Camping Kit
Editors’ Picks
Our favorite gear for posting up and kicking back in the frontcountry.
Car camping is one of our favorite pastimes. It’s relatively accessible, has a friendly learning curve, and serves as a gateway to a whole world of other outdoor activities. But while it doesn’t possess the same stringent equipment needs that backpacking does, camping is even more enjoyable when you bring the best gear for the job. We’ve spent hundreds of hours testing dozens of products to determine what the gear is, and here are the results. These standout products impressed us with their build quality, comfort, thoughtful features, durability, and the shared quality of making any campsite feel more like home. Read on to find out what our editors like to take on every woodsy escape, and happy camping.
The North Face Wawona 6 ($585)
REI Co-op Siesta Hooded 20 ($149)
Therm-a-Rest MondoKing 3D ($260)
Yeti Trailhead ($300)
Camp Chef Everest 2X ($230)
GSI Outdoors Pinnacle Ceramic Cookware Set ($225)
Yeti Roadie 48 Wheeled ($425)
Zempire Kitpac Pro Large ($180)
BioLite AlpenGlow 500 ($80)
Black Diamond Spot 400-R ($80)
Dometic Go Hydration Water Jug - 2.9 Gal. ($70)
The Wawona 6 brings top-notch livability and durability to any campsite. This tent features a spacious interior and a porch-like front vestibule that’s a perfect hangout spot, all built with premium materials that will withstand years of group use.
Space & Livability
Storage
Weather Protection
Durability & Quality
Ease of Use
Sustainability
Affordability is usually what impresses us most about REI-branded products, but the Siesta breaks that trend. This sleeping bag is warm, spacious, and packed with user-friendly features—oh, and still has that whole affordability thing going for it, too.
Warmth
Comfort
Durability & Quality
Features
Weight & Packed Size
Sustainability
Therm-a-Rest is an industry leader in the backpacking pad space, and it brings the same premium mindset to the car camping world with the MondoKing 3D. This is the thickest, most plush mat we’ve tested, and it’s also impressively durable and easy to use.
Comfort
Warmth
Durability
Ease of Use
Weight & Packability
Sustainability
Remember: Camping should be relaxing, and the Trailhead is one of the best tools for achieving a state of bliss. It’s burly, stable on most surfaces, and, most importantly, extremely comfortable to sit in for long periods.
Comfort
Stability
Durability
Ease of Use
Portability
Sustainability
Power is the Everest 2X’s main calling card, but this stove’s precise flame control, wind protection, and durability shouldn’t be scoffed at, either. It may not have all the bells and whistles of more complicated models, but its dependability makes it the one to buy.
Power
Temperature Control
Wind Protection
Build Quality & Durability
Ease of Use
Sustainability
The 23-piece Pinnacle is a comprehensive cook set that makes whipping up delicious camp feasts a breeze. While you’ll still need to bring basic kitchen tools and silverware, the cooking and dining experience it provides is hard to beat.
Yeti is by far the most recognizable name in the cooler game, and the Roadie 48 helps illustrate why. Its stellar combination of strength, portability, and cooling power justifies making the steep investment.
The Kitpac Pro brings a touch of at-home luxury to the frontcountry. With its premium bamboo tabletop, several quality-of-life features, and a smaller-than-expected packed size, it’s a well-rounded centerpiece for your camp kitchen.
Gone are the one-note, old-school lanterns of yesteryear. The AlpenGlow provides users with a wide range of brightness and color options, so you can find the perfect setting and mood for every after-dark activity.
The Spot 400-R is a fantastic all-around headlamp. It’s durable enough to handle virtually all conditions, offers multiple bulb colors and beam types, and delivers a brightness level that lights up everything around you.
You may not have thought the simple water jug needed refining, but the Go Hydration proves that wrong. This jug is easy to use, simple to clean, and compatible with other gear, like a camp sink, so you can easily up your hydration game.
How We Built the Editors’ Picks Camping Kit
Unlike some other outdoor pursuits that lean into Type II Fun, car camping is all about leisure and relaxation. (Well, in camp at least. Feel free to go on all of the single-day epics you want.) You don’t have to count ounces, worry about packed size, or efficiently plan your food day by day. Because of the lack of restrictions, we kept two key factors in mind when assembling this kit: comfort and quality. Whether you’re coming back from a full day of crushing miles in the mountains or spent the afternoon napping by the lake, your campsite should be a place to unwind and enjoy a few creature comforts. Yes, much of the gear here is an investment, but it’ll make your time outdoors that much more enjoyable—that’s true value. After all, since you’re not limited to what you can carry on your back, why not lean into a little luxury?
