9 Pieces Of Camping Gear Worth Buying From Walmart (And 4 To Skip) – SlashGear

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The best gear is the kind you actually end up using on every trip if you’re a regular camper. Other than that, some items may just be flashy extras that take up valuable space without offering any kind of utility. The rule of thumb is to ensure you don’t end up with the latter by focusing on gear that solves common problems. It could be staying safe when there’s no cell coverage, keeping water readily available, saving backpack space, shedding the weight you have to carry, and minimizing any other inconveniences you may encounter at your campsite.

The Walmart picks below tick all these boxes and more. And to ensure you never have to carry dead weight, we’ve also included a few items at the end that you might be better off without whenever you set out on a camping trip. Here are nine camping items worth buying from Walmart, and four that you should skip to have the best possible camping experience.

Water supply is the non-negotiable part of camping, and it must be clean and safe at all times. The LifeStraw Personal Water Filter is a simple solution that will guarantee you get the best water possible out in the wilderness. It weighs in at just about two ounces and has a hollow-fiber microfilter that eliminates microorganisms when you are drinking straight from a specific water source. This utility makes it one of the camping items that can truly keep you safe out in the wilderness.

To use it, uncap both ends, stick the bottom into a bottle, cup, pot, or even directly into a stream and take a sip. As simple as that and you don’t have to pull too hard on it — if the filter’s been dry for a while, you can prime it by soaking it for about half a minute and it should work fine. Once you finish drinking, always remember to blow back through the straw to remove any gunk and remaining water on the bottom side. This helps the filter both last longer and stay cleaner between uses.

There’s one caveat you need to consider before buying this item. You can’t batch filter and save clean water for later with the personal water filter. If you want to store some water, LifeStraw has an offering that does that well — the LifeStraw Flex Water Filter with Collapsible Squeeze Bottle.

A good headlamp is one of those pieces of gear that come in handy in all camping scenarios once the sun goes down. The Coast WPH30R Waterproof Rechargeable Headlamp comes with five modes and both spot and flood beams to ensure you can always see within and around your campsite — up to 149 meters in flood mode. It reaches up to 1,000 lumens and has an IP68 waterproof rating, which should see it through all the elements it gets exposed to outside.

If you’re out for a multiple-day camping trip, the WPH30R is a great headlamp to have because the battery can last you up to 23 hours on a single charge at the lowest setting. You can make it last even longer by having spare batteries in place since the ZX850 it comes with is removable. The lamp itself is durable and very convenient, with a hinged adjustable beam always pointing at what’s ahead of you. For ultralight camping, this headlamp could replace the need for a bulky lantern.

A stove is a must-have if you fancy hot meals during your camping trips. The Coleman Single Burner Backpacking Stove is a decent option you can get at Walmart. It’s compact and is built around two key principles: efficient fuel consumption and consistent performance even in less-than-ideal weather. Rated at 10,000 BTUs, it can bring a liter of water to a boil in just over three minutes, which is fast enough for quick camping meals and beverages.

The Coleman stove is ultralight, weighing in at just under seven ounces without fuel, and you can fold it down to easily fit in with the rest of your gear. It can hold a 6-inch pan and the supports are serrated to help keep your pot or pan from slipping. The burner is adjustable from a full boil to a gentle simmer, which is crucial if you intend to prepare more than just hot water for your freeze-dried grub. It delivers the perfect balance of portability, control, and energy, so you don’t have to worry about hauling a larger unit even in windy and cold temperatures.

Being out in the wild will occasionally come with minor injuries from trail scrapes, small burns from cooking, or cuts from handling gear, among other possibilities. For this reason, a good first aid kit like the Equate On-the-Go is a must-carry. The 85-piece set comes with almost everything you may ever need in such scenarios, housed in a compact and rugged high-density plastic case. Inside, you’ll find a mix of important supplies for scrapes, bruises, and cuts, as well as everyday body aches and pains.

The inside of the case has dividers, which keep everything well-organized so you can quickly access whatever you need on demand. To keep everything secured, the case has side latches that are easy to open. Given how small and lightweight this first aid kit is, we recommend getting two — one to stay in your car and another to be packed with the rest of your camping gear. The included items should be enough for most minor injuries, but you can always add some personal medication to it if you need to.

