The 10 Best New Camping Splurges
Sure, camping is all about detaching from day-to-day life, getting in touch with nature and foregoing the trappings of everyday civilization. But let's get real: Even when you're camping, you still crave your toys and comfort. We've rounded up the coolest and best of the new next-level camping gear to make your next camping trip fun, convenient, and loaded with luxury.
1. The Coziest Quilt
If you've always begrudged the constraining shape of most sleeping bags, Enlightened Equipment's Revelation Quilt ($255), might be just for you. It can be cinched up into a traditional sleeping bag format or laid out flat like a comforter. You decide what size, color, and temperature rating you want, and Enlightened will whip one up just for you in 2-4 weeks.
2. A Nifty Lantern
Smaller than your wallet and weighing less than your phone, Gear Aid's SPARK Rechargeable LED Light ($49.95) offers bright white illumination where you need it, thanks to an innovative design that allows it to be propped up via its own built-in kickstand or hung from a loop to facilitate in-tent reading. Since it recharges from any USB port — and can run up to 25 hours on a single charge — you can ditch the spare batteries.
3. A Portable Fireplace
Make a campfire wherever you are with Snow Peak's Pack & Carry Fireplace ($110-$190). Sturdy, compact, and best of all—portable—this fold-up, stainless steel fireplace comes in three sizes and can accommodate wood or charcoal briquettes in its cavernous belly. Cover it with an optional grill top and get cookin'. Test out your swanky new fireplace--just add a fireplace grill topper--with these top-rated camping recipes:
4. The Portable Pour-Over
Coffee fiend? As much as you'd like to bring the espresso machine backpacking, you won't mind slumming it with the Sea to Summit X-Brew Coffee Dripper ($17.95). This 2-cup, food-grade silicon pour-over device comes standard with a reusable mesh filter and collapses into a thin disc that cleans up easy and nearly disappears when it's time to pack up camp and hit the trail.
5. The Ultralight Comfy Camping Rocker
Weighing in at just over three pounds, Helinox's Chair Two Rocker ($179.95) is a clever, comfortable chair that sets up in seconds and easily converts from a rocker to a standard chair.
6. The Campstove with a Charge
Fueled with only a few locally sourced twigs and sticks, but mighty powerful, the Biolite Campstove 2 ($199) will not only cook your backcountry meal, but also charge your smartphone, tablet, or camera in the process. While the compact little stove may weigh a little more than some other ultralight alternatives (it weighs in at 2 pounds), you don't need to pack any fuel canisters—and that more than makes up for the Biolite's slightly beefier profile.
7. The Wearable Sleeping Bag
If a regular sleeping bag is a mitten, then the Selk'bag ($169) is a glove. Stay warm hanging around the campsite and overnight in your tent without changing out of this cozy comfy wearable sleeping bag. With its removable booties, kangaroo style front pocket to store your valuables, synthetic polyester insulation rated down to 37°F, and a soft nylon ripstop shell with a DWR water-resistant finish, you may never wear regular clothes again. Bonus nerd-out alert: the wearable bag is also available in adult and child sizes in Star Wars characters such as Chewbacca and Darth Vader ($109).
8. The Luxe Sleeping Pad
The Therm-A-Rest NeoAir AllSeason SV ($159.95) is everything you could want in a sleeping pad. The NeoAir series is famous for merging compactness, light-weight, ruggedness and warmth. But real draw: The addition of Therm-A-Rest's proprietary SpeedValve (SV) system harnesses the power of Bernoulli's law of physics to make inflating the pads a cinch. Hyperventilation no longer required.
9. Pillow Talk
It's time to upgrade from the rolled-up jacket pillow. Sea to Summit's Aeros Pillow Premium ($42.95-$46.95) combines a silky built-in pillow case and a supportive high-strength TPU bladder that inflates to perfection.
10. The Cooler of all Coolers
Yeti's Tundra 45 ($349.99) cooler might just be the hero of your next car camping trip. This rotomolded, double-insulated box holds 45 liters worth of food and drink inside its UV-resistant and damn-near indestructible walls. Marine-grade polyester rope handles with textured grips make hauling the Yeti easier than you'd expect. Its molded, tie-down slots and non-slip feet make it an ideal travel companion whether it's on a boat or in the back of a pickup truck
