Editors at Beyond The Tent spend considerable time each year evaluating a wide range of the best camping gear for your review and enlightenment. This year is no different, and as the calendar winds down, we’ve assembled this list of the absolute top choices among the best camping gear for 2023.
We invite you to use this list of recommendations as a way of improving your outdoor adventuring. Or, if you have an outdoor enthusiast in your family, you can use it as inspiration for gift ideas for the approaching holiday season.
However you decide to use it, you can be sure that choosing camping gear from this list will be a decision you won’t regret.
1. Best Tent
The REI Co-op Base Camp 4, along with the larger REI Co-op Base Camp 6, are Beyond The Tent recommendations in best camping gear for 2023.
The only difference between these two tents is that Base Camp 4 has 60 square feet of floor, while the Base Camp 6 has 84 square feet. At those dimensions, the Base Camp 4 can comfortably accommodate 3 campers, while the Base Camp 6 has more than enough room for 5 campers.
In addition to floor space, the domed shape of the Base Camp tents maximizes space for standing up. The Base Camp 4 has a peak height of 5 feet, while the Base Camp 6 offers a peak height of more than 6 feet.
Constructed of polyester fabric and held up by aluminum poles, the Base Camp tents offer the durability that will see campers through many outdoor adventures. And with multiple pockets and hanging loops built into the tents, gear can be stowed in order to maximize sleeping space.
The Base Camp tents are a particularly good choice among the best camping gear for relatively new campers. One reason is that the poles of both tents are color-coded for easy assembly. In addition, both tents are constructed with reflective strips to make them easily visible, a big help in returning from any nighttime exits.
2. Best Glamping Tent
As “glamping” — a portmanteau of “glamour” and “camping” — has grown in popularity, the gear for enjoying the outdoors with a touch of luxury has improved. One great example of that is the bell-style glamping tent from Psyclone Tents.
Read on to discover why editors at Beyond The Tent have given the Psyclone tent a place among the best camping gear for 2023.
Generously sized, the rugged canvas-and-vinyl Psyclone glamping tent offers a choice of 13-foot or 16-foot-diameter models. The 13-foot Psyclone can sleep four adults, with the 16-foot model providing space for as many as eight adults.
Plus, both Pscylone glamping tents offer generous heights, another reason they are on the Beyond The Tent list of best camping gear for 2023. The 13-foot model features a center pole more than 8 feet high, while the 16-foot tent’s center pole reaches nearly 10 feet. In either case, your experience in the Psyclone will be airy and spacious.
Vents and heavy-duty mesh windows, fitted with canvas covers for privacy and sleeping, add to the comfort of the Pscylone tents. And if you like, you can choose a Psyclone tent with a zippered floor that allows for the removal of the walls for extra air circulation.
3. Best Sleeping Bag
A sleeping bag is arguably the most important piece of camping gear. The best of them provide a truly restorative night of rest before the next day’s outdoor adventures. That’s particularly true of the North Face One Bag, 2023 choice of best sleeping bag at Beyond The Tent.
The best recent news about the North Face One Bag is that since our recommendation, a newer version has come to market. Like the previous version, the new bag includes three different and interchangeable waterproof liners that can be custom-matched to the temperatures in which you’ll be sleeping. What that means, of course, is that you’ll always be able to adjust your One Bag in the event of temperature changes during your adventure.
Engineered with a combination of synthetic and down-filled layers, the One Bag can keep you warm in single-digit temperatures. And if you want to lounge in a camp chair on a slightly chilly evening, the One Bag’s down layer can serve as a comfy quilt.
And finally, in another nod to sleeping comfort, the compression sack used for storing your One Bag is fleece-lined, ready for use as a pillow. Clearly, the One Bag is worthy of its place as a Beyond the Tent recommendation among the best camping gear for 2023.
4. Best Hammock
If you’ve been around camping for any length of time, you know there are a growing number of outdoors enthusiasts joining the ranks of hammock sleepers.
With that in mind, editors at Beyond The Tent took a wide look recently at hammocks. In the end, they named the Hennessy Expedition Asym Zip Hammock as the best camping gear of 2023 in the hammock category.
While the Asym Zip’s weight might make it problematic as an option for backpacking, it’s an outstanding option for car camping. And still, at just 3 pounds, the Hennessy Expedition is perfectly acceptable as a sleeping option for shorter backpacking adventures.
The Asym Zip makes sense as a hammock choice for a wide range of outdoor enthusiasts. It’s designed to be comfortable for campers and hikers up to 6 feet tall, with a weight capacity of 250 pounds.
The “asym” referenced in the name of this hammock notes its asymmetrical design. That feature makes it possible to lie comfortably flat on the hammock. And that, of course, is great news for those who might associate sleeping in a hammock with being uncomfortably curled up.
Augmenting the comfort of its asymmetric design, the Hennessy hammock includes a mesh covering for protection from insects. The hammock also comes with a rainfly that can be oriented in any direction to keep the use dry and/or out of uncomfortable winds.
