We love going camping. It’s something I did each summer as a kid and I still love going. So over the years there have been a few different products that I’ve found really make the camping experience a little nicer. Also I’ve noticed that when it comes to camping gear, you need to be care about getting things that aren’t going to fall apart on you in the middle of your camping trip. So I’ve had great success with all the items listed below. They’ve all endured many camping trips and have served us well over the years.
Atlas Hammock Suspension System by ENO
Eagle Nest Outfitters makes some of the best hammocks in my opinion. We take them camping with us all the time and love them. They hold up well, last forever and are super comfortable to sleep or just relax in. But once you have your hammock, you still need a way to hold it up or suspend it say between two trees. That’s where these ENO straps come in.
What I like about these straps is that they’re extremely easy and versatile to use. Their high quality, well made and work exactly as you’d expect them to.They will even fit around super large trees! I never have to worry about them breaking on anyone while laying in a hammock (which is a sure way to ruin a camping trip).
So if you’re looking at getting an ENO hammock, I’d highly recommend getting some of these to go with it. Or if you already have the hammock and just haven’t found straps you like yet they I’d definitely give these a try.
Coleman 8-Person Tent Rainfly
During our camping trips, we always use our Coleman 8-person tent. It’s a great tent that holds our whole family comfortably. And it’s not so huge that it becomes a nightmare to set-up and take down each time. But occasionally while camping we’d hit a patch of rainy or bad weather and it started to get into the tent.
This led me to start looking for an accessory we could use that would work with our existing tent, so I didn’t have to go out and buy a whole new tent set-up. The nice thing is that Coleman actually does make a rainfly that is specifically designed for their 8-person tent. I wish I had bought it when we first got our tent as we certainly would have used it. But since having it, it’s kept us entirely dry whenever we get hit with a bit of bad weather.
It takes about 12-15 min to install and is pretty easy to do. It’s one of those things you can take with you and only install it if you see a potential need for it. Often I have it in our vehicle “just in case” and never actually use it. But when we do need it, boy am I glad we have it!
The one possible downside is there isn’t much protection to the doorway of the tent from the rain (even with the rainfly on). On one hand it’s nice because it makes getting in and out of the tent a lot easier, but if you’re encountering some really serious weather then you’re tent will be a bit more exposed there compared to the other areas.
But overall, we love it, love using it and would highly recommend it. It’s perfect for us because it upgrades the protection of our Coleman tent enough to make a noticeable difference, and it’s easy enough to install and take down when we don’t need or want to use it anymore.
Champion Cover for 3100W Inverter Generator
We take our Champion Portable Inverter Generator with us on all our camping trips. It’s such a handy thing to have around and we love being able to use it. Because it was getting so well used, I found it was starting to get a bit beat up on the outside from being used on so many trips.
So I decided to get the cover that’s made for this particular inverter generator and it’s been such a great purchase that I wanted to add it to this list. One of the features this cover has is the ability to unzip it a bit so you can access the handle while still keeping the cover on. This way you can still move it around but keep the generator covered and protected at the same time. It’s also a very durable cover. When we’re packing all our camping gear up things are being shoved together and moved around and there haven’t been any rips or tears.
With some of the other covers I’ve used in the past for different tools or machines, they can be a bit of a hassle to get on and off, or they seem like more of an afterthought by the manufacturer. So as a result, sometimes I’ve felt like I had to be extra careful with the cover so I didn’t hurt it, lol.
But again, this cover has been great and I only wish I had purchased it initially when I got this inverter generator so it wouldn’t have gotten beaten up as much on the outside.
Yakima SkyBox Cargo Net
Another item we take on all our camping trips is our Yakima SkyBox. We love this thing! It gives you a lot more storage to work with and it’s easy to get in and out of. During the summer, we end up just leaving it on our vehicle because we find we’ll end up using for other trips like to the beach, etc.
Ours didn’t come with a cargo net, so we ended up purchasing that separately. And it’s been so handy to have. It basically keeps items from sliding back and forth in your cargo box. Now, if you normally keep you cargo box full, then it’s not an issue. But a lot of times we just want to toss a few things up there, like athletic gear, etc. And without the cargo net you can hear everything sliding and moving around. But when you use the cargo net, everything stays in place.
It’s such a simple accessory to get, but it’s make a big difference for us and ultimately how much we use our SkyBox. Even if we have just a few items to toss up there we can and do because the net will keep them in place. So if you’re thinking of getting a SkyBox or already have one and didn’t get the net yet for it, I’d highly recommend it.