The Outdoor Federation recently released the results of its survey on camping participation in the US and there are some pretty interesting trends to talk about. The big number that everyone is focusing on is the annual increase in camping in 2008 over 2007: 7.4% in the US. That’s a pretty good jump and the authors (along with sponsor Coleman) think this may be a reflection on the economy.

The report found that 33.7 million Americans went camping in 2008 and each camper spent an average of 14 days in the great outdoors. That seems a little high to me but I guess there are some really dedicated camping enthusiasts who are bringing the average up for everyone else.

What areas of the country boast the most campers? According to the report the Pacific region (CA, OR, and WA) had the most campers followed by the Southeast (GA, NC, SC, FL, VA, WV, and MD). From what I could tell the report didn’t adjust for population numbers so this could be a little skewed toward high population states like California. Even so, the Pacific coast boasts some of the best weather and most scenic locales making it a great place to camp.

The most popular activities to participate in while camping are hiking and swimming (no surprise here). And RV campers are more likely to choose privately-owned campgrounds than tent campers (also no big surprise).

You can read more details about the report here.

We love new camping gadgets as much as the next person but sometimes manufacturers take things a little too far. Case in point: the Coleman Quickbed with built-in MP3 speakers. I personally have no problem with the integrated battery powered pump (who wants to blow up such a huge air mattress?) but MP3 speakers cross the line. And these aren’t just over-sized headphones we’re talking about either - these babies include a built in amplifier which we assume is powered by the same batteries used in the QuickPump. With that extra power you can certainly annoy your camping neighbors all night long!

According to Coleman this air mattress supports up to 600 pounds which is almost as ridiculous as the MP3 speakers themselves. I suppose two 300-pound campers might want to use this mattress but I’m thinking they may have a hard time fitting on the same mattress and in the same tent in the first place

The queen sized version will set you back less than $60 on Amazon.com which is about the same price you’d pay for a decent self-inflating Therm-A-Rest air matress. Of course the Therm-A-Rest is only wide enough for one and is less than 2 inches thick inflated but it also doesn’t weigh 14.4 pounds like the Coleman Quickbed.

What’s next? A camping stove with a built-in internet browser? A tent with a digital thermostat? We’ll keep you posted…

Via GadgetGrid.