The gear-oriented style of camping (i.e. camping very near the car).

Gear-oriented campers are the people who like to be comfortable and prepared for anything. Their campsites are fully 'furnished with tables, chairs, stoves, cots and other conveniences. While enjoying and respecting the outdoors, gear-oriented campers also prefer the little amenities that make a backcountry trip safe and secure - a home away from home. Their camping checklist will be much more extensive than the minimalist's. In this article, we'll focus on the gear-oriented camping list. It's always easier to remove items from a list than it is to realize you've forgotten some crucial piece of camping equipment on a cold rainy night.

Gather the basics first.

It goes without saying that you'll need some basic items: a tent (preferably with a rain fly and at least one window), a good-quality sleeping bag, camping stove, camping food and water. Here's a list of some other gear that can make your campsite more accommodating:

Plastic sheeting for tent floor

Air mattress or pad for under sleeping bag

Large plastic boxes or buckets for food and equipment storage

Emergency blanket; also called space blanket

Tent seam sealer

Folding tables

Folding chairs

Outdoor furniture - lightweight aluminum lawn chairs are a good choice

Stools

Pillows

Binoculars

First aid kit with blister treatment products

Tarp(s) with grommets - can be rigged for shade or used to keep firewood dry

Rope and twine or string

Cots

Small shovel

Sunscreen

Portable toilet

Toilet paper

Moist towelette or baby wipes

Personal care items: soap, shampoo, toothpaste, etc.

Insect repellent

Tool (such as a hammer or axe) to pound in tent stakes

Backpack, daypack, or fanny pack

Towels and washcloths

Next, get ready to build a homey, welcoming fire.

Sounds easy doesn't it? Gather some wood and build a fire. If you've ever arrived at your campsite on a dreary, rain-soaked day, you know how hard it can be to get a fire going. Even though the outside of the wood may be wet, the inside of larger pieces is probably dry. So bring a small axe and be prepared to split some logs. Also, store your matches in a waterproof container, or better, carry a butane lighter. Dry kindling is harder to find than dry wood. The easiest solution is to bring a supply of kindling from home to get that first fire started without a hitch. Some campers bring a few dry logs as well. A small bow saw can also be very helpful. All these items should be included on your camping checklist.

Dining al fresco in style.

While the minimalist is content to rehydrate a pouch of dried field rations, the gear-oriented camper enjoys hearty, camp-cooked meals. There is a variety of easy-to-prepare camping foods available, but many people like cooking from scratch in the outdoors. So, a more elaborate camping stove is required - something with more than one burner and adjustable flame. Or bring some iron bars to rig a pot hanger right over the fire for slow-simmering that 3-alarm chili. You'll also need a cooler and ice or ice packs for your fresh food. Other equipment for the cooking portion of your camping checklist includes:

Can opener

Bottle opener

Cutlery for food preparation and serving - sharp knife, large spoon, large fork, ladle

Cookware - cast iron works well

Messkits or other eating vessels and implements - forks and spoons

Extra camping stove fuel

Camping recipes

Small charcoal or propane grill - a cast-iron hibachi is small and efficient

Appropriate fuel for grill

Dishrack and dishwashing detergent

Pot lifter or pot holders

Coffee maker

Cutting board

Colander

Tongs

Thermos

Tablecloth

Storage containers

Plastic cutlery, paper plates, plastic or paper cups

Paper towels

Napkins

Trash bags

Aluminum foil

Light up the night.

Be sure to bring several flashlights and plenty of extra batteries. A lantern or two will cast some welcome light in camp. Your lamps can run on a battery, liquid fuel or propane. Be sure to have some extra mantles on hand if any of your lights use them. Lighting is important - don't underestimate its value, especially if there are children in your party. Children should have their own water-resistant flashlights. What child doesn't remember playing camping games in their tent late at night by the glow of a lantern or flashlight? Kids also enjoy glow sticks.

More essential equipment.

If you're planning on hiking, you'll need a backpack, compass, travel guide, map, suitable shoes, extra socks and a hat. Another indispensable piece of camping gear is the multifunction pocket knife. These handy little tools often include:

Screwdriver - flathead and Phillips

Bottle opener

Can opener

Corkscrew

Scissors

Tweezers

Awl

One or two super-sharp blades.

One model pocket knife even comes with a reusable plastic toothpick, something you might never think of including on your camping checklist. All backpacks should contain such a knife. If you're going to swimming or bathing in a lake or stream, which often have rock bottoms, some type of waterproof footgear, like the popular "jellies," is essential.Other miscellaneous items to bring:

Duct tape

Safety pins

Sewing kit

Small battery-operated radio

Camera or camcorder with extra film and batteries

Reading material

Playing cards, checkers, chess set, etc.

Paper and pen

Battery-operated clock

Basic tools: pliers, screwdriver, hammer

Camping is great recreation.

