Backcountry camping gear, car camping gear, tent camping gear, trailer camper gear, open air camping gear — each type of camping requires slightly different gear.
Here’s a breakdown of gear recommendations for 2017 based on the different types of camping you might get into.
Car camping gear
Car camping is a glorious blend between rough and comfortable. Having a car near your tent means you can bring more gear than, say, if you were bushwhacking 20 miles into the backcountry. So you can bring your hammock, camping slippers, and blankets… and enjoy the heck out of every which one. Here are a couple pieces of gear that will take your next car camping experience to the very next level.
Hang from the trees with Grand Trunk
If you’re a car camper and you don’t have a hammock, you need to re-evaluate why you’re car camping in the first place. Car camping is about convenient leisure and a sweet basecamp for adventure. Nothing embodies the balance between “convenient leisure” and “adventure basecamp” more than a hammock. Grand Trunk‘s are a great place to start.
Hammocking embodies the car camping ethos.
They even have a “Starter Hammock.”
Wear a camping slipper form Teva
Camping slippers. Do we need to say more? They’re technically “Moccasins,” but for our purposes, they’re slippers. Teva‘s Ember Moc is a first-of-its-kind puffy jacket for your feet. It has a hard sole and a soft back so you can slip in easily when you just need them for a couple steps.
Two versions of the Ember Moc aka the Camping Slipper.
Teva’s Ember Moc drops this summer. Read more about it here.
Prepare for long hours on the road with Optic Nerve
Part of car camping is being in your car driving to the campsite. And often you’re driving early in the day so you can spend the rest of the day at the campsite or late in the day so you can set up camp before dark. In both cases, you maybe find yourself faced with road glare. Now, camping is about relaxation. What worse way to start off your camping trip than with furrowed brow and squinting eyes all the way to the campsite? Give yourself a break with the right shades.
Sweet shades are a car camper’s best friend.
Optic Nerve has an entire line of polarized glasses all under $40. How can they offer good glasses so cheap? They are still privately owned, rather than owned by a massive conglomeration.
Stave off nippy nights with ColdPruf
Don’t let a cold night ruin your camping trip. Bring the right base layers and your entire camping trip will be more enjoyable. Throw a couple extra in the back of your car before you go… you’ll be glad you did.
ColdPruf‘s base layers. Put ’em in your trunk and save your next camping trip.
Check out ColdPruf’s full line here.
Get a blanket as tough as your adventures are rough from Belmont Blanket
Camping can be rough on gear, and when you’re car camping one of the best pieces of gear is a sturdy, holds-up-to-anything blanket. The sturdiest such blanket we’ve yet found is from Belmont Blanket.
This thing is combines a Pendleton-style fabric with the impermeability of a dang tarp. It is the adventure blanket you’ve been waiting for. And it keeps selling out. More about it here.
Backcountry camping gear
The backcountry is its own world. It is nature untouched, and it is beautiful. To have a good time in the backcountry you must be prepared. If you’re not, you can still have a good time, but… what if? There are a million things that could go wrong, and according to Murphy’s Law, trip after trip into the backcountry means you will eventually find yourself in need of some support. Here are 5 pieces of gear you’ll be glad you packed in with you.
All-purpose, all-natural first aid that actually works from Green Goo
I have never found a product with such excited first-time users and such loyal lifetime users. Green Goo works, plain and simple. When you’re in the backcountry, that’s what you need.
Take whichever size Green Goo container makes the most sense for your trip.
Take a tin of Green Goo First Aid to help get you out of sticky situations.
Be prepared for real life to happen with Leatherman
Pack a Leatherman Skeletool and you’ll be glad you did. It has a mini carabiner so it doesn’t have to live in your pocket or your pack and it features all the tools that have come to make Leatherman the household name that it is today.
The Skeletool is a beauty of a multi-tool.
When it comes to being prepared for real life to come your way in the backcountry, the Skeletool will be a very trusty sidekick. More on the tool here.
Pack more comfortably with a Gregory Pack
Gregory Packs are built with a comfort-first design. If you know you’re going to be putting your pack through the wringer, spend a little extra and get a pack from Gregory’s premium line.
Go here, comfortably, with a Gregory Pack.
Check out Gregory’s premium line, featuring the Baltoro pack for men and the Deva pack for women.
Meals made in a kitchen (not a lab) from Mountain House
The better your food in the backcountry, the better your experience will be. Mountain House‘s adventure meals are a great place to start. The meals are made by a chef and freeze dried, so your work is very limited. Just add hot water and enjoy.
The pouches let you pack out trash, too.
Bring more food than you think you need when you go into the backcountry. Mountain House makes that easy.
Nutrient-dense snacks from Gorilly Goods for trail recovery
We recently learned about the heavenly goodness of Gorilly Goods. Made from only the finest organic ingredients, there is no more nutrient-dense snack on the market.
Gorilly Goods may very well be the best snack money can buy.
