Every guide, tool and reference on this site

Sleep systems

Bags, quilts, pads and liners as one heat-loss system. Ratings standards, R-value arithmetic and the fixes that actually move your comfort temperature.

• Sleeping bag temperature ratings, decodedWhat comfort, limit and extreme ratings promise under ISO 23537, why the number on the bag is usually the wrong one, and how to convert any rating into yours.
• Sleeping pad R-value, and the heat you lose to the groundWhat R-value measures under ASTM F3340, how many watts each extra point of R really saves you, and why foam under an air pad is the best value warmth in camping.
• Down or synthetic: choosing insulation by trip, not by loyaltyFill power, fill weight, wet performance and lifespan compared, plus a scored decision rule that tells you which insulation your actual trip needs.
• Why you sleep cold, and the fixes ranked by what they actually buyThe four routes heat leaves a sleeper, why most cold nights are a pad, food or damp problem rather than a bag problem, and every fix ranked by degrees per gram.
• Quilts against sleeping bags, argued from the physicsWhat the crushed underside of a sleeping bag is really worth in grams and in degrees, how much a quilt actually saves, and the sleepers who should not buy one.
• How to choose a sleeping bag, in the order the decisions matterThe eight buying decisions in the order they matter, from comfort rating and margin through fill weight, shape and draught features to what not to pay for.
• Why does my air mattress or sleeping pad go soft overnight?The ideal gas arithmetic behind a bed that softens as the night cools, why new vinyl stretches, and a decision tree for cold, stretch, valve or puncture.
• How many degrees does a sleeping bag liner actually add?Worked from the ISO 23537 rating table, a liner is worth about 1.2 degrees C per millimetre at most. Why 4, 8 and 14 degree claims need a liner few people carry.

Tents & shelters

Choosing, siting and living in a shelter: floor area per person, condensation physics, waterproof ratings and when a tarp or hammock beats a tent.

• How to choose a tent, by floor area and geometryTent capacity ratings are not standardised, so buy on floor area per person, wall angle and vestibule size. Here is the rubric to score any tent.
• Tent condensation: where the water comes from, and how to stop itTwo sleepers put nearly a litre of water into a tent overnight. Here is the water budget, why clear still nights are the worst, and what to vent in which weather.
• Waterproof ratings explained: hydrostatic head, seams and what leaks firstWhat the millimetre figure on a tent means under ISO 811, why floors are rated higher than flysheets, and the failure modes that actually cause a wet night.
• Tent, tarp or hammock: matching shelter to terrain and skillA scored comparison of tents, tarps and hammocks across terrain, insects, temperature, group size, storm exposure and skill, plus the failure modes of each.
• Tents in wind: pole geometry, guy lines and the force that breaks themWind load rises with the square of speed. Here is the arithmetic, what guy lines and pole alloy really contribute, a storm pitching order and 2am triage.
• Pitching and site selection: the routine that makes a shelter workA six criterion site score you can run in ninety seconds, an eight step pitching routine, and the drainage, cold air and slope details that decide the night.
• Why do tents have a flame retardant warning?The label comes from state tent laws that named CPAI-84. Here is the current rule in each state that had one, and the two that still name the standard.
• Silnylon vs silpoly: which is better for a tent or tarp?Silpoly holds its pitch in rain, silnylon resists tearing better per gram. Data sheet figures for both, the wet sag arithmetic, and the UV claim tested.
• Do two wide sleeping pads fit in a 2 person tent?Two 64 cm wide pads need 127 cm of floor at the narrowest point they cover. Rectangular 2 person floors pass, most tapered ones fail. Here is the check.

Camp kitchen & water

Stoves, fuel, cookware, coolers and water treatment, sized with energy and heat-transfer arithmetic instead of guesswork.

