Camping Gear USA | Camping Tents | Camping Equipment

The United States has every kind of camping there is. A state park campground in Michigan in July, a desert site in Utah in April and a backpacking trip in the Sierra in September ask very different things of your gear. This guide walks through each category we sell and the figures that matter, so you can read a product page and know whether it suits the trip you have in mind.

Start with the trip, not the gear

Three questions decide most purchases. How far will you carry it: from the car trunk, or on your back for days? What is the coldest night you expect? And how many people and how much gear need to fit? Car camping rewards comfort and space, so weight matters little and you can bring the big tent, the chairs and the cooler. Backpacking punishes every ounce, so packed weight becomes the first number you read. Answer those three and half the range rules itself out.

Tents and shelters

Capacity. A tent's person rating counts sleeping mats laid edge to edge with nothing else inside. Treat it as a maximum. Two adults with bags are comfortable in a 3 or 4 person tent; a family of four wants a 6 person tent with standing height. Each page lists the floor dimensions and the peak height so you can check for yourself.

Waterproof rating. Quoted in millimeters of water column. For summer thunderstorms, 1500mm to 2000mm on the fly is a sensible floor; 3000mm and above is built for sustained weather in the Pacific Northwest or the mountains. The tent floor usually carries a higher figure because it takes your weight. Double-layer tents, with an inner and a separate fly, handle condensation far better than single-skin designs.

Poles and pitch. Fiberglass poles are cheap and fine for sheltered sites. Aluminum poles are lighter and survive wind better. Instant and pop-up designs pitch in minutes and suit beach days and short stays; they fold larger than a pole tent, so check the packed size against your trunk.

Sleeping bags, mats and pillows

Temperature ratings. Makers quote a comfort figure and a limit figure. Shop on the comfort figure for the coldest night you expect. A 40°F comfort bag covers most summer camping at low elevation. The mountains, the desert at night and shoulder-season trips need a bag rated to 30°F or below.

Fill and shape. Synthetic fill is cheaper, bulkier and keeps working when damp, which suits family use and humid summers. Cotton-lined bags are the comfortable choice for the car and the cabin. Mummy shapes are warmer and pack smaller; rectangular bags give room to move and can be opened as a quilt.

Mats. A mat does two jobs: padding and insulation from the ground. Self-inflating foam mats are warm, quiet and forgiving of a stray thorn. Air mats pack smaller and are thicker for the weight, and a built-in foot pump saves your lungs. Look at the thickness, the packed size and the weight together. A packable pillow is the cheapest upgrade to a night's sleep that exists.

Stoves, cookware and kettles

Fuel. Gas canister stoves are the easiest to use and the most common; canisters are sold at most outdoor and hardware stores in the US and cannot be shipped by mail, so plan to buy fuel locally. Solid fuel and alcohol stoves are lighter, slower and good as a backup. Wood-burning mini stoves run on what you find, but check fire restrictions and burn bans before lighting one.

Cookware. Aluminum is light and heats fast; stainless steel is tougher and tastes of nothing; non-stick coatings make cleanup easy but need care. Nesting sets save space. For two people, a 1 to 1.5 quart pot and a small pan cover most meals. A camping kettle with a bail handle sits better on a small burner than a saucepan does.

Lanterns and headlamps

Lumens and run time. A lantern of 200 to 400 lumens lights a tent or a table; 1000 lumens and above lights a campsite. Higher output drains the battery faster, so read the run time at the setting you will actually use. Rechargeable USB lanterns suit car camping where you can top up from the vehicle; solar and hand-crank models cover long trips without power.

Headlamps. A light on your head leaves both hands free for cooking and pitching. Look for a red light mode, which keeps night vision and does not wake the tent, and a lockout so it cannot switch on in your pack. Weight on the forehead matters more than it sounds; 3.5 ounces or less is comfortable for hours.

Chairs and tables

Load rating. Every chair and table page states the maker's load rating. Ultralight backpacking chairs sit around 265 lb and weigh under 21 ounces; sturdier camp chairs carry 330 lb and more. Check the figure rather than assuming.

Packed size. Aluminum roll-top tables and shock-cord pole chairs fold to the size of a water bottle. Pick the packed size that fits the space you have left after the tent and the sleeping gear are in.

Tarps, stakes and site gear

A tarp over the cooking area turns a wet weekend around. Match the size to the group: 10 x 10 feet covers a table and four people. A tent footprint protects the tent floor and keeps the underside clean when you pack up. The stakes that come with most tents are the minimum, not the ideal: a set of heavy-duty steel stakes for hard ground and wide aluminum stakes for sand or soft soil will hold a tent through a windy night on the plains. Gazebo side walls turn a shade canopy into a wind break.

Coolers and camp showers

A hard cooler with wheels keeps food for a long weekend and doubles as a seat. Soft coolers weigh less, fold flat and suit day trips and the canoe. Pre-chill the cooler and the contents the night before, and use frozen bottles rather than loose ice. A rechargeable portable shower, a bucket and a towel make a lake or a swimming hole into a bathroom and keep the sand and salt out of the tent.

Caring for your gear

Dry everything before you store it. A tent packed damp grows mold in a week; a sleeping bag stored compressed loses loft. Air tents and bags fully, store bags loose in a large sack, wipe salt off zippers and poles, and re-proof tent fabric when water stops beading on it. Gear treated this way lasts many seasons.

Your camping gear checklist

Decide the trip type and the coldest night. Choose the tent by capacity plus one, waterproof rating and packed weight. Choose the bag by comfort rating and the mat by thickness and warmth. Pick a stove by fuel type and plan to buy fuel locally. Add a light for your head, a lantern for the table, chairs and a table rated for the people using them, a tarp and proper stakes for the weather, and a cooler sized to the trip. Read the figures on each product page and email us if one you need is missing.

The short version

Buy on the numbers. A tent rated for the rain you will get, one size up from the people in it. A bag rated for the coldest night, on the comfort figure. A mat thick enough to sleep on. A stove that takes fuel you can buy where you are going. Light for the pack, comfortable for the car. Everything we sell lists those numbers so you can check before you order.