‘The only thing that gets me out of my tent': the camping essentials you need (and what you don't)
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As a lifelong city dweller, my lack of knowhow has been exposed on trips with my camping-savvy family in the US. It turns out that House of Leaves by Mark Z Danielewski and a medium-sized Bluetooth speaker aren't must-haves on a four-day wilderness hike. Who knew? An extra water bottle would have been a better use of that space, something I learned through a series of hardships.
For guidance on this topic, I asked experienced campers – including parents with young kids, festival-goers, outdoor guides and lone wild campers – for their must-pack items. Whether you're taking a £20 tent to a muddy field, glamping in a yurt or going fully off-grid, this list is sure to feature an item you'll be thankful you threw in the bag.
For a comprehensive list of essentials, you should always consider the particulars of your upcoming trip. For more help on getting started, I recommend practical checklists from organisations such as the Ordnance Survey and the Camping and Caravanning Club.
Northcore Kick Back hammock
£34.95 at SurfSurfSurf
This hammock is great. If you're camping in, or near, a woodland, you can quickly set it up between a couple of trees to read a book, listen to the birds or take a nap. Dave, north-west London
Hennessy Expedition zip hammock
£139.95 at Hennessy
My hammock is ultra-light compared with a conventional tent; it can be fully zipped open, or closed and covered by the accompanying tarp. It comes with webbing straps to prevent any damage to trees. While my hammock is snug – and not the cheapest option – it's a really novel, comfortable and fun shelter to take on overnight adventures or multi-day expeditions, and an excellent choice when camping in wooded areas. Joe, Cambridgeshire
The Filter's top pick for camping: Black Diamond Storm 500R
£54.95 at WildBounds£65 at Cotswold Outdoor
The Filter's top pick overall: Petzl Swift RL
£84.99 at Decathlon
A head torch is a non-negotiable. Its usefulness compared with its weight and cost is unmatched. After dark, it's much harder to do basic tasks such as pitching up, prepping a fire or nipping out of the tent in the middle of the night for a loo break. Get one. Adam, East Sussex
Everbeam H6 Pro headlamp
£16.99 at Amazon
There are two main reasons I love this compact little Everbeam torch. First, it's rechargeable via USB, so easy to keep topped up, either at home or on the go using a battery pack. Second, it has an adjustable angle, so no more tilting your head back and forth; just change the angle of the lamp while it's on your head! Also, it comes with a great carry case, protecting it from damage when you just chuck it in your bag. It has two white brightness settings and a red light for when you need a low-light option. Dave, north-west London
The Filter's top pick: MSR Hubba Hubba NX
£476 at Cotswold Outdoors£476 at Snow and Rock
I do like a minimal tent. I'm only using it for sleep after all, so I don't need fancy extras. And I like the feeling of being fully enclosed. A small tent is all a single camper needs, and it provides more shelter than one of those military-style bivi bags, which I'm not a fan of. Michael, Shropshire
Coleman Darwin 2 Plus
£89.99 at Mountain Warehouse£82.52 at Amazon
I love this Coleman tent's extended porch cover. You can leave your pack and shoes outside your tent, so you get less muck inside. This leaves plenty of room indoors for a couple of people, plus a medium-sized dog. The canopy keeps your stuff dry if it rains in the night. Saskia, west London
For more, read our guide to the best tents for camping
The Filter's favourite chair for two: Kelty Loveseat
£130 at Mountain Warehouse£130 at Ellis Brigham
My partner and I have enjoyed using this double-camping chair from Kelty for years. It's sturdier and higher quality than the typical camping chairs you may be used to, and it's comfortable enough for one person to curl up on and have a nap. Kelty also makes an Essential single version of this chair, as well as a Deluxe Lounge one, and all are available in the same smart colour schemes. Luke, Watford
For more, read our guide to the best camping chairs
Anker Soundcore Boom 3i
£99.99 at Soundcore£99.99 at Amazon
This Bluetooth speaker is more than just waterproof: it floats, it's saltwater resistant, and it can even self-right itself in choppy waters. The Boom 3i packs a hell of a punch too, with powerful bass and a 50W/96dB speaker. The RGB lights add to the fun, bringing a party atmosphere to your pitch, but you can always turn them off if you find them tacky. Remember to always adhere to your campsite's noise rules and regulations: if there's a designated quiet time, respect it – or else incur the wrath of every other family sharing the site. Tom, north-west London
