My Simple Solo Camping Setup: The Gear I Actually Enjoy Using (By Jerrad — Everyday Answer Lab)

 

Some of my favorite camping trips begin with a very simple thought:

"I have some free time. Why not go camping?"

No complicated plan.

I put a tent, a few chairs, a table, some food and whatever else I need into my car and drive away from the city.

Sometimes I go somewhere near the mountains.

Sometimes near a river.

And sometimes the destination isn't particularly important.

I just want a quiet place, a good view, something nice to cook, and a night where I don't have to do very much.

That's what solo camping has gradually become for me.

I've collected quite a bit of camping gear over the years, but interestingly, my actual camping style has become simpler.

I still love good gear.

I just don't want the gear to become the reason camping feels like work.

A Tent Should Make Me Want to Go Camping

For solo or two-person camping, two shelters have become my favorites.

One is the Plan40 Dice.

One of my favorite Plan40 Dice setups for a quiet solo camping trip.

I like the Dice because it gives me enough space without feeling excessive.

I can put a table and chair inside, organize my equipment and still have room to relax.

But it doesn't feel like I'm building a temporary house every time I go camping.

That's important.

When I suddenly decide to leave the city for one night, the last thing I want is to think:

"Ah... setting up that tent is going to be a lot of work."

A good tent should make me want to use it.

The Dice does.

Sometimes I Want an Even Simpler Shelter

The other shelter I enjoy is the Glaumbaer Utility Shelter.

The Glaumbaer Utility Shelter when I want a simpler, more open campsite.

This creates a slightly different kind of camping experience.

It's compact and open enough that I still feel like I'm outside.

That's actually important to me.

I didn't leave the city to spend the entire evening inside another room.

On a nice day, I want to sit under the shelter and look outside.

Maybe at the mountains.

Maybe at the river.

Maybe at absolutely nothing.

That's one of the luxuries of camping.

A Table, a Chair, and Somewhere to Cook

My setup around the tent is fairly simple.

I often use a Snow Peak Stainless My Table together with an extension or adapter table.

My usual cooking area — simple, compact and enough for one or two people.

I like being able to arrange the table differently depending on what I'm doing.

Coffee doesn't require much.

Dinner requires a little more.

And lamb chops definitely require their own territory.

The same goes for chairs.

After trying several types, I've stopped looking for one perfect camping chair.

There isn't one.

If I'm sitting at a roughly 40 cm-high table and cooking, I prefer something stable and at a comfortable height. I recently bought an iKamper VANT folding chair for this kind of setup.

If I want to grab a chair and move somewhere with a better view, the Helinox Chair One is wonderful.

If I'm going to sit for a long time and really relax, especially as a larger adult, I prefer the taller Helinox Sunset Chair.

And sometimes a larger Coleman Relax Chair is exactly what I want.

                    

                    

That's it.

No complicated chair theory.

Different moments need different chairs.

And if I'm being completely practical, the best chair at 2 p.m. while cooking may not be the chair I want at 10 p.m. with a drink in my hand.     

I also happen to like military-inspired colors and equipment, so the Tactical-style Helinox gear fits nicely with some of my tents and other camping equipment.

Camping is supposed to be fun.

I think your equipment is allowed to have a little personality too.

Lamb Chops Taste Better Outside. I'm Convinced.

One thing I don't like about solo camping is spending half the evening preparing dinner.

I want something simple.

One of my favorites is lamb chops.

Nothing complicated — lamb chops, a small grill and a quiet night outside.

A small grill.

Lamb.

A little seasoning. ( Compound seasoning sold at Daiso Korea)

Maybe a drink (Soju). :)

Done.

At home, it's just dinner.

Outside, late in the evening, with the grill going and nowhere else I need to be...

it somehow feels like a much better meal.

Maybe food really does taste better outside.

Or maybe setting up camp just makes me hungry.

Either explanation works for me.

And Sometimes... I Don't Even Set Up a Tent

This is where my BMW X5 45e plug-in hybrid becomes part of the camping story.

My simple sleeping setup inside the BMW X5 45e.

The rear of the X5 is reasonably spacious with the seats folded, and for one person I can make a comfortable enough sleeping area.

          

                                              

But the part I really appreciate for car camping is that the 45e is a plug-in hybrid.

With battery power available, I can use the car much more like an EV while I'm parked.

On a cold night, I can keep the cabin warm.

On a hot summer night, I can use the air conditioning.

That makes a huge difference when you're actually trying to sleep inside a car.

A large enough sleeping area plus electric climate control is a surprisingly useful combination.

And because it's still a plug-in hybrid rather than a pure EV, I can drive long distances without building my camping trip around charging stops.

For my kind of camping, that's a combination I've come to appreciate much more than I expected when I bought the car.

I have much more to say about camping with my X5 45e, but I'll save that for another post.

The Trips I Remember Aren't Usually the Most Complicated Ones

After years of buying tents, chairs, tables and all the other things campers somehow convince themselves they need, I've realized something.

The trips I remember most aren't necessarily the ones with the best equipment.

They're often the simplest ones.

No complicated plan. Just somewhere quiet, some good food and a night outside.

A free afternoon. Good weather. Throw some gear in the X5. Drive outside the city. Set up a tent. Make coffee. Sit down. Grill some lamb. Watch the evening get darker. Sleep :). Wake up somewhere different.

That's really all I need.

What Solo Camping Means to Me Now

I still like camping equipment.

Probably too much.

There will always be another tent I want to try, another chair that looks interesting, or some clever piece of equipment that somehow finds its way into my car.

But I've stopped believing that more gear automatically creates a better campsite.

I also don't believe everything has to be ultralight or minimal.

A tiny chair isn't useful if I want to sit comfortably for three hours.

A huge tent isn't useful if thinking about setting it up makes me stay home.

The gear needs to fit the trip.

That's why my camping rule today is:

Bring less gear, but bring the right gear.

Sometimes that's the Plan40 Dice.

Sometimes the Glaumbaer Utility Shelter.

Sometimes it's a Chair One that I can carry anywhere.

Sometimes it's a comfortable Sunset Chair.

And sometimes my tent is simply the back of the X5.

The equipment changes.

The reason I go doesn't.

I like being able to leave the city when I have some free time, find somewhere quiet and make life a little simpler for a night.

That's my kind of camping.

— Jerrad