What Kind of Camper Are YOU?

Our family loves to camp, but we’ve noticed that there are MANY definitions of camping.  Which definition do you use?

If you like to drive for hours on end, to get as far from all other people as you possibly can, and camp in the middle of nowhere, there’s a good chance you’re a primitive camper. No electricity, not even a generator. No facilities, no running water, maybe no water at all – and you aren’t afraid to go without a shower or bathe in the lake. You sleep under the stars, or in a tent if necessary, and cook over an open fire. If surviving by your wits with your bare hands is appealing to you, then primitive camping might be right for you.

If you prefer to have a campground to camp in, where there are some people around, but not too close, with a bit of flat ground all ready for your tent or tent trailer, then you might be a rustic camper. You are likely happy to have no electricity, but if the campground has a ‘biffy’ (outhouse) and a water pump with potable water, you can be quite comfortable. A camp shower or quick sponge bath with water heated on the fire will get you through. If being out in nature, but still having a few basics provided is appealing to you, then rustic camping might be right for you.

If you must stay within 100 miles of civilization, and set up camp in a structured campground with electrical and water hookups for your tent trailer or cab-over camper, there’s a good chance that you’re a deluxe camper. A washhouse with running water and toilets is a must, and showers are a special treat. You need your air mattress or comfy foamies and your cpap machine to make it through the night. If you only want to feel like you’re roughing it a little bit, then deluxe camping might be right for you.

If you cannot live without your tv, refrigerator, and hot showers, and you prefer to travel in relative comfort, then you might be a luxury camper. A paved pad for parking your fifth wheel camping trailer or full-size recreational vehicle, with full water, electrical and sewage hookups are the very basic necessities in a campsite for you. You like the home-away-from-home feeling of having lots of your favorite things along with you while you’re camping – including your favorite music, videos, books, games, and projects. Keeping the “great outdoors” outdoors works for you, and having to cook full meals inside your tiny kitchenette, on your mini-stovetop, and in your half-power microwave constitutes ‘roughing it’. If camping that doesn’t feel like camping at all is your preference, then luxury camping might be right for you.

Of course, there are any number of variations and combinations of these and other camping styles.  It’s good to know what kind of camper you are before you head to the campground, and to be clear with your fellow campers what definition of camping you use.