5 Reasons to Take a Few Ratchet Straps on Your Next Camping Trip

Ratchet Straps

Ratchet Straps

If you regularly transport cargo or go on the occasional 4×4 drive, then you’re probably no stranger to a variety of ratchet straps. But, if you don’t use them that often, you might be wondering what else you can use them for.

Planning a camping trip anytime soon? You’ll be surprised to learn that packing a few ratchet straps will make the whole camping experience a lot easier. If you’re wondering exactly how, keep reading!

Pack Your Ratchet Straps for Your Next Camping Trip

Camping trips are the ideal way to relax and unwind from the craziness of your everyday routine. The trick is to have an established plan when it comes to camping prep. One of the items you should add to your prep list is a ratchet strap. Here are a few good reasons why.

Hold up Your Hammock

Some campers prefer sleeping in a hammock to avoid the spiders or simply to enjoy the night air. If this is you, you’ll know that the attached ropes are seldom the right length. Your trusted ratchet strap is the ideal alternative.

Using a ratchet strap also makes it easy for you to adjust your hammock to the desired height by simply adjusting the part that you’ve wrapped around the tree. There’s no need to struggle with knots! Simply hook and clip.

Use it to Make a Wood Bundle

Before you can sit back and relax, you’ll need to get a fire going and have a few extra logs to ensure your fire doesn’t die out mid-dinner. Scavenging for wood is part of the camping trip but you also don’t want to spend the whole afternoon carrying wood back and forth.

Follow these steps for a simple camping hack:

  • Gather wood and pack it in a neat pile
  • Wrap your trusted ratchet strap in a way that secures the wood and allows the two hooks to hook together
  • Pull the loose end of the strap to reduce the slack
  • Ratchet the strap a couple of times to ensure the wood is pulled tightly together
  • Once the wood is firmly secured, use the loose end of the strap as a shoulder strap
  • Ensure you have a firm grip on the strap and head back to camp

Create a Cosy Camp Site with a Few Hanging Lanterns

If you and your camping mates have arranged your tents in a circle, what could be cosier than a lantern in the middle? Since you can reduce the slack of a ratchet strap, it’s the ideal option to provide the whole campsite with light. You can easily customise the setup!

Simply follow these easy steps:

  • String your ratchet strap between two trees using a few S-hooks or strong carabiners
  • Reduce the slack on the strap to ensure the strap is tight
  • Add an S-hook to the lantern
  • Hang the lantern onto the ratchet strap
  • With a firm strap, you could hang a few more lanterns on your strap, depending on how much light you need around your campsite

Make a Makeshift Roof

If you’re expecting to encounter some rain on your trip, it’s time to get creative. Pack a very big tarp (or even a few smaller ones) and of course a couple of ratchet straps.

The easy steps to make a tarp roof include the following:

  • A larger tarp will require at least four straps – one for each corner
  • You’ll also need to set your tarp up in a place where there are four sturdy trees or stable items to secure the tarp to
  • Hook a strap to each tarp corner and then around the tree or other support

It’s crucial to hang the tarp at an angle to avoid water pooling, which could cause it to become waterlogged and create a disastrous mess all over your campsite. Hanging the tarp at an angle on the one side will allow the water to run off – make sure to make this angle towards the area where people and tents won’t get wet

Create A Bear Bag

While there’s virtually no risk of running into bears if you’re camping in the Australian wilderness, a bear bag will still come in handy against other critters. As the name suggests, a bear bag is a bag created to keep food and supplies above the ground and out of reach of stray animals and crawling insects.

Simply hang a strong mesh bag from a sturdy, shaded tree about 12 feet from the ground. Use your ratchet strap to keep the bag secured from a branch. You can use a carabiner or even an S-hook. You could also hang this type of bag from your lantern line if it isn’t too heavy.

Be sure to store food in airtight containers as well as in the shade. Remember to clean up before you head home.

Final Thought

With the many things you can do with ratchet straps while you’re camping, there should be no reason why they’re not on your “To pack” list. Whether you want to hang your hammock or make a bear bag, there’s no denying that ratchet straps are super handy, even for camping!