Cabin and hut camping
A cabin, a hut or a camping pod is camping with the sleeping problem solved. There are beds, a hob and usually a plug, so the list drops shelter, sleep and most of the kitchen — and what is left is the outdoor half plus whatever the booking does not include.
Anyone who wants the outdoors without a tent, and a good first step into camping.
The full camping gear list
The packing planner already sizes 23 of these for your trip — the shelter and the cooking kit are yours to bring.
Sleeping
- An inflatable one, or a dry bag stuffed with tomorrow's fleece — either beats a rolled jacket.The planner packs this
- Campsites are louder and lighter than anyone expects, and dawn arrives through nylon.The planner packs this
Kitchen and water
- One spork each. Bring a long-handled one if you are eating out of freeze-dried pouches.The planner packs this
- A litre each, minimum. Wide-mouth bottles are the ones you can actually clean.The planner packs this
- 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
- 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
- Something to put on when the boots come off. Wet boots dry overnight; wet feet do not.
- There is no shade on most pitches, and you are outdoors from dawn to dusk.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
- 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.
Hygiene
- Decanted into small bottles. Full-size bottles are most of what makes a wash bag heavy.The planner packs this
- 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.
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
- A van or cabin fire moves in seconds, and the exit is behind the hob.
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.
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
- Check whether bedding is included before you pack any. Half of cabins provide it and half expect you to bring it, and the booking page usually says.
- Bring a towel and indoor shoes. Cabins are booked like accommodation and equipped like a hut.
- You still want a head torch. Cabins are lit, the paths between them are not.
- “Camping pod” covers everything from an insulated cabin with a heater to a wooden tent with a mattress. Read what the pitch actually includes.
- Many huts have no fridge and no running hot water, which is not obvious from the photos.
For the packing list, only halfway: shelter and bedding are solved, but cooking, lighting and everything outdoors are still yours. That is why this page seeds the planner as self-catering accommodation rather than as a campsite.
A towel, and bedding when it is not included. Both are things a hotel provides and a hut does not.
The gear above is yours to bring. The clothes, the toiletries and the tech are what the planner is for — it sizes them for the length of the trip, the weather and how many of you are going.
The gear above is yours to bring. The clothes, the toiletries and the tech are what the planner is for — it sizes them for the length of the trip, the weather and how many of you are going.