When you plan your camping trip its important to not only plan your camping site and routes but also your camping checklist.
There is nothing worse than getting all the way to your camping destination only to find you have forgotten a vital piece of kit, its not as if you can just pop to the local shop to pick something up as more than likely you are stuck somewhere in the back country.
Planning a Checklist for Camping
This is something that cannot actually be provided by any one single camping checklist, there are lots of things to consider when planning your own checklist for camping and what you will take will depend on many different factors.
As an example if you are only out camping for a day or two then what you will take will vary greatly than if you are camping for a week to several weeks long. Another factor that will make camping checklists vary greatly would be the type of camping trip you will be embarking on. Will you be hiking up mountains and tough terrain or maybe you will be dropped off at your site in your car, these factors would be factors effecting what you can realistically take on your outing.
So you must determine how long you are staying, what type of camp you are staying at and how you will be getting there, what type of comfort are you suited to on your camping trip and who is with you on your trip. If you have a young family for example you will require quite a bit of extra camping gear included in your checklists.
Once you have determined and thought about your camping requirements you can then plan out your camping checklist, you may then reuse this list for further camping trips and modify it for the camping requirements.
Essential Camping Checklist
For any camping trip you will have a few basic areas that need to be covered. The basic check list areas that you will have include cooking equipment, first aid, fire building, sleeping kit and a few other categories. We will cover some basic checklist items for these areas within this article.
First Aid Kit
The first aid kit should be the first thing to check off your camping checklist. We can’t stress how important it is to have the basic first aid essentials on your trip. You may well be miles away from any professional medical help and some basic precautions can be life saving. Below are some basic first aid equipment to take camping:
- First aid kit
- Bandages and Plasters
- Ibuprofen or Paracetamol
- Antiseptic cream
- Insect repellent
- High Factor sun cream
- Antihistamines
Cooking Equipment
What you take for cooking will depend on if you are quite a minimalist camper or enjoy all the mod cons and gadgets. Some may just heat up some ration pouches whilst others love a cooked up meal on a camping stove, you may opt for a tripod grill or check out our campfire grill page for further grill options.
Some things you may include on you cooking checklist
- Cooking stove or campfire grill
- Matches or lighter
- Tongs and other cooking utensils
- Pots and pans
- Cutlery
- Napkins
- Thermos flask
- Washing up bowl
- Washing detergent
- Dish cloths
- Black bin bags
- Aluminium foil
- Cooling box for any fresh food you take
- Tin opener
- Bottle opener
- Some fuel ie gas bottle, wood or charcoal
Sleeping Gear
It goes without saying you will definitely need some basic equipment to enable you to live and sleep in on your camping checklist. There are many options for camping tents (link) and you have to choose a tent to suit your needs.
Here are basic sleeping checklist requirements
- Tent
- Pegs
- Sleeping bag
- groundsheet
- flysheet
- Hammer or Mallet
- Pad or Mat to sleep on
More essential camping gear
So the above items constitute a basic camping checklist to take on any camping trip, there are quite a few things you will need still that are not shown in the lists above. For example make sure you take some stuff for your personal hygiene. Stuff like toiler paper, shampoo, soap, deodorant, toothpaste and toothbrush will be enough for most people.
Make sure you also have a varying range of clothes to take. You need to make sure you have plenty of warm clothes and also some cool clothes if the weather is very hot. Make sure you also have waterproof equipment and clothes on your camping checklist and some suitable walking boots that are comfortable for long walks. Make sure your boots are worn in prior to you camping trip, nothing worse than getting sore feet or blisters whilst out camping.
Some more essential camping gear for you camping checklist is listed below
- Map
- Compass
- Duct tape
- Mobile phone
- Torches
- Reading books
- Camp games
- Seating and outdoor camping furniture
- backpack
- spare batteries
Be Prepared with a Camping Checklist
By planning out a checklist similar to the items included above then you are on your way to having a successful camping trip. Just remember that your camping checklist will have to be revised depending on your camping situation and requirements. You will be able to add items or remove items from the checklist you settle on and use it for every camping trip.
Planning your camping checklist is an essential part of going camping and one area that should definitely not be overlooked. We hope you found this article useful and can use the ideas to make your own camping checklist for your outdoor adventures.
