Technology has revolutionized the way we explore the great outdoors. From GPS devices to portable solar panels, modern campers have a wide variety of tools to make their adventures more convenient and enjoyable. Camping apps can help users plan their trips, navigate trails, and ensure safety in the wild. Camping.Tools is one such mobile app available for iOS and Android phones that brings together essential features to enhance your camping experience.
Whether you're a casual weekend camper or a seasoned backpacker, Camping.Tools promises to streamline your outdoor adventures with its user-friendly design. Let's take a closer look at what makes this app a worthy addition to your phone.
Inspiration
Camping.Tools was created by Robert McMillan, who was introduced to camping by his father, an avid outdoorsman and hunter. He shares that it was a six-week cross-country family trip from Georgia to the West Coast that "lit a fire for camping deep in my soul that I believe can never go out."
In 2012, McMillan introduced his sons to extended camping over a 28-day road trip with his mother. It was during this family trip as a father that he realized there was no easy way to capture all the details and photos in a single place.
When the .tools domain extensions became available in 2014, he bought Camping.Tools. And then during the pandemic, when his family hit the road to go camping, he used those experiences to inform how he could build a website and app for the camping community at large.
Key Features
Once you've downloaded the app, follow the prompts to create and verify your account. This process kicks off a 14-day free trial. You can begin creating trips, uploading photos, and sharing memories. To test out the app, I created a trip to Big Bend National Park in West Texas, which I previously visited. After naming the adventure, I uploaded a feature photo and added the start and end dates.
Trips
Itinerary
Once your trip is created, click on the Itinerary button to begin adding waypoints. These can include the campground where you're staying, hikes you want to do, outdoor activities, meals, or anything else you want to document so you don't forget.
As you add places, they'll appear in a numbered list as well as on a clickable Google map. Clicking on the map allows you to search the area or choose from some pre-selected shortcuts, including:
- Campgrounds
- Walmart
- Cracker Barrel
- Propane
- Rest Area
Once the results appear on the map as orange dots, you can click them for additional info (names, phone numbers, addresses) and add them to your itinerary. Just be sure to hit the "Save" button in the upper right corner after any changes to ensure they stick.
Each entry on the itinerary includes the option to check in, resulting in a date and time stamp. You can also launch turn-by-burn directions with a click of the turning arrow icon on the right side. As a guy who loves to plot out his trips by the hour, this is an attractive feature.
Timeline
The Timeline area is where you can upload photos and share some thoughts about the places you've been and perhaps some tips for others. Each memory is assigned to a trip you've created and, optionally, a waypoint, to be more specific. This helps the app to keep your experiences, thoughts, and photos organized.
When you log into your account on the Camping.Tools website, you can view a larger version of the Timeline in chronological order.
Additional tabs on the Itinerary screen include Media, where you'll find the photos and video clips you upload, and Lists (a simple tool for creating a packing list).
Explore
In addition to the Trips tab, the Camping.Tools app allows you to explore the community.
Feed
When you click on the Explore tab at the bottom of the app, you'll see a chronological feed similar to what you're used to on Facebook. Updates shared by other users appear here and can be liked or commented on.
The mobile app and website are designed to allow users to document their camping adventures privately. However, if you'd like to make your updates public, they'll also appear to others on the Explore tab.
Friends and Groups
The option to add friends with whom you can exclusively share your trips also exists. You can even join groups around common interests, such as RV travel and National Parks, and share your trips with them.
Broadcast
The mobile app offers users the ability to broadcast their GPS location to friends they're connected with in the app as well as groups they've joined. The available durations are 15 minutes, 30 minutes, one hour, and two hours. This function could help various members of a group geolocate one another while hiking in the same park. Or, it could allow solo hikers to set off on short hikes with a greater sense of safety.
Marketplace
While not currently accessible from the mobile app, there's a Marketplace to buy and sell used camping gear when you sign into the Camping.Tools website (using the same login as the app). In addition to items from community members, it looks like there are quite a few camping products populated from and purchasable through Amazon.com.
Pros and Cons
The Camping.Tools app should appeal to camping enthusiasts who like the idea of creating a digital record of their trips without the large learning curve that goes into running a fully-fledged blog.
Here are the benefits that jumped out at me as I used the app:
- Campers can microblog their outdoor adventures; no experience is necessary.
- The design offers an intuitive user experience.
- Community engagement features can help you connect with and support other campers.
- Ability to broadcast your location.
- Free 14-day trial.
I think the biggest challenge for the app will be getting people to stick around after their free trial ends. Occasional campers, the kind who only go out a few times (or less) per year, may not want to pay.
Download the App
The Camping.Tools app is available to download for iOS (iPhones) and Android phones and has a free 14-day trial so you can see if it's right for you. If you like what you see, you can subscribe to the app to continue using all the features for $4.99 per month or $44.99 annually.
On June 10, 2024, the app announced that it would donate $5 of every annual subscription purchased to the Care Camps Foundation (CCF), a nonprofit that funds pediatric oncology camps across the United States and Canada.
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This story is brought to you in partnership with Camping Tools, Inc. and based on my personal experience using the app. All opinions are my own.
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