These Camping Gear Essentials Will Make All the Difference for Your Next Night Under the Stars

For some of us, sleeping in a tent or under the stars, far from the confines of city life, is every bit as relaxing as staying in a luxury resort. You may be pining for the wilderness but have no idea how to get started. Alternatively, you may have already done a decent amount of camping in established campgrounds with a car but want to try backpacking to get away from the crowds. This guide is going to help you get started on either path.

While sleeping on the ground can be hard on your back, and those hot dogs and s’mores aren’t the healthiest of foods, camping and backpacking have great health benefits. You can get fresh air, exercise, and a mental health reset.

“It’s really a chance to disconnect and connect,” says Andrés Escalante, operations manager of NatureBridge in California’s Yosemite National Park, where he leads high schoolers on backpacking trips through a program called WildLink. You get a dose of awe-inspiring perspective-resetting nature, the chance to work together with others to make your shelter and food, the sense of accomplishment when you do, and a rare kind of quiet to reflect on it all, he says.

My parents hated camping, so I didn’t get to enjoy this pastime until adulthood. Fortunately, I married into a family of backpackers, so over the past couple of decades I’ve learned about all the gear you need for a comfortable and safe adventure. Whenever I step into an outdoor outfitters store, I am tempted to buy everything in sight, which is unwise and unnecessary. That’s why to create this guide, I spoke to experts who have made camping and backpacking their livelihoods. With their advice, I came up with the following camping essentials checklist.

“Of the 80 million Americans who camp, only 4 percent of them go backpacking,” says Kevin Long, CEO of the campsite booking platform The Dyrt, citing his company’s annual camping report. That report also says a majority of campers are actually in RVs, which is understandable since, while it’s the most expensive version of camping, it’s also the most comfortable. But I don’t recommend that for beginners, unless someone else is taking you along for the ride/sleep.

If you have never been camping before in your life or haven’t been since childhood, for your first time, I recommend glamping: staying in a big tent that’s already been set up in a beautiful location, with full-size beds and sometimes even electricity, heat, and running water. That way you’ll know whether you can handle a more rustic setup.

Car camping in a campground will be a step down in comfort, which is kind of the point. Still, you’ll get a designated flat spot for your tent (maybe even a wooden platform), and you could even have amenities like running potable water, bathrooms or outhouses, and group activities. They’re really great for large groups and families with mixed athletic abilities. The drawback is that they can be very noisy and hard to book in the high season.

“I’m not the best campground camper because everybody’s there having a great time, and I’m like, ‘Shh, I want to see the stars,’” says Lea Appleton, PCC, NBC-HHC, a wellbeing coach, experiences guide, and founder at Wild Wayfinding. That’s why she prefers backpacking, which she says is accessible for beginners as long as you have some experience hiking. Backpacking involves hiking for miles with everything you need before setting up camp, so it requires a bit more specialized (smaller and lighter) gear. You can dip your toe into backpacking by finding a primitive “hike-in” campsite that’s just a little farther from where you park, but not so far that you can’t take a couple of trips to get all your things. Those tend to be quieter, too.

The ideal way to start camping is to borrow a friend’s equipment at first. “Find out what you can borrow, what you can buy used, what you can kind of make work from what you already have at home,” Appleton advises. And when you’re sure you really like it, it’s time to invest in your own gear, beginning with the most basic needs: shelter and sleep.

To protect yourself from weather, critters, and the kind of aches and pains that can ruin the rest of your trip, you’ll want a tent (or at least a rain tarp), a sleeping pad, a sleeping bag, and nice flat ground on which to rest. The hardcore multiday “thru hikers” — folks who do the Appalachian Trail or Pacific Crest Trail — sometimes use hammocks to avoid needing the latter.

“A lot of us just sleep outside if the bugs aren’t too bad and the weather’s decent,” says Kim Laizer, education manager at Nature Bridge Yosemite, who leads teen girls on backpacking trips through a program called Armstrong Scholars. “It’s kind of cool to sleep under the stars and wake up, looking at the trees and hearing the birds.”

That said, Laizer always brings shelter for the nights when the weather turns. One thing that’s okay to skip altogether: a pillow. Many camping pillows are on the market, but I find all of them uncomfortable and not worth the space they take up. Instead, I fill my sleeping bag stuff sack with my jacket and other clothing I’m not wearing.

One of the best things about camping is enjoying your meals outdoors, where somehow even the simplest food tastes so good. You don’t have to buy fancy gear for this part, especially for campsites with potable water and firepits. If that’s the case, Appleton says just to bring stuff from your own kitchen. A sturdy cast-iron skillet or stainless steel pot should be good. Your food should be easy to prepare without extra utensils.

Long also likes to keep it simple. His favorite camp meal is tofu bratwurst roasted on a stick over an open fire. As a side dish, he’ll chop potatoes and vegetables, put them in aluminum foil, and cook them directly in the fire. “I like to make the least complicated, least amount of dishes, least amount of cleanup possible,” he says. “If I can, cook it over the fire on a stick, eat it, and maximize hangout time, that’s my favorite meal.”

Because open flames are often prohibited outside of designated areas, you’ll also need a stove, a way to light it, and a lightweight pot that can balance on top. Special backpacking food comes dehydrated in a pouch. You can pour boiling water directly into the pouch to cook and then eat directly out of it, which means your pot remains clean, and you don’t even need a bowl.

Most important: You need some way to seal your food and keep it out of reach of bears. Never, ever keep your food in your tent. Some parks require you to use a bear canister, which can be heavy and take up space. In places that don’t require canisters, you can bring rope and a dry bag to hang your food from a branch away from your tent.

