I would love some advice and personal opinions on a variety of camping equipment. What to purchase, what to avoid, and what works well based on how you camp. Let me know your thoughts on the equipment I'm considering as well as share what has worked for you and why. All knowledge is good knowledge!
Backstory: Im 29/yrs old, with a wife and <1/yr old. Two years ago, my wife and I bought a 6 person tent that was on sale at Dunams. Very cheap, but it works. We have always camped on camp sites where you need to reserve a numbered spot, have access to plug in power, as well as several other luxuries such as running water or even showers/toilets. Normally weekend camping(2/3 days). Now that we have a mini-human, we will likely remain using reserved sites while we figure out the game of parenting AND camping.
Goal: Invest in some quality equipment, that can stand the test of time with a growing family and be outside MUCH MORE.
Equipment Im Considering & Why:
- Hot/4-season Tent with portable woodstove. Why: I recently googled "Tents for family camping". I enjoy the idea of having this large bell shaped tent, that can handled most weather conditions AND have a fancy stove in it. Talk about a base camp. This thought feels impulsive and smart at the same time.
- Steel Skewers/ Cast Iron Cookware. Why: Cast Iron can last a lifetime if taken care of. Having a smaller more portable pan could be used on fires, stoves, or even other portable cooking solutions. Steel skewers seem to be a very versatile, durable option for fire cooking. Stab Hotdog - Cook Hotdog.
- Camping Cot. Why: Wife requested after two failures with air mattresses. Happy wife, Happy life.
- Battery Powered Lighting Why: We use our phones for flashlights, and this works really well. But I would like this life consuming pocket rectangle that has been attached to me most my life away from me.
Things we already have and bring with us each trip:
-Sleeping bags
-Pocket knife
-Basic fire-starting gear such as matches, kindling, wax-type starters
-Tarp(we put under the tent to try to care for it)
-Cooler
-Small tin of band-aids
*Posted on r/CampingGear as well, awaiting moderator approval*