Around August last year, my fiancé and I went on a family camping trip together in the gorgeous Colorado mountains. I had never been camping before, and my fiancé wasn’t necessarily an avid-outdoorsy man either. So, with this being our first-ever camping trip, we had no idea what to expect and may have been a little ill-prepared. When we agreed to join his aunt and Uncles family for a weekend mountain getaway, we were so desperate for adventure that we didn’t think twice about it. This was one of those last-minute invitations that came up during a friendly conversation, and during that time, answering “no” was not up for debate. So, on a Saturday morning in August of 2022, we packed our camping gear and hit the road toward the mountains!

We ended up having a fantastic time in the mountains, but if we were to have gone alone instead of with my fiancé’s uncles’ family, that trip would’ve been a disaster. Of course, we did pack our ultimate essentials like a tent and sleeping bags, a drink cooler, and some food, as well as extra blankets and coats cause if you know anything about Colorado’s weather, you know it gets so cold during the night. Although maybe we didn’t do enough research on camping essentials cause when we showed up at the site, we soon realized our amateur mistakes. Here are three must-have things they brought that we bought after that camping trip in the mountains.

1.     Camping Shower Tent ½Green Elephant

Depending on who you are camping with, you might not like going to the bathroom in the branch-snapping-quiet woods. Some famous camping sites can get crowded, especially on holiday weekends. This may leave you either having to walk far off to find a private area to do your business or, if you are someone like me, holding in your business till you get home because you suffer from ‘shy-bladder’ syndrome. And because this product is camping-friendly, it is super easy to set up and stow away. All you must do is take it out of the bag and unfold it, and it pops open! You can use it as a pop-up dressing room or a toilet tent. The great thing about this $69 product is the attention to detail, where you will find a towel hanger, clothes hanger, flashlight hanger, toilet paper holder, and a personal item storage pouch.

2.     Portable Camping Hammock ½ Sunyear

There is a lot of time to pass while out in the middle of nowhere. Unfortunately, you cannot spend the whole time eating, drinking, or sleeping, and if you aren’t going with a group of friends to play games with, you might run out of things to do. Eliminate that possibility with a good book and a nice hammock. We didn’t have a hammock to bring with us on our trip, but the uncle did, and it was so lovely to use. This hammock was a breeze to set up and held my fiancé and me in it easily. We bought one right after the trip and will use it on our next one. There’s a lot of hammocks out there but you can never be sure of how durable they may be. This $69 hammock comes in many color combinations and has everything you need to stay comfy and safe for your next camping trip! It also comes in three different sizes with the biggest one being able to hold up to 600 lbs.

          3.     LED Camping Lantern ½ Coleman

When the sun goes down and you are miles away from any city, you’ll need some light. Whether you’re staying up with friends or going to the bathroom in the middle of the night (which I wouldn’t advise, because BEARS!), you should always have a handy-dandy lantern. This LED lantern is rechargeable, lasting up to twenty hours, and has four take-along light panels that can either recharge on the base or with a USB port. The USB port can also be used to keep your personal devices charged. This $72 water-resistant lantern gives off up to 800 lumens for the base and 100 for each panel. The beams light up to 18 meters which is perfect for your morning coffee before sunrise or lighting up your tent in the middle of the night.

If one of your New Years’ resolutions is to become more outdoorsy, don’t go into it blindly! – no pun intended. These products listed above will help you out tremendously. Speaking from experience, without having one of these items, I’m not sure if I would put camping in the category of “things I like to do in my free time.” With these three must-have products with you on your next camping trip (along with food and a tent, of course), you should be more than prepared for a great outdoorsy getaway!