The Best Camping Gear for Outdoor Adventures, Tested & Reviewed

The best tent for you depends a lot on what kind of camping you intend to do, and how many people you plan to house in a single pitched enclosure. The NorthFace Wawona 6 is an excellent choice for a large percentage of campers, especially those who have lots of gear and perhaps a child or two in tow. With 85 square feet and a height of six feet, four inches, this tent is huge, with ample room to stand up inside (unless you’re a family of giants).

The vestibule provides tons of space to store all your hiking, swimming, and playing gear: It’s almost like having a garage with you while in the great outdoors. The first time you pitch this tent, it may take a while to figure out the system (especially the detached fly), but I’ve definitely experienced more difficult ones. Once up, it’s sturdy and weather resistant. And, it’s very reasonably priced.

Price: $500.00

Relaxing in a hammock slung between two trees, far away from civilization, is one of the best kinds of relaxing there is. The ENO Double Nest has enough room for you and your favorite other being (human or canine) and provides a secure, cocoon-like rest or sleep spot.

It includes carabiners and detailed, yet concise instructions for optimal angle of the suspension system in a convenient stuff sack.

Price: $74.95

I own several Therm-a-rest mattresses, and the MondoKing 3D is the one I take on a camping trip where I’m not worried about weight and space (meaning not backpacking). This is a self-inflating mattress with a soft foam core, with 4.25 inches of loft. If you’re someone who moves around a lot while sleeping, this camp mattress is for you—it’s just as comfortable as sleeping on the couch in your living room (some may say even more comfortable).

Plus, its high R-value (how well your mattress resists heat loss) traps your body heat, keeping you warm through cold nights.

Price: $239.95

Mummy sleeping bags are shaped like a person: Wider at the top to accommodate shoulders and narrow below the hips for a closer fit around your lower legs and feet. Perfect for summer or spring camping adventures, the Rab Neutrino 200 is available with a zipper on the left or right side. There’s a drawcord for cinching the hood around your face and a storage pocket for your phone.

Price: $350-375

The Pinnacle Camper set includes 2- and 3-liter pots with strainer lids, a 9-inch fry pan, four 14 ounce mugs with insulated sleeves, four 14 ounce bowls, four 7.5-inch plates, four sip it tops, a folding gripper/handle, and a storage bag that doubles as a sink. Basically, everything you need to serve up a delicious meal for up to four people. The Teflon coating also makes for easy clean up afterwards.

Price: $159.99

The Biolite Camp Stove is one of our most favorite pieces of camping gear, as it’s not only a stove, but it also charges your devices. The onboard 3,200 mAh battery stores power as it burns for charging on demand via the USB out port.

The kit comes with a grill grate with the capacity for four burgers, a KettlePot, and Coffee Press accessories, as well as a flex light so you can see what you’re cooking. The Camp Stove burns wood scraps and sticks, grass, and pellets. Leave the camp fuel at home and generate electricity through fire.

Price: $249.95

A good folding table is an extremely useful bit of camping gear if you're parked in one spot for a few days, since it makes food preparation and serving much easier, and eliminates the need to stake out a picnic table (or use half of said picnic table for cooking).

This folding table from Lifetime is easy to set up, though adjusting the height is much more efficient (and will elicit much less swearing) with two people.

Price: $44.98

No more perching on a log or balancing your plate on your lap while sitting on one of those backless camp stools! The King Kong camp chair from ALPS Mountaineering offers spacious comfort (with armrests), a cup/bottle holder, and side storage pockets. Once you sink into one, you won’t want to get back up again.

Price: $79.99

Yeti is well known among folks who camp as makers of the best camping coolers out there. They’re extremely durable (even after tumbling down the side of a mountain or serving as a step stool or pedestal) and offer excellent insulation, keeping your drinks cold and your food fresh for up to a week before having to replenish the ice.

Yes, it’s expensive, but you’ll never need to buy another cooler. And, it's currently available in a limited edition rescue red color so you can spot it—and your campsite—from a mile away.

Price: $375.00

There really isn’t anything we don’t like about the Petzl Actik headlamp, but if we have to say something, it’s that it's compact enough that it can be difficult to locate in the dark, or if it's swimming around loose in your pack.

It has two power sources, the rechargeable battery and 2 AAA batteries, to power the variety of light modes, including white max, standard, eco, red near, and strobe. We recommend the red for nighttime trips to the bathroom so as to not disturb your sleeping companions, or the wildlife lurking in the bushes.

Price: $48.96

The size of a delicious ice cream sandwich, these little recharging solar lights from Biolite have an integrated solar panel that keeps them illuminating your nighttime campsite (a full charge gives you 50 hours of runtime). Equipped with a kickstand and a clip, you can either hang them or set them on a flat-ish surface.

They also have three different colored modes that can be set to flash for a ‘party mode’, allowing you to up your outdoor dance game.

Price: $69.80

This is another piece of outdoor gear where it’s tough to say anything bad about. Leatherman multi tools have been around for a long time, so they know what they’re doing when they make these. This model has been upgraded with replaceable wire and hard-wire cutters and includes needle pliers, regular pliers, an electrical crimper, a wire stripper, a knife, a serrated knife, a saw, spring-action scissors, a ruler, can and bottle openers, and two files (for wood and metal).

We recommend etching your name on yours so you can prove ownership when someone else tries to claim it as their own.

Price: $119.95