Must Have: mummy bag, thermarest, tent, alcohol stove (made from a cat food can) and aluminum pot, synthetic clothing and wool sox, rain gear, fleece, trekking poles, water filter, first aid kit, map and compass.
Luxury: GPS and Camera.
Car camping (actually boat camping on islands):
Must Have: All backpacking gear above plus bigger tent,
Luxury: fire bowl and grill with charcoal (grilliput), Cot, camp shower.
Land based Car camping is what we bought the TT for
DW and I in our Gulfstream Amerilite 21MB
Chevy Silverado 2500 HD - Duramax Diesel 6.6L - Allison Tranny
"We can categorically state that we have not released man-eating badgers into the area." - Major Mike Shearer - British Army - Basra, Iraq
We canoe camp most of the Summer and Fall months, as we live on a nice fast moving river system that drains into Hudson's Bay. Things that make life easier:
a) Warm flannel clothing, sleeping bag liners;
b) Cotton poplin tarps, not plastic which condenses;
c) Camp fire in real fire pit and griddles, not tiny two burner stoves which tip over;
d) Wood is far easier to obtain and use, than dragging around LP cylinders;
e) Wood cots with 5cm pads
f) Tents that aren't made of plastics - we have several Egyptian cotton and cotton poplin tents;
g) One tent for potty;
h) One large 10square tent for cooking and nothing else;
Wolf
Home 56.16°N -96.9°W ~ Wall 12 man and Eureka 6 man Egyptian cotton tent ~ Winter S/V Porque No 7.25°N -80.8°W //Mitakuye oyasin!
If I go car or local scout camping my go to item is my cast iron Dutch Oven. When going backpacking it's is about comfort at the end of the day and I think my Big Agnes sleeping pad or maybe that harmonica I've trying to learn (what an awful sound it is in the wrong hands)
I'm an ex tent-camper. Basically, everyone has named specific items. I would just say as a generalization to get the best gear you can afford across the board. There is a world of difference among tents, sleeping bags, and mattress pads. Also, you'll want the best outdoor clothing too. Good water repellent jacket (gore-tex or something like that), good warm socks to sleep in, something comfy and warm as far as sleep clothing. If you're hikers, you know that you have to spend some money on decent hiking boots and socks.
I've seen a lot of people through the years, both tent campers and RV'ers, go out without proper gear. If you get cold and wet you will NOT have a good time. It's one thing to have to sit in a tent in the rain --- it's another if you're also too cold to sit in the tent.
The rest of the gear, IMHO, is not as important. Yeah, I like my little LED flashlight, but it's not a 'must have'. Some kind of lantern, battery or propane, is needed. Make sure you take entertainment items. We like board games. Also take books and puzzle books (crossword, soduko, whatever). Other gear is a matter of personal opinion. Even with my popup camper, I do 99% of the cooking on an old-fashioned Coleman, white gas, u-pump-up stove. I dislike disposable canisters --- costly, bulky, wasteful.
Pup: 2007 Jayco 1206 w/slide-out + shower
surge brakes, 54w solar panel
TV: 2005 Nissan Xterra 4X4, manual trans
25 years tent camping, 4000+ miles of hiking, lots of biking
I have a special relationship with my sleeping bag. Many the cold night it has held me in its warm embrace. And my boots; I buy the best of the best because they are the foundation for everything I carry. I frequently talk to them, thanking them for allowing me to carry so much so far.
Luxury? A pair of moccasins to wear around camp, so I can shuck the damn stiff, foot crushing boots.
I find that a pair of cheap old plastic flip flops is a must have when I camp. I use them in the public campground showers as well as for slipping on for midnight bathroom jaunts.
Sandra
Card carrying member of O.A.T.C. (openly Addicted to Camping)
+1 on the light shoes! After walking barefoot on hickory nuts one COLD winter night to the bath house - never again!
The majority of my camping is done by motorcycle - limits the carry of items to pretty much necessities. I use a Bivytent, an air matress and a gas cartridge ministove. I have my meal cooked and eaten by the time my buddy has his liquid-fueled Wisperlight going good enough to cook with.
Give me the ministove, a GI canteen cup and a spork - I'm 'good to go'!
I do like my wee LED lantern - throws enough light to get around, and lasts a LONG weekend on three AAA batteries - It's been relisted from luxury to necessity! A good LED headlight is also a necessity - beats using one hand to hold a flashlight.
I carry a small CD player - on four trips so far - never have used the danged thing.... I like nature's songs better.
A good pair of longjohns... NECESSITY - great for sleeping on those cold nights, and see first note above about going to answer the 'call of nature' - even here in Florida, it gets right chilly! Mid twenties on my last MC rally in January!
One bulky thing I do consider a necessity - a folding camp chair! I have a self-made larger cargo rack on the bike - and my chair goes with me into the boonies! Fifty years old with a bad back REQUIRES a chair. The folding table is a luxury, however....
My daughter talked me into buying one a few years ago and I was amazed. Try putting a small piece of foil over top to speed toasting just a bit. Keep an eye on it. I have since bought an old Coleman stovetop oven. I've about got biscuits down.
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