Camping Hacks: 25 Tricks That Make Camp Life Easier
Updated: Sep 13
None of these are essential - that's the checklist's job. These are the tricks that make camping more comfortable, cheap or low-stress.
It's nice to be comfortable. Keep camping as easy and as straight-forward as possible.
Camping Setup and Pack-Down Shortcuts
If you have a new tent, practise putting it up once first in the backyard. Make sure you have all the parts and work out the tricks in a low risk environment, to save an argument at the campsite. Picking one is covered in How to Choose a Campsite in Australia.
Pack the car in reverse order: what you need first (tarp, tent, chairs) goes in last.
Photograph the campsite when you arrive. Pack-down becomes a matching game, and nothing gets left.
A spongy foam doormat at the tent can be handy for a shoe seat, and to half the dirt that gets inside.
Keep a "camp box" permanently packed. Keep items such as spare batteries, a lighter, tools, first aid, rope, pegs, your camping cutlery and more... so half the packing is already done. Clean it, re-pack it and re-stock it as soon as you can after getting home.
Cooking and Esky Hacks
Freeze drinking water in plastic water bottles. It's ice on day one, cold water on day two, and it never floods the esky.
Prep the first night's dinner at home. Cooking is then a matter of re-heating. Don't arrive late and also expect yourself to cook a big meal.
Crack eggs into a bottle at home. Freeze meat flat in zip bags. It packs better and acts as ice.
Have 2 eskies: one for drinks (opened constantly), one for food (opened rarely). The food stays colder for days longer.
A tub of hot soapy water on the stove while you eat means washing up takes five minutes, not thirty.
Lighting, Power and Charging Tricks
Strap a head torch or set a small lantern next to a large clear water bottle and it will amplify your lighting.
Solar garden stakes from the hardware shop mark tent ropes and the toilet path all night for a few dollars.
To save battery, put your phones on flight mode, and bring a power bank to last the weekend.
Use the car charger as you drive up, to make sure you're 100% charged when you get there.
Staying Warm, Dry and Comfortable
Insulate under, not just over: a foam mat or picnic rug beneath your sleeping mat is worth more than an extra blanket on top.
Tomorrow's clothes into the sleeping bag tonight. Warm clothes at 6 am is luxury for free.
An old fashioned hot water bottle (or a drink bottle of warm water in a sock) turns a cold night around.
Peg wet gear on a line strung inside the awning, not on the tent. Tents that touch wet gear leak.
Arrive with time to set up in daylight. It's terrible to arrive at night to seup up in the dark. This is a massive tip to prevent the biggest of camping miseries.
Cheap Fixes That Beat Expensive Gear
Storage tubs are camp furniture: seat, table, pantry, sink
Pool noodles over guy ropes save shins; a $2 tarp under the tent saves the floor.
Gaffer tape fixes most everything: tents, poles, chairs, shoes and eskies.
The hardware store is just as good as your camping store for half your kit: rope, pegs, tubs, lighting, tape.
What You Can Borrow, Hire or Improvise
Borrow first: most camping gear in Australia spends 51 weekends a year in a garage, and someone you know has a tent. What's worth buying is in Camping Gear for Beginners: What You Actually Need (and What You Don't).
Camping stores and some outdoor clubs hire tents, sleep systems and stoves - a cheap way to test what you actually like before buying.
Improvise the rest: doona from home in a summer campground, storage tubs as tables, the house esky, towels as pillows.
The Ones That Sound Clever but Don't Work
Tealight "tent heaters" - dangerous, and they don't work. Never any flame inside a tent.
Washing-up liquid pre-coated pans, doritos-as-firelighters, and most viral fire hacks. It messy, smokey and you might risk singing an eyebrow.
Overbuilt gadget setups that take longer to assemble than the trip lasts. If the hack costs more time than it saves, it's a hobby, not a hack.
Link to downloadable resource: Camp Food Prep at Home
You'll find a ten-minute menu plan, what to prep the day before, and how to pack the esky so food stays safe. Download or print the PDF with full details and keep it in your kit. The phone download version is a quick overview reminder list.
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