Essential Camping Gear Required to Go Camping

One of the biggest questions people new to camping always want to know is what camping gear they have to buy, in order to have a successful and comfortable camping trip. The answer to this question is a lot simpler than most make it out to be. The reality is that you need most of the same things that you need at home: a place to sleep, a bed to sleep in, a stove to cook on, and a refrigerator to store perishable food in. Here is the essential camping gear will keep you comfortable:

Tent. You might have romantic notions of sleeping out under the stars, but you will not be feeling so romantic in the morning when you are soaked from the dew. You can usually judge the quality of a tent by how high the sides of the seamless floor go, and how low to the ground the rain fly comes down. Sleeping bag. These come in all shapes, sizes and prices. If you plan on carrying it on your back, you will want to pay extra for a light one, otherwise something a bit cheaper is probably fine. Be sure to tryout the "mummy style" bag, which is contoured to the shape of your body to save weight, before buying. Some people do not like the tight confines. Sleeping pad. If you sleep on a mattress at home, you really do not want to try sleeping on the bare floor of a tent in just a sleeping bag. The lightest sleeping pads are 3/4" closed-cell foam, while the most comfortable sleeping pads are 2" thick self-inflating air mattresses. Camp stove. The backpackers are at a distinct disadvantage here, but there are some great backpacking stoves that will boil water in less than 5 minutes. For the car campers, there is a virtual smorgasbord of great, double burner propane stoves. Ice chest. You cannot carry it on your back, so an ice chest is only for the car campers. But when you are taking perishables like potato salad, milk, cheese and lunch meat on your camping trip, you have to have an ice chest. The new "5 day" and "6 day" models will easily last the weekend, provided you use at least 30lbs. of block ice.

You do not have to go crazy when it comes to getting equipped for camping. Other than the big essentials of shelter, sleeping, cooking and food storage noted here, most household items that you already have also work great on a camping trip.

Happy camping!