It never fails, if you haven’t been camping in awhile, you go to look at your camping supplies, and something’s missing, broken, or you just need that final piece of gear to complete your set. Or, maybe you just find the need to spend some money on camping gear (unless your Elon Musk, you’ll run out of money before you run out of gear to buy!). So here are some camping tips along with supplies that are always needed.
This guide is intended for the casual camper who likes to get out with family and friends does a little day hiking. While some of the gear on here can be used for backpacking, this is mainly for someone who sets up base camp in a campground and does quick day hikes.
Cheat Sheet
Tents
Tents come in all sizes, from one person up to 12! persons and beyond. Which tent is right for you? Depends on your type of camping and how many people that you regularly take with you. The Coleman Sundome tent comes in many sizes, goes up quickly, and if you’re 6’2″ like me, you can almost stand up in the six person tent.
This tent has “dark room technology” so it’ll stay cooler during the day, and you won’t have to worry about that pesky sun if you’re a late sleeper.
Be sure to use a tarp under your tent, it’ll keep the floor dry, and it also knocks down the amount of dirt that gets tracked in.
Tent tip – Get one size bigger than the number of people that you regularly take camping with you, it’ll be easier to store extra gear and luggage plus, it’ll get you that much further away from your annoying brother-in-law on the inevitable unplanned rain day.
Camping in the Florida Keys is always fun! Check out Bahia Honda State Park here.
Sleeping Bags
This is going to entirely depend on when and where you’re camping. Somebody sleeping on the side of a rock face in Canada is going to need something entirely different from a family of four just getting away to the local National Park campground in the summer.
What to look for is size, temperature rating, waterproofing, and pack-ability if you want to get away from the base camp. The MalloMe 3 season sleeping bag fits that description very nicely.
Sleeping bag tip – If you’re a couple, consider getting a two person sleeping bag.
Air Mattress
Air mattress in a camping post? Oh yeah! After a day on the trails, who says that you have to sleep on the ground with an exposed tree root running under your back? Definitely not me.
Get an air mattress with a built-in pump if you’re going somewhere where there’s convenient electricity or you have an inverter in your vehicle, otherwise you can buy a battery operated one or use a trusty old fashioned hand pump.
Air mattress tip – Get an AC car inverter and don’t worry about getting to camp with dead batteries in the pump ever again (just don’t forget the extension cord).
Sleeping Pads
If you’re not going to go for an air mattress, then you’ll want to invest in a camp pad. Therm-a-Rest has been making lightweight compressible pads for years and backpackers swear by them. Not only do they provide cushion, but they also radiate your body heat back to you for those chilly nights.
Lighting
Needless to say, when you’re camping and the sun goes down, it gets dark. And if you’re in an out of the way spot with no one around it, it gets really dark, making that trip to the bathroom treacherous. That’s why camp lighting is essential.
Coleman has this nifty LED light set that is easy on batteries, as it’ll stop battery drain if you leave the batteries in when you’re done camping. That leaves you one set of batteries that you don’t have to buy the next time that you go camping because you didn’t take them out of the lantern. If you want to go more old school get the Coleman Propane Lantern. It’s rugged, its light output is adjustable, and it will work for a long time on one propane bottle. Don’t want to burn your fingertips when you go to change the mantle after the lights been on for a while? Then grab this old school looking LED lantern.
Pick up this fan/light and hang it inside your tent for those summertime camping trips.
Lantern tip – Bring extra batteries, mantles and propane.
Camp Stoves
Let’s face it, when you wake up and get out of your tent in the morning the last thing that you want to do is start a fire just so that you can make coffee. That’s why you want to be sure to take your 2-burner camp stove with you. It turns on instantly so you’ll be able to enjoy your coffee that much sooner. Then you’ll be sufficiently perked up when you have to run off those damn raccoons from digging in your cooler again.
I know what you’re thinking…”Hey, wait a minute, this is a advertisement for Coleman!” Well, it isn’t, some times when a company has been around long enough, they’ve done so much research that they can’t help but make a good product. Coleman has been in the camping supply business for over 100 years and while they generally make a good product, there are a few things that they do really, really good. Lanterns, tents, and camp stoves. I wouldn’t hesitate to use any of these on any camping trip that I was taking.
