One of life’s simple joys is watching the sunset while camping. But, once the sun sets, your ability to see decreases, so having adequate illumination while camping is crucial. It can be incredibly aggravating and also dangerous to have trouble seeing a metre in front of you.
Lucky for us, technology is still evolving quickly, and the same stands for the field of lighting, including camping lighting. With today’s vast array of low-cost, simple-to-use, and cost-effective technology, you can efficiently light up your campground. This guide can assist you in being more prepared and enable you to have a comfortable camping experience.
What Are Some Improvements in Camp Lighting?
If you’ve been camping for many years, you probably remember how big and awkward camp lights were once. Usually coming as gas lanterns that required fuel and were easily damaged, these lights helped see only a few metres in front.
Nowadays, camping lighting is comparatively more economical, long-lasting, efficient, user-friendly, and compact than ever. So, what’s changed? Although there have been advances in battery life and the introduction of solar panels, LED technology has made the most significant progress in lighting.
LED, or Light Emitting Diodes, are now the most noteworthy development in lighting, known for their brightness, energy efficiency, and extended lifespan compared to other lighting options. They have gained immense popularity over time and are now widely available at an affordable cost.
Additionally, they come in a range of brightness levels, from dim enough to illuminate the inside of a tent to powerful lights capable of illuminating several hundred meters ahead of you. It’s no exaggeration to say that some of the tactical flashlights available in the market have illumination capabilities that exceed those of vehicle headlights.
Types of LED Camp Lighting
LED technology is incredibly versatile, which is why different types of LED camp lighting are available. Here are some of the trendy ones.
LED Camp Light Bars
When searching for bright, efficient and durable LED lights for your campsite, you’ll notice that a convenient LED camp light bar is one of the best choices. Since the first-ever light bar in 2008, it has an improved design to make it even more durable and practical. Today, people use these bars in thousands of campsites throughout Australia and the rest of the world.
Look for an LED light bar constructed of an aluminium extrusion filled with an epoxy resin that houses a row of LED chips to ensure it’s completely waterproof. Ensure you choose a bar with connecting wires protected with grommets to prevent rubbing against the extrusion and that the connection between the wire and the LED strip is secure.
Installing this type of LED camp light bar at your campsite is a breeze. You can use the inbuilt rare-earth magnets to attach it to a magnetic surface, or if you want to mount it to aluminium tent or awning poles, the exclusive removable pole clips make it easy. You can power these LED bars by using a 12v cig lead or a 240v transformer if mains power is available. Turning them on and off and controlling the colour and brightness is possible because of the push-button dimmers (or rotary dimmers on older models).
Is a LED light bar worth it? Not only is it useful for camping but it also serves as excellent illumination source for 4×4 canopies. The slim form makes it perfect for fitting inside gullwing doors commonly found in most touring roofs, making it easy to mount to the inside top. Some companies has even developed special attachment flush mount clips to simplify this process.
LED Camp Kit
Additionally, many premium stores and manufacturers offer their camping bars packaged into kits in various sizes to accommodate most campgrounds. These camp light kits, which come in 2-bar, 4-bar, and 6-bar variations, include dimmers, pole clips, extension leads, cigarette leads, splitter cables, and other essentials for most camping applications. Look for kits including a sturdy travel bag for light bars and accessories.
Headlamps and Torches
An excellent approach to illuminating your campground is using a headlamp. Headlamps are simple to pack and carry anywhere, thanks to their portability and compact size. Since the headlamps with LED lights consume less energy than other types of lighting that don’t use LEDs, their batteries last longer. As you wear these on your head, your hands are free, so you perform other tasks.
Are you looking for a way to add a bit of nostalgia? Then, why not use torches to light your campground? You will, in a sense, be slaying two birds with one stone if you choose to employ these. The flame will light up your campsite, while the citronella oil in them will keep mosquitoes at bay. Just watch out that they don’t start any fires. These torches work well for delineating the perimeter of your campground as well.
LED Strip and Tape Lights
If you’ve been looking for a unique camping lighting solution, LED strip lighting may be one. It’s just a string of tiny LED lights enclosed in a waterproof membrane. These lights are reasonably priced and bright enough to illuminate your campground without blinding you.
LED strips are a terrific way to add extra light to any area, and often come on a reel and are the ideal option for temporary lighting. Many options include Velcro and carabiner-style clips sewed into the end, allowing them to be mounted almost anywhere. The latest models now have an integrated sail track mount that slots into the sail track found on most 4WD awnings.
A strip of LED chips, enclosed in a premium silicon strip and a genuine 3M double-sided tape on the back, is what makes up LED tape lights. They are favoured for installing inside awnings, tailgates, and gazebos and are available in 1 and 2-metre lengths. They may be permanently mounted even when the canopy or gazebo is folded up and stored because of the strong adhesive, flexibility, and longevity.