The Filter's top pick: Coleman Pro
£129.99 at Amazon
Coleman 15l Performance cool box
£35 at Argos
My mates all said it was a waste of space to bring a massive cooler on a two-night camping trip. But who was laughing at the end of the day … when I was the only one with drinkable beer? Coolers aren't even expensive, and when you factor in the savings from not having to drive out of camp to the nearest petrol station to pick up a few cold cans, it's more than worth the initial spend. William, South Yorkshire
For more, read our guide to the best cool boxes
The Filter's top pick: MSR Switch
£115 at LD Mountain Centre£114.75 at Amazon
Jetboil MightyMo
£75 at Blacks
Jetboil MicroMo
£134.95 at WildBounds
A Jetboil is essential for us whenever we go camping. It doesn't matter if it's a family outing or a week-long wilderness trek – the Jetboil is the first thing we pack. It's lightweight and can bring water to the boil faster than any other camping stove we've tried. I'm always grateful to have it when I'm prepping dehydrated meals at the end of a long day's hike. Don't forget to bring a spare fuel canister. Tommy, Wisconsin, US
For more, read our guide to the best camping stoves
Blue Mountain Starlight 150L lantern
£12 at Cotswold Outdoor £12 at Snow and Rock
It's a small thing, but the few pounds I spent on this little lantern were more than worth it. So useful after dark when you need to look for something in your tent, or get up during the night. It also adds a cosy vibe to your haven in the wilderness. Saskia, west London
Nilaqua no-rinse body wash, 500ml
£6.99 at Victoria Health£6.99 at Boots
Clean Life no-rinse foaming body wash, 237ml
£4.66 at iHerb£9.99 at Amazon
The best recommendation I ever got for camping was to get a no-rinse foam wash. It's mainly used by carers, and it cleans you up without water, so it's worth its weight in gold when you can't shower. It was a life-saver for my pits at El Dorado festival last year. Mel, south London
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Snugpak The Sleeping Bag WGTE
£42.69 at Amazon
For UK camping, from spring right through to early autumn, you don't need anything too hardcore. The Sleeping Bag by Snugpak is exceptionally snug and comfortable in a wide range of temperatures. Officially, it is rated suitable in climates from -7C. At less than £50, it's a great buy. Luke, Watford
Exped Schnozzel pump bag
£26.96 at Alpine Trek
The Exped pump bag is my must-have if you want to pack light, since it makes getting ready for bed way easier. First off, it lets you inflate your sleeping mat quickly – and without moisture getting into the mat. Then, it doubles as a waterproof sack to keep your phone (and spare underwear) dry. Molly, Minnesota, US
Kelty Cosmic Si Mummy sleeping pad
£56 at Decathlon£69 at Mountain Warehouse
Maybe you don't want to bother with inflating your sleeping mat at all, in which case I can recommend the Cosmic Si Mummy. To get this mat ready, all you need to do is lay it out flat, unscrew the valve and … actually, that's it. Come back later, tighten up the valve and go to sleep. In my experience, it takes about 30 to 40 minutes to fully inflate, but if you're in a rush, you can still inflate it manually. It's comfy to lie on and easy to pack down too. Tom, north-west London
For more, read our guide to the best camping mattresses and sleeping mats
The Filter's top pick: Belkin BoostCharge Pro 3-port 20k
£79.99 at Argos£79.99 at Amazon
Juice Eco Max+ 24,000mAh portable power bank
£34.99 at Argos
I got this power bank before a long weekend of climbing and camping in Suffolk. It kept three phones charged up enough for the three-day trip, which is all you can ask for. There are more expensive ones that will charge your phone faster, but I wanted one that specifically charged up to three devices at once and had a large capacity. This one does the job perfectly. Tom, north-west London
For more, read our guide to the best power banks
Halfords Advanced 2l jump starter power bank
£60.99 at Halfords
Halfords 6-in-1 jump starter power pack
£99.99 at Halfords
You may never actually need it, but trust me – I'm speaking from experience – you don't want to be stuck in the middle of an empty campsite in the New Forest with a dead car battery, in the rain and sleet. One of those things that's better to have and not need than the other way around. Tom, north-west London
