A person resting in a hammock strung between pines above a still mountain lake

Topic · 05 / 07 4 pages No affiliate links

Gear for camping in Europe

Tent, van and carry-on kit, chosen for people flying to a trip rather than driving from home with a garage behind them.

01 · Where to start

What are you shopping for?

Most camping gear advice assumes you have a garage and a pickup. This is written for someone with a suitcase and a rental car.

01 · Sleeping Tents that survive a Scottish night and still fit in checked luggage Weight, packed size, and wind rating 02 · Sleeping The ground takes more heat than the air does R-value is the number nobody checks 03 · Water Water filters, and what each type actually removes Bacteria, viruses, and the difference 04 · Power Power banks: the honest capacity is lower than the one on the box Rated cells against usable output

How we pick Specs checked on the manufacturer page Nothing on this page is ordered by what anyone pays us, because nobody pays us.

02 · Gear

Before you spend the money.

Comparison Best power bank for camping: watt-hours, output and the 100Wh airline limit Nitecore NB10000 Gen4, BioLite Charge 80 PD and Zendure SuperTank Pro compared on Wh, output wattage and weight, plus the UK CAA rule that caps spare lithium batteries at 100Wh without airline approval. Jul 20 Read → Comparison Best portable water filter: what 0.1 micron does and does not remove Sawyer Squeeze, LifeStraw Peak Collapsible Squeeze and Grayl GeoPress compared on filtration rating, published removal claims and weight. The bacteria, protozoa and virus distinction, and where it matters. Jul 20 Read → Comparison Best sleeping pad for backpacking: R-value 3.2, 4.5 and 7.3 compared Exped Ultra 3R, Therm-a-Rest NeoAir XLite NXT and NeoAir XTherm NXT compared on R-value, weight and packed size. What R-value you need for what conditions, using specifications published by each manufacturer. Jul 20 Read →

All 4 gear pages

Comparison Best power bank for camping: watt-hours, output and the 100Wh airline limit Nitecore NB10000 Gen4, BioLite Charge 80 PD and Zendure SuperTank Pro compared on Wh, output wattage and weight, plus the UK CAA rule that caps spare lithium batteries at 100Wh without airline approval. Jul 20 Comparison Best portable water filter: what 0.1 micron does and does not remove Sawyer Squeeze, LifeStraw Peak Collapsible Squeeze and Grayl GeoPress compared on filtration rating, published removal claims and weight. The bacteria, protozoa and virus distinction, and where it matters. Jul 20 Comparison Best sleeping pad for backpacking: R-value 3.2, 4.5 and 7.3 compared Exped Ultra 3R, Therm-a-Rest NeoAir XLite NXT and NeoAir XTherm NXT compared on R-value, weight and packed size. What R-value you need for what conditions, using specifications published by each manufacturer. Jul 20 Comparison Best tent for wild camping: three two-person tents compared on published specs MSR Hubba Hubba LT 2, Hilleberg Nallo 2 and Alpkit Ordos 2 compared on weight, hydrostatic head, season rating and whether they stand without pegs. Specifications from each manufacturer, read July 2026. Jul 20

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Next step

Knowing where the water is beats carrying more of it

On a European trip the service point does more work than any single piece of kit. Fresh water, a place to empty the cassette, and somewhere legal to sit overnight are all provided, and knowing that changes what you need to pack.

Water and service points See the picks