Backpacks are a very personal choice. There are many factors to consider: the length of your torso, the strength of your legs versus your shoulders versus your core, the way you like to organize your belongings, the length of your trips, and the amount of things you have to take.

The common wisdom is that people should carry no more than 20 percent of their body weight in their packs. “Often, first-timers bring too much, and then it’s not as fun because they’ve carried a really heavy backpack,” Appleton says. You’ll need to get a realistic idea of how much you can carry and how much you need to carry before you determine the size of your pack, she adds. “They measure backpacks by how many liters of space you can fill. So, you might get some of your other gear first, lay it out, and see, ‘How much room do I need?’”

Modern backpacks are really good at redistributing weight away from your back and shoulders to your hips, making it much more comfortable to carry your load for hours of trekking. Try on some packs to see what feels comfortable to you. That could mean buying and returning a backpack, borrowing from a friend with a similar build, or just trying them out in a store before you buy one.

You should also take a few training hikes with your bag packed or with weights in it to get used to that weight and identify any problems with your pack before you’re stuck with it on a multiday trip.

For car camping or backpacking with a base camp, you may also want a day pack. The bare minimum you need for that is a place to keep your water, comfortable straps (chest and waist straps will help with weight distribution), and a secure closure so you won’t lose your things.

Whether you’re car camping or backpacking, you’ll be most comfortable when you bring the right clothing for the weather, considering you’ll be outside all day and night. Layers are your friends. So is synthetic material that can dry quickly.

You don’t necessarily need to go out and buy all new clothing for your expedition, though. The kind of moisture-wicking clothing you use for workouts should do fine for your shirt and pants. What you do need to consider is how you’ll protect yourself from rain, sun, and insects. And if you’re backpacking, you also need to decide 1) how many days in a row can you wear each item of clothing, and 2) how small can it pack down into your backpack.

We do have a more comprehensive list of hiking clothing and gear for beginners, but here are some of my favorites.

Wherever you camp, you will most likely be farther from medical care than you normally are. That’s why your first focus in this category should be preventing injury and illness. If you’re going on long hikes, make sure you’re in shape for it (and check with your doctor if you have doubts). Protect yourself from the sun, insect bites, and poisonous plants with as much clothing as you can tolerate before turning to sprays and lotions that wear off.

Prevent injury by staying on designated paths when hiking, making sure you’re wearing stable shoes with grip, using hiking poles on steep hills, and using flashlights in the evening and night. Keep bears away from your camp by following the food storage advice above. Make sure you have all your necessary medication as well as some over-the-counter pain relievers. (I usually have at least four epinephrine injectors with me because I’m deathly allergic to wasps.) Prevent illness by having hand sanitizer and wipes to clean your hands before meals.

Speaking of hygiene: If you won’t be near an outhouse, bring a lightweight plastic gardening trowel to bury your waste. I also like to use face wipes and larger body wipes to feel just a little fresher without showers or streams nearby.

Before you head out on your trip, make sure someone else who isn’t with you knows when and where you’re going, and when you’ll be back.

Cell service is widespread enough that we’ve grown to assume we’ll be able to use our phones even in the most remote wilderness. That’s not necessarily true. Backpackers: Bring a good old paper map with you just in case. If you pay for All Trails, the hiking app, you can download your map for use when cell service drops, but remember that won’t help much if your battery is also drained. Speaking of batteries, take along a backup power bank for emergency use.

Most newer phones can be switched to emergency satellite mode, so beginning backpackers don’t need to get fancy satellite communicators or beacons. Later, if you decide to go way off the beaten path, you can look into this investment. They cost between $150 and $500, and some require a subscription.

An emergency whistle is a good old-fashioned form of communication I won’t hike without.

You’re in this for the fun, right? And there’s plenty to be had without bringing a single extra form of entertainment. Some campgrounds are made for socializing; they’ll have equipment like volleyball nets already set up for you. Simply sitting by the fire and talking to friends or reflecting quietly is often all you want, especially if you’ve been hiking or boating all day. Still, it’s nice to have some backup. 

Bring whatever form of unplugged entertainment suits you. Maybe that’s a deck of cards, or maybe it’s a musical instrument. The first time I ever went camping as a kid, the dad of another family we were with brought his guitar to accompany another dad’s scary (but not too scary) stories, and that was one of the best nights of my life. 

“I bring a tiny journal when I’m backpacking and one of those little pens that can write in space, so it doesn’t matter if it gets wet or upside down,” Appleton says.

When Appleton used to work at REI, some people would listen to her describe all the features they needed in a backpack and then say, “But I want my backpack to be purple.” Which is absolutely fine. This is a hobby, after all. That said, here are the criteria to consider:

• Your Type of Camping If you’ll be doing car camping, you can choose comfort and budget over size and weight. But if you’ll be doing both car camping and backpacking, buy the backpacking gear.
• How Often You’ll Go Don’t spend all your money on gear you’ll use only once every five years. Look into renting instead.
• Your Budget To spend less money, use what’s in your home, find used equipment, and borrow what you can. “On my first backpacking trip, I didn’t have a backpack; I had a sleeping bag, and they taught us at campfire camp that you could layer your clothes in your sleeping bag, and you could roll it lengthwise,” Laizer recalls. But if you have the cash, buying cool camping gear is really rewarding, and the good stuff can last for decades.
• Your Desired Comfort Level Some people want to camp specifically to “rough it.” For any aspect of camping that you want to be more comfortable, there’s probably a piece of gear to make it so — or there’s always an RV or glamp site.

Before you step foot in a campground or park, Laizer says, “You need to understand how to practice Leave No Trace principles, so that when you go into these places, you can use them responsibly and care for them as they are caring for you.”