Camping Beginner Basics!
Want to know what's best for beginner gear? Where should you skimp and what is worth the extra spend? Here is the full list of my beginner camping gear and what I’ve upgraded to now.
Tent
You can’t camp without a tent! I started with this exact 3 person tent from decathlon for £39.99, and have been using it for yeeeaaars. It was ideal for my first few summit camps and I still use it when car camping. This decathlon tent is what we used to wild camp along the West Highland Way back in 2023! Ultra light backpacking tents are expensive and if you don't mind the bulk of this one it’s an ideal all rounder starter tent to see if you even like camping at the top of hills before you go spending all the money.
If you know you want to do thru-hikes and summit camps it might be worth investing in a lighter tent. When summit camping or thru hiking these days we use the Durston X-Mid 2 Solid. It uses your trekking poles at the tent poles saving you the weight!
Sleeping mat
Absolute bare minimum is an insulated fold mat, this is what we have for Milo when we’re camping with him! The insulated part keeps the cold ground from SOOKING your heat away.
I’m a side sleeper so I need a comfy blow up mattress. This mattress from Decathlon did me well for years (but in yellow of course). I’ve only recently upgraded after getting a small hole in it to this https://tidd.ly/4gfWorB £119.99, a bit more robust and a bit comfier, but the main difference is the way it inflates. The way you inflate it is with a bag that attaches to the “in-hole” and you fill the bag with air before pushing it through into the mattress, this reduces moisture - as cheaper mattresses just require you to blow into them to inflate. The moisture can cause mold over time but this design considers longevity!
My future mat may be this therm-a-rest Neoloft mattress! I currently don't care that much about weight or bulk if it means a much comfier nights sleep, so I am currently looking into ways to make my set up as comfy as possible.
Stove & Kettle
When I first started camping I used this stove (I still do to this day!) it screws right into a gas canister. I had a frying pan with ‘proper’ meals like noodles, frying things etc but these days I have the same set up except I bring my beloved kettle (I love this thing so so much, single handedly my favourite camping purchase). This titanium kettle is so light and is ideal for hiking and camping.
The meals I now eat camping are dehydrated meals, I’ll link some of my favorites below. With these camping meals it’s good to have a long titanium spoon too, to reach and stir all the way down to the bottom, plus it’s super slight!
And of course Coffee - I’ve made this video all about the laziest ways to make coffee while camping. https://youtu.be/sB0sVqneDSQ
My Favourite Camping Meals:
Raspberry Crumble dessert
Mac and Cheese
Beef & Potato Stew
Sleeping bag
Now this is where I recommend you spend money, the rest you can get cheap stuff for now and upgrade it in the future. But spending more on a down sleeping bag now meads your sleeping bag packs smaller (which is ideal if you’ve got a bulkier tent) and keeps you warmer - meaning you’ll ENJOY camping more.
I have this down sleeping bag rated to around 0º. To this day I regret not getting this one rated to -5º Or even this one -12º. However, all is not lost, I am getting a down duvet to pair with my sleeping bag! To help keep me extra cosy in the winter and if it’s really hot then I’ll just use the duvet!
I also highly recommend a down jacket. This is the one I use, yellow ofcourse. Again keep yourself as warm as possible and you will enjoy camping more, I’ve learned this the hard way.
Hiking Poles
All you need is adjustable hiking poles and for this I believe you don’t need anything fancy! The hiking poles I use most often are from Aldi!! I use different ones for running but for starting out hiking get any ADJUSTABLE poles you fancy at any price, as long as they don’t feel too flimsy. If in the future you want to spend more black diamond ones are great, they are what quite a few of my very outdoorsy friends use, but I still have my aldi ones on the regular!
All the products I’ve linked I have bought with my own money, use on the regular and would definitely recommend them. The links are affiliate links - meaning if you buy any of the linked things, I get a little commission! At no extra cost to you, and if you do use the links I’ve provided it helps me grow my little business even more so thank you.
Happy camping!!
