If you have been reading my blog for awhile you know that my son is a bit of a daredevil, adventurous type. Case in point would be his quest to conquer the waterfall at Old Man’s Cave. He also has the uncanny ability to hunt, capture and examine (but not harm) about every type of living creature that lives in our backyard, the pond and the many parks that near our home.
Recently Eph (and I) had the chance to review some of the Backyard Safari Outfitters products. You would have thought it was Christmas morning as he unpacked the box when it arrived. For this review we were sent the Base Camp Field Shelter, Camouflage, the Essential Cargo Vest and the Mega Magnifier.
Many Backyard Safari Outfitters products come with a Pop-Up Field guide with fun suggestions and tips for getting the most out of your gear. Some products also come with collectible Backyard Safari Patches to show off all of your little adventurer’s completed missions.
When Eph saw all of the other Backyard Safari items he could get, he decided that he wanted to spend some money his great grandmother had sent him for a new DS game on more equipment – which I gladly encouraged (better outside on safari than inside playing games.) Luckily our local Target has an excellent selection of Backyard Safari products and Eph was able to get the Binoculars, 6 in 1 Fields Tools, and the Wet/Dry Field Net.
The Backyard Safari Outfitters products are a hit in our house. First of all, each of the products that we have are extremely durable and trust me, they have been thoroughly tested. The field tent was unexpectedly exposed to very high winds and took a short trip to the neighbor’s yard and was recovered without any damage. The cargo vest has traveled through muck and mud and the large magnifier has journeyed to into various creeks and ponds (I don’t think I mentioned it floats!). Each one of the items cleans easily and even after extended use, shows very few signs of wear and tear.
One of the best things about the Backyard Safari products is that they have really increased Eph’s (and Lu’s) interest in what I would term as “science” and exploration. Recently after a trip to the pond where we collected a pail full of tadpoles, we were able to bring them back, study them and then go online to find out how to best care for and “raise” our little frogs. Since the tadpoles require a shaded area they spent several days inside the tent before moving to the porch for better protection.
In this short video Eph will show us his grasshoppers. When we studied the grasshoppers with the large magnifying glass, we were able to see that they have blue legs, which helped us to identify their kind.
Honestly these products have been an amazing edition to our summer learning and exploration. Eph is already asking for some of the other items to add to his “tools” and with their very reasonable prices (starting at $4.99), I have no problem buying more of these great items to enhance our daily adventures.
To find out more about Backyard Safari Outfitters and to purchase any of their products you can visit their website. They also have a Facebook page where you can check out other tips on adventures, get new product information and share your photos. You can also follow Backyard Safari on Twitter.
Disclosure: The products reviewed in this post were provided to me by Backyard Safari Outfitters and/or Child’s Play Communications. All opinions, ideas, thoughts and materials are mine and they were not in any way influenced.
