Raise your hand if you love camping! I hope everyone’s hands are raised 🙂 My husband and I love camping so much! If we are visiting a new town/ state/ area, we will look into reserving a site at a campground before we will look for a hotel or Airbnb.
But camping can take some planning and organization to make it enjoyable. We have learned so much through our years of camping of what to do, what not to do, what to bring, what is truly needed, etc. So please learn from our mistakes and do not do the silly things we have done when it comes to camping!
The top thing you can learn from us is what products you actually need with camping. When we first started camping, we would buy and bring so many unnecessary things! Over the years we have determined what is actually needed, what items are most beneficial to us, and what product/ brands are the best.
Before you buy and /or pack all the things that you think you need for camping, read this post to learn the 10 products you need for camping! For bonus points, these are all on Amazon! AND for even more bonus points, these are all included in the Amazon Prime Day Deals!! So snatch these products up now!!
It should be noted that we have camped in many different conditions (beaches to snow) with many different methods (pole assembled tent, pop up tent, and car camping). One of the best decisions we have made thus far with camping is ditching the pole assembled tent and buying a pop up tent!! Our pop up tent is currently of stock on Amazon, but I am going to link it here in case it comes back in stock soon- Pop Up Tent.
But we have recently begun car camping during the colder seasons and we love it! This post will be tailored mainly to car camping but can easily be applied to tent camping as well.
This post may contain affiliate links of products I use and love. You can read my full disclosure here.
The Top 10:
- Sleeping Mat
- In order for a camping trip to be enjoyable, you want to make sure you are comfortable. We used to pack our air mattress to sleep on. But many times we did not arrive at our campsite until dark when everyone else was asleep- and we really hated to wake everyone up with the sound of the air mattress pump :/ PLUS an air mattress and pump takes up a lot of room. When you are fighting for space, you want things that take up the least amount of room. *Sleeping mat enters the chat*
- We love our sleeping mat so much. As soon as we got it and tried it, we instantly gave our air mattress away.
- Pros:
- Easy to inflate- seriously, you just use your foot or hand to push for it to fill with air!
- Quiet- no pump= no loud sound.
- Compact- rolls up nice and small!
- Light- this will add little to no extra weight.
- Easy to assemble and fold- quickly unroll to start pumping and then easy to fold back up to fit back in the bag that is provided.
- Double- plenty of room for me and my husband!
- Comfy- for this to be inflated with a hand/ foot, it’s pretty comfortable!
- Pillows- the mat provides two head raises for built in pillows.
- Price- for everything you get with the product, the price is definitely worth it!
- Durability- this sleeping mat has made it through many car camping trips and has held up perfectly.
- Cons:
- Time- unfortunately, it does take some time to inflate. Not very long but it may seem like it is taking a while the first time you do it.
- Effort- unlike an electric pump where you can walk off while it self pumps, you have to put the effort in.
- Comfort- I know what you are thinking, “Didn’t you put that as a pro?!” Yes I did but it belongs to both categories. It is comfortable for what you are getting but do not be expecting a super comfortable mat.
- Material- the material is slick! Mix that with the slick material of a sleeping bag and you will notice you might slide around during the night.
- Grill
- Another thing that is imperative with planning for a camping trip is the food. You want to make sure you have something that can easily warm up, cook, and heat your food. This grill is perfect for that!
- Pros:
- 2 burners- having two burners is so nice. I can be making breakfast while the coffee is percolating on the other burner.
- Portability and packing- this grill folds up so nicely! The pieces fit together and stay together after you have folded them together. The grill folds very slim and flat!
- Wind shield- the grill comes with 3 windshields to prevent wind from blowing out the flames.
- Easy to use- you will have your grill on and food cooking in no time!
- Heats up fast- you will be so surprised at how fast your food will cook on this grill!
- Cons:
- Cost- this is a pricey product but worth it if you plan to use it! We actually were able to find ours used on Facebook market!
- Pot & Pan
- To go with that grill, you have to have pots and pans! We only have 1 pan and 1 pot- which is all we need!
- Pros:
- Foldable and compact- these pots and pans fold the handle in to be compact and easy to transport.
- Heat resistant handle- the handles are wrapped in a heat resistance material to make it easy to hold.
- Heats up fast- the pan and pot heat up quickly making your meals ready to go fast!
- Cools down fast- as fast as it heats up, it cools down to be ready to eat out/ off of quickly.
- Cons:
- Size- I do wish the size could be slightly bigger!
- Price- these can be pricey :/ we were able to get these on a really good deal!
- Portable Pot Jet Burner
- Looking for something more compact and easy to transport than a whole grill and separate pots and pans? Then you need this product! This is mainly for backpacking but it has come in handy while camping too.
