Camping - Gear Selection

This week's post is a new Gear Selection section of the Camping page.  We hope it's helpful, and as always, we love feedback!

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This section is a summarization of the gear tips for camping that are included in the different camping sections, with some additional tips added. Since the philosophy of this website is to not recommend certain specific gear band instead to give criteria of what to look for when selecting gear, that is what you'll find here.

General:

• Packing for car camping is a lot faster if you are not filling up every square inch of your car when packing.
  • If you have a smaller car, consider spending a small amount extra on key items in order to get them in a smaller version if possible.
• Lighter gear isn't important unless you will be using the gear for backpacking also (for example sleeping bags and pads).
• Try to buy gear that can be used for multiple activities, so if you also go backpacking, don't buy completely separate gear for car camping.
• Buy color-coded gear for each family member if possible, otherwise label clearly with names.
  • ​Examples: clothing duffel bag, mug, toiletry kit

Sleeping:

• Buy a tent that has easy to use stuff-sack.
  • For example one with different compartments for different components instead of lots of separate bags for stakes, poles etc like this one.
  • The tent should easily fit in the stuff-sack and not require a lot of time to fit it in tightly 
• Sleeping bag:
  • Consider how much space you have in your car and then decide if you need one that packs up small or not.
  • Get one that isn't excessively longer than the kid if possible.
    • For example: a toddler or little kid length sleeping bag is good when they are young.
  • If your kid moves around a lot, get one that attaches to the sleeping pad like this one.
• Sleeping pad:
  • If size or weight is a consideration, get a 3/4 length pad.
  • Otherwise, get a full-length one they can still use as a teenager (although I know adults who backpack with 3/4 length pads).

Personal Gear:

• Headlamps - don't need anything fancy since the kids will try to lose them
• Toiletry kit - something simple and small that the kids can manage and keep track of on their own.

Cooking:

• Stove:
  • Get one that has reviews for durability and can simmer if you need it to.
  • Pick the fuel system you are comfortable with:
    • Liquid fuel that can be refilled easily vs gas fuel that needs disposable canisters or can be refilled at a shop.
  • Consider the number of burners needed for your family and the amount of cooking you like to do.
• Dedicated camp kitchen box:
  • Rubbermaid or similar box with a locking lid
  • Shallower ones let you find things more easily, but if they are too shallow they don't fit the washbasins.
  • Alternately, could use a plastic set of drawers.
• Cooler:
  • You don't need a super-expensive brand-name one, although they do look cool.
  • Read up on how to pre-chill a cooler before filling it (when you have time, are going on a longer trip or somewhere warm).
  • Consider freezing your own ice blocks (such as with small size juice containers).
• Washbasin: could just buy simple stacking ones, or consider fold up one.
• Water container: they come in handy in places with less water, don't get one too big, look for one with an optional nozzle, and be careful of leakage in the car.
• Table:
  • Useful if you have extra space or if you camp in places without good tables.
  • Roll-up lidded tables fold up small, which is useful if you are tight on space.
• ​Food storage:
  • ​Have dedicated storage (bags or bins) for food in camp.
  • For longer trips, consider having bags labeled "breakfast", "lunch", "dinner", "snack" to make it easier to find food.
• Cooking extras:
  • ​Label utensils and marshmallow skewers so they don’t get accidentally taken by friends.
  • Buy a separate small cheese grater/measuring cup/measuring spoons/can opener/wine opener that you can leave in the kitchen - we bought cheap versions of all of those for camping only.
  • I'll break our rule: we love Rolla Roasters for roasting marshmallows.

Extras:

• Hammock - a small one is fun, doesn't need to be fancy or brand name, just small
• Sun/rain/wind shade:
  • Look for one that withstands what you need it for
  • Example: strong enough not to be destroyed in wind or has good reviews that the roof won't sag from too much rain.
• Folding chairs:
  • Consider kid-sized ones for smaller kids
  • They can take up a lot of space so consider getting smaller ones to make pack up easier 

Hiking Gear and Clothing:

• See the Gear Selection section of our Hiking page.

Extra Car Storage:

• First, consider if you really need the extra storage space, or can you take the money you would have spent on the box and buy smaller versions of some of your camping items so that you don't need it.
• Then make sure you know where you'll store the extra box or bag before you buy it
  • If you need to leave it on the car, are you ok with the lower gas mileage that you'll get?
• Understand who is capable of putting it on the car (does it need 2 people? are both of you strong enough?)
• Consider how hard it will be to use for each person (is someone too short to reach it on top? Or do they need a step ladder?)
• Extra storage options are:
  • Roof bag - it only requires a small storage area, but you need to carefully tie down all the straps each time you use it or you'll get flapping noise while driving.
  • Roof box - you'll need to find a space to store it, and you may need 2 people to put it on the roof.
  • Trailer hitch box - easy to reach for shorter people, needs a trailer hitch, and two people to install and you need to find a space to store it.
• When you decide to purchase one, check out websites like Craigslist because you can often get a good deal since many people find they don't have space anymore to store them and haven't used them much.

Because good camping trips often include frog catching.