Camping gear checklist
Everything you actually need to take camping
A complete, printable camping gear checklist — shelter, sleep, kitchen, clothing, light, hygiene, safety, tools and documents. Filter it by the kind of camping you are doing, tick it off, and take it with you.
The checklist
The full camping gear list
Every item, grouped the way you pack. Tap any row for the reason it is on the list.
The packing planner already sizes 32 of these for your trip — the shelter and the cooking kit are yours to bring.
Shelter
- Pitch it once at home before you go — a tent you have never put up is not a tent you can put up in the rain.
- Count them against the tent's own list. Bring six spares — pegs bend in stony ground and vanish in long grass.
- Goes under the tent, not inside it. Trim it smaller than the floor or rain runs along it and pools beneath you.
- A pole splint, a few metres of tape and a spare peg. A snapped pole ends a trip; a splint turns it into an anecdote.
- Only worth it when the car carries it. Backpacking, a flat rock does the same job for nothing.
- Cooking, sheltering and drying all happen under it. The single most useful thing to add once the tent is up.
- Turns an exposed pitch into a usable one. Bulky, so it belongs in a boot rather than on a back.
- Pure comfort, and the first thing to cut. But two nights on a damp log will change your mind about it.
Sleeping
- Match the comfort rating to the coldest night, not the average one. Comfort and limit ratings are different numbers.The planner packs this
- It is insulation before it is padding. The ground pulls more heat out of you overnight than the air does.The planner packs this
- An inflatable one, or a dry bag stuffed with tomorrow's fleece — either beats a rolled jacket.The planner packs this
- Adds a few degrees, and it is the part you can actually wash mid-trip.
- Comfortable and cold: raised off the ground with no insulation under you. Put a mat on top.
- Over the bag, not inside it — compressing the down is what makes you cold.
- Campsites are louder and lighter than anyone expects, and dawn arrives through nylon.The planner packs this
- Fill it from the stove before bed. A warm bag is one you get into, not one you brace for.
Kitchen and water
- Check the fuel type is sold where you are going before you rely on it.
- Never goes on a plane — not in the cabin, not in the hold. Buy it after you land.
- Both, in separate places. A lighter fails in the wet and matches fail in the wind.
- One pot per two people is plenty. Nesting sets pack smaller than the sum of their parts.The planner packs this
- One spork each. Bring a long-handled one if you are eating out of freeze-dried pouches.The planner packs this
- An insulated mug earns its weight: it is also your bowl, and it keeps coffee hot in wind.
- Sponge, a small bottle of soap and a drying cloth. Wash away from the water, not in it.
- A litre each, minimum. Wide-mouth bottles are the ones you can actually clean.The planner packs this
- Ten litres saves a dozen walks to the tap. Fill it on arrival, before dark.
- Not optional where there is no tap. Tablets are lighter; a filter tastes better.
- Frozen water bottles work as ice packs and become drinking water as they thaw.
- Sealed and off the ground. Anything that smells is an invitation, from ants upwards.
- Two more than you think. They double as dry bags, wet-kit bags and an emergency groundsheet.
- The reason to get out of the bag on a cold morning. Not essential, entirely worth it.
- Dries dishes, lifts hot pots and wipes the table. One cloth doing three jobs.
Clothing
- Merino or synthetic, never cotton. Cotton holds sweat against you and stops insulating when it does.The planner packs this
- Camping evenings are colder than the forecast, because you stop moving at six.The planner packs this
- Taped seams and a hood. Water-resistant is not waterproof once it has rained for an hour.The planner packs this
- The half everyone forgets. Wet legs end a day faster than a wet jacket.The planner packs this
- Broken in before the trip. A campsite is mud and gravel even when the walk is short.The planner packs this
- Something to put on when the boots come off. Wet boots dry overnight; wet feet do not.
- A festival field and a family site both turn to mud on day two. Nothing else copes.
- Sleep in the hat. Most of a cold night is your head, above the sleeping bag.The planner packs this
- There is no shade on most pitches, and you are outdoors from dawn to dusk.The planner packs this
- Doubles as the thing you wash in when the shower block has a queue.The planner packs this
- One more pair of socks than days. Dry socks are the cheapest morale there is.The planner packs this
- A cotton towel never dries in a tent, and by day three it is the wettest thing you own.The planner packs this
Light and power
- One each, not one shared. Both hands free is the entire point of wearing it.The planner packs this
- Headlamps point away from you; a lantern is what makes the tent a room after dark.
- Cold halves battery life, so a winter night eats what a summer one would not.
- Check the airline's cabin rules before you fly with it — it can never go in the hold.The planner packs this
- One more than devices. Cables are what actually gets lost, not chargers.The planner packs this
- Twenty-five metres, and check whether the site's hookup needs a blue camping plug.
- Only earns its weight past two nights off-grid, and only in real sun.
Hygiene
- Decanted into small bottles. Full-size bottles are most of what makes a wash bag heavy.The planner packs this
- Your own roll, in a bag that keeps it dry. Site blocks run out on Saturday night.
- Wild camping without one is not wild camping, it is littering. Bury it 15–20 cm deep, well away from water.
- Between the tap and the food there is often nowhere to wash. This is that gap.The planner packs this
- A wash when there is no shower. Pack them out — none of them are flushable, whatever the box says.
- Still not soap for a stream. Carry the water 60 m away and pour the greywater on soil.
- Shared shower blocks are shared shower blocks. Two euros, no regrets.
