Camping

What's our Point of View about Camping?
  • How does Camping differ from Hiking?
    • Since Camping normally includes getting further from civilization, staying overnight and making meals outdoors, the level of gear required and contingency planning increases
      • Camping incorporates and builds on the gear from Hiking
        • So in addition to the gear detailed on this page - please look at the Hiking page for additional gear
      • You might not need every piece of gear on every trip - but it makes sense to have everything available in your home inventory so that it is there if you need it for a trip
  • For Camping you need to plan for the duration of the trip, distance you are planning to travel, type of campsite you are going to, variable weather, water consumption, food preparation, sanitation and emergencies
    • It is important to prioritize the gear that you take to balance the likely need for specific items versus the available capacity to carry the items and the weight of the items
  • ​Note that we also have a sub category related to Disaster Preparedness since there’s a great deal of overlap regarding the gear needed for Camping and successfully making it through a short duration disaster

Camping requires balancing what you want to take - with what you need and what you can carry.

Camping Needs

Here's what we think you need for Camping and the specific gear that we like and use: (click on the image to go to the detail page)
​Click here to open/download a PDF file of the gear on our Camping checklist:

Useful Camping Apps

There are lots of iOS and Android apps out there; and more arrive every day. Here are the apps that that we like and have found useful for Camping:
  • General Information
    • Weather - BeWeather 3 by Bellshare Inc     iOS
    • ​Weather - Radar HD by Elecont     iOS     Android   
    • Measurement - Multi Measures HD by SkyPaw Co, Ltd     iOS     Android   
    • Unit Conversions - Unit Converter by Incpt Mobis    iOS     
    • Internet Radio - TuneIn Radio Pro by TuneIn     iOS     Android   
    • Calculator - Calculator by PPCLINK Software     iOS    
    • Book Reader - Kindle Reader by Amazon     iOS     Android   
    • Emergency Notifications - Federal Emergency Management Agency by FEMA     iOS     Android   
  • Shelter
    • Survival Instructions - ArmySurvival by Double Dog Studios     iOS  
  • Hydration
    • Survival Instructions - ArmySurvival by Double Dog Studios     iOS    
  • Cooking
    • Camp Chef by Camp Chef      iOS    
  • Tools
    • Survival Instructions - ArmySurvival by Double Dog Studios     iOS    
    • Knot Tying Instructions    - Knots 3D by Nynix     iOS     Android   
  • Light
    • Flashight - iHandy Flashlight Pro by iHandy Inc.​     iOS     Android    
  • First Aid​
    • First Aid Instructions - Army First Aid by Double Dog Studios     iOS 
  • Maps and Books
    • Navigation
      • General GPS Maps (online) - Google Maps by Google     Internet   
      • General World Maps (online) - Google Earth by Google     iOS     Android       
      • GPS Locator - Compass, Flashlight, Speedometer, Altimeter, Course by Emin Yeritsyan     iOS      
      • Compass - Spyglass by Pavel Ahafonau     iOS     
      • Detailed Topographic Maps (offline) Topo Maps by Phil Endecott     iOS    
      • Detailed City and Area Maps (offline) City Maps 2Go Pro by Ulmon GmbH     iOS     Android   
    • Animal, Bird and Plant Identification
      • Animal Identification - iTrack Wildlife Pro by Jonah Evans     iOS     Android   
      • ​Bird Identification - Audubon Bird Guide: North America by National Audubon Society     iOS     Android   
      • Bird Identification (online) - Naturetouch Identify 500 Birds by Coogni GmbH     iOS     Android   
      • Plant Identification (online) - Naturetouch Identify 3000 Plants by Coogni GmbH     iOS     Android    
    • Sky and Star Gazing
      • Sky Conditions - Sky Live by Vito Technology Inc     iOS     
      • Moon Phases - Moon by Charlie Deets     iOS     
      • Moon Phases - Moon Calendar by Rivolu LLC     iOS   
      • Stars - Star Walk by Vito Technology Inc     iOS     Android   
      • Stars - StarMap 3D by Sanville Software     iOS    
      • Planets - SkySafari by Simulation Cirriculum Corp     iOS     Android   
      • Planets - Solar Walk by Vito Technology Inc     iOS     Android   
      • Satellites - SatelliteSafari by Southern Stars     iOS     Android
  • Organization and Storage
    • Camping List - Camping List by Engineered Stuff     iOS     

Other Helpful Camping Information Sources


Just like you, we wouldn’t want to estimate the amount of time that we’ve spent searching the internet for information about Camping gear. So here are some sources that we like and have found useful for Camping information: