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backpack, camping, camping trip, girly, girly camping, hiking, mountains, nature, outdoors, packing, travel, what not to bring, what to bring
What NOT to bring when camping…
There are checklists for packing your bag but what about un-checklists? Some things you just don’t need! Here are 10 items you can leave at home:
- Television– most people would say “duh” but I think its more common than not for “campers” to pack a TV! Just leave it! And that includes shows on your fancy phone- turn it off! Why even go camping?!
- Clothing “Options”- what I mean is, you don’t need 2 heavy jackets or 3 pairs of jeans or 2 pairs of hiking boots- narrow it down to one! I know its hard, and I am a firm believer in looking your best outdoors, but for you backpack’s sake- and your back’s sake- leave the extra clothes at home!
- Beauty Appliances- there shouldn’t even be outlets to plug in curling irons, hair dryers, and electric razors… Didn’t anyone ever tell you rugged is the new sexy?
- Pillow– you shouldn’t bring anything you can make yourself. So bunch up your clothes in a pile or bring a zip lock bag a blow it up- either way, skip the pillow!
- Perfume or Cologne– I love deodorant! I love it so much I don’t even were perfume because I think it smells good in itself! Pass on the Clinique and go au natural- or at most bring Old Spice!
- Anything you don’t want to get dirty– seriously, just think about #6!
- Excess Kitchen Equipment- You don’t need your entire kitchen! First off, figure out what you’re going to cook. Eliminate anything you know you won’t use. Next, think about utensils you can use in more than one way!
- Excess Toiletries– hair products, shaving kit, face mask- skip the routine and rough it!
- Food that spoils– its one thing when you have a cooler but if you’re backpacking you want to bring food that doesn’t go bad quickly. Stick to dehydrated meals, canned food, and fruit. If you have a cooler, don’t bring too much food. Food doesn’t stay 100% and if you don’t eat it, it may go bad.
- Laptop– Leave your work at home! Enjoy the scenery! Laptops don’t belong outdoors!
Does anyone else have items that should never go in your backpack?
Girly Camping® 
Your list pretty much sums it up, though I have a tendency to go UL– so i cut off handles of things, and only bring out outfit with multiple pairs of underwear! I’d also include camp chairs, sleeping pads work just fine, or rocks..but a full chair? HUGE waste of weight!
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Agreed! We females tend to bring too much stuff!
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OOOO and a blow up mattress. LAME!
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I go pretty UL myself (anywhere from 5-8lbs of gear, depending on season), but I definitely bring an inflatable pad. I’m a stomach sleeper, so I’d never get any rest on a CCF pad. My summer inflatable pad only weighs 10.3 oz… thats not much of a penalty over CCF. My spring/winter/fall inflatable pad is 16.8oz. It’s a little heavy, but completely worth it. If you pack smart enough in some areas, you can afford a luxury here or there.
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Ha ha, I meant a HUGE blow up mattress- queensized :)– I use a CCF sometimes- but i also have a thermarest that i use on more lax trips. 🙂
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I love your advice! When my husband and I first started backpacking and canoe camping I was guilty of bringing way too much stuff. I remember weighing my backpack before we started up Mt. Washington in New Hampshire, only to find that mine weighed close to 10 lbs more than his! I was guilty of bringing too many books, as well as toiletries and a ridiculous amount of clothing.
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I always bring too much and then regret it!
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Good article and so true! As I continue to go camping, I’m trying to whittle down the things I bring. Not easy!Instead of a pillow, I bring foam hair curlers. I set my hair with water, then go to bed. The next morning, I have curly hair and I had a good night’s sleep, because I slept on foam.
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Food is my biggest challenge (we only do car camping, backpacking is a completely different thing). I don’t really enjoy cooking outside that much so I’m trying to get better at bringing simple food that can just be eaten without elaborate preparation and clean up. I have kids so someone is pretty much hungry all the time, and it’s a challenge to find the right balance between too much food/not enough.
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Essentials, toilet paper?
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Good list! Multi-use gear can help save weight without completely losing the functionality of an item. For example, my waterproof pack liner doubles as a pump for my inflatable pad. A tent stake could double as your “poop trowel”. I’ve even used a half-full hydration reservoir as a water pillow (just shove it inside a stuff sack). Drink coffee right out of your pot so you don’t need a separate cup. If one item can serve 2 or 3 purposes, you won’t even notice that you left anything behind.
As far as clothes go, bring one coherent system of layers. Every layer should have a specific purpose. “Spares” are usually just a waste of weight. If you plan clothes properly, you won’t need spares.(Except socks. Always bring spare socks!) You can always rinse clothes out in a stream or something!
