Camping kit we recommend investing in!

Last Updated on 13 January 2025 by Colette

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This is our seventh summer of camping – having had our first taste of camping with Ben at Wild Human in April six years ago and then collaborating with Millets to become fully-fledged tent-owning campers. Over the years we’ve added to our camping kit and honed our routines – we’ve set up in the pouring rain and blazing sunshine, we’ve camped at festivals and we’ve camped with friends and more recently we’ve camped with our puppy!

Of course everyone’s needs and priorities are different when it comes to camping – some people won’t camp without a proper pillow and duvet, others prefer a minimal or perhaps even “wild” camping experience. However, I wanted to share some of our favourite camping equipment with you – this is by no means a packing list but simply a list of some things we recommend investing in!

Our Essential Camping Equipment

1. Quality sleeping bags

As I mentioned above, I know that some people really like to take their duvet camping with them – but this isn’t something we’ve ever done for a number of reasons; for a start there just isn’t the space in our car for four or five duvets or pillows when we are going camping (even if they were vacuum packed). I would also be concerned about the duvet getting damp or smelling of campfire and not being able to wash it properly when we got home.

A decent three-season sleeping bag (not a £5 supermarket one) is designed to keep you cosy in much lower temperatures than your average duvet (the ones we use are fit for use down to -18 degrees though the “comfort rating” is of course nearer just below freezing). Being zipped into your sleeping bag means that if you are camping when the weather is colder, you can really hunker down into your bag and stay warm.

Our sleeping bags pack neatly down into their stuff bags taking up far less room in the car than bulky duvets. Dave and I previously had small, inflatable pillows for camping which we would slot under our sleeping bag hoods but I’ve reverted to taking my own pillow with me now and I’m so much more comfortable for it!

2. Camp beds

For the first few summers we were camping, we used a blow up double bed (in fact I think we’ve had a couple in that time).

If you’ve slept on a blow up bed, you’ll know they have a tendency to deflate over time (more than once Dave has had to perform mouth to mouth resuscitation on our blow up bed in the middle of the night). We also found we tended to just roll together into the middle of the bed.

It took me a while to come round to the idea of camp beds (mainly as I was imagining the sort of z-bed camp bed I’d have slept on as a child) but once we’d made a trip to Decathlon and had a lie down on some, I realised that Dave was right and a camp bed was the way forward.

Having our own camp beds means that whilst we sleep right next to each other, our movements don’t disturb each other. The beds are raised off the ground creating a storage space underneath for bags too.

They are quick to set up (no more messing around with foot pumps or dragging the mattress to the car to the use the battery powered pump) and quick to take down again. They will last for years rather than a season making them a far more sustainable purchase.

Camp beds provide a much firmer and more stable surface to sleep on (I do like to add a SIM to mine for extra comfort but I’m just a princess!)

When it came to researching camp beds, Dave focussed on the weight limit and length – we wanted to spend a bit more to get a really sturdy camping bed rather than one with flimsy legs which might give in over time!

We love our camp beds so much that we ended up investing in them for the kids too and everyone sleeps far better for it!

3. A windbreak

The first time I decided we needed to add a windbreak to our camping kit was on a Eurocamp site in France where I noticed that the people in the holiday home next to us had marked out the space at the front of their mobile home using windbreaks – this gave them privacy from other holiday makers but more importantly gave their young children boundaries.

I realised that as well as providing protection from the elements (something you definitely need if you’re camping on a hilly site like Catgill), a windbreak allows you to mark out a little territory so to speak which is ideal if you are camping at a festival, camping with a puppy or camping with friends.

We have a great Berghaus windbreak with guy ropes which makes it really sturdy and easy to set up on the beach or a campsite.

4. Decent camping chairs

We all know you can pick up a camping chair in the supermarket for a fiver – but these will be the same camping chairs that you see next to the bins at the end of the weekend. They don’t last and are definitely not designed for the fuller figure (looks pointedly at self).

