I’ve been camping twice now with close friends who go often - and I love it, thought I wouldn’t but I do.

What are some cool gear / camping items that you guys find useful / love?

For example I’ve just got a swag and sleeping bag, fishing rods and camping chair so I’m slowly building my take out kit.

I’m considering getting a cook hot plate, knives, a rifle, dirt bike maybe an outdoor portable shower thing you fill up with water?

What does /O/ like to use when going inner woods? Or never camp without?

>>2826974 (OP)
Also a kayak

>>2826974 (OP)
Bump

>>2826987
This is a quiet neighborhood, no need to bump here. It takes about as long to get to page 10 as it does to paddle the grand canyon

>>2826995
Haha fair - makes sense considering major user base probably cave dwellers (including me)

>>2826974 (OP)
Don't fall for the gear meme. Once you have basic gear (good clothing, comfy exoframepack, tent, sleeping bag, stove, canteen, boots, knife, maybe gun if in dangerous areas), just go out and figure out what you're lacking. Else you'll end up with tons of stuff you'll never use.

Personally, the two things I'd recommend to every newfag are a medium alice pack (with green frame - brown frames are alright, but come with chinkshit bags, and black frames are the cost-saving version and flimsy af), preferably with improved waist belt (if that's not to expensive), and a slung canteen pouch. Mine is milsurp, but there's one from helikon tex too, if you're not into camo.
9/10 times, I just take a canteen pouch out on daytrips. Sawyer mini (both the best and the cheapest water filter you can get) in the side pouches, snacks in the front pouch, and full canteen in the main pouch.

Other than that, tight merino underwear (helps avoiding rashes and rubbing your dick raw), a mora or swiss army knife (or whatever knife you own, really, those two are just cheap and fairly good), and good (=flexible) leather boots. Oh, and a hat. With what you already have, that'll be enough to get yous tarted.

>>2827002
Appreciate it heaps will look into it

>>2826974 (OP)
>What are some cool gear / camping items that you guys find useful / love?
one of my favorite things in my backpack is my combined toiletries and first aid kit, specifically bringing more than the absolute minimum toiletries. i love using eye drops after a fire, flossing my teeth, brushing my hair, etc. also, since i use a hammock and tarp, the dutchware titanium hardware makes setting up camp more or less frictionless.

since you're just building out your loadout, i'd try and take as many trips as possible with the gear you already have. after each one, fully unpack, determine what you didn't use, and remove it. also, pay attention to whether anything felt too bulky or heavy. that would be your cue to consider, e.g., upgrading from a synthetic mummy bag to a down quilt next season.

aim to purchase really good essentials once and over time. ignore youtubers blowing smoke up your ass about "the best tent of 2025." nobody buys a new tent every year just because it's an ounce lighter. you'll probably end up replacing most or all of your gear. the difference is that you'll only do so once, informed by IRL experience as to what you actually need, and avoid the trap of consoomer retards like dan becker and unfuckable miranda.

that being said, i did buy trekking poles to use for the first time this year. i also addressed some minor pain points like my cup and hairbrush being too bulky, and my headlamp using alkaline batteries. so i did elect to purchase things like a collapsible cup, small flexible hairbrush, and new headlamp.

don't wear cotton.

>>2827110
Mostly this, even if he's an ultralightfaggot.

Don't focus too much on reducing weight, though. With a proper pack, you can comfortably carry 50kg, while with a shitty pack, even 5kg will be a pain. If your pack feels heavy, it's probably the pack or the strap setup, not what's in there. Or you might just be weak, I guess.

Also, trekking poles are a meme. They're good only for flat, rough trails. On steep inclines and declines, they're generally too long or to short, and on good roads, they don't give an advantage. If you're going crosscountry, a staff will beat poles every time.
>don't wear cotton
that's an oversimplification. Wide cotton pants are alright in every weather, and if you're in hot, dry weather (think desert), cotton all around is the best choice, as it cools you down more efficiently than synthetics or wool, due to the fibers "unfolding" and increasing surface when wet. Of course, when it's cold and dry, that same unfolding will get you hypothermia.

