Camping Gear Checklist: What To Put Down For Your Camping Trip

Using Camping Gear Checklists

Camping gear checklists are great for any camping trip you are planning. There is nothing like camping with the family. The fun you have and the time you spend camping creates some of the most memorable moments. When you are camping, everything is right. But what about getting there? Deciding to go camping and getting there are two different things. What can we do to make sure that we get all of our camping gear in the car and to the camp site?

Using camping gear checklists is an easy way to make sure you have all the important items you'll need on your camping trip. Some benefits of using a checklist include improved time, nothing left, better camping experience, safety, and more fun overall. It is a no brainer to use a camping gear checklist for your trip.

What is on the checklist?

 Your camping checklist should include all the gear you are going to take and how you plan on getting it to the camp site. Getting your gear to the camp site may seem very easy to answer because you generally take your own vehicle. But what about ropes and trunks? Things that go on top of your car or follow behind you are all items that should be on your checklist.

Here is a list of items you should have on your camping gear checklist:

1. Clothes and Shoes – Make sure that you plan to take the best clothes and shoes for your camping trip. Since you will be out in the wild, you will want to pack clothes that are for the situation. If it is going to be cold, make sure you put a jacket on your checklist. If you think it could be wet or damp where you are going, make sure you put boots or some sort of water resistant shoe on your list. 
2. Tent and Sleeping Bags – It would not be good if you arrived at your camp site and realized you did not have a tent and sleeping bags. Put on your checklist the items that you need to sleep outside such as sleeping bags, blankets, tents, etc. What ever you use to sleep with while you go camping, write it down on your gear checklist.
3. Food – Unless you are planning on catching your food with a fishing rod or shooting it with a gun, you will need to pack food. Write down each day you will be gone and what you plan on eating. Make sure your checklist has each item listed so you can easily go through it and check off the item in question. Also, do not forget to put down ice and all cooking utensils. It is not easy eating food over an open fire with a pan to cook it in.
4. Camping Tools – Your camping gear checklist should include a section that has camping tools on it. This should include things like a shovel, buckets, hammer, knives, etc. Any tool that you would use while you were in the woods camping needs to go on this list. Also, this is a great place to put down your fire starting equipment. If you want to be an outdoorsman and start the fire with rocks and twigs, be my guest. But you may want to remember to bring some fire starting items like flint and something that makes a spark.
5. Emergency Equipment – Do not make a checklist for camping gear and forget to put down emergency equipment. Write down items such as first aid kit and emergency contact methods like cell phones and extra batteries. You never know what can happen.

Hopefully this list helped. Your job is to create the camping gear checklist and go over it at least twice before you leave. I like the old saying, "Measure twice, cut once." In this case, check twice, pack once.

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