• Camping stove types compared, by what each one is actually good atCanister, integrated, liquid fuel, alcohol, solid fuel and wood stoves compared on grams per boil, cold behaviour, and the one disqualifying weakness of each.
• Canister stoves in the cold: pressure, blends and what actually worksWhy butane rich blends quit below freezing, how fractionation weakens the last third of a canister, and which warming tricks are safe and which are not.
• How much stove fuel to carry, worked from the energy upWork stove fuel from 377 kilojoules per litre and your real delivered efficiency, with a worked four day example, snow melting costs and a weighing protocol.
• Backcountry water treatment: matching the method to the threatWhich method covers protozoa, bacteria and viruses, how long each one takes, and the field routine that stops you recontaminating clean water.
• Coolers and ice, by the numbersHow much ice a cooler really needs, worked from latent heat and wall conduction, plus what shade, block ice and pre-chilling are worth in kilograms.
• Camp cookware and kitchen kit that earns its weightPot volume per person, what aluminium and titanium conductivity really change, the lid and width arithmetic, and a break-even for heat exchanger pots.
• How long does a 1 lb propane cylinder last?A 16.4 oz cylinder holds about 22,200 Btu. Divide by the appliance's rating for its runtime, with a table from 2,000 to 20,000 Btu per hour and the cold limit.
• Where are bear canisters required?Canister rules for nine parks, forests and wilderness areas from their current regulations: where, which dates, whether hanging still counts, and which lists apply.
• Is it legal to refill disposable 1 lb propane cylinders?Federal law bans moving a refilled DOT-39 in commerce, not the refill itself. Who that covers, the current penalties, California's 2028 mandate and the legal route.
• Can you take a camping stove on a plane?The stove can fly, the fuel cannot. Which bag it goes in under TSA, FAA, IATA, Canadian and airline rules, and the 7 hour purge that gets a used stove accepted.
• How long does a backpacking water filter last?Rated life runs from 250 litres to 378,000 across nine filters. Why the numbers do not compare, and the four signs that retire a filter before its litres run out.
• Can you leave propane or fuel canisters in a hot car?A sunny parked car reaches the 49 to 52 degrees C limits on propane and canister labels within an hour from about 25 degrees C outside. What happens past them.
• How do you tell how much gas is left in a canister?Weigh it and subtract the empty weight: 98 to 103 g for 100 g cans, 144 to 160 g for 230 g, about 200 g for 450 g. Tables by brand, plus a float test.

Packs & load carrying

Fit, volume and base weight. How load transfers to your hips, how many litres a trip really needs and where the kilograms hide.

• Backpack fit: torso length, hip belts and where the load goesMeasure your torso, size a pack to it, and move 70 to 80 percent of the load onto your hips, with a home fitting protocol and a hot-spot diagnostic table.
• Base weight, explained properly, and what to cut firstBase weight defined without the folklore, the consumables on top, what your body tolerates as a share of body weight, and a cutting order that starts free.
• How many litres of pack you actually needWhy a stated 50 litres is not a measurement, the working ranges from overnight to winter, and a volume budget worked item by item so you buy the right size.
• Packing a backpack: load placement, access and staying uprightWhere dense items belong, how centre of mass height changes with terrain, a zone by zone loading order, and a two minute check that catches three costly failures.
• Can you take trekking poles on a plane?Carry-on in the US since April 2025 if the tips are blunt, checked only from the UK and Canada. The rules by country, the tip problem, and which poles fit a bag.
• Is a 40 litre backpack carry-on size?A 40 litre travel pack is built to fit; a 40 litre hiking pack is 74 to 80 cm tall. Airline limits in litres, and how much a hiking pack can hold and still fit.

Clothing & layering

A layering system built from heat balance: insulation values, breathability numbers, rain shell reality and what to wear in camp versus on the move.

• The layering system, derived from your own heat balanceWork out what to wear from the heat you actually produce, in clo, then split the kit into a moving layer and a camp layer that do different jobs.
• Rain jackets: what breathability numbers do and do not tell youHydrostatic head, RET and MVTR explained: which numbers are comparable, why a jacket that wets out feels like it leaks, and what actually keeps you dry.
• Insulated jackets: fill weight, fill power and choosing by useFill weight makes the warmth, fill power only makes it lighter. A static against active framework for choosing an insulated jacket, with fill weights by use.
• Footwear and socks: fit, moisture and preventing blistersBlisters come from shear, moisture and heat, so those are the three fixes. Sizing, boots against trail shoes by load, sock fibre and a drying routine.
• How many washes does permethrin-treated clothing last?Spray-on permethrin is labelled for 6 washes, factory treatment claims 70. Independent tests find half the permethrin gone in 5 to 16 washes. A wash-count rule.
• Does merino wool keep you warm when wet?Merino does release heat as it absorbs water, about 20 kJ for a soaked base layer. Drying it costs 18 times that. What actually keeps you warm wet, with numbers.

Power & lighting

Watt-hour budgets, headlamp standards, battery behaviour in the cold and whether a solar panel earns its weight on your trip.

• Power banks: sizing a battery from what you actually useConvert mAh to watt-hours, subtract the real conversion losses, price your daily draw in watt-hours, and pick the smallest bank that covers the trip.
• Headlamps and the FL1 standard: reading the box honestlyWhat ANSI/PLATO FL1 measures, why beam distance and run time flatter every lamp, and how to pick a headlamp by beam pattern instead of by lumens.
• Solar panels for camping: when they earn their weightWhat a rated watt really delivers outdoors, how many equivalent full sun hours you get in real conditions, and the gram-by-gram break-even against a bigger battery.
• 12 volt power and camping fridges, sized properlyWork out what a camping fridge really costs in watt-hours a day, size the battery in usable energy, and see where a fridge beats a cooler full of ice.
• Can you charge a lithium battery below freezing?Charging limits from nine cells and devices, why 0 degrees C is the floor but 10 is the real line, and how to charge a power bank or phone safely in the cold.
• Can you use a power bank on a plane?Carrying one is allowed; using one depends on the airline. The March 2026 ICAO limits, five airlines compared, and how many watt-hours you can still fly with.
• Can you leave a power bank in a hot car?A sunny car passes the 40 to 45 degrees C storage limits on power banks and phones within an hour above 20 degrees C outside. What the heat costs, and when.
• How long will a CPAP run on a battery?ResMed figures show a dry CPAP draws 8 to 20 watts and a heated one up to 7 times more. Runtimes for four battery sizes, and why the humidifier decides.