From campgrounds that are more like resorts to the challenge of true wilderness camping, you're bound to find some "level" of camping that's just right for you. Bringing the right outdoor equipment is the best way to ensure your trip will be a memorable one. A camping checklist will streamline your packing and preparation. Although experience is the best teacher, a good, comprehensive checklist can help make the difference between an enjoyable camping trip and a disastrous one. Your checklist will be dynamic - you'll add items and remove items with every trip. Just be sure to keep it up to date. Whether you're a minimalist or a gear-oriented camper, camping provides many challenges. A thoughtfully-devised checklist will enable you to sleep dry and warm, build a welcoming fire, enjoy a great camp-cooked dinner, light your camp effectively and handle any miscellaneous small emergencies that might occur.

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GOING LIGHT:

The above is a bit excessive in places even if you are camping by your car but you'd need to cut down considerably to the best, lightest and most minimal kit you can obtain and select if you are going back-packing with your tent etc.

Most of the above is utterly superfluous for backpacking (battery-operated clock? I use a watch!. Screwdriver and hammer?) and the original question asked about "... camping andhiking...".

Let's assume a 2-night wilderness walk in Spring-Summer conditions. Winters are more specialised if the route is above the snow-line....

Bulk Equipment: Lightweight, small, tent able to withstand the likely conditions if the weather breaks.

Sleeping-bag of insulation value appropriate to the area, altitude and weather (seasonal).

Sleeping-mat - the "self-inflating" type is best but their surfaces may be too smooth if you camp on a slope!

Good-quality rucksack that will carry everything in this list. comfortably, on your back with the weight on your hips. (The tent may have to go on top or under the sack - but consider how to share loads if sharing a tent). Jangly dingly-dangly pans outside the pack are so naff as well as so annoying to you.

Appropriate map and compass. Take a GPS too if you have one but remember, batteries can fade... Oh, and your portable phone might not have any coverage out in the hills. Small torch: LED head type the most convenient, plus a few spare cells, but be a bit discerning when choosing one from the bewildering array (!) in the catalogues..

You might want to chuck in a pack of cards or a thin novel for the evenings... but I have never found any need even for week-long hill-camps. Music? Up to you but I go out to get away from such things. The sounds of wind, streams, sheep and birds are free and don't need down-loading.

Clothes: Appropriate, lightweight, easily-dried clothing including warm jacket and water + wind-proof outer jacket and over-trousers. Proper walking-boots & socks; gaiters are optional but useful. Gloves or mittens. Suitable hat (I have a thin fleece open-face balaclava that is also ideal for wearing in bed in cold conditions. Walking-poles: If you need them use them in pairs, adjusted and used correctly, otherwise they will be a hindrance rather than help. Th e rule is 2 or 0.

Kitchen: Lightweight gas-cartridge or liquid-fuel stove and pan set. Lots of choice but think about efficiency etc. Mine is a Trangia with both meths (alcohol) and gas burners, but though very good, it is a bit bulky. Matches or lighters for same (take both / spares!). Sheet of thick aluminium foil to fashion a wind-break for open-burner stoves.

Water bottle (I litre). Mug (unbreakable), Spoon. Pen-knife. You may prefer a lightweight camping knife-fork-spoon set + pen-knife but NO MORE because you select the food whose cooking needs no more utensils than I've listed.

Small combined sponge/scourer pad. All my small bits like that travel inside the empty Trangia kettle.

Foods: see the first answer. Plan a menu. Absolute minimum, of tins & bottles. I do use boil-in-the-bag meals but they are heavy for their size. You may well expend a minimum of 3000 to 4000 calories a day walking, especially in uncomfortable temperatures or in very hilly terrain. Typical for me: Breakfast: Porage or muesli. Lunch: Small tin of sardines or squeezy-tube of savoury spreads with crispbread biscuits, sweet bars, dried fruit. Evening: boil-in-bag or dried savoury preparation with pasta or powdered potato. Dried fruit simmered a little in water, drained and with instant custard or other topping. Plus hot drinks ingredients, a small plastic (squeezy) jar of honey for eating on crispbreads and as a sweetener. Snack foods: sweet bars, boiled sweets, etc, and of course dried fruit. Milk powder.

Decant foods where you can into smaller, portion-controlled packets before your trip. If the munchy-bars come individually wrapped in a cardboard box, leave the box at home.

Hygiene: Toilet-roll (in a plastic bag to keep it dry). I also recommend a small trowel since if you have to use cat-type sanitation you will want to bury the stuff. Won't you!

A small bottle, a little bit bigger than those supplied in hotel bathrooms, filled with cheap antibacterial liquid soap, should suffice for 2-3 days. Washing your hands after the "toilet" and before handling food is essential! It does not matter about the rest of you being a bit grubby, for a couple of days.

Sun-protection and insect-repellent crÃ¨mes or sprays. Sun-glasses. Small, basic first-aid kit. You might wish to take a small ball of string and some adhesive tape for minor repairs, but you won't need the workshop specified above!

Enjoyment. Enjoy the trip!

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