Car Camping Gear Guide

I’m okay with the pit toilets, sleeping on the ground in a sleeping bag, and cooking breakfast on a rickety picnic bench, but I can’t carry a pack. That doesn’t mean I won’t walk all day if I have to, and I’m no prima donna about accommodations. That’s why I love car camping. It’s cheap, it’s convenient, and sometimes, even though your car is just there, you find yourself in gorgeous places – and you don’t have to carry your stuff. Over the years we’ve refined our household camping kit — here’s the stuff we like, and why. And it’s all road trip tested, season after season, for weeks at a time.

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Tent: Your home away from home. There’s two of us, we travel with a four person tent that gives enough room to get dressed and roll around in. We picked up a Coleman 4 Person Dome Tent at a generic box sporting goods store for about 60 dollars; it served us through five epic seasons of camping and has kept us dry even in torrential rain. I like REI’s Tent Finder but, if you’re just car camping, you don’t really have to drop that much dough. Not that I won’t envy you if you don’t — for a bit more cash you tend to get better weather protection and more thoughtful design. Look for a tent with a fly that covers more than a hat would.

Camp stove: I have an irrational affection for our Coleman two burner propane stove. Maybe it’s because I’ve been camping with one of these — though we used to use the impossible white gas version — since I was a lass. The propane one we use now always lights, is easy to keep clean, stows away nicely, and runs on whatever size propane canister you want to carry. We use the disposable ones, though I do wish there was a way to refill them, I always feel bad tossing them out. Always carry one or two spares if you go this route.

Cookware: I have a battered set of MSR nesting pans that I love. In fact, I love them better than the brand new REI set that I tested out last summer. Why are they better? The handle design. you can’t pick up the REI ones with the lid on. The REI set has a nonstick coating, which is nice, but not nice enough to make them beat the practicality of the MSR ones. And hey, we bring a cast iron frying pan too. It’s not like I have to carry it and sometimes, you want to scramble some eggs. The rest of our camp kitchen kit is thrift store plastic tableware, silverware, etc.

Camp mattress: I’m not 22. I can’t sleep on the ground like I used to. There are a bunch of these things and the more years I have behind me, the fatter mattress I need. I’m ready to make a jump to the full on queen sized air mattress or the roll out slab of memory foam, I tell you what. I didn’t like the Coleman camp mattress, but the REI 3.5 Camp Bed that I got from REI’s PR folks is a winner.

Sleeping bags: We go REI all the way on the bags. Built to last, washable, warrantied, yadda yadda. I get cold at night, I tend to get more insulation than you might find necessary if you don’t sleep cold. They make them with right or left zips so if you’re camping with someone you really like and want to zip those bags together for extra, uh, warmth, you’re all set with one right, one left. Try the REI sleeping bag finder to locate the right one for your needs.

Headlamp: I have kind of a crappy REI one, husband has a fancier one, I think it’s a Petzl. They’re great for doing just about anything in the dark — pitching the tent, finding the loo, cooking dinner, reading while lying in your sleeping bag, Come to think of it, these things are handy for all kind of travel, not just camping, so make someone buy you a good one as a gift. Get one of the new LED models — those things last way longer than your old school flashlight.

Ice Chest: Like I have to explain this. Don’t be the moron that buys a Styrofoam ones from the supermarket that falls apart after the third day of use. It’s nice to have one with a spigot on this side to drain the water out and a freezer pack thingy that you can bolt to the lid. And hey, here’s a tip, pack some plastic containers so your food, which IS going to float around in there at some point, doesn’t get wet. That waterlogged block of cheddar is a waste, plus, it’s disgusting.

A note on shopping retail: Sometimes, if you’re not sure what you want, you have to go to the store and look at the gear. That’s a drag because inevitably, you’re in some giant parking lot, freaking out about selection and consumerism. (Oh, wait, that’s me.) The truth is that places like Target and Fred Meyer and Sears, even, are perfectly fine for picking up a lot of this stuff. The staff at real outdoor stores — REI, Cabela’s — tend to be more knowledgeable, but Cabela’s gives me hives. The sports box stores, places like GI Joe and Sports Authority, often have crazy late season deals, but don’t expect to have your questions answered.

2 thoughts on “Car Camping Gear Guide”

  1. Nice mini-guide. I’ve experienced many tent-fly woes and wonderment in my time. If you ever need advice on “Walking-Across-America Camping,” AKA, “Camping in the Small Patch of Woods Behind the Walmart,” I can always pass on my lore.

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  2. If you don’t mind, I’ll extend my campaign for having a deposit on 16 oz propane canisters and having a system for vendor redemption/recycling/refilling. There are thousands and thousands of these canisters being thrown into the garbage/recycling bins and dumpsters, simply because home refilling is for advanced campers and require some care and caution. There is very little degradation of the bottle itself and should be refillable as fast and efficiently as virgin (new) ones.

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