The North Face® Kids now at Upside Over a Leading outdoor kids gear and clothing retailer, Denali jackets, footwear, sleeping bags and more.

New York, NY (PRWEB) April 3, 2008 -- Upside Over Inc., (Upsideover.com), a leading outdoor kids specialty retailer announced today that it will be carrying The North Face® for kids outdoor clothing products. The North Face for kids product line provides the quality and technical features you expect from The North Face, with sizes and colors especially for kids. Kids ski and cold weather jackets, vests, pants, hats and gloves for boys and girls. The North Face Kids consists of everything active boys and girls need to enjoy the outdoors during all seasons.

"Our team is extremely excited to be carrying one of the best brands in the industry for outdoor kids"', said Peter Dean," The North Face continues to be a strong brand that delivers great value to consumers and we are proud to be providing it to Upside Over families and kids that are looking for high quality technical gear that is safe, secure and comfortable for a variety of outdoor activities."

As an example Upside Over will be carrying both the boys and girls The North Face® Denali fleece. The Denali is an essential outerwear item for any kid. It is warm, lightweight, compressible and an ideal all-around fleece..a kids favorite. In addition, the Denali zips perfectly into North Face shell jackets, creating the ultimate layering system. Multi-position underarm zippers regulate temperature and 2-ply Supplex nylon abrasion resistant fabric on elbows and upper body increases durability when you're carrying a pack. The Girls Denali Fleece is perfect for a wide range of outdoor activities, including hiking, camping, backpacking, skiing, kayaking, snowboarding...the list goes on. The unmistakable style of the Denali makes it a big hit with the kids.

Upside Over is committed to providing a wide range of The North Face product line, including but not limited to, the Boys and Girls Bionic Jacket, Momentum Jacket, Venture Jacket, Meridian Convertible Pant, and Meridian Short and much more. Visit us at The North Face Kids.

About Upside Over (Upsideover.com)
Upside Over's, outdoor kids gear and clothing, goal is to inspire, advise, and equip today's active families to give them the confidence to participate in outdoor adventure activities by choosing the right gear for the right activity. The company's online store provides the best available collection of outdoor gear for kids and kids technical clothing. The company exists in one of the fastest growing areas of specialty retailing, the outdoor kid's market. Its online presence is located at http://www.upsideover.com/ and the company's headquarters and warehouse are located in Saratoga Springs, N.Y. Upside Over - Kids Outdoor Gear and Clothing

Inspire. Advise. Equip.™###

Finding Dry Camp Wood

Author: Ronald B. Shannon Posted: 02-03-2008

Whenever you pull into a new campsite, one of the first things you think about is a campfire. If you are at a campground you are restricted as to where you can get wood. Usually it is offered at the general store in bundles. When you find yourself in this setting, you can offer to trade some labor for your wood. Campground owners don't always have the time to get everything done. A couple of hours of work can reap great benefits, including free wood, for you and the owner. Best of all, you will pick up new friends.When you are at a remote campsite it can be a different story. It is always best to ask the land owner if possible, however if these are Paper Company lands there are usually policies in place on wood harvesting. You can often take dead and down wood. Old slash piles are also an option.

Do not, under any circumstances, take wood from a log pile. Not only is it how the paper company makes their money, the wood is too green to be of any use anyway.

Most people do not go more than one hundred yards from camp to find campfire wood. You can simply widen your search area or look for standing dead trees. If there are no leaves during the summer it is safe to assume that this tree is dead. If the top is broken off or the tree is broken in half is also a determining factor. Do not cut any tree with any type of growth! This will certainly get you thrown off the property and lose you free access to a camping area.If you run into wet weather, standing wood is the best option. As you split the wood start from the outside and work your way to the middle. Set the outside wood near the fire pit to dry. The inside wood will be dry because the rain runs down the outside of the tree. If the tree is lying down the rain will soak through the log making it harder to burn.You should try to stick to six to eight inch diameter wood as this will be easier to handle, especially if you have kids along. It is light weight, a better chance of being dry and splits easier than larger pieces of wood.

Let the kids help you gather wood. This will keep them involved in the camping experience and it also keeps them busy. The last thing you want is bored kids around a camp. Have your little ones look around camp for twigs on the ground for fire starter. This will let them be a part of the fire building experience.

Five Great Camping Ideas and Activities for Kids

Camping trips are great breaks from usually hectic daily routines of city living. It takes your mind off from unnecessary pressures and gives you a fresher perspective on things. But camping should not be for the busy adult in the family only. Camping is ideally a family affair and should be enjoyed by everyone, including kids. Lining up fun and enjoyable activities for your kids to do will not only keep them from being bored and from complaining all throughout the trip thereby giving you some time on your hands to relax, but choosing the right camping activity for your kids can also develop some of their outdoor survival skills.

Here are some of those activities:

Swimming - most campsites are favored with a refreshing lake or a brook. Some man-made commercial campsites also come with pools for adults and for kids. Simply make sure that the place is safe for your kids and that should any untoward event happen, you are within hearing distance.

