Friday, January 25, 2013

Car Camping Equipment Essentials Checklist (and not-so essentials)

One big thing everyone needs to be sure of for any camping trip is having the correct equipment...
Photo by Lan Bui

Which can end up being a lot.

For my trip to Point Mugu, we will be car camping (parking nearby and carrying the gear a minimal distance), so the weight and amount of gear is of little matter. At Point Mugu, we will also have picnic tables and a fire pit grill.

I have the following lists of important gear, optional gear, and items you need to regularly restock. Sorry, I currently have no specific gear listed, but I will update this later with links to all the gear that I currently own, and how you should or should not make the same purchase/mistake that I did.


Main gear for all car camping- what you need:


Shelter and Sleeping

  • Tent w/ Rain Fly- unless you plan on sleeping/passing out on the ground by the fire.. no judgement
  • Ground Tarp or Footprint for Tent
  • Good Tent Stakes- the included stakes aren't worth the headache more often than not
  • Rubber Mallet
  • Sleeping bag- get an appropriate one for the weather you'll be camping in
  • Sleeping pad (or air mattress, see below)- because sleeping on the bare ground sucks
  • Pillow- basically necessary
  • Rain Jackets or Ponchos

Cooking

  • Fire Starters- matches, lighters, flint kits, or all of the above
  • Way to cook your food:
    • Camping stove
    • Cast iron cookware for cooking on fire
    • Portable Fire Pit Grill
  • Cookware- Pots, Pans, Bowls, Knives
  • Oven Mitt- cookware tends to get a little warm
  • Water Kettle- Campsite water quality is often iffy pre-boiling
  • Coolers- to keep your perishables cold
  • Plastic Storage Totes- to organize dry foods and keep them dry
  • Water container(s)- be it a 7 gallon tank or lots of plastic gallon jugs

General Campsite Setup

  • Seating- foldable chairs, sturdy coolers, stumps at the campsite, etc
  • Lanterns
  • Paracord- for hanging clothes, lanterns, tarp shelters, etc.
  • Extra tarps- Creating temporary shelters (in depth post eventually later)

Day Trips/Hiking

  • BPA free water bottles/Nalgenes- 7 gallon tanks are no fun to take on a hike
  • Backpacks- for the day trips and hiking
  • Compass

Miscellaneous 

  • Plastic Storage Totes- to organize everything and keep it relatively waterproof
  • Duct Tape- it'll fix anything, including a tear in your tent
  • Utility Knife- cut rope to size, open beers, defend your campsite, etc.

Optional gear- it's nice but not really critical to a trip:


Shelter and Sleeping

  • Air mattress (for the glampers out there)
  • Way to inflate air mattress (if applicable): rechargeable pump, hand pump, lungs of steel, etc.
  • Portable/Travel Alarm Clock- if you don't exactly rise with the sun

Cooking

  • Reusable plates and silverware- go green!
  • Wind Screen for your heat source
  • Coffee Press- if instant coffee in boiling water isn't good enough for you

General Campsite Setup

  • Battery operated speakers- I have the GoalZero Rockout speakers
  • Foldable Table- if your site has no picnic table or you just need more surface room
  • Hatchet/Axe- if you feel the need (and are allowed) to get your own firewood
  • Flip flops- if your campgrounds has showers you'll probably want something to cover your feet

Items to restock every time you go camping:


  • FOOD- who doesn't like to eat
  • Sunscreen
  • Trash bags
  • Paper Towels- lots
  • Disposable plates and plasticware- Protip: paper plates burn far cleaner than plastic
  • Dish washing soap
  • Plenty of Booze- not so optional
  • Firewood- although bulky for transport, is often overpriced at the campgrounds
  • Stove Fuel Source (if applicable)- propane tanks, charcoal, alcohol fuel, etc.
  • Aluminum Foil- good for cooking, storing food, cool hats, etc

Hope that gets everyone started on getting their gear together and thinking about what all they'll need for a car camping trip.  Let me know in the comments if I missed anything vital!

Coming up, I'll be putting together a camp menu with some easy recipes.

4 comments:

  1. I thought it was going to be some boring old post, but it really compensated for my time. I will post a link to this page on my blog. I am sure my visitors will find that very useful. Wohnwagen

    ReplyDelete
  2. Thanks for the info I'm sure it'll come in handy during my upcoming trip. I'll be posting about my trip around WA with my beagle on http://www.wagsoutwest.com

    ReplyDelete
  3. Cookware- Pots, Pans, Bowls, Knives; Oven Mitt- cookware tends to get a little warm; Water Kettle- Campsite water quality is often iffy pre- ... icampingcookware.blogspot.com

    ReplyDelete