Camping Gear: Buying for the Conditions You Will Actually Be In

Camping equipment is rated with numbers that look comparable and are not always measured the same way. Understanding a few of them prevents the most common outcome, which is being cold.

Tents

• Capacity figures are tight. A "three-person" tent means three sleeping mats side by side with no room for bags. Most people are more comfortable in a tent rated for one more than their number.
• Season rating describes conditions, not months. Two-season is summer; three-season handles spring and autumn including wind and rain; four-season means winter and snow loading, with heavier poles and less ventilation.
• Hydrostatic head, in millimetres, measures water resistance of the fabric. Higher is more waterproof. Check the groundsheet figure separately, since it takes pressure from body weight and needs to be higher than the flysheet.
• Taped seams matter as much as the fabric rating.
• Packed weight versus space. Only critical if you carry it. For car camping, comfort beats weight every time.
• Pitching time and whether it can be pitched alone, in the dark, in wind — which is when you will actually be doing it.

Sleeping bags

Bag temperature ratings usually give several figures, and the one on the front of the packaging is often the one you should ignore.

• Comfort rating — the temperature at which a person can sleep comfortably. This is the figure to buy on.
• Limit rating — a curled-up sleeper can survive the night without being warm.
• Extreme rating — a survival figure. Not a sleeping temperature, and not a basis for a purchase.

Down is lighter and packs smaller; synthetic keeps insulating when damp and costs less. Ratings are based on standardised testing where it is used, but people sleep differently — many sleep colder than the rating suggests.

The mat matters more than the bag

The most common camping mistake is spending on the sleeping bag and buying the cheapest mat. Most heat is lost into the ground, and a bag compressed underneath you provides almost no insulation.

Sleeping mats have an R-value measuring insulation — higher is warmer, and the scale is now standardised across brands, which makes it genuinely comparable. For anything below summer conditions, the R-value is what keeps you warm.

Cooking and water

Gas canister stoves are simple and the canister type must match the stove — check the fitting, and check availability at your destination, since canisters cannot be flown. Consider whether you need to boil water or actually cook, since that changes what you need entirely.

Know your water source before you go. Where treatment is needed, a filter or purification tablets are small, cheap and non-negotiable.

Clothing

The same layering logic as any outdoor activity: a base layer that moves moisture, insulation, and a windproof waterproof shell. Cotton is the material to avoid — it holds water and cools you.

Spare dry socks and a hat do more for comfort at night than an extra jumper.

Before you order

Check the tent's season rating against the conditions you will camp in, not the ones you hope for. Buy a sleeping bag on the comfort rating rather than the headline figure. Check the mat's R-value, which is the part most people underspend on. And check gas canister fittings match your stove and are available where you are going.