About a month ago, I was going through the motions of a typical sleepless weeknight, scrolling through TikTok on my phone for hours and hours, until I came across something intriguing. It was a video of a dad and his son trekking through a snowy forest that caught my attention. Colour me interested I guess. As I continued to watch, I became more interested. They were camping in the snow, with no sleeping bags, using reindeer pelts, and no tent! After the video looped around again I knew one thing for sure: I am so jealous!
I would find more videos on my For You Page with the same man. He would be camping in mountain shelters, at the bottom of hot springs, underneath 10 ft of snow, as well as sharing tips and tricks to create your own shelters, good food for campouts, and, of course, how to create campfire bread. It was the campfire bread that piqued my curiosity. I went right to YouTube and found the channel quickly. Outdoor Boys is the name and the outdoors truly is their game.
The Outdoor Boys YouTube channel follows Luke walking, driving, flying, and paddling to his many diverse adventures, ranging from his backyard, the back-county of Alaska or Viginia, and all the way on the other side of the world. He is often joined by one or multiple of his sons, Tommy, Nate, Jacob, and occasionally his wife, Rebecca. The channel has many different kinds of videos including Nerf Gun fights, fishing and hunting video diaries, foraging and shelter tutorials, and many more. My personal cup of tea is Luke’s camping and survival videos.
Thanks to Luke and his family, I have now had many sleepless nights in the best way possible. I stay up until the sun rises watching video after video. Checking out a plane wreckage? Okay! Testing out each kind of fire tinder? Sure! Camping in freezing temperatures using a hot tent? Sign me the heck up! I really can’t get enough of it. Luke’s talent and humour really shines the more you watch his content. Watching these outdoor camping vlogs have really got me brainstorming. Growing up I loved going camping.I rediscovered that love this summer with some good trips, but after seeing where Luke goes, I’ve been inspired to try and go further!
It only takes a couple of videos to understand just how much knowledge Luke has. He has had first-hand experience in the outdoors for over 30 years. He has incredible knowledge of different plants, fish, sea creatures, berries, animals, tools, and life skills, far beyond what the average person knows. He always seems to have a potential rescue team and plan on standby if needed and has a multitude of on- and off-grid communication methods, including trackers and a satellite phone. I’m not oblivious to the fact that others have been critiquing the adventures he goes on with his children, but it is very clear that Luke does all that he can in the name of safety. Though I went camping lots as a kid, I would have loved to have done even a portion of what Luke does with his children. They are very lucky to have such a brilliant and kind father who shares this wicked cool hobby with them.