Basecamp & family camping

Car camping done well: kit lists that fit a real vehicle, comfort that survives rain, and camping with kids without buying twice.

• The car camping checklist, and how to build one you trustA car camping list only works with a system behind it: boxes that stay packed, a water figure that holds up, a loading order, and a restock habit.
• Camping with young children, without buying twiceChildren lose heat faster than adults, so a family trip is decided by the sleep setup, not the tent: age-banded planning, a two trip rule and a safety routine.
• Gear for a first camping trip: buy, borrow or leave at homeThe honest minimum for a first night outdoors, what to borrow instead of buying, a category by category verdict, and the shakedown night to run first.
• Camp comfort: chairs, tables, shade and what is worth the spaceWhich chairs, tables, tarps and lights earn their place in a car boot, ranked by comfort per litre packed, plus the tarp pitching rules that hold in wind and rain.
• Camping in the rain: the routines that keep a trip aliveA rain arrival routine, a wet and dry zone layout for a family tent, and what to do with every category of soaked gear overnight so a wet weekend still works.
• Is it safe to use a Mr. Heater Buddy in a tent?The manual allows a ventilated tent and forbids running it while you sleep. Why the oxygen sensor is not a CO detector, and how much air the heater needs.
• How far should a tent be from a campfire?At least 4.6 metres (15 feet) from the fire's edge, with the fire downwind. Where the 25 foot figure comes from, rules abroad, and what the gap is for.
• How long does bear spray last?Three or four years, by the date printed on the can. What leaks out, what cold and heat cost in range, and why one test fire ages a can like years of storage.
• Can you bring bear spray into Canada from the US?Canada admits animal sprays only if they meet its pesticide law, and the traveller exemption excludes bear spray's class. What the texts say, and what to do instead.

Gear care & repair

Washing down, reproofing shells, fixing what tears in the field and storing gear so it still performs in five years.

• Washing down bags and jackets without ruining themWhy a flat down bag is usually dirty rather than worn out, plus the full wash and dry procedure with times, temperatures and the fix for each failure.
• Reproofing rain gear: DWR, wetting out and when a shell is finishedHow to tell wetting out from a real leak from delamination, with a sink test, the wash and heat procedure, and re-treatment intervals by type of use.
• The field repair kit: under 100 grams that saves tripsAn itemised repair kit that weighs 88 grams, a table matching every likely failure to the item that fixes it, and step by step field procedures for five repairs.
• Storing gear between trips so it still works in five yearsWhy most gear failure is storage failure with a delay, how to score a storage location, and an end of season routine that saves insulation and coatings.
• Why is my tent sticky?A sticky tent is a polyurethane coating breaking down. Why it speeds up once it starts, how much heat in storage costs, and how to strip and recoat a fly.
• How long does seam sealer take to dry?Seam sealer cure times from 2 to 24 hours, by chemistry, with maker figures side by side, why they disagree, and when a sealed tent can be packed or rained on.
• How to get mildew out of a tentThe cleaning method tent makers agree on, the dilution for each mildew remedy compared with what was tested, and why the black spots usually stay after cleaning.

Calculators

• Sleep system comfort calculatorA sleeping bag number describes a bag on a test bench, not you on the ground.
• Base weight and pack load calculatorEnter what you own, category by category.
• Stove fuel calculatorFuel is the one item you cannot borrow from a stranger halfway through a trip.
• Cooler ice calculatorHow much ice to buy, and how long it survives in your cooler, in your weather.
• Camp power budget calculatorSizes a power bank or leisure battery from your actual devices, with the conversion losses and cold-weather capacity drop that catch people out on night three..
• Tent size calculatorTent capacity numbers describe bodies laid side by side with nothing else inside.
• Camp food weight calculatorTurns days, people and effort into calories, then into the grams that land in your pack.

Reference and standards

• Camping gear glossary89 terms, standards and units defined, with the number ranges that make each one useful.
• Reference data and chartsEvery computed figure on the site in one place, with the constants behind it and a CSV download.
• Start hereThe four decisions that decide whether a trip works, in the order they matter.
• How we evaluate gearOur evaluation method in full: what we compute, what we model, what we take from published standards, and the things we deliberately do not claim.
• Editorial standardsThe rules this site is written to: sourcing, numbers, independence, how recommendations are framed, and what we will not publish.
• CorrectionsHow we handle mistakes, what gets logged, and the running record of corrections made to guides, calculators and data on this site.
• About Camp Gear ExpertsWhat this site is, what it publishes, how it is funded and the standards it holds itself to, in plain terms.