Biking - Campsites usually have great biking trails which come with excellent view of nature. Biking is also one of the activities that both parents and kids can enjoy together. As long as you have your map of the vicinity in hand as well as your first aid kit, you should be guaranteed of a great workout as well as bonding time with your children.Bird and Animal-Watching – Nothing brings you closer to nature and the great outdoor as camping does. The rare wildlife and the natural environment will surely be a break from your kids rural recreation of malling and video games. Other than offering a chance for an entirely different experience, bird and animal watching is a very colorful activity and can also be very educational and could develop in your child the love for the great outdoors.

Scavenger Hunts – Kids love imitating the adventures they seen on television. Why not organize a scavenger hunt where they can use their skills at reading and deciphering clues and develop critical thinking skills? Just make sure that you limit your hunt within a safe vicinity and that they know which prickly plants to avoid such as poison ivy, sumac and oak.

Build a Campfire – Most parents want to hoard all the fun of building campfires to themselves. They think building campfires are simply not for kids and that they can come into the picture only when it is ready for roasting mallows and hotdogs. But parents should keep in mind that kids can help in building the campfire, too. It gives them the secured feeling of being needed and included in the whole camping affair and that they are well-trusted enough to contribute something like gathering twigs and small logs for fire, gathering stones for the campfire and arranging the whole area for the campfire.

These are just five of the many great camping activities for kids to do. The best part about having fun at camping is that parents can always put a twist or a variation in these activities so kids don’t find it monotonous and boring.

Getting in shape for your camping trip!

When you clear a ridge-line to a majestic view that takes your breath away, it makes everything you did to get there worth it. That includes being in good enough shape that when you clear that ridge-line the view, rather than being out of shape, is the only thing that takes your breath away. When nightfall comes and the campfire is crackling and snapping campfire, feeling really great about your day – rather than feeling you’ve just climbed Mt. Everest and back – makes getting into shape worth it. * If you are just beginning an exercise program, consult a physician. Getting in Shape – know your mission. *As you get into shape, if you have kids let them see how you prepare to meet challenges.

Life is about lessons, not lectures. And camping is about life.

Review where you’ll be camping.What is the elevation? Get a topological map of your campsite. The higher the elevation, the more conditioning you may need, even if you are already in shape. Conditioning for elevation is a fairly simple matter of cardio-conditioning. For many people, the most difficult ingredient to secure in life is self-discipline. But if you’ve decided to take a ridge-line that yields you majestic views, you have self-discipline in abundance. How far will you hike each day? Locate scenic areas and know how far you’ll hike to reach them.How much will you be packing? Imagine you’ve just returned from your campsite to your scenic destination and back. From there, decide what you will have needed to take with you. Training: Start light and work up.

Gym: If you belong to a gym, great! Get on a treadmill, a stair climber or anything else that can have you sweating. You may want to start out light but work your way up to an hour a day. Also lift some weights so you can carry your pack with ease.Around the house and the neighborhood: A great way to prepare for a day’s hiking is to walk up and down your steps for a half-hour or so each day. After you decide how far you’ll be hiking each day, hike that far each day around your neighborhood. If you add one minute each day to your hike, in a month you’ll have added a half hour to your training.

How easy is that?!Carry a backpack: As you hike your neighborhood, strap on your backpack and fill it with more weight than you’ll pack on your real trip when you clear that ridge-line. What you’ll discover are curious neighbors who cheer you on your way.

Winter Kids Camping

When I was ten the first time I camped in the winter, and a boy scout. My leader warned us to change our socks and mitts every couple of hours; I listened, but my best friend didn't. We spent our second night at the hospital after he passed out from hypothermia. Unlike many things in my life, this was one lesson I was happy to learn from afar.

If you're considering winter camping with kids, some preplanning will make your trip safe and fun.For your first adventure, keep it to one or two nights and stay within driving distance to civilization. Kids are generally better sports than adults; cold mornings and early evenings are fine as long the time in between is packed with lots of outdoor fun. Set your kids up for a lifetime of winter camping with these simple rules:Gauge your speed.

If you're hiking to your destination, remember that the snow will slow you down. A trail that takes two hours to traverse in the summer will exhaust short legs and take twice the time during the winter. Moderate your expectations and have a back-up plan if you can't make daily goals.Over estimate clothing needsWarm, wet weather followed by a cold night is your most dangerous enemy. Thankfully, high tech fabrics designed to wick moisture away from skin make staying dry easier to manage. Estimate your clothing needs and add 50 percent more when traveling with kids. And remind them to change often even if they argue. Hypothermia is not a death sentence, but frostbite is irreversible (damage can vary from mild scarring to tissue death).Never go anywhere without your compass or GPS. This is rule number one, no matter what the season, but it can be a life and death issue in the winter. During snowstorms your own footprints, landmarks and animal tracks disappear. And panic sets in fast when freezing to death becomes a real possibility. While you're at it, make sure you have cell service for that first trip.

Stay close to your equipmentThis may seem like a misnomer, but hikers who set up camp and then go for a walk to find water or wood are as common as brown bears in Tennessee. Explore your surroundings only in pairs and mark your position continually on your GPS or compass. If you do get turned around, you'll be able to make it back to the equipment you need to build a fire and stay warm.

When it comes to camping with kids, capitalize on their adventurous spirit. After all, when was the last time you spent a night in a snow covered forest just for the fun of it?