>>2827117
Trekking poles are not a meme for alpine. Good ones are built to allow for different grips on ascent and descent. They help you use other muscles other than just legs on the climb up, and they take away a lot of the stress of impact going downhill. For longevity of your knees if anything else they are worth it for downclimbs. Cross country they are better too, simply having two points of contact to balance with for water crossings and boulder fields and hopping over logs is better than one. If i have to scramble up some slickrock and need to use my hands its far easier to let the poles dangle from the wrist straps or collapse and pack them than find something to do with a staff

>>2826974 (OP)
Depends entirely on what you mean by camping. Unloading all the gear in the world from the trunk of your car at a lakeside state park is way different story than carrying everything on your back into grizzly bear country. Don't fall into the trap of paying more for basic shit but definitely splurge on a good sleeping bag and pad. Honestly those backpacking cots that keep you a few inches off the ground are a godsend. Other than that a simple jet boil with collapsible pot and cutlery, a good knife, and a basic tent is the fundamentals. Dry wool socks are essential, a hatchet is useful if you can swing it... Other gear depends on what you're doing. Personally I would recommend looking into a 2 person inflatable kayak for exploring waterways, for example the Tributary Tomcat. The nice thing about an IK is it can navigate rivers or lakes, I even bought a sailing kit for mine, and rolls up for storage. You can typically access the best primitive camp sites from the water and the boat enables you to bring more amenities than you can on your back. If you're enterprising there are a lot of finger-lakes within 5 miles from trailheads all over the world. You bring your bag with the gear and make a pack sling for your boat. Either get your wife or some jeet to carry the gear, or make two trips, then you can launch the boat and get yourself to an isolated shore site for a couple nights while paddling around the lake to reach different trails in the day.

You got the basics, that's how you start. Then everything depends on what you prefer. As they said, there are a shit ton of different ways to camp. So you will find out with experience what you need. And some things that are nice you won't take them with you always since it depends on the way of camping, some other things you will find out with experience that you prefer to carry them but they are heavy so you can buy a new one but lighter. And so on.
It's like saying "what sleeping bag should I buy?" and there is non a correct answer cause maybe one time you go camping in a place where there is snow and some other to a place that's warm. Don't be afraid of making mistakes, that's how you learn about what you actually need.

>>2827117
i don't see anything wrong with buying fancy ultralight gear as long as you're informed and willing to drop bank on the best. by "informed" i don't mean some youtube shill recommended it, i mean you've got enough IRL backpacking experience to justify the purchase based on your actual use case.

>>2827127
knee support is pretty great when going downhill in any situation. i'd been using some knee braces for CVS but they're uncomfortable and do nothing for balance. i'm also a new englander so we tend to go straight up and down small mountains instead of using switchbacks on big mountains. $100 for a basic aluminum leki set seemed like the most durable value option for this kind of terrain.

>>2827002
Why does everyone here suggest Alice packs over typical backpacking packs? Typical backpacking packs have a ton of features and are more comfortable.

>>2826974 (OP)
I’ve been an avid camper since youth and unironically love Walmart Ozark Trail brand.

I am fucking decked out in ozark trail gear. From my boots to my stove. Except my tent because I don’t want to be associated with first time weekend warrior normies.

Headlamps are a must. If you are car camping ditch the bitchmade green bottles and use a standard grill size tank. It’s like 17 bucks to fill and half of it will last you all year

>>2826974 (OP)
There are a million "useful" things to bring that are never used. Another saying is "don't pack your fears", all the what if I need this or that, what if this or that happens...
Start by dividing everything into systems. Sleep system, cooking system, clothing system.
Figure out what you actually need and use for each system.
How do you sleep? Tent, tarp, car, hammock? Do you need a sleeping bag? What temperatures does it need to handle? Sleeping pad or cot? Pillow? Etc.

Gear and it's specific properties become more important when you're doing longer hikes unsupported and/or need to protect yourself from the environment.

One of my favourite useful gear is a merino wool neck tube/scarf. Pic rel. Thin, light and keeps you warm.

>>2827002
Cozy. I recommend getting an ALICE LBE as well. You can carry different sized pouches on it and lots of water