Recommended Camping Gear
Here is some of the gear and stuff that we use at Monster Rangers HQ. We’ve personally purchased and used every one of these things, which is why we’re recommending them to you.
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Replacement Tent Spikes
So, when you buy a tent, they come with JUNK spikes. These NEED to be replaced or your tent might WINDIG away, which is NO FUN.
Rebar Tent Spikes
These are the hard-core, rebar style stakes. They measure 18″ long, and are coated against rust. Yeah, you could make your own (recommended) but if you don’t have the time (or the SCA friends) you can get yours here. Price is only a few bucks per spike, and it’s nice to not have your tent blow away.
Glow In The Dark Spikes
These aren’t rebar, but they’re WAY better than the spikes that came with your tent. These have cool glow-in-the-dark heads, which helps folks (and you) not trip over your spikes.
First Aid Kit
It’s good to have a decent first aid kit handy, and this one is a good one for not that much money. Pretty great to keep in your auto, though here in the desert, it’s prone to cook.
Lens Wipes
Cleaning your glasses, phone and camera lenses in the Wilds (or office) can be no fun; there’s nothing that I hate more than smeary/filmy lenses on my glasses. We need to keep our collective lenses clean if we’re gonna spot Monsters, after all. We like these because 1) they work and 2) they’re cheap. 200 should last all summer long.
Solar Lights
These are really small, and VERY BRIGHT little lights. They have a solar cell on the bottom, and 10 led lights on the top. You can inflate it to diffuse the light, or you can deflate it to pack it up really small. Even has an on/off switch, is waterproof, and has 3 modes. Good stuff.
Portable Kitchen
This portable kitchen provides a much needed prep area for making meals, and offers a sink and lantern holder (for the dark.) We just got ours for the 2018 Monstro Camp Summer Tour.
Ice Coolers
A good ice cooler is pretty important to keeping your food from spoiling.
Medium Lunch Cooler
This cooler is inexpensive and works pretty well. We like it, and use it as a smaller cooler that we carry back and forth from conventions, daily.
RTIC 65 Gallon Cooler
We realize that this cooler isn’t for everybody… but damn is it a nice one. A YETI clone – that used to cost far less – but we still love this thing. The plastic is solid, the rubber toggles close tightly, and it seals up tight. It makes a good, solid seat, in addition to keeping your food crisp and cool for days and days.
Cooler Packs
We use these freezer packs to keep the cooler cold, and not have to deal with soggy stuff. These ship to you DRY, and then you add water and make your own. These have worked out great as we can freeze them in the hotel fridges between events.
General Gear
Gaffers Tape
Sometimes you need to tape stuff together, and Gaffers Tape is a good way to go, if you need to be able to take it apart later. We use this on the Convention circuit, but it’s really handy around the house and at camp too. We’ve been using this brand for a couple of years, and it’s a good price.
Duct Tape
Sometimes you need to repair something for longer then temporary. Duct Tape can be the answer. We’ve found that this particular one was a good price and good quality. We’ve tried cheaper duct tape on the market (sticky/gooey mess) so we’ve returned back to this one.
Bungee Cords
Sometimes you need to stow your gear DOWN, so it doesn’t blow away, shift, or fly out of your truck. We like these because they’re high quality, a good size, a solid value, and they come in our classic Monster Rangers orange.
Zip Ties
We go through a ton of Zip Ties around here; these are bulk but the price is right. We like these 14″ ones, 75 pound strength – for general use.
