I’ve covered quite a lot of the basics of camping – how to buy a tent, pitch it, repair it and how to cook while you’re camping but I’ve never done a camping packing list. Well, here it is, my list of camping essentials, broken down into categories. “Camping essentials” will vary from person to person and from camp to camp so adapt this to your particular needs but this should at least give you an idea of what you might need and what you might want. I suppose this is aimed at car campers, people who can bring everything they could ever possibly need and a bit more rather than backpackers but you can adapt down.
Sleeping
- Tent
- Pegs
- Mallet
- Repair kit
- Bedding
- Sleeping mat (foam, inflatable or self-inflating. Camp bed if you really must)
- Pump if it’s inflatable
- Sleeping bag
- Pillow (or sleeping bag stuffsack full of your spare clothes if you’re into saving space)
- Groundsheet (even if your tent has one built in, this is a useful thing to make sure your bed stays dry)
- Sleeping mat (foam, inflatable or self-inflating. Camp bed if you really must)
- Sleepwear
- Clothing
- Pyjamas or suitable comfortable clothes for the temperature
- Keep this for night only so you know it’s always clean and dry
- Soft warm hat (if it’s chilly you’ll stay warmer in your sleeping bag with your head covered)
- Socks (soft and warm but loose – tight socks will make your feet colder)
- Hot water bottle (so what if you’re camping, you can manage hot water and you might as well be cosy)
- Clothing
Evenings
- Lighting
- Headtorch (great for getting around with your hands free)
- Lantern/tent light (for general illumination of the tent)
- Decorative lighting eg battery-powered fairylights (for atmosphere and easy ID of your tent in the dark)
- Clothes
- Something warm (it gets chilly in the evenings, especially if you stay out late with a campfire)
- Shoes you can slip on easily (you don’t want to be wrestling with bootlaces when you need to run across the site to the toilet block)
- Camp blanket (ok, this is more a Guiding/Scouting thing than a normal person thing)
- Waterproofs (it will always rain if you leave your waterproofs at home)
- Eating
- Stove or barbecue
- Fuel for whatever you’re cooking on
- Matches (put them in a plastic box to make sure they don’t get at all damp)
- Food (go wild. You’re on holiday! Make sure you have the means to cook everything, though. Don’t take microwave meals if you only have a gas stove etc)
- Extra snacks (you’re using extra energy by being out in the open air. Take more to eat than you would at home)
- Food storage (I have a large insulated bag for general food and a coolbox with icepacks for chilled food. Plastic tubs are great for food storage at camp, keeps everything clean and dry and keeps local animals out)
- Water carrier (because the tap is always at the other side of the campsite and you don’t want to go over there with your mug every time you want a drink)
- Plates etc & cutlery
- A plate bag is another Guiding/Scouting thing but it’s one I encourage you to adopt in your everyday camping life
- Utensils/cookware (see the camp cooking post)
- Pots & pans
- Knives
- Grater
- Colander
- Chopping board
- Tin opener
- Skewers (metal/bamboo) for cooking over the campfire
- Washing-up stuff (your site may provide sinks. You’ll probably need to take your own washing-up liquid, cloths, sponges etc)
- Entertainment
- Book
- Board games
- Please don’t bring speakers – your neighbours don’t want to hear your music anyway and definitely not through tinny portable speakers. Enjoy the music of nature until you get home
- Marshmallows & chocolate biscuits (toast the marshmallows over the fire and then sandwich them between two chocolate biscuits)
- Badminton set (my favourite as a teenager, to hit a shuttlecock backwards and forwards on the campsite. They move more slowly than tennis balls and so are easier for us amateurs!)
- Nature ID (bring a book and learn about the plants and birds around you)
- Crafting (bring your knitting or a small scrapbook or whatever you’re into that’s reasonably portable)
- Stargazing (bring a telescope if you have one and a book or app to help you ID what you’re seeing)
- Storytelling (just need your imagination. Bonus points for ghost stories)
- Campfire singing (one day I’ll make a playlist of me singing all the songs I know)
- Jigsaw (a Guide camp favourite but you’ll need a flat table to build it on)
Daytime
- Clothes
- Footwear (something suitable for your campsite and for your planned activities, eg take your boots if you’re planning on hiking, take your water shoes if you’re planning on kayaking etc)
- Tops with sleeves (it’s very easy to get your shoulders sunburnt without noticing. Also long sleeves are useful for avoiding ticks in long grass)
- Sunhat & sunglasses (it does get sunny here sometimes)
- Shorts/trousers/skirts
- Underwear & spares (you’re fine 364 days of the year. Go camping and you’ll need fresh underwear more often than you expected)
- A bag to separate out clean & used underwear
- Denim is spectacularly bad in wet weather (it takes a long time to dry and will make you very cold)
- Hygiene
- Toothbrush & toothpaste
- Towel (microfibre camping towels work better than traditional ones)
- Deodorant
- Soap (campsites generally provide something for washing your hands but it’s nice to be sure)
- Shampoo/conditioner (showers are often not great)
- Flip flops (optional but you might not want to stand in communal showers in bare feet)
- Something to wash your body/face with, soap/shower gel etc
- Hairbrush
- Plus any bits and pieces to tie it out of the way of campfires if it’s long enough to trail in the flames
- Suncream (remember when I said it gets sunny sometimes and you can get burnt without noticing?)
- Bug spray (campsites often get a bit infested with little bitey creatures in the evening)
- Washing line (I have a roll-up camp one about the diameter of my fist but flat)
- First aid supplies (painkillers & plasters are the heroes of the show here but anything else you think you’ll need plus obviously your regular medications)
Electronics
- Because even camping, we live in the 21st century
- Phone
- Camera
- Charging wires
- Portable charger
- Spare batteries
- Kindle (or book. Books survive being trodden on accidentally in a tent better)
Miscellaneous
- Drybags are a bit spendy but really useful for making sure things don’t get wet
- Notebook & pen (I like to write, draft blogs, snippets of stories, thoughts & observations etc)
- A few more warm layers (it doesn’t always get colder than you expect but it might)
- Camp furniture
- Furniture doesn’t really come under camping essentials but you might find life more comfortable with a folding chair or table or even a collapsible mini-kitchen if you’re feeling fancy
- Or if you’re like me, you might prefer to take an extra groundsheet or picnic blanket for sitting outside on the grass
- Swimming stuff (I tend to camp on small farms but if you go to a big campsite, it might have a pool or leisure facilities)
As I said, this is just a generic general list of camping essentials. Adapt it to your own wants and needs, take extra things, leave some things behind. Let me know if there’s anything you think is essential enough to add that I haven’t thought of and have fun on your trip!