Good Camping Stuff – or – Ideas for Christmas Gifts

Daniel shared this with me not to long ago.  It’s a list of great, durable stuff that inspires folks to brag about it.  As much as we live in a cheap / disposable society these days, it’s nice to hear about products that still seem engineered to last.

So here’s a list of some of the things that I’ve been pleased with over the years.  Granted, I don’t have a lifetime of experience to test these products against, but I have worn out, broken or destroyed more products than I would prefer.

These are listed in no particular order, simply in the order they were thought up.

Sierra Designs Clip-Flashlight Tent

This two person tent has essentially remained unchanged in design since it was first introduced in 1983.  For a backpacking tent design, that would make this model essentially a dinosaur.  I’ve hauled mine 1000 miles on the A.T.  Lived in it for a summer in New Mexico.  And backpacked with it in 13 states.  It still looks brand new.  It’s not the lightest tent.  It’s not freestanding (which is a challenge as many state parks are shifting to wooden tent platforms).

Coleman White Gas Stoves

I grew up with my family cooking on a two-burner Coleman camp stove when we went on camping trips or during extended power outages following hurricanes.  Built like tanks and easy to repair and maintain, these stoves are easy to find on Ebay or at garage sales.  The design has changed very little since they were first introduced in the 1950s (Model 425) and since then the little stoves have cooked innumerable Boy Scout pancakes since.

There’s even a collectors club.

The single-burner Peak 1 Feather was my first backpacking stove.  Based on a scaled down version of the two burner stove, this is a great little stove.  It has cooked up warm meals on some of the coldest mornings, when a canister stove wouldn’t light.

MSR Groundhog Tent Stakes

These tent stakes were given to me by one of my crews at Philmont.  The tri-corner design is bombproof and manages to grip in some of the rockiest soils.  I’ve yet to break, bend or lose one after years of use.  I can’t say that same about any other tent stake I’ve seen or used.

Gregory Palisade Internal Frame Pack

I’ve had this pack since 2000 and it has put up with all of my backpacking.  Every mile of the A.T.  It’s not even close to being an ultra light weight pack, but it is built like a tank and seems like it will last as long as I want to haul it.  I saw more than one ultra light pack split, tear and snap on the A.T.