Furniture
Camping Lanterns and Head Torches: How to Choose
Battery, USB, dynamo or gas lanterns; head torches with red-light mode: what the numbers actually mean before you buy camp lighting.
Independent guide
Camping gear: guides, advice and equipment for camping well
Preparing a camping trip gets a great deal simpler with the right equipment. Materiel-de-Camping.com helps you choose kit that suits the way you travel: family camping, hiking, bivouac, a holiday under canvas, caravan or motorhome.
Camping categories
Tents and camping shelters
How to choose a camping tent: real capacity, seasonality, waterproof rating, structure and care. Practical guides for family camping, hiking and bivouac.
Camping sleep system
Sleeping well outdoors: choosing a sleeping bag by temperature rating, comparing air mats, self-inflating mats and camp beds, and getting ground insulation right.
Camp cooking
Equipping a camp kitchen: choosing a gas or liquid-fuel stove, putting together a cook set, managing water, the cool box and food storage.
Camp furniture
Choosing camp furniture: folding tables and chairs, storage units, lighting and awnings. Practical guidance on weight, packed size and sturdiness.
Hiking and bivouac
Hiking and bivouac gear: backpack, lightweight shelter, sleep system, minimal cooking. How to cut weight and pack for several days out.
Motorhome and caravan
Equipping a motorhome or caravan: electricity, water, gas, awning, outdoor furniture and storage. Practical guidance for a trip by vehicle.
Camping guides and checklists
All our camping checklists and practical guides: the complete gear list, family camping, a first trip, bivouac. Lists to read before you leave.
Tool
Build your kit list
Three questions — how you travel, the season, whether children are coming — and the list keeps only what applies. Tick as you pack, then print it.
Open the listLatest guides
See all guides
Guides
Campsite Star Ratings and Quality Labels: What They Actually Mean
Campsite stars measure facilities and pitch size, not welcome. How French classification, quality labels and reviews each answer a different question.
Guides
How Do You Choose a Campsite?
Location and the kind of stay you want decide most of the outcome — not the star rating or the facilities list. What to check before you book.
Cooking
How to Choose a Cool Box for Camping
Soft, hard-shell, thermoelectric or compressor: what each cool box technology actually holds, and what really extends its runtime in camp.
Guides
How to pack the car properly for a camping trip
Packing a car for camping is a weight problem: how to distribute the load, respect your payload limit, and pack in the right order.
Tents
How do you pitch a tent so it survives strong wind?
A tent that blows away has almost never failed structurally: orientation, pegs and guy lines explained so it stays put when the wind picks up.
You will find practical guides here on tents, sleeping bags, mats, stoves, camp furniture, lighting, accessories and hiking equipment. Each guide starts from a concrete question and gives an answer you can use before buying, without needless jargon.
Preparing the trip properly
What you need depends on how long you are away, the season, how many of you there are and the kind of camping you do. A family tent and a lightweight bivouac shelter answer opposite briefs: the first prioritises living space and headroom, the second weight and packed size.
Our guides exist to help you prepare your kit without hauling along things you will never use. Starting from a complete checklist is still the most reliable way to leave with a clear head.
The main pieces of camping equipment
- Tents and shelters
- Sleeping bags
- Mats and camp beds
- Stoves and camp cooking
- Folding tables and chairs
- Lanterns and head torches
- Cool boxes and food storage
- Backpacks and luggage
- Hiking and bivouac gear
- Motorhome and caravan accessories
Where to start
If this is your first trip, three guides cover the essentials: what gear do you need for camping, how to choose a camping tent and how to choose a sleeping bag.
Have a look at our checklists too, so nothing gets left behind.