Camping kit - what items are a game changer?

[RS1987]

We are a family of 4 plus dog - DC are 10 and 8.

We go camping twice a year and am looking at expanding our kit repetoire.

What do you swear by for camping? Especially interested in comfort options for sleeping and sitting. Also organisation, our packing and tent organisation is generally a bit chaotic.

we camp frequently, May to September, (April to Oct for DP & DCs) - somewhere between basic and luxury - limited by boot size.

Basically everything in decathlon! I love it there!
they do really good lights, the big ones have a wonderful up option/usb and the smaller ones are battery. We have lots of both.

fairy lights to put round the door of your tent so it’s easy to find at night, and some inside for fun.

comfy chairs, and we have a little coffee table that I love (we use it instead of a dining height one). We have little stools from decathlon which are surprisingly comfy - triangular shaped ones, and also high backed chairs.

i take lots of mats for the floor, we have a 6 person air beam tent and the living area is huge and gets quite cold. I cover the floor with those plastic backed picnic blankets, fleecy ones except the door area which is a wipe clean one.

i take empty Ikea bags to help transport stuff from the car to the tent as we often camp places where you can’t park right next to the pitch. Also an Ikea bag or box for shoes kept by the door. We camp in Scotland mostly so weather very variable.

We do use sleeping bags and SIMs. But I find proper pillows a must.

As someone above said, a dustpan and brush is great. We have a mini camping set.

i am looking into a solar panel for charging phones etc as we are going to be camping for 2 weeks this summer, we never get an EHU.

i have two large boxes from Ikea with close fitting lids. One stores all the essential equipment like stoves etc and the other is overflow plus food. These can be stored inside or outside the tent and waterproof and very unlikely an animal could get in. Makes packing/unpacking the car easier and has made spontaneous camping trips possible as we can just chuck the boxes in the car and go.

Solar panel (we have a Hubi)
Collapsible rotary washing line (2 week coastal camping trip)
Mats (rubber for outside the tent door, fabric for inside)
Good quality metal frame camp bed.
A solid-topped camping table with adjustable legs
Tent carpet

on the underside of our camping table we have a net that hooks on. Amazingly handy for catch all.

yeti cool box

sheepskin throw for-
back of camping chair:pillow topper, foot rug etc etc

collapsable boxes for storage. Head torches, small carry caddy for shower. Micro finer towels, vacuum sealed everything. Take a mini vacuum with charge for the pack up on the way home.

An extra set of things specifically for camping in a box ready. Cutlery, scissors, dishwashing brush, tea towels, shampoo, hairbrush, camping shower towels, etc etc. So that the list of things you have to go and find each time is dramatically reduced.
Ideally with a list written on the box so that you easily know what you already have.

I'm a basic camper too. I'd say a she-wee or equivalent because I HATE having to leave the tent in the night, especially if it's raining.

This thread is making me want to go camping again. Sadly my DH died last year so I’ve sold or given away all our stuff. There’s no way I would go without DH.

I have some amazing memories. We travelled all over the U.K., France and into Spain. My favourite sites were always off the beaten track. We stayed on a site in the mountains near Granada is Spain. It was amazing. The facilities were spotless and the views were amazing.

We found some lovely sites in France south of Bordeaux. The countryside is amazing in that area and you have a choice of coast or lakes.

For cooking/washing up. If you spend a fortune on an all singing all fancy tent, the cooking oils etc can permeate the fabric and create watery proofing issues. Always better to not cook at all in your main tent if you can help it and if you do avoid anything at all with fat/oil. That greasy film you get in your kitchen at home? That same thing will happen in your tent. So people often use a tarp outside or an event shelter to thing to disperse the fumes and prolong the life of the tent. Is also a better separation of areas tbh.

my best buys were standing nesting boxes. My two burner hob and grill fitted perfectly on top and it meant I could pack three boxes, fill with necessary equipment and then set up and go do a shop to maximise boot space. Similar to the picture below but mine are more open like laundry baskets with a bigger hole in the front.

i also have a dedicated kitchen box ( really useful box). It’s filled with stuff to keep a kitchen going. Large pan, cast iron griddle for the fire pit, tongs, fish slice, strainer, knives, strainer, cutlery, crockery, mugs, washing bowl, scrubbers, fairy, washing line, pegs, medical kit, kettle etc. I also have an airtight box with loo in as I can’t abide soggy damp looroll and refuse to risk running out to the loo at 3am to find nothing to wipe with.

black out bedrooms where the game changer for me though. Absolutely fantastic!! And I got a pump that’s a sucker and a blower so I vacuum pack each days clothes ( for everybody) into a single air tight travel bag so they can’t possibly get wet/damp . If we go for 5 days I’ll take 6 days clothing just in case. I also take a soctopus to hang inside the tent or car to dry small bits and bobs.