From the off, we knew we wanted to get really comfy camping chairs as we’d be spending plenty of time sat in them and both really suffer with our backs. Dave looked for sturdy seats with a good weight limit – these will of course be larger and heavier to transport but we felt the pay off was worth it!

Our first set of camp chairs lasted us for three summers before finally giving in. This time we wanted more of a fold flat deckchair style chair than your typical camping chair as they fit into our car better, are more supportive for our backs and are generally sturdier. Again, you do get what you pay for and we ended up paying around £50 each for our current camping chairs but they have lasted us for three years and counting.

5. A porch or tent extension

We invested in the extension for our tent very early on and wouldn’t be without it now – it works as a “kitchen” space to store all our food and also means we’ve got a space to take off wet or dirty shoes and clothes before heading into the main tent. It does make our already very large tent even bigger though so can be a bit tricky when camping at festivals and you need to be really aware of pitch sizes when choosing a campsite.

6. Decent ear plugs

Every year I forget just how noisy camping can be – not just other campers, but the weather, the birds or nearby traffic have all been reasons I’ve woken early on a campsite (or struggled to get to sleep in the first place). I always pack decent ear plugs and an eye mask to block out that early morning light – anything that helps you get an extra ten minutes of shut eye is worth it! (The best ear plugs I’ve found are these soft silicone mouldable ones – they are super comfortable and really do make a dramatic difference to what you can hear!)

5. A gas stove

Even if you don’t really plan on cooking at your tent, you’re still going to need a ready supply of hot drinks so a decent gas stove is really important.

We’ve tried a few variations over the years and found a folding gas stove to be the best. Because this style of camping stove uses larger gas canisters, it has a higher pressure and a larger heat output which not only means you get your coffee faster but also means it can cope when it’s a bit windy.

We have a similar one where the stove sits on top of the gas canister but I don’t feel that is very stable so much prefer that this folding gas stove sits on the table top and is much more sturdy for a larger pan. (You can both types in the photo below so will be able to see what I mean.)

6. A tent footprint or tarp

These days, most tents have their groundsheets attached, but a tent footprint provides a protective foundation for your tent to sit on. Many brands will have a custom fit footprint for your tent but if not, you can just invest in a tarp to sit under it.

The purpose of a tent foot print is to protect your groundsheet from stones etc whilst also keeping out moisture and providing an extra layer helping to retain valuable heat lost through the ground – a boring purchase but an important one!

7. A tent carpet

Whilst we’re on the subject of boring but necessary purchases – a tent carpet is something I thought was probably a waste of money till we bought it. The soft fleece upper for the tent carpet is warm and comfortable underfoot – something you’ll appreciate when you hop out of your bedroom in the middle of the night for a wee! Whilst the waterproof backing provides another layer of protection from a potentially damp groundsheet. The only down side is that it’s not washable so you do have to be careful to keep shoes and food off it where possible. That said, ours has lasted us four summers so far so it’s doing well! If you don’t want to invest in a tent carpet – a picnic blanket would make a good alternative but would obviously be much smaller and not as warm.

8. A shelter

Our shelter is the most recent addition to our arsenal – providing us something we can cook under, or relax in when the weather isn’t so great as well as making a good storage space for putting chairs etc in at night. Our first attempt at a shelter purchase didn’t even last the first night thanks to high winds and weak zips so we went for this Eurohike one though I do wish we’d bought the Berghaus Air one though as the poles are a right pain and I must prefer it when all my kit matches!

Next on our purchase list is a new BBQ – ours finally died on us this summer so I’m open to recommendations! I’d also really love a Biolite Smokeless Firepit as I really suffer with headaches after a campfire and I think this would sort that right out – I’ve been lusting after those for a couple of years now!

What do you rate as essential camping kit? Anything you think we should be investing in?

Check out our guide to camping here or check out this list of kit for camping with your dog

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