What’s geekier than Star Wars can lanterns and a Lego head propane tank at your campsite? Well, maybe a campfire coloring kit. Here’s a rundown of some great projects for geeky campers everywhere.
Roll-Up Silverware Holder
If you want to camp in style, you need the tableware to be classy. Keep it from getting lost in the bottom of your bag by making this easy roll-up holder. Feel free to geek it up, too; we can think of some great fabric we’d use.
Tear-Drop Camper Trailer
Tired of tents? Looking for luxury? This one is pretty elaborate, but rolling up to a site in a home-built camper trailer will put all those Airstreams to shame.
Wood Gas Camp Stove
Camp stoves are highly engineered, precise instruments that can cost upward of $100. But they needn’t be: This easy-to-make stove, built from an old tin can, does the job and ups your DIY cred at the same time.
Solar Laptop Charger
If you’re going to watch Firefly in camp, you’re going to want to make sure you’ve got enough juice. That’s where this solar-powered device charger comes in: Just get an old case and follow these directions.
Star Wars Can Lanterns
You’ve got to light your campsite, and lanterns are a great way to do that. Rather than using the common paper lanterns and other typical designs, here’s a great way to make Star Wars can lanterns. R2D2, Yoda, and even the Death Star can all be punched into cans and used to decorate your camp table. These are easy to make and a great way to demonstrate your geeky side while camping.
Lego Head Propane Tank
Have you ever noticed how closely a propane tank resembles a Lego head? Not the giant ones that are permanently installed behind a house, but type you can hook up to a grill, camp stove, or lantern while camping. Some people swap out their propane tanks and others simply refill the same one each time it gets empty. If you’re swapping out your tank, you may not want to put the time into customizing it. (Though it may be fun to lock up a Lego head inside a propane tank exchange cage.) All you have to do is paint the whole tank bright yellow and put a face on one side: Presto, you now have a Lego head for a propane tank.
Portable Air Conditioner
Building a portable air conditioner for your camping trip depends entirely on how much you enjoy roughing it. When you prefer glamping over camping, you can geek out your space with a portable air conditioner made from an old cooler. All you need for this DIY project is an old cooler, a pump, some fans, and a small radiator. All this connects to the DC jack in your vehicle, or a battery.
Leather (or Duct Tape) Cord Wrap
No matter how hard you try to get away from it, it’s inevitable that some electronics will be at a geek camping trip. This means you will need some way to organize those cords and avoid having them get tangled. A leather cord wrap is a great way to stay organized, but you can also make one out of duct tape if you don’t feel comfortable working with leather, or just don’t have leather as readily available.
Campfire Coloring Kit
This one is for all the chemistry geeks at the camp: What do copper acetate, boric acid, copper chloride, calcium nitrate, and lithium carbonate have in common? The answer: They can all be used to color your next campfire. Collect these chemicals and experiment with some popsicle sticks before your next campfire. You can amaze all your friends and prove you truly are the biggest chemistry geek at the camp by coloring the flames.
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