7 Great Pieces Of Camping Gear Under $25
You better answer, 'cause nature is calling.
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Look, I'm gonna be honest with you all — I've never been a fan of camping. Ever. For one, I pay way too much in rent to go out and sleep on the cold, hard ground. And two, I watched The Blair Witch Project when I was far too young and am now properly traumatized.
But since all the restrictions have gone into place I've been desperate to get out of my house and well...
Actual footage of me telling my husband our travel plans.
Luckily for me (and all of you), a producer here at BuzzFeed went out and tested a bunch of awesome and pretty affordable camping goods — perfect for those of us not quite ready to invest our hard-earned cash in this newfound form of "vacation." Here are their favorites:
You can check out the full video here — it's pretty awesome.
1. A reliable Wakeman Outdoors Two-Person Tent that comes with a water-resistant dome and at an actually affordable price tag — which is especially great for those of us new to the great outdoors and still unsure if we want to invest in all the bells and whistles.
Promising review: "It’s a cute little, affordable tent. It definitely fits two people, maybe even squish in a third person if you wanted. Easy setup and nice little carry-on bag that comes with it. The only problem was that if you’re camping and the sun is out, being in this tent is very, very hot. There’s a mesh little window to let the air in through the entrance and very small mesh openings at the top. Other than that it’s pretty closed and can definitely get hot in there since there are so little breeze openings. The tent itself is pretty sturdy and held strong through strong winds." —JSanchez
Get it from Amazon for $24.94+ (available in two colors).
2. An amazing little LifeStraw Personal Water Filter designed to filter up to 1,000 gallons (4,000 liters) of contaminated water without iodine, chlorine, or other chemicals. It doesn't require batteries, it has no moving parts, and removes a minimum 99.9999% of waterborne bacteria, 99.9% of waterborne protozoan parasites, and filters to 0.2 microns — surpassing EPA filter standards.
3. A very, very handy PGYFIS Solar Camping Shower Bag that holds 5 gallons (20 liters) of water, has a temperature indicator (degrees in Celsius/Fahrenheit) to make sure you're taking a hot shower, and comes with sturdy little showerhead.
4. A 5-in-1 Swiss Safe Fire Starter complete with a compass, paracord, and whistle — these can replace all your matches and lighters! You just strike the two starters together near kindlings and bam you'll have a fire, plus they'll work for up 16,000 strikes.
Promising review: "So, despite it taking roughly 15 minutes to get a flame the first time starting a campfire, there was no shortage of volunteers. Actually, kinda the opposite. People were almost fighting to try. So I didn't have to do anything. They could probably legally also advertise this as an effortless fire starter if +1 person is present." —DangOleMaleModeler
Get it from Amazon for $13.99+ (available in six colors).
5. A set of nontoxic anodized aluminum MalloMe Camping Cookware, an all-in-one kit complete with a pot, pot cover, nonstick pan, two bowls, folding stainless-steel spork, soup spoon, wooden spatula, cleaning sponge, and a drawstring travel pouch. Plus, the whole thing collapses into a small bundle.
Promising review: "I waited to review this until we had some real-work usage with it (bought two for backpacking with my son). A+! Thank you for putting this set together and selling it for a reasonable price! Now for a little suggestion: Cut about a quarter-inch off the spatula handle so it fits into the set without calling on God or cursing. Throw away to scrubber the set comes with and cut a typical kitchen scrubber sponge in half and place it in the set. Both of our supplied scrubbers started falling apart during the first trail-side use. All-in-all, with just a couple minor tweaks, this set is awesome!" —B. Wampler
Get it from Amazon for $21.99+ (available in two sizes).
6. An absolutely necessary set of Carpathen Campfire Roasting Sticks, because what's the point of going camping if you aren't going to be roasting marshmallows?
Promising review: "These are nice roasting sticks. At first I thought they were broken since the colored area moves around and isn't tight against the wood, but after reading about them I realized it's supposed to be like that so you can rotate the stick with your fingers. They wouldn't be great to do kebabs on since the skewer area isn't too long, but hot dogs and marshmallows fit perfectly. I also like the different colors on each stick, so you don't get yours mixed up with those of other family members and friends. Overall, I would recommend these." —Kryssy
Get the set of six from Amazon for $18.95.
7. A LuminAID Solar Inflatable Lantern that'll literally light up your life — it's a solar-powered LED lantern designed with multiple brightness settings, plus it's waterproof, shatterproof, dustproof, collapsible, inflatable, and has a battery life of up to 24 hours. You can recharge it using the sun or with a USB (which takes only an hour or two).
In the video, they're actually showcasing the $50 version of the LumicAID Solar Inflatable Lantern which has a phone charger.
Promising review: "I can not explain how happy I am with this!! First off, it charges super fast. I was shocked that with it being cloudy it charged so well. Also, the charge holds! We bought this for camping and it stayed on for an easy 12 hours (while in at night and used as a night light for the kids) and the battery wasn't even halfway used!! I love that it has different settings on brightness too." —mWit
Get it from Amazon for $24.95 (available in three light varieties).
And if you really want to see these products in action, check out the full video here.
View this video on YouTube
The reviews for this post have been edited for length and clarity.