Make Home
REI and Matador Present: Make Home
Matador has always embraced the culture of the outdoors — discovering, protecting, and celebrating our wild spaces. We’re honored to partner with REI to tell stories of camp life, to explore what it takes and what it means to be truly at home in the natural world.
Scroll down to check out our original video and other content, and get inspired to plan your next camping trip. Make your camp your home. We’ll see you out there.
Camp Stories
Camping with Loki the Wolfdog
What makes a campsite feel like home? Part of it’s the preparation you put in before your trip—choosing the gear and goods you know will make your camp most comfortable, packing up, planning your route and destination. Part of it’s bringing to bear your experience and knowledge in setting up a solid camp spot. But perhaps more than any of that, what truly turns a campsite into home is the company you bring.
Snow Camping with Griffin Post
There are unique challenges to camping in the snow. But when you strip the experience down to its basics, you start to notice more familiar themes. Snow camping at its most fundamental is about taking your go-to crew into the elements and making a home from what you find there. It’s a creative act, and it’s a rewarding one.
Making Home with Alex Honnold
The Alex Honnold you’re probably familiar with—the rock climber who sets speed records free soloing some of the gnarliest walls in the world—is only one snapshot in the home movie that makes up the person. For one thing, he spends just 5% of his climbing time on those high-difficulty, high-publicity exploits. The rest is rope climbing, bouldering, gym climbing.
Camping in the Redwoods with Meg Haywood Sullivan and Charles Post
If you’ve walked in the redwood forests of Northern California, you know there’s nowhere like this on Earth. In the old-growth groves, trunks as wide as 25 feet rise like pillars out of the ground. To camp here — to make your home amongst the redwoods — is practically a spiritual experience.
Kayak Camping with Kalen Thorien
How important is it to find the perfect campsite when you’re camping? For kayaker Kalen Thorien, there’s no more crucial task when she’s on a paddling mission.
Adventure Camping with Alex Johnson
What does camping mean to you? Climber and mountain biker Alex Johnson has multiple answers to this question. On the one hand, camping is a vehicle to get her out into places where she can do the things that bring her joy–areas with killer singletrack and awesome rock climbing.
Camp Guides
Series Articles
Beyond hydration: 8 easy drink recipes to take your camping experience to the next level
Real happy hours happen out in nature. Up your camping game with these 8 creative and tasty drink recipes from REI and Matador. #LetsCamp
Camping is my medicine: A love letter to the outdoors
We agree with REI: Nature isn't "out there"—it's inside all of us. And camping takes us home. #LetsCamp
9 things NOT to do when camping with kids
Camping teaches us to observe, respect, and feel at home in the natural world. When it comes to these lessons, @REI believes there's no better classroom for your kids. #LetsCamp
18 awesome camping gear ideas you never would have thought of
Whatever your camping style, REI offers some incredible gear to make your camp experience more comfortable...and a lot more awesome. #LetsCamp
Don't forget the hot sauce: 14 essential camp kitchen items for your backcountry trip
Some things are worth the added weight in your pack. What makes it onto your list of camping must-haves? #LetsCamp
How to set up a ridiculously comfortable camp that feels like home in any environment
There's an art to camping well. Once you master it, you carry your home with you wherever you go. Ready to get started? #LetsCamp
On Instagram: #LetsCamp
Join the conversation! Share your best camp shots — your favorite gear, your tried-and-true tricks and hacks, your top tips for turning your campsite into your home away from home — on Instagram and tag them with #LetsCamp and @matadornetwork.