Camping doesn’t have to mean roughing it. There’s no need to swelter in a tent you can’t sit up in, exist on a diet of awkwardly-reheated dehydrated food, or forgo good coffee and cool beverages (unless that’s the experience you’re after, of course). The modern camping market offers up plenty of cool, quirky and — I’ll say it — luxurious outdoor gear aimed those who want to get back to nature… but not right back, you know?
For several years, I was an outdoors-specialist editor, and I got to test plenty of excellent gadgets for car campers and glampers. I’ve rounded up my dream setup below.
Let’s start with the tent. If you want maximum ease of setup, the Quecha Fresh&Black 2-seconds opens like an umbrella and really does take only take a few seconds to pitch. For more of a glamping energy, Coleman’s octagonal tents are a sociable and Insta-friendly winner.
And for a larger party, I’d personally steer clear of yurt-style options (however cool they might look) in favor of a classic, lightweight option from Coleman, Vango or Quechua with a large living area and porch. Whatever you opt for, blackout fabric in the sleeping spaces is a must, for both light-blocking and temperature-regulating purposes.
Other standouts of the gear I tested are the Biolite Alpenglow lantern, which can emit not just warm or cool white light at adjustable brightness, but any of a rainbow of shades, plus gradient and disco modes.
I’m a Dock+Bay evangelist, and its picnic blanket packs up impressively small but unfolds to epic proportions, so no-one has to sit on damp grass. Finally, the Sierra Designs Night Cap is a zipless sleeping bag that’s folded so you can poke your feet or arms out easily, and is snugglier than it has any right to be.
Great glamping gadgets
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