by A few years ago, my oldest kid got to the age where I could take her camping. I took a look at my equipment and realized, after camping for nearly 30 years, I somehow owned a bunch of garbage equipment. And it seemed like every time I wanted to go camping I’d have to go out and buy $100 worth of stuff either because I didn’t own it already, or I bought cheap stuff previously and it needed replaced, or I just couldn’t find it in my basement and it seemed easier to click the button on Amazon. I really wanted to get away from all that, and make it easier to pack and get out of the house. So I decided to do something about it.
I sought to accomplish a handful of things over the course of a few years, and am feeling pretty good about where I am with these goals presently:
- Rationalize and economize on what I’m bringing. Have the right things for the right situations and only bring what I need, no more no less.
- Have everything organized in such a way that I could just grab a bag or two and a bin or two and go.
- A general upgrade of equipment suited for relevant situations
Getting gear together, planning to be away from the wife and kids for 72 hours, and traveling can be stressful enough. I don’t need to spend 4 hours packing everything, running back and forth to Walmart twice, and making multiple Amazon orders — just to get out of the house and “get away from it all”. I want to go camping with the guys or with my kids. And I want it to be really frictionless, cheap each time I do it, and not take a ton of time to prep. This is currently how things are organized.
Backpack
I’m probably past the point in my life where I’m going to throw on a backpack, hike 8 miles, set up camp, and sleep. The group of guys I camp with, if there’s no kids involved, seems to be tending towards trips where we take our 4×4 vehicles somewhere, maybe drive a bit through the woods, and set up a camp that is far less spartan than what it would have been twenty years ago for us. But whether I am actually backpacking/hiking (doubtful any time soon), or overlanding with the guys, or going to a state park with 8 year old daughter and her friend, it is really easy to just keep my core items in a backpack. It doesn’t take up a huge amount of space in the car, and I can throw it on my back to move from my truck to the cabin or tent. Regardless of the category of camping, it contains the following categories of things, and items contained within that category:
Shelter
- Tent (4 season)
- Tent footprint
Heat/Light
- Fire paste
- Headlamp
- Flashlight, spare batteries
- Grill style Bic lighter
- Magnesium fire starter kit
- Windproof/waterproof matches
Sleep stuff
- Sleeping bag
- Sleeping pad (4.5 r-value)
- Inflatable pillow
- Old school wool army blanket (if winter)
- A ‘space blanket’ that is robust enough to be used repeatedly or for a make-shift shelter
Mess kit
- Titanium pot, titanium spork/knife, Yeti drinking cup
- Camp soap
- Can opener
Toiletries
- Bathing wipes
- Hand sanitizer
- Toothbrush, toothpaste, dental floss
- Melatonin (gotta sleep sometimes)
- Shampoo/body wash
- Camp towel/washcloth
- Toilet paper (ya never know)
- deodorant
- Q-tips
Depending upon the season, I may also bring the following. Obviously, I’m not going to need crampons in Pennsylvania in July, but you get the idea:
- Crampons
- Fingerless gloves/extra pair of gloves
- A serious winter hat
- Poncho
- Gaiters
The bag is then fleshed out with seasonably appropriate clothes, in addition to what I have on when I leave my house. Double whatever number pair of socks I think I need, a fresh pair of underwear, fresh shirt and pants, and probably long johns if it is cold. Between that and whatever I arrived in, I’m pretty good for a three day weekend. Regardless of the camping situation, I need the previously listed things.
Emergency Supply Bag
I drive a Tacoma and have storage space behind and underneath the rears seats. There I keep some additional items I don’t need to carry from the car to the tent, but I keep in the truck for the “you never know” type of situations. Some of those supplies I carry include:
- Trauma kit (crazy glue, tourniquet, stuff you have to order from the Israeli military, etc)
- Normie tier first aid kit
- “Survival kit” (mirror, whistle, additional fire starter, etc)
- A good compass
- Paper maps of the area I’ll be in
- Rechargeable solar cells for cell phones, cell phone cables
- Battery/solar/crank AM/FM/Shortwave/NOAA radio
- Hatchet
- Life Straw/Water purification tablets
Go Bag
On the other side of the car, I have a bag that can be used for a day hike. It’ll basically contain seasonally appropriate items to get me through the day, if I’m hiking a section of the Appalachian Trail with the guys, or going for a long walk with some other dads and our kids. Or, in an emergency, keep someone warm and hydrated, if injured, until someone can get help.
- Water bottles — for myself and kid(s)
- Another compass
- Another solar cell battery for phone/cables
- Bug spray
- Poncho
- Small, disposable space blanket
- Sun screen
Kitchen supply bin
For car camping situations, or situations where I’ll be with kids, I’ll usually bring a sizable storage bin with me, which contains the following at all times, and is always packed and ready to go:
- Oil powered lantern, oil
- Propane tanks (the small kind); enough for however many meals — may require a second bin just to carry propane, depending upon how we’re doing the weekend
- Coleman stove (old school style that you put on a picnic table)
- Welding gloves
- More stuff to start fires
- Cooking implements
- Cooking oil
- Salt/pepper
- Paper plates, plastic forks/spoons/knives, paper towels
- A basin to wash stuff
- Plastic ziplock bags, trash bags
- Cauldron (for winter camping that involves chili)
- Cups
Of course, for any of these situations, it should assumed that food and water will come along in a cooler, and in a quantity, suitable for the number of people, the duration, and the season.
That about covers it. In a future post I’ll provide some info on how I outfit my truck. I recently purchased a Toyota Tacoma, and I’m still sorta evaluating what I really need, and what really makes sense for the sorts of planned and unplanned situations I might get into. Once I get a bit of clarify on what I’m stowing, I’ll offer some details in the coming weeks.