Sea to Summit collapsible X-pot 4l
£79.99 at Sub Zero
Sea to Summit Frontier Ultralight collapsible 2.2l pouring pot
£62.95 at Outdoor Action£90 at Cotswold Outdoor
Sea to Summit makes practical cooking pots with silicone sides that pack down flat for easy transport. The lid can be used like a sieve to pour out excess liquid when cooking pasta, plus these pots double up well as basins to do your washing-up in. Luke, Watford
Lifeventure all-purpose biodegradable soap
From £4.99 at Lifeventure£4.99 at Amazon
An all-purpose soap is good for cleaning your body, doing the washing-up or anything that needs a quick de-griming. Once, I didn't wash at a festival, and my friends refused to stay in the same tent as me (although now that I think about it, that was kind of a bonus). Alba, Norfolk
The Filter's top pick for women: Lowa Renegade Evo GTX
£219.95 at Cotswold Outdoor
The Filter's top pick for men: La Sportiva TX5
From £210.99 at Amazon
Danner Women's Trail 2650 Campo
£110 at Naked Ape
Danner Men's Trail 2650 Mid GTX
£200 at Ellis Brigham
I have a pair of Danner boots that I always wear when I go hiking or camping. My whole family loves Danner. They're the most reliable shoes for hiking as far as I'm concerned, with a snug fit that makes you feel more balanced as you make your way through the forests and hills. They also come in lots of colours. Gwyneth, south-west London
For more, read our guide to the best hiking boots for men and women
GSI Mini espresso set 1 cup
£41.20 at Rock + Run
You can't start a day without a decent cup of coffee in your system. Little coffee makers such as these are awesome for camping because they're easy to clean and pack away when you're done. The promise of a proper espresso from one of these is the only thing that gets me out of my tent in the morning. Matteo, north London
Flip 7
£9.95 at Zatu Games£13.99 at Waterstones
If you go camping with your family, you should buy the game Flip 7. It's our new favourite filler game. It's easy to play, you can teach it in a couple of minutes, but you can play it for hours! It's just fine for three players, but it can go up to 12 or more. It's also cheap. You don't even need to look into it, just buy it. Trust me, you're going to love it. It's the greatest card game of all time. It says it right on the box. Clayton, Wisconsin, US
Those little bug zappers that you can hang in your tent or place on a table. When bugs are thick enough to be an issue, it can't get all of them. You'll inevitably end up with some mosquito bites anyway. Stick to using good old-fashioned bug spray, and don't leave your tent unzipped if there are lots of critters about! Saskia, west London
The 'overnight' bug spray that you fully saturate your clothes in, only for the effects to wear off in less than a day. The bad smell sticks around for longer! Bill, South Dakota, US
Oversized, multi-room tents are just a waste of space and money. Why do you need to walk around fully upright in your tent? You won't be spending that long in there anyway. Matteo, north London
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'I was doing Corsica's G20 and even though it was the middle of the summer, there were these sudden, tropical downpours and full white-outs with 20-metre visibility.' Parrott was on her own on top of an exposed ridge when the weather came in. She missed one of the trail markers that are painted on rocks every 50m or so, and ended up going off-route and down into a ravine. 'Luckily, I'd plotted the whole route on my phone on OS Maps and also had a little map book as well. I had to retrace my steps back up to where the last marker was and then do a bit of micro-navigation to find the next marker, which was kind of hidden away on a rock a bit further on.' Rather than charging backwards and forwards to visually search for the trail, which could have resulted in falling off a cliff in the bad visibility, Parrott matched her map to specific contour lines and features in the landscape that showed her she was in a gully. 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'I always download the maps I'll need for the day to use offline and then put my phone on Airplane Mode before I set off into the mountains,' says Tom Carrick, who is also a qualified Mountaineering and Climbing Instructor and volunteer with Llanberis Mountain Rescue Team. Not only will you save yourself from having to answer work calls, but you can still take photos and videos while reserving power in case you have to use your phone to call for help in an emergency. 