Deuter’s little Star EXP and Starlight EXP grow with your kids, so you don’t have to buy new sleeping bags year after year. both mummy-style bags have an expandable “footbox’’ that extends the length of each bag by 12 inches. just unzip the bottom of the bag and the little Star EXP expands from 37 to 49 inches (good for children up to 40 inches tall), while the Starlight EXP expands from 63 to 75 inches (to fit anyone up to 67 inches). The bags have a soft nylon outer fabric, a micro-fleece lining, and a high-loft synthetic fill that stands up to wear and tear. And the bags are more affordable than many of their low-tech, character-themed equivalents.
When making s’mores or lazing around the campsite, children can kick back in Lucky Bums’ Moon Camp Chairs . these padded, collapsible chairs, made by a company that specializes in children’s outdoor clothing and gear, suit pint-sized campers weighing up to 95 pounds, and their super-sturdy construction enables them to take a beating: ours has withstood tantrums, tugs-of-war, and oversized users. each chair comes with its own stuff sack for travel.
Kelty’s Basecamp Kitchen takes luxury camping to a new level. this relatively lightweight (just under 18 pounds), fully-collapsible kitchen sets up in less than 10 minutes and comes with many home amenities: a deep shelf, decent “counter’’ space, and a two-tiered pantry. Add to that hooks for your grilling utensils or dish towels, a paper towel holder, and a wind screen for added protection. what really sets it apart are Kelty’s handy Binto bags (sold separately), including a 16-inch-deep storage bag, a cooler, and a sink. They’re made with a super-durable rip-stop polyester fabric, help keep your kitchen supplies organized, and even have shoulder straps for easy portability.
We love the kitchen because it frees up our picnic table. It’s also sturdy enough to balance a pot of steaming pasta (the loaded Binto bags help weight the unit), yet portable enough to relocate around the campsite.
The Primus Profile DUO stove comes with one high-powered (12,000 BTU), adjustable burner that is ideal for boiling pasta, heating beans, or making morning pancakes, and a removable, nonstick grill (9,700 BTU) for cooking everything from hot dogs to shish kebabs. The propane-fueled stove has piezo-style auto-igniting burners (so you can fire it up without using matches) and a built-in windscreen to keep your meals cooking.
GSI Outdoors’ Pinnacle Camper cookware is like a set of matryoshkas (Russian nesting dolls that stack one inside another). in this case, the compact cookware bundle contains two large aluminum pots that have plastic lids with built-in strainers (one of our favorite features), a nonstick frying pan, a collapsible pot handle, four virtually unbreakable plastic plates, four plastic bowls, and four insulated cups with lids, all of which pack into a 9-by-4-inch heavy nylon waterproof pouch that doubles as a sink. each individual place setting (plate, bowl, and cup) is also color-coded, so you can keep track of yours. As we discovered, the stackable unit can also provide hours of entertainment for curious toddlers.
Light up the night with Black Diamond’s compact, battery-powered LED lanterns . The 250-lumen Titan can practically illuminate a mountainside (or so it seems), yet it won’t blind campers, thanks to its frosted globe and reflector system. we use the smaller (80-lumen) Apollo model on the picnic table to light up dinner and card games (it has three foldable legs for added support), and the even smaller 45-lumen Orbit suspended inside the tent as a nightlight for little campers. You can dim the brightness of all three lanterns by pushing and holding the on/off button, a handy feature.
Finally, we bring an iMainGo portable speaker system for projecting lullabies or Baby Beethoven tunes into the tent to put mini campers to sleep. our iPhone or iTouch fits snuggly inside the padded device, so it’s protected if our toddler decides to play with her favorite apps. The compact unit will work with any device that has a 3.5mm connection.
IMainGo makes two speaker versions: the iMainGo X and iMainGo2. The X model offers superior sound, but it comes with a built-in proprietary battery that must be plugged into a wall socket or car jack to recharge (not always the handiest option while camping); the battery lasts about 12 hours. The iMainGo2, on the other hand, still offers impressive sound quality, yet it runs on two AAA batteries.
You’ll need a voluminous trunk, a roof rack, or creative packing skills to transport your car-camping gear, but it will be worth it when you are making high-end campsite cuisine and then sleeping luxuriously under the stars.
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