Camping Gear for Beginners: A Simple Checklist

The fastest way to spoil camping is to buy everything at once. Start with the basics that keep you dry, rested, fed and able to see after dark. Borrow or improvise the rest until a few trips show you what you'll really use. Here's a simple way to think about it.

1. Shelter and sleep

This is where comfort is won or lost. You need something to sleep in or under, and something between you and the cold ground.

• Tent or hammock. A tent is the classic choice for campgrounds. For warm-weather trips with good trees, a hammock is lighter and quicker to set up, and gets you off rocky or wet ground. Our double camping hammock has a built-in mosquito net and comes with tree straps and carabiners, and it packs into its own pouch.
• Sleeping bag rated a little below the coldest temperature you expect.
• Sleeping pad (in a tent) or an underquilt or pad (in a hammock). The ground pulls heat out of you faster than the air does, so don't skip insulation underneath.

Tip: practice setting up at home first. Your first time pitching a tent shouldn't be in the dark.

2. Light

Campsites get very dark, very early. Plan on two light sources: one to light up the whole site, and one to carry.

• A lantern for the tent or table. The solar & USB rechargeable camping lantern has a wide floodlight for the campsite and a focused beam for walking, and it recharges from its own solar panel on longer trips.
• A handheld light for walking. A rechargeable LED flashlight doubles as a table lamp with its side light. A headlamp is great too, since it keeps your hands free.

Charge everything before you leave, and pack a small power bank.

3. Cooking and water

You don't need a full camp kitchen for your first trips. A stove, a pot, something to eat from and a way to clean up covers most meals.

• A nesting cook set keeps it all together. The 16-piece camping cookware set includes a pot, pan, kettle, bowls, folding cutlery, a cutting board and a spatula, and packs into its own bags.
• Cast iron for car camping. If you're cooking over a fire or a grill grate next to the car, a pre-seasoned cast iron skillet set handles eggs, burgers and cornbread, and goes straight from the campfire back to your kitchen.
• Stove and fuel, a lighter or matches, and plenty of water, or a way to treat it.
• A small wash kit: biodegradable soap, a sponge and a trash bag. Pack out everything you bring in.

4. Comfort and safety basics

• A first aid kit with any personal medications
• Layers: a warm jacket even in summer, since nights cool down fast, plus rain gear
• Camp chairs, which matter more than you'd think
• Bug spray and sunscreen
• A map of the area and a charged phone, plus telling someone where you're going

What can wait

Skip these until you've camped a few times and know you want them: specialty knives and tools, big camp kitchens, gadgets for every situation, and premium ultralight gear. Your first trips will tell you exactly what you missed, and what you never touched.

Printable checklist

• Tent or hammock, sleeping bag, pad
• Lantern and a handheld light, charged
• Cook set, stove, fuel, lighter
• Water and food (plus a little extra)
• Wash kit and trash bags
• First aid kit, layers, rain gear
• Chairs, bug spray, sunscreen
• Map, charged phone, trip plan shared with someone

Start small, go often, and add gear one trip at a time.