'And I carry my phone in a waterproof case because when it rains, the water tends to run off your jacket's hood and right onto the screen of your phone, which can stop you from being able to use the on-screen navigation at all.' That's not to say you should completely drop from the grid, especially if you're hiking solo. Many tragedies may have been averted if solo hikers had simply notified someone of their plans and when they expected to get back, so that the alarm would have been raised and search parties sent out when they didn't return to base on time. 'Share your intended route with a friend or family member and let them know when you set off. But remember to check in when you get home so they don't call the emergency services! For multi-day hikes, I take a GPS communicator and check in with my family at the end of every day,' says Jamie Ramsay. Mobile phone coverage in the mountains is often patchy at best, but there are multiple, relatively affordable options on the market for communicating through your smartphone without mobile signal, from Garmin's InReach GPS messaging devices to the iPhone's text-via-satellite feature (on models later than iPhone 14 running iOS 18). This underlines the importance of battery life when a smartphone is part of your safety system. 'Carrying a battery pack and charging cable, just as a backup, will ensure that you have that really crucial bit of equipment that can make an emergency call if you need to,' says Carrick. As more of us explore the high places, social media has become a source of inspiration as we see influencers scaling classic summits, which suddenly seem more accessible to us. One problem with these posts is they often show the mountains in 'Instagram conditions' with bluebird skies and wall-to-wall sunshine, but in the mountains, weather hits different – and it hits fast. 'In the UK, the summit of a 1,000m mountain will have a 10-20C temperature drop compared to the valley bottom,' says Carrick. 'If you're setting off in the valley at 10-15C, by the time you've got to the top, you're going to be quite close to zero, and if there's any wind about then you're going to be below freezing, because of the wind chill.' Carrick stresses that you need to check the weather forecast for the summit or highest point on your route. In February this year, he was out in balmy sunny weather in Llanberris, but on top of the mountains it was still icy and snowy. 'And the second the cloud comes in you're in a total white out; even people with a lot of experience navigating in remote areas struggle with that. 'The weather can change incredibly quickly. Climate change is exacerbating this problem even more, but it has always been a thing in the mountains. It can change on a half-hourly basis from gorgeous sunshine to complete white-out conditions and some really windy conditions as well. We're definitely seeing that more now.' Carrick recommends having a backup hiking route planned for the day that crosses lower terrain, so that you don't have to commit to hiking high in miserable conditions. If you do have a problem at the summit, or you're just a bit tired and you sit down, your body temperature will drop really quickly, and one thing that can come from being too cold is that you start making mistakes. This is where a single problem can snowball into an emergency, says Carrick, who works as a mountain guide and also volunteers for the Mountain Rescue Team: 'If I was going to tell anybody to take one thing into the mountains it would be a little, lightweight group shelter (or solo emergency bivvy bag). They're really small and quite affordable, and they will keep your body temperature up.' On days when he's guiding clients, Carrick will even put the shelter up for everyone to have lunch in, out of the wind. Food and water also become more important at altitude, so skipping lunch is not advisable. 'You need to stay hydrated and keep your blood sugar levels up so that you can make good decisions about whether you're going up or down in the mountains,' he says, adding that when Mountain Rescue take people off the peaks they test their blood sugar levels and often find they're dangerously low. So, as well as your normal food for the day, you should always carry extra rations at the bottom of your pack. For Carrick, flapjacks are a favourite because they're energy-dense with fast-release carbs for a quick sugar hit, combined with slow-release complex carbs and a bit of fat for longer-lasting energy. Ramsay agrees: 'A lot of hikers forget to take enough food or water with them. Pack more than you think you need and think about how you can get clean water if you run out. I always take a water filter with me.' When it comes to clothing, Carrick