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To help you find the best camping and hiking gear for all of your summer adventures, we spent multiple hours testing many products over a wide variety of different categories. During our testing, we measured each item’s ability to add usefulness to your pack during both long and short trips. We also measured the products on their portability, durability and weather resistance.
Award: TOP PICK
WHY WE LIKE IT: This sleeping bag is built with ultra-light materials that will keep you warm in temperatures as low as zero degrees Fahrenheit. It’s also water resistant and compact for easier storage.
Award: HONORABLE MENTION
WHY WE LIKE IT: Ultra lightweight, good for three seasons and fully waterproof, this tent is perfect for extended backpacking and camping trips. It’s also incredibly roomy for a two-person tent and easy to set up.
Award: BEST FOR HYDRATION
WHY WE LIKE IT: This water bottle is nearly indestructible with its tough, BPA-free Tritan plastic while still remaining lightweight and portable. We also found that water consumed from this container avoids an unappetizing plastic taste.
Award: BEST H20 PURIFIER
WHY WE LIKE IT: This water purifier straw is compact and extremely effective at keeping your water safe for drinking, no matter where it comes from. It can eliminate 99.99% of bacteria and fits easily in your pocket or pack.
Award: BEST FOR COOKING
WHY WE LIKE IT: The portable gas camping stove features two adjustable burners, excellent wind blockage and innovative pressure control for more consistent cooking performance. It’s also durable and compact overall, perfect for camping trips.
Award: BEST MULTI-TOOL
WHY WE LIKE IT: This pocket knife features a classic Swiss army knife design with tons of functionality. It’s also super lightweight and compact, and able to fit into any pack or pocket with ease.
Award: BEST BUG SPRAY
WHY WE LIKE IT: This insect spray uses picaridin instead of DEET for a more effective approach to eliminating flying insects like mosquitoes and flies. It also features an incredible spray bottle design that can spray in any orientation.
Award: BEST ILLUMINATION
WHY WE LIKE IT: This headlamp is affordable, bright and extremely comfortable. It’s also more durable than other options with an IP44 water-resistance rating, making it an excellent choice for outdoors use.
Award: BEST BAG FRIENDLY COOKING
WHY WE LIKE IT: The best backpacking stove on our list is collapsible, versatile and lightweight, making it a wonderful space-saving option. It can protect the heat source from wind and even converts into a grill for more variety in cooking.
Award: BEST H20- BACTERIA TREATMENT
WHY WE LIKE IT: These water purification tablets are strong and fast acting, making them a perfect alternative to other water purification methods. They also prevent the iodine aftertaste so you won’t have a hard time drinking the treated water.
As we purchased and reviewed a multitude ofcamping and hiking products, we determined our overall rankings based on usefulness. Now, this is a bit of a subjective measurement, as everyone’s needs will vary, but in general it’s a good factor to consider. To accurately measure overall utility, we asked a simple question: “Could we live without this item on a hike or at the campsite?” To answer this question, we took each piece of outdoor gear into nature to test it out.We also measured each product based on its portability and size. If you’re camping and hiking, you’ll want something small and light enough to carry around with ease. This way, you’ll have more room in your bags to carry more gear. We also looked for portable gear that was easy to set up and tear down without a steep learning curve. This kind of gear saves you time on both ends.Finally we rated the camping and hiking gear on our list based on how long it lasted. You don’t want your gear to wear out after a single use, so purchasing something with durability is of the utmost importance. Each item on our list is durable enough to handle casual camping and hiking trips, but the best summer hiking gear and camping items will include extra durability overall. We rated items higher if they were built specifically to withstand bumps, bruises, drops and exposure to water.
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