Snack recommendations often fall on deaf ears. “I like what I have and have no reason to change.” But Gorilly Goods gives you a reason to change your habit. Nutrient density is so hard to come by — in the real world and especially in the backcountry — that you will want it on your side. Read more here.
Open air camping gear
If you like to camp without a tent, you’re a whole different breed of camper. There’s no two ways about it: it can be intense. Whether you’re sleeping next to your car or out in the backcountry, the gear you use needs to be tailored to your unique situation. These 4 items fit right in with your open air approach and will make your experience all the more enjoyable.
Bring a knife as free as you are: the CRKT Homefront™
The CRKT Homefront™ uses Field Strip technology to disassemble completely without tools. If you’re camping in the open air, chances are you like minimalism and the ability to do as much as possible with as little as possible. the Homefront™ embodies that ethos. Taking it apart will extend the life of your blade and keep your gear kit tight.
Check out the Homefront™ here.
Wear SealSkinz socks and withstand any conditions
SealSkinz are trusted by the British military and badasses everywhere for one simple reason: they are waterproof socks.
Go further in worse conditions with less.
Keeping in the theme of doing more with less, SealSkinz are a second layer of skin. You should get SealSkinz for one simple reason: Go further through worse conditions with less.
Beyond Clothing’s survival system is a must-have
The survival system created by Beyond Clothing is a truly innovative perspective on layering. With mil-spec gear and a simple numbered naming system, you will never need to worry if you have the right layers for the conditions you find yourself in.
Perhaps the most high-quality gear in the consumer market, combined into an easy-to-use survival system.
Trust this gear with your life. Perfect for the open-air camper. Read more about how the Beyond system works here.
Keep mosquitos away for 15 days with Para’kito
French company Para’kito uses a proprietary blend of essential oils to keep mosquitos away for 15 days at a time. When you are out in the field with just yourself and the stars, you don’t want to worry about having bug repellant or a mosquito net. You don’t want to have to think about it. Para’kito lets you do just that.
The Para’kito technology lets you stave of mosquitoes for 15 days at a time. Read more about how it works here.
Trailer camping gear
Trailer camping is an incredible experience. It’s essentially like having a cabin on wheels. You can take more gear than most campers, which means we have a special set of recommendations for you…
Road life runs through tires. TREDAGAIN turns old tires into shoes
As you find yourself on the road, you no doubt will need to change your tires. You may look at your used tires and, even if they’re completely bald, see more rubber in the surface and sidewalls. What if there were a way to salvage and use that rubber? TREDAGAIN does just that: they make shoes out of salvaged, “dead” tires.
A preview of TREDAGAIN styles coming in 2017.
Launched in 2016, they started with just a line of sandals. Their offerings are expanding in a big way in 2017, with a full line of streetwear shoes coming to market. We got to see some of their new styles and can tell you first hand: if you’re going to buy shoes in 2017, you’ll want to include TREDAGAIN in your considerations.
Gear to make your trailer feel like home from Roanline
Roanline, a brand new online marketplace, has a curated selection of gear for outdoor enthusiasts like you and me. They also have a selection of goods for the home that any outdoor enthusiast would love. And if you are camping in a trailer, you have some room to include things like thick leather coasters or a forest-scented candle. With precious little space that is available in camper, you should include only items that inspire your desire to be outside. Roanline has those items.
From blankets to candles to coasters to day packs, check out the wares at Roanline to round out your trailer camping gear.
Get SylvanSport’s all-in-one trailer-hauler-camper
National Geographic Adventure called SylvanSport‘s GO camper the “Coolest. Camper. Ever.” And for good reason: this is not only an incredibly light camper. It’s also a hauler so you can take your gear with you. Don’t just camp, take all your gear with you with the GO.
We’re giving away this SylvanSport GO camper in April. Click here to learn more.
We are giving away a SylvanSport GO camper this spring. Read more here.
Relax faster with Boost Oxygen
Boost Oxygen sells bottled oxygen. The effects: better delivery of nutrients to your blood, better recovery, and ultimately more relaxation. Some people use it for hangovers. Now, we’re not saying you’re definitely going to use it to cure a hangover. But if you happen to have a couple beers around the fire, you may be glad the next morning when you reach for the Boost Oxygen canister you tucked inside your trailer.
A Boost Oxygen canister will easily fit in your gear bag. Bring it for the novelty, the elevation, or as hangover prevention.
Read more about Boost here.
Keep your coals smoldering with the Campfire Defender
The Campfire Defender is a blanket for your fire — one that can completely smother all flames and keep your fire pit clean. When you throw dirt and water on a fire, you make it harder to reignite those coals. The Campfire Defender, on the other hand, preserves the coals. You can even allow a small amount of oxygen to enter through the vent, which keeps the coals smoldering. Put the Campfire Defender on your fire, rest easy, and then wake up to an easily lit fire pit.
The Campfire Defender is a blanket that goes on top of your fire, keeping it contained and dormant or fully extinguished.
Read more about the Campfire Defender here.