- Pros:
- Compact- everything you need, fits all together!
- Pot- no need to purchase a separate pot, this comes with one!
- Easy- it is easy to use and pack up!
- Cons:
- This can only be used with the actual pot that it comes with. We once were unable to use the grill and tried using this with our percolator but it was unable to hold the flame against the coffee pot.
- Price- this item is expensive. We again were able to find this item for a really good deal.
- Sleeping bag
- Having a good sleeping bag can make or break a camping trip. You want to make sure you have a good one!
- Pros:
- Light- this sleeping bag is light and easy to transport. It is perfect for those summer and fall nights when you need warmth but some breathability too.
- Double- this is a double sleeping bag. It fits me and my husband!
- Versatile- this sleeping bag can be converted from a double to 2 singles, to a sleeping mat, and blanket!
- Pillows- this comes with 2 small pillows!
- Price- for everything you get out of this sleeping bag, the price is definitely a pro!
- Compression- the sleeping bag fits back in the provided bag easily. AND it is a compression bag meaning it has straps that you can pull down on to squeeze some air out to make the bag even more compact.
- Cons:
- Warmth- this is not a very warm sleeping bag. We would definitely not recommend this for winter camping or anything below 35°.
- Length- my husband and I are not tall people and we still think the sleeping bag could be longer.
- Lantern
- We rely heavily on our lanterns! Especially since a lot of the time we are not arriving at our campsite until dark. These lanterns are great to illuminate lots of light!
- Pros:
- Bright- these lanterns are BRIGHT!
- Handle and hook- the handle and hook makes these lanterns so practical!
- Battery powered- we never have to worry about charging these!
- Collapse- these lanterns collapse to turn the light off to make them portable.
- Cons:
- Angle- the angle of the light that is illuminated can be projected at an awkward angle. It is definitely intended as a lantern, not a flashlight! We try to use it as a flashlight too much 😉
- Yeti
- A lot of our top 10 products are centered around food. But that is a very important detail of camping that takes a lot of planning! You want to make sure all that food you pack does not go to waste. This cooler will help alleviate your worries of that!
- Pros:
- Bear proof- one of the best things about this cooler is that it is bear proof! We have camped many times in grizzly bear country and our cooler has made it safe and sound. We have never had any signs of bear activity but we have seen videos proving that these are definitely bear proof.
- Ice- the cooler is insulated very well. It holds ice great!
- Drain – once that ice melts, there is a drain on the side to drain it all out easily.
- Cons:
- Size- when you open the cooler, you will notice that there is not as much space as you would think. This is because of the amount of insulation.
- Two handles- this cooler only has two handles requiring two hands to carry. Coolers we have had in the past have a bar that goes across the top allowing you to be able to carry with one hand if needed.
- Price- these coolers are pricey. Thankfully, ours was gifted to us.
- Percolator
- Does anyone else agree that coffee just tastes so much better when you are sitting in front of a campfire? There is something so magical about drinking coffee while camping. We love our percolator!
- Pros:
- Heats up fast on the grill- this percolator begins percolating fast when making it on the grill! You’ll have hot and ready coffee in no time.
- Handle- the handle is heat resistant allowing you to hold on while pouring your cups of coffee.
- Holds a lot- this holds a good amount of coffee to pour for your many cups of coffee!
- Cons:
- Open flame- if you have to percolate over an open flame, it can take a really long time to finally start percolating. Also, the handle will get way too hot to hold on to.
- No latch for lid- one thing that kind of drives me crazy when packing up our camping materials is that this lid does not latch! It will swing open while in the box.
- Bulky- this does not compress or compact well. It is bulky.
- Battery packs
- While camping, you may not have access to a wall outlet to charge your phone. So you will probably want to get a portable battery pack!
- Pros:
- Compact- these battery packs are slim and easy to pack. They take up little space
- Charges well- don’t let the slim, small size fool you! These charge your phone so well and quickly!
- Cons:
- Honestly, we cannot think of a con with this product!
- Microfiber Towels
- Just because you are camping does not mean you can go without showering! Towels can take up a lot of room- and can be hard to completely dry. These microfiber towels can been a major game changer for us!
- Pros:
- Compact- these towels fold up nicely to be compact. The packs that come with these towels make packing for the trip nice and easy.
- Dries fast- the towels soak water up so quickly in comparison to regular towels.
- Cons:
- Smell- You will want to make sure that after you get home, you immediately wash these towels. My husband took the towel on a camping trip once and accidentally left the towel in the back of the car in the heat of summer… I’m sure you can imagine the stinkiness from that towel!
I hope this post has encouraged you to plan your next camping trip ASAP! And I hope that this post helps you realize how easy it can be to plan, pack, and prepare for your next camping trip with these 10 products.
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