Love the outdoors? Embarking on a camping trip in the near future? Add a thermal camera to your list of must-have camping essentials! It’s a great investment because it can save the day in many different ways.
Even though you might be knee-deep in camping gear, you want to consider adding a thermal camera to your must-have gear list for the following reasons:
1. A Thermal Camera Helps You Navigate in the Dark
A big part of camping in a van or RV is venturing into the wilderness to find the best campsites or fishing spots, oftentimes before sunrise or after sunset. Since you'll be encountering a lot of animals and perhaps other outdoor enthusiasts during your travels, a thermal imaging camera will come in very useful. Thermal cameras have a longer range of "vision" than headlights or flashlights. For example, NightRide can see up to 1800 feet. Thermal cameras can also detect heat sources even behind obstacles like trees. With a tool like this, your chances of colliding with a deer or another animal are drastically decreased.
2. A Thermal Camera Provides Security at Night
Hear a strange shuffling out there, in the dark? You don't have to risk your safety by simply pulling the covers over your head or cautiously exiting your vehicle to locate the source of that sound. With a thermal camera hooked to the battery, you can simply check the camera feed from the safe enclosure of your vehicle to see what's lurking in the darkness. Don't confuse thermal camera capabilities with those of night vision - the thermal camera grabs heat sources. This means cameras like NightRide can detect animals hidden behind thick bushes and tall grass but night vision cameras can't.
You’ll sleep a lot easier knowing your thermal camera’s got your back.
3. A Thermal Camera Helps You Find a Lost Person or Pet
Getting away from it all is peaceful, but maintaining a sense of direction in an unknown environment can be difficult. If a child, friend, or beloved pet wanders off at night, your thermal camera can come to the rescue. There’s only so much a flashlight can do during a search and rescue mission. Not only can thermal cameras detect heat sources behind obstacles, but they also provide a lot more distance visibility than a flashlight ever could. Even during the day, your thermal camera might help you find a lost person or dog in particularly dark woods.
4. A Thermal Camera Comes in Useful When You Want to Make Sure Your Campfire is Actually Out
Did you know that campfires are one of the biggest causes of wildfires? Those of us who enjoy the outdoors, never want to cause harm to that environment. You can never be too careful while extinguishing a campfire. In fact, often a campfire seems extinguished, but it's actually still hot enough to spark another fire under the right circumstances. If you want to ensure that you put out the campfire correctly, you can point your thermal camera at it to determine how hot the fire pit still is. It might even show you the exact areas in the pit that are slightly hotter than the rest. Now you'll know if you should douse the pit once again before you drive away.
A thermal camera is one of these things that will improve your camping and fishing commute and exploration so much that you’ll wonder how you managed to get by without one. To help you better understand these cameras, we put together a list of the necessary features to look for in a thermal imaging camera: Thermal Cameras for Cars – What You Need to Know.