Things to Bring When You Go Camping

Updated - 01/20/12

I'm posting my pack list both for my own benefit (so I'll always have access to it) as well as answer any questions about what we might bring when we go camping.  Again, this list is for our backcountry hikes and will vary slightly with each trip (tailored to each individual trip).  All the items in bold I consider essential and I'm also listing the weight since I'm always looking to trim a few ounces whenever possible. I've also posted a new page specific to food.

General Info

  • Campground reservation
  • Directions to the campground
  • Map (including topographical)
  • Ziploc bag for the map
  • Weather report

Tent

  • Three Person Tent and Footprint (REI Quarter Dome 3 UL) - 88 ounces
    OR Two Person Tent and Footprint (Big Agnes Fly Creek UL2) - 47 ounces
    OR Hammock (Eno SingleNest with BugNet) - 34 ounces
    OR Bivy (Marmot Home Alone) - 26 ounces
  • Sleeping bag (North Face Beeline Long) - 23 ounces
  • Sleeping Pad (Therm-a-rest ProLite 4) - 26 ounces
  • Sleeping Pad Repair Kit (REI) - 1 ounce
  • Pillow (Therm-a-rest Compressible Pillow) - 7 ounces
  • Sleeping Bag Liner (Coccon MummyLiner CoolMax) - 9 ounces

Clothes

  • Hiking Boots (Asolo Flame GTX) - 45 ounces
  • Pants (North Face Paramount Convertible Pant) - 10 ounces
  • Hiking Socks (one pair per day) - 9 ounces
  • Sock Liners (Injinji toe sock liners, one pair per day) - 3 ounces
  • Underwear (boxer briefs)- 4 ounces
  • Gloves (Mountain Hardware Power Stretch Gloves) - 1 ounce
  • Camp Shoes (flip flops or Toms) - 5 ounces
  • Raincoat - 3 ounces
  • Base Layer (North Face XTC) - 8 ounces
  • T shirts (one pair per day) - 14 ounces
  • Beanie - 2 ounces
  • Headband (Buff) - 1 ounce
  • Rimmed Hat - 4 ounces
  • Sunglasses - 2 ounces

Food

  • Water Filter (Katadyn Base Camp) - 13 ounces
  • Water Bladder (Kelty CXC Tanker 1.5L) - 6 ounces
  • Food (Various) - 24 ounces per day - click here for more details about food
  • Stove (MSR Pocket Rocket) - 4 ounces
  • Fuel (MSR IsoPro) - 12 to 24 ounces
  • Cook Set (Snow Peak Titanium 3 piece cook set) - 7 ounces
  • Spork (Snow Peak Titanium) - 1 ounce
  • Salt/pepper (Stolen from McDonald's) - 0 ounces
  • Vitamins (Multivitamin) - 0 ounces
  • Water Purification Tablets (Portable Aqua) - 1 ounce

Gear

  • Backpack (Osprey Exos 58) - 40 ounces
  • Compass (Brunton Tag along Plus Thermostat) - 1 ounce
  • Knife (Buck Hartsook) - 1 ounce
  • Flashlight (Garrity LED Rubber) - 3 ounces
  • Headlamp (Princeton Tec Quad 1M) - 4 ounces
  • Lantern (Brunton Lucy Butane) - 8 ounces
  • GPS (Garmin eTrex Venture HC) - 5 ounces

Camera

  • Camera (Canon 5d Mark ii) - 28 ounces
  • Lens (Canon 24-105mm f/4 L IS) - 18 ounces
  • Charged batteries - 2 ounces
  • Memory Card - 1 ounce
  • Tripod (Manfrotto 190CXPRO3 with Manfrotto 488RC2 Mini Ball Head) - 42 ounces
  • Remote Control - 1 ounce

Hygiene/Personal Care

  • Tape (Johnson and Johnson Athletic Tape) - 2 ounces
  • Tooth Brush (Generic Travel Tooth Brush) - 1 ounce
  • Toothpaste (Colgate Travel Size) - 1 ounce
  • Toilet Paper (Charmin To Go) - 1 ounce
  • Shovel (Sea to Summit iPood Pocket Trowel) - 4 ounces
  • Deodorant (Degree Travel Size) - 2 ounces
  • Sunscreen (Banana Boat Sport) - 1 ounce
  • Bug Repellent (Repel 100) - 2 ounces
  • Hand Sanitizer (Purell) - 1 ounce
  • Wet Wipes (resealable package) - 1 ounce

Specialized Gear

  • Ice Axe (CAMP Corsa Nanotech - 9 ounces
  • Crampons (Stubai Ultralight Universal) - 21 ounces
  • Gaiters (Outdoor Research Flex-Tex) - 4 ounces
  • Dry Bag (SealLine 30L and 10L) - 20 ounces

Everything Else

  • Waterproof Matches / lighter - 3 ounces
  • Trash bags (Plastic Grocery Bags) - 0 ounces
  • Twine - 1 ounce
  • Cards - 3 ounces
  • Lip Balm (Carmex) - 1 ounce
  • ipod (Nano II and Shure E4C Ear Buds) - 3 ounces
  • Travel Speaker (Altec Lansing Orbit iM207) - 5 ounces
  • Spare Batteries - 2 ounces

On the Wish List

  • Trekking poles
  • Alcohol stove or liquid-fuel stove (canister stoves are not very environmentally friendly)