camping gear list
We are self-proclaimed gear junkies. We love having the right “stuff” to make any adventure a little easier or more fun. Across countless camping outings we have discovered that quality gear is important in order to make the camping experience a blast.
Camp table
Our aluminum camp table is the heart of our camp. We tried a variety of tables before settling on this specific one. We love that this table is large enough to support cooking and dining at the same time (because who wants to break down the stove before serving the meal?!). It also easily breaks down for storage. We really wanted something with a metal top and this table has an aluminum top to improve durability, clean up, and heat tolerance (plastic table tops just won’t stand up to use and abuse). Finally the height is high enough to cook but low enough to dine with most camp chairs.
We still set up a smaller camp table for our daughter since her little camp chair is too low for any camp table. We use this camp table for her and it also doubles nicely as small travel or backpacking table.
Camp Stove
Finding a camp stove that has power AND the ability to simmer is tough without having to jump into a double burner model. We love that the jet boil half gen has the option to use a single burner, but can be expanded to a double burner (sold separately). There’s also a two-burner system. The stove has 10,000 BTU that can boil water in 3 minutes, but we can dial the heat down to slowly cook the perfect golden pancakes if needed. We love that it’s small and can easily be stored when not in use, plus we could even use on a backpacking trip to cook for larger groups. It also comes with a nice wind guard. Yes the stove is expensive, but we tried several more affordable options and found they lacked the ability to simmer, rusted shortly after we started using them, and constantly blew out because they didn’t have a nice wind guard like the jet boil.
Solar Lantern
Gone are the days of needing to carry propane or extra batteries to fuel the camp lantern. We’ve been using our solar lantern for years and LOVE it. We use it in both car and tent camping. It’s even compressible so we can hang it on the outside of our backpacking packs to charge while we hike. It lasts for our hours and is really affordable at about $16.
Camp Chairs
We love folding camp chairs because they are compact, but are still comfortable. We bring lots of gear camping, so having chairs that pack down into a bundle slightly larger than a football is clutch. These are even easy to toss in a backpack to take on a hike. We’ve tried a few different brands, but we like Trekology. The bucket seat is comfy, they are very durable, and we like the little pocket on the side of the chair to hold a phone or other gadget. We use the sand cover on the feet when we hit up the beach to prevent the chairs from sinking into the sand. We love this kid’s camp chair for children.
Smokeless fire pit
This is a total luxury item! We opted to purchase a smokeless fire pit because we were tired of competing for fire pits along the beaches in San Diego. We also camp often, and places like the desert require campers to bring their own metal container when dispersed camping for fires. Plus, this pit significantly reduces the amount of smoke that a fire makes (it’s not 100% smoke-free, but pretty close), and it burns the logs more completely than a traditional pit so you get a longer, better burning fire. We like the pit so much that we even use it at home in our backyard which helps us get more use out of it. The two sizes we would recommend for car camping are either the bonfire or the ranger.