Camping packing list

Camping packing has three systems: shelter, sleep and cook. Get those right and everything else is comfort. The most commonly underestimated item is the sleeping mat, not the sleeping bag.

60 items · 3-day hiking, mild weather · tick them off, print, or adjust the list to your trip below

The mat matters more than the bag

Cold nights are usually a mat problem. The ground conducts heat away from your body far faster than the air does, and a sleeping bag compresses to nothing underneath you, so it insulates you from nothing. A mat's R-value is the number to check: roughly 2 for summer, 4 or more for cold shoulder-season nights. People spend on the bag and shiver on a cheap mat.

Pitch it once at home first

The first time you put up a new tent should not be in the dark, in the rain, in front of an audience. Pitch it in a garden or a park, confirm every pole and peg is in the bag, and time yourself. This also catches the missing guyline that the shop packed without.

A tarp doubles your usable space

Rain turns a tent into a two-person box you sit inside. A cheap tarp strung over the entrance creates a dry area to cook, take boots off, and sit — which is the difference between waiting out the weather and enjoying the trip. It weighs a few hundred grams and is the most consistently recommended optional item.

Water, fire and what you take home

Know before you go how you'll carry water and whether you need to treat it. Check the fire rules for the site and the season — many places ban open fires outright in summer, and a stove is the reliable answer regardless. And pack out everything you brought in, including food waste, which means carrying a rubbish bag you planned for rather than one you improvise.

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Each one is a full list with advice specific to that trip — and the generator underneath it, so you can adjust it to yours.

Camping packing list

The mat matters more than the bag

Pitch it once at home first

A tarp doubles your usable space

Water, fire and what you take home

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