Essential Camping Equipment

Obviously there is no end to the amount of "essential camping equipment" one can purchase for a camping adventure.  This is a list of stuff we use and can recommend.

I will try to update this page often - so please drop back in every now and then and check out some of my other recommendations.

E-book

I can't recommend this e-book enough - http://campingcommunication.com/.  It answers all sorts of questions you may have about how to get help when you are camping should the unfortunate happen to you.  It explains what equipment is available, to allow you to make an informed decision on what you might want to take with you.

Campedia - Travel App

Campedia is a new product developed by a friend of ours.  It is a handy free app that enables you to quickly find and navigate to camp-sites or camp grounds.  It also enables you to find friends - and more importantly provides special deals to users.  Find out more here: http://campedia.com.au/  

How do we know where we are?

One product we use all the time when travelling is Hema Maps on the iPad.  What I really like about it is that we can sit around the campfire planning our next days travels, and then, with an appropriate mount, we can use to to navigate with in the car.  It can be bought from the iTunes store here: https://itunes.apple.com/au/app/id657454400

Camping Accessories

Contigo Travel Mug - a great spill proof stainless steel travel mug that keeps hot drinks HOT for hours!  I use mine every day - not just when camping.  It is great when bouncing along fire trails or fighting the urban jungle for keeping a nice hot coffee where it should be - in your cup and not over your console!
A word of caution - it will keep your drinks very very hot!






For all out relaxing comfort, you cannot go past the   Reclining Camp Chair.  With just a little adjustment of your weight, the chair turns into a recliner allowing you to lie back whilst your legs are supported.  It is ingenious in its engineering.  If only they could build in a massage function... 

Around the Camp

Coleman Hot WaterOn Demand - turns camping into GLAMPING...  hot running water, great for showers and washing up. We have modified our camper to take the Coleman with us in its own box - which has made daily washing up so much easier and more efficient - particularly when you aren't allowed to have fires. It runs on bottled gas, or it's own propane cylinder, and the pump is driven by a battery.  It would be great if it could run whilst charging (some safety override switch stops the unit from operating whilst under charge) - however it doesn't take long to charge either via mains or 12v.

Hill Billy Cookware - The Rolls Royce of camp cooking gear.  It might be a little heavy - but being spun steel it is lighter than cast steel - and stronger too.  We particularly like their Cook Stand Kit 2 which consists of a cook stand, two hooks for the billy, a frying pan and a BBQ Grill / Hotplate with its own canvas bag.
We really enjoy the added flavours that you get when cooking over an open fire.



Portable Toilet - A folding toilet makes all the difference when camping.  We really like the fact the toilet is compact enough to travel flat, can be placed over a pit if appropriate, or if required you can take your waste with you.
 

For the Vehicle

Max Trax - it says its a proven lightweight recovery device that works in sand and mud or any time you are short on traction.  They managed to get our friend's 2WD Kluger out of their muddy paddock after a few goes - and were a lot easier to use than the handwinch!  We have the first generation of Max Trax.  A new model is on the market that has been further improved.

The Camper

Aussie Swag Camper - Our camper is a 2005 Aussie Swag hard floor camper trailer.  It is a fantastic, rugged camper trailer small enough for a couple, but big enough for a family.  In fact Aussie Swag won the Off Road Camper of the Year by CamperTrailer magazine for 2012 in the +35K category.  Congratulations to Aussie Swag!

Try before you buy

If like us, you wanted to try camping before committing to large purchases of equipment, then I highly recommend hiring your equipment first.  It means you have the opportunity to really decide what equipment and features you need, and what are just gimmicks... or if indeed the camping life is for you at all.  Friends of ours, Steve and Barbra run Capital Camping Hire, and they have all manner of camping equipment, including packages for weekend escapes and beyond.  And they're lovely people too.  You can call them on 

(02)-6236-8894 or 0466-032-739.