There are many brands and products out there. The following is a list of gear I have found useful and/or indispensable. All of the gear that I have listed that is named and has links, are products that I feel I recommend. My suggestion is to take what you can and do your research for what will fit your needs the best. I hope you will find this information helpful.

Tent Related
Warm Weather Clothes
Cold Weather Clothes
Water System
Cooking Set-up
Lighting
Other Necessities
A bit on Organization

Developed site camping/Car/Family camping

Tent Related

• Tent: we have a pretty large tent—condo of the desert—Says it sleeps 8, but seems to barely fit Carrie, me, and our son. We have a separate tent for Zoe, which is not necessary, however she likes it and has fun with it. This large of a tent makes it very nice to stand up in.
• Sleeping bags: Carrie and I like to use square bottom bags to zip together
• Blow-up mattress: Queen size
• Air pump for mattress: Plugs into the car lighter
• Sleeping bag and pad for Zoe
• Xayne sleeps on the fold up mat from his Pack ‘n Play, and a few blankets

Warm Weather Clothes

• Hiking Boots: I wear Salomon. A solid sole will make for happy feet when carrying a pack.
• Light weight wind/rain shell: Mountain Hardwear (discontinued)
• Fleece:
• Chaco Sandals: (@ REI) or light weight shoes for base camping
• Socks: 3 pairs
• Underwear
• Pants: 2 pairs lightweight
• T-Shirts: Usually 2
• Pullover
• 2 Bandanas
• Hat: I have an Australian Outback hat the keeps me dry and the sun of my face
• Leather gloves or something comparable
• OR (Outdoor Research) Rocky Mountain Low Gaiters to keep out the sticks and weeds

Cold Weather Clothes

• Hiking Boots: I wear Salomon
• Sorels
• Down filled jacket: Mountain Hardwear
• Wind/rain shell: Mountain Hardwear (discontinued)
• Fleece or wool sweater
• Chaco Sandals: (@ REI) or light weight shoes for base camping
• Socks: 3 pairs
• Sock liners: 2 pair
• Underwear
• Long underwear for top and bottom: I like the moisture-wicking
• Pants: 2 pairs lightweight
• T-Shirts: Usually 2
• Pullover
• 2 Bandanas
• Beanie
• Hat
• Winter gloves I have a three part system: thin glove liners; Mountain Hardwear wind resistant gloves, (discontinued, however anything mid weight will do, like these OR gloves); OR waterproof shells (mine are old, so this is the closest I could find for what I have). This allows me to have hand protection for any weather condition.

Water System

• 5 gallon callapsable container I found this at a local Army & Navy Surplus store, however I have not found it on line yet. I will keep looking.
• CamelBak: 100 oz get one based on the size of your pack (@ REI). I plan to switch to the Osprey 3L HydraForm Reservoir – 100 fl. oz. It fits my pack better.
• Nathan 24 oz for drinking on the fly (@ REI)
• Nalgene 32 oz wide mouth bottle for easy filling (@ REI)
• Water Purifier: Sawyer Water Treatment System—4L capacity (@ REI)
• MSR SweetWater Purifier Solution to purify the water for back up

Cooking Set-up (see Family Site Food for more). I use a lot of my backpacking equipment for site-camping to save money—sometimes drives Carrie batty.

• Stove: double burner propane stove
• MSR Dragon Fly Stove: Can use many different fuels, or
• Snow Peak Giga Power Stove: Very small and lightweight. Great for heating water rapidly.
• Mid-size Pots and a frying pan
• REI Ti Wear Nonstick Titanium Cookset
• Titanium Mug: I plan to get an REI Ti Ware Double-Wall Mug, with lid, as my single-wall gets cold too quickly
• Utensils: I have a titanium spoon, a wooden ladel spoon that I made, a Light My Fire Spork, and an REI Campware Mini Spatula (highly recommend). WIth all of these, I still have not figured out which one I prefer. I bought Carrie and Zoe the To-Go Ware Bamboo Utensil Set (@ REI) and they love it! If I had to recommend a set, it would be the To-Go Ware or the Spork. And the REI Spatula for me, is a must have.
• GSI Compact Scraper: (@ REI) finally something I can fall in love with. Amazing to clean with
• Mini Whisk
• I like to bring my Primus titanium kettle (awesome!) to heat water for coffee, tea, and dehydrated meals. Great for boiling water in a flash and conserves fuel.
• Plates, and bowls
• Sea to Summit Kitchen Sink – 5 liter (@ REI) for washing dishes.
• Coffee press: we have an Aerobie AeroPress Coffee Maker which makes amazing coffee for on the road or
• REI Double Shot Press Mug: Nice for Site camping.
• Hotdog sticks: can’t leave without!
• Grill: a small grill to cook Hamburgers over the fire pit.
• Fire wood

Lighting

• Double mantle propane lamp: I paid about $24. I recommend one that has a wide base to set on. The double mantle gives off more light, but burns fuel faster. For a small campsite of 2-3 people, the single mantle is pretty good.
• Maglite Flashlight (@ REI)
• Princeton Tec Headlamp (@ Recreation Outlet)

Other Necessities

• First Aid Kit (list coming soon)
• Compass or GPS
• Maps
• Camera (see Camera Gear)
• Lighter or Matches
• Smith Sunglasses: I like the Toasters so I can switch out the lenses for different circumstances
• Chums: or something to hold them around your neck
• Shovel: I have a U-Dig-It (@ REI), metal, fold up shovel. I use this for many things, including bathroom time to dig a small hole to bury it. You can use plastic ones, but they can break at the worse times
• Military, fold-up shovel
• Camping fold-up chairs
• xtra gas for the car: never know where you might end up
• Toilet paper: The restrooms have a tendency to run out at the worst times.
• Zip-line: (Paracord works great—500 lbs+ rating) for tying things up or down and for clothes line. It’s a good idea to dry your clothes out when you make camp—especially socks!
• D-rings: usually come in handy
• Stove cleaning/repair kit
• Black & Decker Electromate 400: (I call it the orange box) Absolutely Awesome!! (We don’t leave home without this. It has saved our Hyde more than once.) It has a car battery jumper; tire pump, 120v adapter; cigarette lighter plugs; air pump; and a light. Well worth the $100 we spent.
• Lightweight Buck Axe
• Carving Knife
• Kershaw Pocket Knife (@ REI)
• Knife Sharpener

A bit on Organization

Carrie and I decided to separate our gear with strong color coded bags, such as nylon, or big mesh bags so we can see what we are looking for. Clear bins would be ideal, however our Honda Civic does not allow for it.

View Gear for Backpacking for a comprehensive list of Equipment.

(Via JosephTravels, JosephDC)

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