I see many new campers going to their nearest camping store and spending up big. They buy the biggest tents, luxury beds and enough cooking gear for a dinner party for eight. Then they need a trailer to cart all the gear around. They then progress to a caravan — but make it a tandem wheel caravan. I call this gear camping porn: It’s camping gear you lust after; but if you had the … more »

Following is my camping gear checklist. My gear is based around camping at unpowered sites in campgrounds. For some minimalist campers (such as hikers), this list is way too much. I am camping with young kids and my wife, so need to have a reasonable level of comfort. On the other hand, many people camp with a lot more than this and may consider my list to be just the basic essentials. For … more »