Spend enough time in the woods and you'll develop your own personalized camping equipment checklist. Everyone has certain items they just can't live without--it might be your lucky rabbit's foot, your special headlamp or the camp slippers you wear while lounging around the fire. But before you start the trial-and-error process of determining your own preferences, make sure you haven't neglected any of the basic necessities.
Shelter
Usually the camping shelter of choice is a tent, but some minimalist campers elect for a breezy tarp--either because of cost, philosophy or perhaps there simply isn't a need for a full tent. Another alternative shelter you may encounter is the camp hammock. Camp hammocks come with a cover that's either made of mesh to keep bugs out or is fully waterproofed to protect you from rain. Obviously, a camp hammock is only useful as long as you've got something to string it from. Whatever your shelter of choice is, always make sure all the parts--poles, rain flies, stakes, guy lines--are present before you take off on your trip.
Sleeping Bag
Car campers may choose to bring blankets, and you will occasionally find packable down-stuffed comforters intended for light camping use, but a sleeping bag is usually the item of choice to keep you warm at night. Sleeping bags are rated by their insulating value, but this doesn't guarantee what your subjective experience of the bag will be. Some campers may be perfectly comfortably sleeping in a bag rated for 50 degrees F in 40-degree weather, while other campers might need a sleeping bag liner just to be comfortable at the bag's rated temperature.
Sleeping Pad
A sleeping pad does help keep you comfortable when sleeping on the hard ground, but it also performs a second invaluable service. The foam and--if the pad is inflatable--air insulate you against losing body heat to the ground. Your sleeping bag can't do an adequate job of insulating you against the ground on its own because your body weight crushes the insulating air space out of the bag beneath you.
Stove
You can get by on cold food like gorp for short trips, but nothing says comfort quite like a steaming hot mug of tea or coffee in the morning. If you're car camping in a campsite with established fire rings you might be able to do without a stove and cook your food in the campfire, but for many backcountry destinations open fires are not allowed. A camp stove becomes your only real option for cooking. Make sure not to forget fuel for the stove, and of course you'll need dishes to cook in and eat or drink from, too, and utensils.
Food and Water
Unless you know for a fact that you can subsist on what's available in the wilds, you should pack plenty of food and water for your trip. Look for nonperishable, easy to cook foods. Freeze-dried, dried or dehydrated foods tend to travel well.
Toilet Paper
You may think you can get by without it. Rest assured that you cannot. This is one item that you'll be very sorry if you forget.
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