Unless you plan on crashing in your car or are living out of your van, your tent, sleeping bag, and sleeping pad form the all-important foundation of your camping setup. And while part of the fun of camping is “roughing it,” the gear we’ve chosen for your sleep setup best replicates the comfort and coziness you’d expect from a night at home.
Livability in tents most often comes down to the amount of space they offer—nobody wants to keep bumping into their tentmates while they’re changing or getting up in the middle of the night. Unsurprisingly, then, roominess (both inside and out) is one of the main draws for our shelter of choice, The North Face Wawona 6. It has one of the most generous floor areas (86.1 sq. ft.) and peak heights (76 in.) of any camping tent we’ve tested, and it also boasts burly construction that can handle a tantrum from Mother Nature.
What truly sets this tent apart, however, is its massive front vestibule. It’s a great hangout spot if you want to get out of the sun, and we fit chairs, tables, duffel bags, backpacks, and wet gear inside it—heck, it’s even large enough to hold a sleeping pad and bag if someone in your group wants to commune a little closer to nature. Other spacious tents worth considering are the REI Co-op Wonderland 6 and the Nemo Aurora Highrise 6P, which both offer user-friendly sleeping arrangements but lack the Wawona’s appealing front porch.
Sleeping pad comfort is also paramount, and the best camping mats might make your body forget that you’re bedding down on the ground, not at home. We think that having a pad that’s at least 4 inches thick is the bare minimum, and we definitely think it’s worth it to invest in one that has at least a partial foam build, which will feel a lot more supportive than the ultralight backpacking air pads you might be used to. (Remember, there’s no weight penalty in car camping.)
With those parameters in mind, picking the self-inflating Therm-A-Rest MondoKing 3D was a straightforward decision. Its 4.25-inch thickness bests other category standouts such as the Exped MegaMat (4 in.), and its foam evenly distributes a sleeper’s weight while mitigating any rocks or sticks that might lie beneath. The 7.0 R-value will keep you warm and cozy even in the winter, and overall, its build is among the most comfortable we’ve used. We’re convinced it’s capable of converting outdoor-sleeping skeptics into full-blown believers. The MegaMat and the Hest Foamy (which is an all-foam pad that doesn’t require inflating) are also great picks for maximizing your on-the-ground luxury.
Rounding out this section is the REI Co-op Siesta Hooded 20 sleeping bag, which came as a pleasant surprise. As with pads, there's no reason to straightjacket yourself in a slim, mummy-shaped backpacking sleeping bag when packability isn’t an issue, and so we went with this bag and its spacious rectangular design. Plus, while you’ll find plenty of REI gear throughout our various budget kits, the Siesta rose above the competition in this category with a standout trifecta of warmth, comfort, and smart design.
The Siesta borrows features we love from other bags—a large draft collar, off-side zipper, and cinchable hood that’s big enough to fit your pillow from home, to name a few—and packages them in a roomy silhouette that kept us warm even when temps dropped below freezing. You get all of that for a price that helps to offset the rest of this kit’s expensive picks, which is a major bonus. Besides the Siesta, the Nemo Tempo 20 also offers a high dose of comfort (albeit in a slightly different hourglass shape), as does the versatile Exped MegaSleep Uno.
Much of the fun of camping comes from cooking a hearty meal outdoors. If you’re the resident camp culinary wizard, or just looking to flex your culinary skills in a kitchen under the trees, you’ll want the best equipment possible to impress your friends and whip up something delicious.
When it comes to camp stoves, there are plenty of quality options out there. The Zempire 2-Burner DLX Grill features two burners plus a bottom grill for extra cooking versatility, while the Jetboil Genesis Basecamp System is ultra-compact and can daisy-chain with other compatible products for a larger cooking setup. Still, when the cheese dust settled, the Camp Chef Everest 2X came out on top. It doesn’t have the most bells and whistles, but its two 20,000 BTU burners—each with four full knob rotations—offer best-in-class power and precision. Paired with burly wind shields that latch firmly into place, you’ll be cooking up impressive meals no matter the heat requirements or weather conditions.
Unlike with backpacking, you can technically bring your everyday cookware to use at camp if you want. (We have a friend who’ll haul out her 16-qt. pot when making soup for a big group of hungry campers.) But to keep things simple and organized, we prefer to separate our home kitchen from our camp kitchen when possible. The 23-piece GSI Outdoors Pinnacle set is no doubt pricey at $225, but it stands out with hard-anodized aluminum and a ceramic coating for a more premium cooking experience. If you’re after something similar but a little easier on the wallet (if not quite as durable), check out GSI’s $170 Bugaboo Cookset.
