• You'll find more stuff available to bring on a camping trip than ever before.Kettle image by Kathy D from Fotolia.com
  
  The stuff that is available to bring camping seems to grow with each passing year. The luxury camping equipment of yesteryear are essential of today and that includes things like global positioning systems and cell phones. Only time will tell if a portable satellite TV one day becomes essential camping equipment, but in the meantime, there is plenty of stuff to choose from to make your camping trip memorable.
  
  

First Aid Kit

• No one should ever go on a camping trip without a first aid kit. Standard first aid stuff includes antiseptic wipes, bandages, scissors, water purification tablets, anti-itch cream, pain medicine and a thermometer.
  
  

Sleeping Comfort

• Comfort means bringing a tent big enough for all members of the party and sleeping bags. If you are camping during the winter, make sure your sleeping bag is insulated enough to keep your warm. If you are camping in an area prone to rainfall, make sure your tent is as waterproof as possible.
  
  

Cooking

• Cooking at the campsite means a packing nested pots and pans for portability. You have the choice of gas, paraffin, methylated spirits, solid fuel and an old-fashioned campfire when it comes to heating food. When it comes to cookware accessories, only you can decide whether you really need oven mitts, spatulas, serving spoons, tongs or a can opener. Food runs the gamut from nuts, chips and canned meat to bacon, eggs and chili fixings.
  
  

Necessities

• Stuff you will need at your campsite to make it seem more like home include toilet paper, towels, soap, toothpaste, deodorant and baby changing items if you’re bringing along a little camper.
  
  

Navigational Items

• Keep from getting lost or facilitate the search for you if you get lost by bringing along items that lets others know where you are even if you can’t figure out. A compass should be passed out to each person in the party after teaching them how it used. A map that shows local roads and landmarks is always a good thing to have. Personal flashlights for everybody can be a lifesaver if you get too far away too late in the day.
  
  

Boredom Killers

• Not everybody considers the great outdoors to be quite as fascinating as its simulation at theme parks, so bring along stuff to keep everybody of all ages entertained. Digital cameras with batteries and memory cards will be enough to make sure some never get bored. Other stuff to help time pass includes playing cards, shallow pans for potential gold panning, books and nightlights for reading, binoculars for seeing wildlife and star maps for learning astronomy.