When you stroll into an area with zero coverage, things can get scary in case of an emergency. In such scenarios, a compact satellite communicator like Garmin’s inReach Messenger Plus becomes a potential lifesaver. This palm-sized device is built to send text messages, photos, and voice messages up to 30 seconds long, from anywhere in the wilderness via a satellite network, as the name suggests.

Battery life is what makes this device a solid buy, with up to 110 hours of runtime in extended tracking modes. In fact, you can share a little bit of this juice with your phone in case you need to, with guardrails to ensure you don’t drain it fully. For emergencies, you can send out an SOS to a professional dispatch center and text chat with more details about your situation.

If you just want to stay connected with friends and family, the Garmin Messenger app allows you to engage with them through long messages, photos, and voice notes. The only obvious caveat here is that the communicator will be heavily dependent on your smartphone for these advanced features. However, it doesn’t take anything away from the Messenger Plus being a high-end camping safety net. Of course, this communicator also has a built-in GPS for navigation.

Gear like the Ozark Trail Aluminum Quick Lock Adjustable Trekking Poles always come in handy if your camping trail is long or has uneven terrain. They improve balance and reduce fatigue, which will ultimately save your knees during long and bumpy stretches. Each shaft is made from aircraft-grade aluminum and has an ergonomic cork grip that wicks out any sweat for comfort during hot conditions.

Each pole weighs just over 10 ounces, and you can adjust the length to a maximum of 54 inches and a minimum of 26 inches. This allowance means the Ozark Trail poles should be comfortable for all heights starting from 3 feet and 6 inches up to as tall as you can get. The quick lock mechanism handles the height adjustments — open the lock, adjust to your desired length, and then flip the lock back to close it and secure the pole. It’s a lot easier to deal with than twist-lock mechanisms on some trekking poles.

The tips at the bottom are made of tungsten carbide, and they are strong enough to bite into dry trail surfaces, including rock. For paved paths, sandy, and muddy ground, the included baskets and rubber caps do the trick. This particular pair of trekking poles is on the heavier side when compared to other aluminum options, but they cover for that by being among the strongest and most durable out there for their price.

Modern camping often includes various gadgets that constantly need power — phones, cameras, fans, lights, or even a laptop and a Starlink Mini. All these need a reliable power source like the Anker Solix C300X power station that comes bundled with a 100W portable solar panel for off-grid top-ups. With a capacity of 288Wh, this counts as a small-size power station, which is what you need in camping scenarios for the sake of portability.

The C300X may be larger than your everyday power bank, but it simplifies packing by eliminating the need for a bunch of power banks, especially for long camping trips. In the grand scheme of things, you’ll end up carrying one gadget instead of two or three. It caters to both USB gadgets and anything that requires AC power as long as it’s within its 300W limit. Paired with the 100W solar panel, you can always replenish the power station during the day as long as the sun is out. It’s built in such a way that you can hang it up on your backpack for on-the-go charging, leaving the C300X always ready to see you through the night.

Anker is renowned for power products, so you get the benefits of its top-tier charging experience like fast charging and safety protections when you use this compact power station. Power supply always comes at a premium when camping. The C300X provides just enough to keep most of your gadgets happy, especially if you have room for the bundled solar panel.

If you own an inflatable camping mattress, you’ll either need a pump or blow out your lungs doing it manually. The latter isn’t worth it if there’s the option of getting a palm-sized pump like the Etenwolf Mini Electric Air Pump. With such a small backpack footprint, this is a must-have for quick mattress inflation and deflation. It has a 2,600mAh battery and comes with a set of five nozzles that fit all the most common valves.

Besides inflating your mattress, it comes with a built-in light with a maximum brightness of 600 lumens, which is always a welcome addition to any campsite at night. If you have a power source like the C300X mentioned or a power bank, the Air 3 is the kind of efficient gadget you just have to include in your gear list. It solves a particular pain point and can come in clutch in emergencies where you need an extra source of light.

Being outdoors means you’re always exposed to the worst possible weather elements like rain. Without any rain gear, you will quickly get cold if you get caught out before setting up your tent. To cover this problem, you’ll need a camping raincoat — the one-size-fits-most Ozark Trail Clear Emergency Poncho is one of the best-selling ones you can get for less than $2 at Walmart. Given the cheap price, you can always go for the available multi-pack options so you always have a spare one.

