The DIY culture is far from dying. According to data, 75% of homeowners are DIYers, with the younger generation getting more excited about home improvement and outdoor adventure projects. 

Varying motivations drive DIYers. In today’s crunched economy, DIY projects are viewed as a way to save money compared to hiring a contractor or buying an already-built item in-store. 

For outdoor adventurers, investing in a DIY project can also add fun to the whole experience and provide a learning opportunity to advance handy skills such as working with PVC, glue, and wood.

Some DIY projects you can embark on as an outdoor enthusiast include a camping shower, first aid kit, camp kitchen, and PVC bike rack.

Here’s a look into the DIY world for outdoor adventurers and a few projects you can try for fun and saving a buck.

DIY for An Outdoor Adventurer is Unbound

Being an outdoor adventurer needs an open mind and a love for creativity. Hiking, mountaineering, camping, and traveling are stimulating activities that challenge you to think harder and find creative solutions when stuck.

Therefore, getting into the DIY world and attempting various projects should be a natural learning experience. You will need many kits, tools, and accessories to enjoy and safely partake in your adventure that you don’t have to buy in-store or have someone make them for you.

Most of these items can be made using easy-to-find materials such as PVC piping, wood, cloth, and glue. These items are very easy to work with, requiring little force and heat to fit into a part of your build or project.

For instance, PVC is a light yet stiff material that can be safely used to make piping for water systems in a camp or other structures unrelated to piping or water supply. Moreover, with the correct fittings, PVC parts can fit together like LEGOs, making building using the material fun and easy.

Therefore, you’re almost unlimited to what you can make or try outdoors with friends or family.

Examples of DIY Projects You Can Take on for Your Next Adventure

The outdoor industry is booming, with data showing that 54% of Americans aged six and above engage in a particular outdoor activity. With this boom, many DIY resources are available online to help new and enthusiastic adventurers find something intriguing and helpful to build for their next adventure.

Here’s our selection of some of the easiest, most fun, most useful, and most exciting DIY projects to build.

Camping Shower

Camping is one of the most practiced outdoor activities. Camping teaches people to be resourceful, creative, and critical thinkers while living and exploring in the wild.

A shower is one of the most essential items you should have in a camp. Apart from ensuring you’re staying clean, having a ready shower in camp can allow you to rinse off any mud, dirt, or bio deposits that might contact your body or hair. 

You can make two types of camping showers as a DIY project. These are a portable small camping shower and a larger roof-rack-installed camping shower. 

A portable camping shower is excellent for a small camping trip in an area you can’t access with a vehicle. This camping shower typically needs a 9-liter rectangular water jug, about 20 feet of braided poly rope to hang it in place, PVC piping to extend the shower head, chain shackle, and a roll of gorilla tape.

A glue gun, scissors, and pliers will also be helpful when putting things together. Your new portable camping shower can keep you clean anywhere.

Camp Kitchen

Cooking is one of the most disorganized activities in a campsite. Without proper management, you can litter the area with several cooking sites, making a mess of the natural environment that you should also protect.

A DIY camp kitchen ensures a well-organized cooking area on camp, with adequate space to eat and clean up after yourself. This DIY camp kitchen looks like a portable storage container with the following qualities:

• It can fit into the bed of a pickup truck
• It can fold easily for storage in the camp or at home for the next adventure
• It can expand at the campsite to create a large work area
• It can fit all essential equipment for cooking, cleaning, and eating
• It is cheap to build using common materials

Though the quality of your result will depend on your carpentry skills, a DIY portable camp kitchen is not difficult to build and only takes a few steps.

First Aid Kit

A first aid kit is a necessary accessory for any outdoor activity. You can quickly get a well-equipped kit off the shelf, but you can use some of your handy skills and build a well-equipped one perfect for camping, traveling, hunting, or any other outdoor activity.

The size of the kit you build will depend on the group size you’ll be with on the trail or outdoor activity. Larger groups will need a larger first aid kit to ensure you’ve packed enough medical essentials for the whole team. 

Your DIY first aid kit should also have the following essentials:

• A first aid kit pouch to carry it
• Over-the-counter medication such as pain relief, anti-diarrheal, allergies/nasal decongestant
• Wound care essentials
• Medical tools such as tweezers, hand sanitizer, sunscreen, and scissors

For your DIY first aid kit, you can use a small toiletry bag or 1-liter dry sack for the pouch and several zip lock bags to group medical supplies, tools, and accessories together and ensure everything is watertight. However, avid DIYers and adventurers should use PVC piping, pvc coupler, and end caps for optimal security.

The kit itself is a relatively simple project with materials found online or at any hardware store. All you need is a strong adhesive, two PVC end caps, one PVC pipe (schedule 80 recommended), and a single PVC compression coupler.

After the kit is crafted, your new first aid kit is reusable and able to withstand most environments.

PVC Bike Rack

Mountain biking is a shared outdoor activity often combined with other adventures such as hiking or camping. After the day out with your bike, storing it at home or camp can be challenging unless you buy an off-the-shelf bike rack.

Alternatively, you can indulge in a simple DIY PVC bike rack project that beginner DIYers can do at affordable costs.

Typically, you’ll need ten feet of three-quarter-inch PVC pipe with several fittings such as tee joints, to assemble the build. If done correctly, this project should only take about an hour.

Use the Best Materials for Your Build

DIY projects are fun and engaging. However, don’t get too frustrated if you need to repeat steps or completely restart. New and experienced adventurers are willing to take risks, and these projects are just a few that will be beneficial during your outdoor activities.  Whether you are hiking, camping, or mountain biking, make sure to use the most robust material for your DIY outdoor projects. Contact a trusted supplier for the necessary parts to ensure your build will last several adventures.

Author Bio:

Mark Ligon is the Marketing Manager at PVC Fittings Online, a leading supplier of consumer-based PVC products; including piping, fittings, valves, plumbing supplies and accessories. Mark is a DIYer and provides advice to individuals on DIY projects utilizing a range of PVC type products.