Camp stove tip – A cast iron griddle makes cooking breakfast super easy.
Chairs
You know what sucks when you get back to camp after hiking all day? Getting back to camp after hiking all day and not have any place to sit except for a rock-hard picnic table bench because you didn’t bring any chairs. Don’t let this happen to you, pick up one of these comfortable gravity chairs and kick back and shed your hiking boots in comfort. Just don’t fall asleep before you start the campfire.
Coolers
Yeti and Rtic are great coolers, they’re both well made, and they will hold ice for a really long time. And they are really expensive. Try this Igloo 52 Quart cooler. It’ll hold ice for up to five days, it’s big and it has those awesome “T” handles that all the cool kids seem to like.
Want to get one that holds ice longer? Check out this Pelican cooler that comes in fashionable colors and doesn’t cost that much more.
Cooler tip – The hinges are the first thing to give out on a cooler, look for a cooler with metal hinges.
Soaps
You only need one. Dr. Bronner’s Pure Castile Liquid Soap. It’s good for face, body, hair, laundry, pets and dishes. You can probably use it to wash your SUV too!
Cookware
Pots and Pans
Invest in a nice cast iron skillet (not for backpackers!) and put it with your camping gear. Once it’s seasoned, you’ll be able to cook pretty much anything on it plus, you won’t feel too bad if you have to use it in the campfire.
One big pot and skillet will pretty much cook everything that you need. After you’ve camped a few times, you’ll figure out exactly what type of cooking that you do so you can adjust your supplies accordingly.
Dishes and Flatware
There are some great compact dish and flatware sets specifically made for camping. This set even has chopsticks! Grab a set and keep it with your camping gear, that way you don’t have to hear your spouse yelling at you for losing one of the good pieces of silverware that her Aunt Ethel gave you for your wedding.
Coffee Pot
Do you know where to get the best coffee ever made? I’ll give you a hint, it’s not Starbucks. It’s the coffee percolated in your camp coffee pot! Seriously, after one cup you’ll wonder why they even invented automatic drip coffee makers.
Utensils
Don’t forget the Knife! I don’t care how many cartoons that you’ve seen it in, you cannot cut an onion by karate chopping it. Pick up a knife, spatula, big spoon, tongs, aluminum foil and a cutting board and put them with your camp set. Lastly, don’t forget the pot holders, you really don’t want to be grabbing that hot skillet with the socks that you were just trekking through ankle height mud with on your hands do you?
Lighters/Matches
Yes, bring plenty of both. A grill type lighter and waterproof matches. How else do you think that we evolved from being cavemen?
Miscellaneous
A clothes line for drying clothes and towels. A microfiber towel drys your body fast and drys on the line fast. A bin for washing dishes in, and 1 gallon and quart size storage bags.
Cookware tip – Garage sales are a great place to pick up extra cookware to keep with your camp set.
Backpacks/Daypacks
When I go hiking, I take my camera and lenses, plus I need something to lash my tripod to, not to mention all the water, snacks and extra clothes that are needed on a full day hike. This Teton backpack is rugged, has a lot of expansion options, plenty of pockets, comes with a hydration bladder, plus you can pick the color that suits you.
Backpack tip – Spend a little extra and get a quality backpack. They sit on your pack better and tend to have better components than the off brand products do.
Footlockers
“But how am I going to transport all this stuff?” you might be thinking. Well with the Sterilite Footlocker of course! Big, heavy duty, stackable, and it has wheels! Get a couple in different colors to code your tent stuff from your cook stuff. You’ll be able to cram all your gear into them, store them on the shelf during the off months, and simply wheel them to your truck when it’s time to go camping.
Footlocker tip – Put a lock on them so that when the kids decide that they want to use the pots and spoons to dig with in the sand, they won’t be able to get to them. Just don’t forget about the key that you had hidden in the junk drawer in the kitchen until you’re almost to the Grand Canyon.
Not enough gear for you? Check out our printable list of essential camping gear!