Here’s how I’d set myself up with a multipack: Keep one in my main camping bin, a second one in my daypack, and maybe a third in the car. They are ultralight, so you won’t have to worry about weight. Of course, this poncho still needs to go over a dedicated rain jacket, and one notable feature is that it doesn’t hide things like safety reflective strips because it’s transparent. Most importantly, this is one piece of gear that can genuinely rescue a soggy evening without being an inconvenience on dry days.

The Garmin Fenix 8 Pro is a solid GPS watch, but the price is a bit much at $950 even for the smaller 47mm version — the larger 51mm unit crosses $1,000 at Walmart. You’d rather go for an alternative device with GPS like the inReach communicator at half the price. If you must go for a watch for the navigation features it offers, there are other options that serve the same functions below $300 — for example, the $270 Garmin Instinct 3.

The latter watch also offers GPS, health tracking, built-in flashlight, a robust battery, an AMOLED display, and a rugged design. That’s at just a third of the Fenix 8 Pro’s premium price. You could even pair the Instinct 3 with a satellite communicator and still pay less. There’s a world where you’d want to go for the Fenix line, but it’s not worth the sacrifice for typical hiking or camping. Spare that cash for more critical camping gear.

Ice boxes like the Ozark Trail Hard-Sided Cooler are great for picnics and beach days where you chill for a few hours, but impractical for long camping trips. Beyond a day, you start fighting basic physics — ice will melt, and once it’s gone, you’ll end up lugging around a large box of slosh. You’d be better off investing in a portable fridge or electric cooler instead, but you’ll need a power source for that. You could use a power station or your car to power it up.

Also, buying ice packs is cheap, but it quickly adds up over time if you regularly go out with your ice box. Another thing, you can’t always count on constant ice access in the wilderness. If done for long enough, you could find yourself spending more than it would cost to buy an electric cooler. But these are most likely luxuries anyway — if you just need to keep a few drinks cold, simpler solutions like insulated bottles make more sense. On the food side, always pack shelf-stable food instead of anything that needs special preservation techniques.

Camping foam pillows like this one from Ozark Trail are quite cozy, but major space hogs at the same time. Fortunately, you can always survive without them by pivoting to a makeshift pillow like folding up a jacket, spare clothes, or using your backpack to support your head. If you insist on a pillow (if maximum comfort is a priority), there are inflatable solutions that take up less space since you can deflate and fold them up for packing. One worth giving a try is the Klymit Pillow X.

The makeshift approach makes more sense in most cases because it’s free, doesn’t take up much space, and it always means one less piece of camping gear to worry about. Luxury while camping is great, but it’s always more efficient to avoid massive single-use gear whenever possible. A bulky pillow, if you have one, would be the first sensible thing to leave behind in this case. Being resourceful and creative with what you already carry should do the trick.

Portable solar panels are a pain to rely on, especially on low wattages like 30W and below. If you’re going camping, you’re better off going with a power bank or a power station like the Anker Solix C300X. You are at the mercy of the sun and limited only to daytime hours — which even in the best conditions may not be able to produce enough juice to justify the extra gear you have to lug around.

The sun may look like free power, but small solar chargers with small wattages are usually highly inefficient when the sun isn’t at its brightest. A cloudy day, or a day with something like just three hours of strong sunshine, and such devices start to struggle. I own a 21W panel and live at the Equator, but even the slightest cloud cover will always quickly drop the power output to a measly 2W in some cases.

If you want to harness the sun, we recommend trying out panels rated at least 60W or above, like what Ecoflow has listed at Walmart for the best experience. This gives a little wiggle room so that you can always be drawing enough power to charge your devices during most parts of the day. This isn’t to say that the smaller panels are all bad — it’s just that you can always do better with the slightly bigger ones, albeit at the cost of a larger luggage footprint.

I went for items that always come in handy in most camping situations or those that make some situations easier. For example, the satellite communicator can really get you out of a sticky situation where there’s no cell coverage. For the items to skip, it’s all about efficiency, especially for extended camping trips. And, of course, the recommendations had to have at least a 4.3-star rating from at least 100 reviews at Walmart. A couple have fewer reviews but I cross-checked other retailers and they meet the cutoff — probably since buyers tend to prefer other retailers like Amazon for those kinds of items.