A carpet for the living area of our tent, no more cold feet

Fold up table with 4 stools that slot inside, means we have more space if eating inside and aren't constantly moving the big camping chairs around, we have a smaller table for drinks/food prep

Camping toilet for wees only, basically a bucket with a seat and lid but no more wet feet traipsing to the loo with the kids just before bed or early in the morning.

A camping toilet is an absolute game-changer. We line ours with those commode bags that have an absorbent pad in them. No more 3am treks to the toilet block!

This combination has been game changing for my 50-something yr old body. You can use your air tent pump to make the base rigid and connect two together to make a double (also love Decathlon)
https://www.decathlon.co.uk/p/inflatable-camping-bed-base-camp-bed-air-70-cm-1-person/309887/c70c98m8595949

https://www.decathlon.co.uk/p/self-inflating-1-person-camping-mattress-ultim-comfort-200-x-70-cm-grey/307396/c42m8914320

Can you recommend a stove? Ours is so slow (and our kettle so small) that this seems to much effort at the moment but I love the idea!

https://www.gooutdoors.co.uk/products/hi-gear-annex-utility-tent-blue-321135?variant=55608616812870

I have this utility tent - just for cooking and storage

I take a big towel to act as a door mat just inside the tent. Shoes are left on it and it's used at the end (and before if necessary) to give the tent floor a wipe down.

the electric kettle was a game changer for us, it’s only a small one - I don’t think most EHUs can cope with a full size one. Just saves so much time and makes me less grumpy in the mornings! We also invested in 10cm deep SIMs which are so good! I had the decathlon inflatable bed base for a while but just couldn’t get on with it. Friends swear by it though. I also have a bag with an old duvet and pillows in which only comes out for camping, duvet on the bottom of the tent to insulate.

For us a collapsible washing up bowl and a mini fridge/freezer came in very handy - remember the camping cable hook up. Also a camping toilet and mini tent for it to go in made all the difference when our pitch was about half a mile from the site facilities.

Same. I’m not a huge camping fan (rest of family are) but the new black out tent has made it so much better.

I think I might have a bit of a problem. Apart from the she-wee, there isn't anything on this thread I haven't either already got or already tried 😝

Our "worth it" comfort upgrades have been:

• A thick SIM, we have 12cm outdoor revolution SIMs, they are so comfortable that we sold the camp beds we used to put them on as they are comfy enough on the floor.
• Zempire inflatable pillows. They fold down to tiny but are comfy, DH and I like a firm pillow so got the one with foam inside. The DC prefer a soft one so theirs are just inflatable.
• Dolce gusto coffee pod machine. I'm not a fan of instant coffee, I need a coffee every morning to get my brain in gear, this tiny pod machine is the least messiest option.
• Fully Reclining chairs, they take up a bit more space when packing but they are fab for chilling in the sun. Our old cheap fabric moon chairs gave us backache if we were on them too long.

electric travel kettle
son of hibachi BBQ (abosultelt brilliant)
door mat
backpack beach chairs
Oodies
crocs

I bought 50 cm of artificial grass, not the cheapest but the next one up, and that goes across the front of our tent. All shoes get wiped, removed or stored there. It shakes out easy and washes with just a hose.

If you take a trailer, I bought a metre from a roll of that grippy mesh stuff. That goes in first and things just don’t move around as much.

Fishing bed chair- soo comfortable!
Electric hook up & mini fridge.

Hammock plus frame (the type that dismantles into a bag). Best nights sleep ever and lovely to lie in during the day.

also a few ikea solid laundry baskets - stackable, store anything in them and can be used for washing/bathing in

What an inspiring thread! Camping has clearly moved on since I last did it 😁

However, used to camp as a performer at festivals throughout the summer for a few years, and the game changer for us was a small collapsible clothes horse for drying stuff. Invaluable.

https://www.decathlon.co.uk/p/inflatable-camping-bed-base-camp-bed-air-70-cm-1-person/309887/c70c98m8595949

I sleep on one of these with a dreamcatcher SIM.
Its bliss & I can keep my stuff inside too.

I always find a few carabiniers useful - for hanging lanterns, attaching stuff etc.

We usually take a gas stove plus a Jetboil, and we've also got a very handy sort of v-shaped BBQ that folds flat when not in use - it's not massive but it's useful when you just want to do a few sausages or bacon on the side, or roast some veggies.

We have a tent carpet (the one that actually fits the tent rather than one I've cobbled together 😂) which I love. We have a Vango double SIM that rolls up and honestly I wish I'd bought the folding Decathlon one, which seems much comfier and smaller when stored. We have an ancient folding adjustable-height table that I wouldn't be without although I like the sound of the table with stools that slot underneath, upthread. Oh I also love our kitchen cabinet-type chest of drawers - lots of storage and the stove can go on top. Other than that I think we're fairly basic campers!