Safety and first aid
- Plasters, antiseptic, painkillers, tweezers, tape. Check the dates before every trip, not after.The planner packs this
- In its labelled box, plus a photo of the prescription. Two days more than the trip.The planner packs this
- Check what bites where you are going: midges, mosquitoes and ticks want different things.The planner packs this
- You are outdoors all day, including the overcast ones. Reapply after swimming and after sweating.The planner packs this
- Apply at the first hot spot, not the first blister. That is the whole trick.The planner packs this
- Carries far further than a shout and costs nothing to carry. Six blasts is the distress signal.
- 200 g that turns a bad night from dangerous into merely miserable.
- Paper, and know how to use it. A phone is a torch, a camera and a map until the battery goes.
- A van or cabin fire moves in seconds, and the exit is behind the hob.
- A sealed van with any burner in it needs one. There is no way to notice CO without it.
Tools and repairs
- Cabin baggage will not take the blade — it goes in the hold or it gets confiscated.The planner packs this
- Wrap a metre around a water bottle rather than carrying the roll.
- A washing line, a spare guyline and a tarp ridge, in five metres.
- Sleeping bag in one, tomorrow's clothes in another. Wet is survivable; wet bedding is not.
- Plus the pump and the wheel tools. A flat somewhere remote is the trip, not an incident.
- A van that is not level has a fridge that does not work and a bed you roll out of.
Documents and money
- Most sites ask for it at check-in, and a photo on your phone is not always accepted.The planner packs this
- Downloaded, not streamed. Campsite reception is exactly where the signal disappears.The planner packs this
- Check it covers the activity — plenty of policies exclude anything they call mountaineering.The planner packs this
- Small notes and coins: showers, laundry and barriers are often coin-operated and offline.The planner packs this
- Wild camping is illegal without permission in most of Europe. Check who owns the land before you pitch.
Which kind of camping?
Twelve ways to camp, and what each one changes
The gear list turns on a handful of facts: what you sleep under, who carries the weight, whether there is power, whether there are toilets and showers, and how you cook. Pick the row that matches your trip.
Kind of camping
Shelter
Who carries it
Power
Toilets & showers
Cooking
Cost
Kind of campingCar camping
ShelterTent
Who carries itThe vehicle carries it
PowerSometimes
Toilets & showersYes
CookingYour own stove
CostInexpensive
Kind of campingTent camping
ShelterTent
Who carries itA short carry
PowerSometimes
Toilets & showersYes
CookingYour own stove
CostCheapest
Kind of campingFamily camping
ShelterTent
Who carries itThe vehicle carries it
PowerHookup
Toilets & showersYes
CookingYour own stove
CostMid-range
Kind of campingCamping for the first time
ShelterTent
Who carries itA short carry
PowerSometimes
Toilets & showersYes
CookingSite facilities
CostInexpensive
Kind of campingWeekend camping
ShelterTent
Who carries itThe vehicle carries it
PowerNone
Toilets & showersYes
CookingYour own stove
CostCheapest
Kind of campingFestival camping
ShelterTent
Who carries itA short carry
PowerNone
Toilets & showersSometimes
CookingSite facilities
CostInexpensive
Kind of campingBeach camping
ShelterTent
Who carries itA short carry
PowerNone
Toilets & showersSometimes
CookingYour own stove
CostCheapest
Kind of campingWild camping
ShelterTent
Who carries itYou carry it
PowerNone
Toilets & showersNone
CookingYour own stove
CostCheapest
Kind of campingWinter camping
ShelterTent
Who carries itYou carry it
PowerNone
Toilets & showersSometimes
CookingYour own stove
CostMid-range
Kind of campingMotorcycle camping
ShelterTent
Who carries itYou carry it
PowerNone
Toilets & showersYes
CookingYour own stove
CostInexpensive
Kind of campingMotorhome and campervan
ShelterVehicle
Who carries itThe vehicle carries it
PowerHookup
Toilets & showersYes
CookingVan galley
CostMost expensive
Kind of campingCabin and hut camping
ShelterCabin
Who carries itThe vehicle carries it
PowerHookup
Toilets & showersYes
CookingProvided
CostMid-range
Cost is relative to the others, not a price — a campsite pitch and a motorhome pitch are different orders of expense before you add fuel.
By kind of camping
Pick your kind of camping
Each one filters the list above down to what that trip actually needs — and seeds the planner with the answers it already knows.
Car campingThe boot is your kit listTent campingThe default, done properlyFamily campingCamping with kids, and with a babyCamping for the first timeA beginner's list that admits what you don't own yetWeekend campingTwo nights, and nothing you won't useFestival campingA field, a tent and eighty thousand neighboursBeach campingSand, salt and no fresh waterWild campingNo site, no tap, no one comingWinter campingCold is a gear problem before it is a willpower oneMotorcycle campingPanniers are a backpack that happens to have an engineMotorhome and campervanA kitchen and a bed that driveCabin and hut campingBeds, a roof and a door that locks
Also in this section
Printable camping checklistTick boxes, a style filter and a print button. Print it or save it as a PDF in any browser.Open the printable checklistCamping food checklistWhat actually keeps without a fridge, and how to plan meals around one pot.See the food listCamping first aid kitWhat belongs in a camping first aid kit, and what to check before every trip.See the first aid list
Related
Camping packing listGenerate a personalised plan for a camping trip instead of reading a list.Camping as accommodationWhat a campsite actually gives you, next to a hostel, an apartment or a hotel.Washing clothes on the roadCampsite laundry is a maybe, so hand washing is the honest answer.The camping gear packWhat the planner puts in the camping pack, and what it weighs.
Pack for the trip
Build the rest of the list
Tell the planner where you are going and for how long, and it will size the clothes, toiletries and tech around the gear on this page.