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Backpacking in an isolated wilderness like Isle Royale is a great crash course on what little you can get by with in a week. And over-packing is punished with back pain.
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I’m so not giving up my pillows!! That’s right, ‘pillows’ as in TWO! 🙂 And yes, we do bring an automatic coffee maker, oh, and a mini fridge for the sensitive items, but those don’t count! And really, who shaves when camping?? Okay… I did the first couple of trips, then I realized how silly it was!!
Great list!
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I tried to bring inflatable travel pillows for a while, which work really well and are obviously compact/cheap, but they get lost pretty easily so now I just fill the bag my sleeping bag comes in or bundle up a t-shirt with my extra clothes.
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WHO would pack a TV when camping?!?!?!?! A book I can understand, but a TV?!?!?! C’mon people, own up, who is it?
Other than that I totally agree with the rest too, especially the clothing ‘options’. I have travelled the world on extended 6 month or 12 month trips on little more than a weeks worth of cloths.
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Clothes even! ;D
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I guess we’re natural born nesters. LOL! I love stuff! Over the years I’ve made tiny sacrifices for little items of luxury, but try not to ADD to the weight.
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Reblogged this on Texas Outdoorsman and commented:
Girly Camping gives sound advise for more than just the lady camper/hiker. Check out her blog at http://wp.me/p2AWR3-mc
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Reblogged this on Kevin's Walk on the Wild Side.
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A couple of great ideas of what not to bring camping, by a fellow camper! Sound Advice @Girly Camper
Another idea for a pillow is to use your sleeping bag case and stuff it with clothes you not wearing.
Is it that important to bring your whole make-up bag? Ladies…
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Great article. I’ve met a few people who needed to read this before heading out! 🙂
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Kind of disagree on the clothing. I mean, my lady friend likes to bring five outfits for an overnight backpacking trip, I guess you never know when you might wind up ballroom dancing on a high mountain pass. And that’s a little nuts. But it gets cold at night at higher altitudes, the rains come, the sun can be powerful at midday … makes a lot of sense to bring some clothes to be ready for what mother nature is likely to throw at you.
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Pingback: 10 Items to Leave at Home while camping. | Knol Nuggets
I just got back from my first campin adventure ever, and just blogged about it too. I only brought one thing on your ‘don’t bring list’. That was my pillow. I wouldn’t have survived without my pillow as a first time sleeper on the ground! Lol.
And since it rained my one pair of pants got set, a second set of pants would have been nice, but I just dried out slowly around the fire.
You should add music to your list though…there was someone camping not to far from us along the river the first night and they kept blaring some music…drowned out the noises of the birds and bugs…and that is part of what made it enjoyable!
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Hi! thanks for passing by my blog. I like your!
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If common sense was actually “common” we wouldn’t need lits like this.
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Ha ha! Yes!
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I also downsize everything… When I climb, every ounce counts (instead of 70lbs on my back I’d rather have 66lbs). So I don’t bring a big toothpaste, just a sample size one. I cut my toothbrush in half. For a pee bottle I bring a collapsible canteen. No change of underwear (I use fresh pantiliners everyday). It may sound gross but it feels so much better on my back! 🙂
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Pantiliners! That’s actually a great idea I cut down on room in your pack! Thanks for the tips!
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Spot on, in my case though I add the necessities for my assistant dog.
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What a great post, I had to have a bit of a laugh (at myself) whilst reading it. Such a simple thing but only once you know what camping is really about. I remember the first time I went camping I had practically packed everything including the kitchen sink. Fast forward a few years and after quite a few more camping trips and festivals and I now like to travel as light as possible. I find it rather liberating actually, and what I realised is if you dont have something you need, many people do, and are usually willing to share especially at a festival 🙂 http://blogizing.wordpress.com/
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Very good list and good advice. Travel light is definitely the way to go when trekking and camping. I love your advice about the pillow.
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Yes, I agree with everything except for the pillow. In my older age it has become one of my comfort items. I agree that for backpacking there is no room for a large pillow, but car camping is a little different. There is a super packable pillow you can get for hiking that has been on the market for a while.
I agree totally with the idea of the post and am one of those people that tends to bring too much. Thanks for keeping me thinking about it.
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I’m still car camping or canoe camping, partially out of fear of forgetting essentials, as well as bringing too many non-essentials. Pillows are no longer needed though, since I use my carry bag for my sleeping bag liner and stuff it with my down vest. If it’s so cold I need to wear the vest, then I have other clothes to stuff the bag with. Good clothing and gear choices at the store help a lot with the actual packing.
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