You also don’t need to bring a camp table if you mostly stay in established sites, as they typically provide a picnic table to set up on. But for those who like to venture a little further off the beaten path into dispersed sites, having a large, reliable surface is incredibly handy. Sure, your trunk or truck bed can serve as a platform to cook your meals, but we’ve found that to be a struggle at times, especially since it’s usually filled with gear and other supplies. With its premium bamboo tabletop, individually adjustable legs, and 220-pound weight capacity, the Zempire Kitpac Pro is our camp table of choice. Its handsome design lends a touch of class to the proceedings (throw up some string lights to increase the ambience even more), but it’s packable enough that stowing it in your car or closet isn’t a total pain.
If you’re planning to cook dishes beyond ramen noodles or dehydrated meals—and you should—you’ll need a cooler to keep your ingredients fresh. Yeti has long been a tried-and-true name in this space, and its Yeti Roadie 48 Wheeled Cooler combines the cooling power and bombproof construction we love from the Tundra with several thoughtful quality-of-life features. Its telescoping handle and burly wheels let you haul it around like a suitcase, and the included basket keeps food you want dry separated from the ice. If you’re after something a little larger, the Roadie also comes in a 60-quart version.
For water storage, the Dometic Go Hydration Water Jug is hard to beat, with easy-to-carry handles, a large opening for cleaning, and the ability to transform into a sink when paired with Dometic’s Hydration Water Faucet. We’ll admit that its $70 price tag is a bit steep (though cost isn’t as big a factor in our Editors’ Picks Kit), so if you want something more affordable, consider the $50 Scepter Water Container, which is less refined but still gets the job done. Regardless, any purpose-built water container is more sustainable than buying less durable, single-use water jugs from the store.
Camp lighting might seem like a simple category, but it’s possible to inject some fun in here. These days, top contenders come with multiple colors and modes, so you don’t have to choose simple, monochromatic flashlights—and we sure didn’t. The BioLite AlpenGlow 500 Lantern shines (sorry) for its versatility as much as its brightness. Its 500 lumens can illuminate your entire campsite with ease, and its RGB LED bulbs provide a variety of lighting options, including a candlelight flicker and multicolored strobes. Oh, and in case you left your power bank at home, the AlpenGlow moonlights as a charger, letting you top off your phone or headlamp when they need extra juice.
If you’re looking for a space-saving option, the Black Diamond Moji R+ lantern fits in the palm of your hand while still emitting 200 lumens and giving you access to the full color spectrum. Traditionalists might appreciate the Goal Zero Lighthouse 600 Lantern and its classic silhouette. It doesn’t have as many fun settings as the AlpenGlow 500, but it’s brighter and comes with a hand crank in case you forgot to charge it before your trip.
Our headlamp pick, the Black Diamond Spot 400-R, boasts a 100-meter beam distance and multiple lighting modes. With an IP67 waterproof rating, we’ve also put it through years of hard use, and it’s still going strong. And your fellow campers will also appreciate its red light setting, which won’t blind them as you walk around at night. For the same $70 price, the BioLite Range 500 is another quality pick. It’s nearly identical to the Spot, with a 100-meter beam distance, dimmable white and red LED bulbs, and an IP67 rating. But if you’re a true night owl, opt for the Black Diamond Distance LT 1100. Its whopping 1100-lumen output will brighten even the darkest corners of your campsite, and its RGB LED bulbs add a splash of color to the darkness.
Compared to, say, sleeping mats or coolers, camp chairs come in a wide range of shapes and sizes. Campers who like to keep things small and light will appreciate the compact Helinox Chair One (re) or the Nemo Moonlite, both of which you can tote into the backcountry, while traditionalists will enjoy the ease and durability of the Alps Mountaineering King Kong. Then there are models like the Nemo Stargaze, perfect for individuals who often find themselves looking toward the sky. We suggest considering your personal seating comfort preferences when deciding what to buy, but if we had to pick one chair above the rest, it would be the Yeti Trailhead for its top-notch ergonomics, construction, and stability. As with a lot of gear on this list, the Trailhead is pricey, but that’s not what you’ll be thinking about when you sink into it after a long day of playing in the woods.
Is the Editors’ Picks Camping Kit for You?
This kit is all about maximizing your enjoyment and comfort at camp. If you’re looking to make the most of your experience outside—whether that means cooking a gourmet meal, lounging by the fire for hours, or perfecting your tent space—the gear that we’ve picked will help you do just that. All of these products are durable, high-quality choices that will elevate you and your camping buddies’ time outdoors, while holding up season after season.
For those just getting into camping or looking to save some cash, check out our Budget Camping Kit. And if you’re bringing the kids along, our Family Camping Kit highlights our top picks to help everyone enjoy their time outside.
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