5. Best Stove
No compilation of the best camping gear would be complete without a recommendation on a top-flight stove. And for editors at Beyond the Tent, the LP-gas-fueled Camp Chef Mountain Series Everest two-burner stove is the hands-down favorite.
One of the great features of the Camp Chef Everest stove is that it doesn’t require matches for lighting. Just a simple twist of a knob, and you’re ready to cook the day’s catch of fish or some hamburgers and hot dogs.
The Camp Chef Everest stove provides an amazing 215 square inches of cooking space atop its twin 20,000 BTU burners. Those features combine to provide the ability to prepare a lot of food and to do so quickly. Those two things helped the Everest become one of the best camping gear options.
Other outstanding features of the Everest stove include its rugged frame and its folding lid, which keeps its burners shielded from the wind. And at roughly 2 feet long, 16 inches wide, and 8 inches tall, the Everest won’t take up much room when packing for car camping.
6. Best Table
There is a lot to think about when assembling a collection of camping gear to make your outdoor adventures as comfortable as possible. In looking at the best camping gear for 2023, Beyond The Tent editors took time to evaluate an indispensable piece of gear, the camping table.
Their top recommendation, the Co-op Camp Prep Table from REI, is truly a standout among the many options for this category of best camping gear. With a foldable steel frame supporting an aluminum top, the Co-op Camp Prep Table is more than rugged enough for extensive outdoor use.
A particularly handy feature of the Co-op table is the holes installed at each corner of the top. Use the holes for hanging trash bags, keeping utensils organized, and keeping cloths and other cooking and cleaning items clean and off the ground.
Plus, the aluminum tabletop allows for taking hot pots and pans off the stove or campfire immediately for handy and quick serving.
Finally, as an added bonus, you need not think of the Co-op Camp Prep Table as only a piece of camping gear. Use it around the house between camping trips to accommodate extra dishes for potluck dinners or other entertainment needs.
7. Best Chair
One of the pleasures of getting into the outdoors is immersing yourself in the natural world. One of the best camping gear options for that is a great camp chair for sitting and looking out into woods and skies.
For 2023, Beyond The Tent’s editors have chosen a chair from Coleman, the venerable camping gear manufacturer, as part of the year’s best camping gear. Engineered for comfort, the Coleman Camping Chair even has an insulated pouch in one armrest to keep up to four beverages cool.
Other notable features of the Coleman camp chair include a pocket attached to the seat to keep a cell phone, reading material, or other items handy. The seat and back are cushioned for extra comfort and are set within a sturdy alloy steel frame.
With a weight capacity of 325 pounds and easy wipe-clean maintenance, the Coleman camp chair is sure to become an indispensable piece of your camping gear.
8. Best Cooler
Recognizing that a cooler is vital as camping gear, Beyond The Tent editors have made a recommendation for best camping gear of 2023. In making their determination of the best overall cooler option, editors decided to recommend a large-capacity model.
And size is exactly what the Yeti Tundra 45 cooler brings to the consideration of the best camping gear for 2023. Yeti is, of course, a noted manufacturer of high-end coolers, drinkware, lunchboxes and other items. And the Tundra 45 certainly continues the Yeti legacy.
The Tundra 45 incorporates Yeti’s “fatwall” design, with extra thick walls providing as much as 2 inches of specialized insulation to keep ice from becoming slush. That insulation comprises top-grade polyurethane foam pressure-injected into the Tundra 45 as well as other Yeti coolers.
The Tundra 45’s insulation is encased in the famously rugged molded form of the cooler, noted for its extreme toughness. As any camper knows, durability is key for any piece of camping gear that is destined to see heavy use over the years.
With outside dimensions of roughly 2 feet long by 15 inches high by 15 inches wide, the Tundra 45 has tremendous storage capacity. According to Yeti, the Tundra 45 can hold 34 pounds of ice. Or, if you prefer another capacity measurement, it can hold 28 cans of beer.
You will certainly pay a premium for the Yeti Tundra 45. However, you can consider its price tag not as a routine purchase but as an investment in a quality piece of indispensable camping gear.
Wrapping up the Best Camping Gear of 2023
Well-constructed, well-tested and well-reviewed camping gear truly can make the difference between a great outdoor experience and a less-great adventure. For this post, Beyond The Tent editors have provided invaluable insights for you into the best of the best camping gear of 2023.
Whatever piece of gear you might need, choosing from this list of the best camping gear ensures you’re investing in the top options available today. To delve further into the world of outdoor recreation, check out other posts at Beyond The Tent on tent camping, backpacking, and glamping.
- About the Author
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Jim Thompson grew up tent camping with his family, and was introduced to backpacking with the Boy Scouts. He attended a military college, where he was introduced to rappelling, an outdoor activity which he has not pursued.
Jim holds a bachelor’s degree in political science from the University of Georgia, and spent 35 years as a newspaper writer and editor before become a writer for Apple Pie Media.
Jim can be reached at jimt3rd@yahoo.com