My 5 New Pieces of Car Camping Gear

One of the things I'm most looking forward to this year is getting some good car camping in. After thru hiking you really appreciate a car carrying all of your shit and being able to bring whatever you want. (Especially like a cooler full of steaks and fresh fruits and veggies). These are some new pieces of gear I've invested in for camping this year because... well, because I can :-)

1. Coleman Camp Chair

Do I have a camp chair already? Yes. However, it's a cheap $10 one I picked up from Walmart years ago. The seat itself is way to small and the back is short so it's impossible to be comfortable while sitting around the campfire. For $35 this Coleman chair is a pretty good deal. It has a built in 4 can cooler (which I don't really use for that purpose, more for storing my book or snacks. The seat and back are cushioned unlike my old chair so it is way more comfortable and I have room to curl up in the seat with my legs crossed. I was surprised how hard it was for me to find a camp chair I liked. I shopped around at Walmart and Field and Stream before finding this one on Amazon.

In this time lapse you can see the size difference between my new chair (left) and my old $10 chair (right).

2. LE Rechargeable Lantern

I researched lanterns for quite a few days because there were a few features I was being picky about.

1. I wanted it to be rechargeable- I hate buying batteries and worrying if they will die halfway through a trip.

2. I wanted it to be pretty bright but have the option to be dimmable. Most of the time when I'm using a lantern I have it set up on the picnic table at night- which is when I usually use it at full brightness or hanging in my tent- when I like it dimmed.

3. I wanted a somewhat long battery life so depending on the circumstances I may not need to recharge it at all if I'm just out for a long weekend. With all of these things and price in mind, I decided on this lantern. Not to mention, it is water resistant, so that is an added bonus. Another feature it has is a 4400 mAh power bank that you could charge devices off of, but I more than likely won't use it for this as I have quite a few Anker battery banks. I am super impressed with how bright this thing is.

3. Stanley French Press Coffee Maker

This is probably the one that I'm most excited about. I love my coffee. Instant coffee is fine and actually tastes amazing to me when I'm backpacking, but if I have the ability to make real coffee, you bet I'm going to. I actually used this exact french press on trail, my friend Yardsale had one and made us coffee before a day of slackpacking. A pot this size makes enough for four people and I love that I can also use just the pot to heat up a pot of soup or something on a chilly night. It honestly tastes better than the coffee I make at home.

(Me v, v impressed with Yardsale's french press before a day of slackpacking)

4. Battery Powered Fan

Most people don't need a battery powered fan for camping. But if you have a Bernese Mountain Dog... you do :-) Although we car camp year-round, most of the time it's in the summer. On warm summer nights I usually leave the fly off the tent for a nice breeze or leave the windows down in the car, but a lot of times Sawyer still spends a lot of the night panting. After borrowing my mom's fan just like this a night last year, I was sold. With this fan I'm able to hang it from the ceiling of the tent or clip it on something and point it directly at Sawyer to make him more comfortable on warm nights... and let myself get some sleep. I'm really surprised with how powerful this little thing is and how much of a breeze it generates even on setting 3/5.

5. USB String Lights

I used to have a set of string lights that I loved dearly. They had magnetic strips attached to them and ran off USB battery as well. I haven't been able to find a replacement as my set quit working. After reading some reviews on these, I decided to give them a try. They come with a remote which you have the ability to change between 16 colors and 4 brightness levels. You also have the option of choosing between battery powered and USB powered. I chose USB so I can just plug them into one of my many battery packs.

I love these so much. They give such a good vibe to your campsite.