his friend, John Elsberry as his business manager, Crazy Creek saw great success from their product. It became famous the world over. Finally!—a lightweight, portable, camping chair.

John went on to leave Crazy Creek after seeing it to such success and started a business of his own, Business Support Services. Crazy Creek then thrived for nearly a decade.

Sadly, nine years after John left the company, Rob Hart died in a tragic skiing accident. Fortunately for Rob’s family, the strong business he had created continues to support them with the help of Rob’s good friend and old business manager, John.

John and his wife, made arrangements to buy the company and with the help of everyone else at Crazy Creek, they keep up the excellent quality and service that the company started 26 years ago.

Everything Summer Camp is proud to offer these comfy camp chairs that have started such a craze! Thank you, Crazy Creek! And, as always, thanks to you for reading!

Hey there, Camp Preppers!

As we move down the line of new products that we’ve recently started carrying, it’s our hope that these posts are helping you to make a more educated decision on the gear that you’re purchasing as you move down your camper’s packing list.

You’ll find this post especially helpful if you’ve got a rookie camper in need of a fun sleeping bag in a youth size. Today, we’ll be discussing the Wenzel Moose Sleeping Bag and how it just might be right for your first-timer this camp season.

Make the Wenzel Moose your child’s first sleeping bag. This bag will certainly be memorable for your kids and prove to keep them warm and comfortable during their camp stay as well. When it packs 2.5 lbs. of Insulated thermal fill, how could it not?

Youth sized at 26” x 66” this bag will be a big enough cocoon for your little camper to curl up within and catch all the sleep necessary for the following, adventurous day.  And the Wenzel Moose is warm enough for temperatures as low as 40°, so you know it will be sufficient for your kid this summer.

The bag weighs a total of 3 lbs. and 4 oz. so your little first-timer won’t have any problems moving the bag from the bunk to a tent or anywhere else.

Made with quality, Quilt-through construction, this kid’s sleeping bag is sure to last well-through camp and can be useful after summer camp is over whether it be on a family trip or in a friend’s backyard.

This bag can be completely unzipped to be used as a blanket and comes with a multi-use stuff sack. The bag displays a cute, simple moose print that your kid will fall in love with and remember fondly long after camp is over. As always, thanks for reading, Camp Families!

- John

Hey, Blog Readers!

Just like all of you, everyone here at Everything Summer Camp has their own favorites of musicians, movie stars, and other celebrities among the many in the modern day biz. And just like all of you, all of the celebrities we feature on our Summer Camp Celebrity blog posts at some point went to summer camp.

Today’s post will be the third summer camp celebrity blog post we’ve published. The last summer camp celebrity that we talked about was the spritely actress/musician Zooey Deschanel; and before her post, we talked about the delightful Anne Hathaway.

Today we’re talking about the one, the only, the magnificent, James Franco who attended a four-week summer program for gifted high-schoolers at Innerspark: California State Summer School for the Arts. This summer program studies the art of Theater, along with Animation, Dance, Film, Music, Visual Arts, and—my own, personal favorite—Creative Writing.

James continued to pursue his passion after his summer camp experience and spent 15 months training to be an actor. He then plugged away in Los Angeles, auditioning for parts and yielding minimal results for two years before landing work on the cult classic television series Freaks and Geek in 1999. 

Two years after Freaks and Geeks which only lasted one season, James was cast to play James Dean in a biographical, made-for-TV movie. For this part, Franco really studied James Dean. He took the role so seriously the he learned to ride a motorcycle, and learned to play the guitar as well as the bongos just to better understand his character. It’s no surprise he won a Golden Globe Award for his portrayal.

With many other films along the way, James landed himself the part of Harry Osborn, the child of the evil Green Goblin in the superhero movie, Spider-Man. He then continued the role in the following, extremely (and increasingly) successful sequels in 2004 and again in 2007.

Mr. Franco continues to remain busy with his work as he is currently starring as the wizard in the Disney prequel, Oz: The Great and Powerful.

A good start in summer camp, patience, and determination is all it took for James Franco. What will it take for you? And, as always, thanks for reading.

How Kids Answer this Perennial Question Might Surprise You

Let’s reveal the most surprising fact first: Having a friend from home at camp does nothing to diminish the intensity of homesickness. Although everyone experiences feelings of missing home, only 20% of boys and girls between the ages of 8 and 16 are bothered by these feelings. Surprisingly, having a friend from home attend camp at the same time does not determine whether a child is in the mild or moderate homesickness group.

There are probably several reasons for this. First, if a child is intensely homesick, he or she is likely missing his parents most of all. The friend from home is not an adequate substitute. Fun, yes, but simply not mom or dad.

Second, if a child his having a tough time with the adjustment to summer camp, he or she is likely to be struggling socially. At camp, that boils down to making new friends. Having an established friendship from home may be a temporary comfort, but it’s the rare friend who takes an active role in garnering new connections for a lonely peer.

Third, if a child is struggling to fit in, he or she may not be much fun to play with. Children are most attracted to happy peers, not dour ones. Moreover, it’s a tall order to say to one child, “Your pal is feeling sad and left out. Stop having fun and do what you can to connect him with the rest of the group.” Some mature and astute children can do this kind of social engineering; most can’t.

All of this is simply to say that signing up for camp with a friend from home does nothing to stave off feelings of homesickness and may do little to promote social adjustment. However, for those children whose adjustment to camp is generally smooth, it may be lots of fun to share camp with an established chum. It may also be wonderful to share memories of camp with a local buddy. In sum, a friend from home may be a pleasant addition to a camp experience, but it’s not an antidote to anything.

Finally, when it comes to attending camp with a friend, parents should involve their child in the decision. Like so many other big and small choices, giving children some ownership over the parameters of their experience promotes good adjustment.

Curiously, the number-one thing that children say they love about camp is not the friends or the activities. Those are the number two and number three assets, respectively. What young people say they love most is that at camp they get to be themselves. In part, this means young people get to shed the reputation they have at school and in the neighborhood—maybe even at home, too—and let more of their authentic personality shine.

Sometimes, shedding an old reputation and donning a new personality is hampered by reminders and trappings of home, including the presence of an established friend. For this reason, many young people prefer to attend a camp where no one else from their grade or school is present. Talk with your son or daughter to get a sense of where they stand on the issue. Their answer may surprise you...

Of course, if the staff are doing their job, every child will have some new friends within a few hours of arriving. And if your child’s experience is typical, some of those new friendships will last a lifetime.

Enjoy the summer!

Dr. Christopher Thurber