Your tent is going to be one of the most important things you bring with you.  You can always wait until the day before to buy one if you don’t have one but I encourage you not to.  This is because you should have a chance to set it up before you ever get to your campground.  Family cabin tents can contain many different parts and if you are unsure about how to set it up when you are at home, it’s going to be even more difficult when you get to campground when the sun is setting and that occasional rain shower pops up!

Setting your tent up before hand is not only important so you know how to set it up, it also is good to make sure if there are any problems that need to be taken care of.  This includes finding holes or rips in your tent, if it is older, but it doesn’t hurt to check this out when you buy a new one either.  It’s also useful to set it up in the yard for a couple of days and see if it holds up to the weather.  Sometimes rips and tears can be so small you don’t know they are there until water hits the tent.

Lastly, you want to make sure your tent is the right size for your group or family.  Consider how many people are going to be sleeping in your tent, then consider their gear and then get a size bigger!  You don’t want to have a 3 man tent sometimes even if 3 people are sleeping inside because you aren’t going to be very comfortable and you might even have to leave your gear outside.

A little planning ahead can go far with anything, this includes being ready for a camping trip.

The size is perfect. I’m tired of carrying a huge tactical knife around in the city. They are too big, too heavy and they look way too aggressive. Pull a Dragonfly out and no one will get paranoiac.

The FRN handle

The FRN handle is a perfect choice for a knife this size and I will tell you why. I carry the Dragonfly in my pocket with my home keys and various key-chain gadgets and my car keys. Needless to say, that is not a scratch-safe environment. But that’s the beauty of a FRN handle, it is very scratch resistant. It’s also incredibly light and very, very tough. I got the white version, because I thought it looked awesome. And it did, for about a couple of months. Go for a darker color, thats my advice. From what I heard, they make the white FRN so you can paint it in any color you want. I’m not good with DIY stuff, so I’ll probably just buy a new one.

The VG-10 blade

VG-10 is a stainless steel and it is a very balanced all-around steel. It gets scary sharp, it is easy to sharpen and it will hold an edge for a long time. It came with a full flat ground grind, which is perfect for slicing. Like all Spydercos it has a opening hole, instead of a thumb-stud, which I very much prefer. You can actually use the knife to slice something, and not have the thumb-stud get in the way. It is also easier to open, not to mention if you wear gloves. Winter is coming, so I will use it with gloves quite often.

Criticism

My only criticism with this knife is the carry clip. It is a FRN molded blip. I would prefer a detachable clip because I do not use it for example. It is not very strong either and I’ve heard of many people complaining about it snapping. I heard there is a new revision coming for 2011 and I am pretty sure they will address this issue.

Conclusion

Out of all my pocket knives, this is by far my favorite folder for every day carry. Lightweight and friendly, scary sharp and easy to sharpen, scratch-resistant and corrosion-resistant, this knife is staying in my pocket!

The first thing you’ll want to consider even before you go out shopping for a storage box is the size.  If you have many large items, you’ll need to go more for the plastic organizing drawers and tubs you see in the household section of most grocery stores.  A small box with compartments is great for smaller craft items like bead storage, string, and scrapbooking items.  Look inside whatever container you choose as well.  The best storage boxes will have many compartments of varying sizes so you have the perfect sized places to store whatever items you need to.

The sturdiness of the box is another factor.  It needs to close tightly in order to keep small items from getting jumbled around into different compartments.  This is one item to definitely test before you buy.  Obviously, you won’t be able to fill the box in the store, but you should open and close it a few times to make sure it’s a tight fit.  If shopping online, look for a description that advertises a secure box.  Most storage boxes are made from plastic.  Thicker plastic is ideal for boxes that will need to travel.  They’ll be able to resist everyday damage better than boxes made from thin plastic.

Finally, you may have a few options when it comes to the color of your box.  Opaque boxes are typically white, but may come in other colors as well.  The color can make it a little more personal than a clear box would, but you won’t be able to see inside the box without opening it.  A clear box will allow you to do this.  Both clear and opaque boxes can be customized by you.  You can paint on them, add stickers, or do anything else to the surface as long as it doesn’t compromise the functionality.

You’ll be amazed at how much easier craft storage boxes can make your crafting experience.  After switching to the organized feel of a storage box, you won’t want to go back to whatever you were using before.

It’s one thing to research and find a good urban lake in which to fish, quite another to lug around a conventional fishing rod and reel and other gear to take advantage of an opportunity to fish while on the road doing business. You can find a mini fishing rod that closes up into a pen shape that is only 8 inches long. This same pen can extend to 37 inches with a reel that inserts and screws on easily. Throw this mini rod and reel combination into your briefcase along with one or two light spinning lures and you are ready to take advantage of good fishing water that might lie between your hotel and out-of-town workplace.

When you do decide to turn into the park to go fishing, all you have to to is unscrew the cap on the pen, expand the rod, attach the reel by inserting between the designated grooves on the pen, secure the inserted reel with a twist screw, tie on your lures and start casting. Oh, be sure and take off your coat and tie and roll up your sleeves – work is over for the day!

Not only is the mini fishing rod the perfect fishing equipment for those unexpected gifts of time and place when you stumble across a good fishing spot in a strange place, they are quite inexpensive. Depending upon the design and function, mini fishing rods can range in price from $8.99 up to almost $40. The price really seems inexpensive when you consider that the smallest equipment design enables you to comfortably carry a fishing rod and reel in an accessory or coat pocket; a fishing rod and reel that can expand into equipment that is able to catch fish up to 4 pounds.

And don’t think there are not spur-of-the-moment opportunities to catch fish. Times where you wished that you had a mini fishing rod. What if the business trip requires you to fly in or stay over a weekend? What if that business hotel room is just yards away from an accessible bank to a river-walk for its guests? What if you find out that the hotel allows guests to fish from their river-walk and that some of the best stocked rainbow trout fishing in the city is provided there?

What if a park’s bluegill pond was an easy drive with closely mowed, well-kept banks? What if going fishing was as simple as going to dinner or a movie after a day in the office out of town?

These are the times to have a mini fishing rod.