will also always carry a packable, lightweight waterproof jacket and overtrousers even on hot summer days, because thunderstorms are harder to predict than regular rain. And in the winter or shoulder seasons, as well as waterproof outer layers, it's worth packing an additional warm layer, such as a lightweight down jacket, or fleece, that you can put on under waterproofs if you have to stop for a while, or one of your layers gets wet. Even gram-counting fastpackers like Katy Parrott, who like to move fast and light, don't skimp on the safety essentials, such as a headtorch, navigational aids and a whistle. Making noise in an emergency may seem hopeless when you're in the middle of nowhere, but it can be surprisingly effective. Just last week, a severely injured, hypothermic hiker was rescued after a 200ft-fall in the Washington mountains when two other hikers, who were far away across the canyon, heard his cries for help. They couldn't even see him, but were able to call for help through their GPS messaging device, enabling rescuers to search the area and find him in time to save his life. All of the experts I spoke to for this piece agree that there's a key skill that's essential for making solo hiking safer: knowing when to back off. 'You should never take unnecessary risks and this is especially so when solo. If something makes you feel uncomfortable, find another route,' says Ramsay. There's one other piece of advice that I commonly hear from solo adventurers: 'don't let panic dictate your decisions'. Helpfully, Katy Parrott doesn't just say 'don't panic' because sometimes that's the natural human reaction, as she found out 165km into the self-supported Montane Lapland Arctic Ultra. 'It was the middle of the night, at about -15C with 20km to go and I basically hit a wall. I started to panic because I had no energy, I was shaking and staggering and questioning whether I could make it to safety before I passed out.' She knew that she was now at risk and had to get a grip on herself. 'So I just stopped in my tracks to take a few deep breaths to get past that 'chimp brain' of fight or flight, and to get my rational brain to kick back into gear, and that really helped to calm me down.' Parrott was then able to come up with a plan to get through a dangerous situation. 'I looked at the map and saw there was a shelter about 5km away. I realised I could do 5K and that felt easier than 20K. This clear, rational thinking got me to the shelter where I rested for 3-4 hours, had some food and a little bit of sleep and then carried on in the morning, which ended up being a success because I finished fourth overall and as the second female!' As Carrick echoes, one of the best things to do if you get lost or hit by bad weather is to stop and take stock. 'If you've been caught out in the mountains, one of the first things to do is probably to sit down, try and get yourself into some shelter and have some food and a drink to replenish your blood sugar levels while you think about how to get out of there safely.' There's usually a way to navigate out of a situation, even if you've managed to lose all of your navigational aids, especially if you retain an awareness of which general direction you need to head in and which landscape features you aren't expecting to encounter on your route. For instance, Parrott says you can simply shove a stick into the ground and watch how its shadow moves across the floor to get an east-west line. At the very least, knowing such tricks can boost your confidence if you do become unstuck. When it comes down to it, there's nothing that beats experience, and Carrick recommends building a base of outdoor experiences from which you can learn new skills and encounter different conditions and terrain. This can help you to tackle more advanced hiking routes and make independent judgement calls, such as choosing different kit for different circumstances. While outdoor organisations like the BMC are keen to promote safe and responsible hiking, they are not trying to put people off completely. 'I think there's definitely an increase in people coming to the mountains, but that's certainly not a bad thing. It's fantastic for us all individually, and there are a lot of skills that you learn when you spend time in the outdoors,' says Carrick. Whatever your hiking goals, so long as you weigh the limitations of your current experience and the tools you are using against the challenges of changeable weather conditions and rugged terrain, and have a plan of what to do if things go wrong, then you can have an enjoyable and rewarding adventure in the mountains.
