The Well-Outfitted Car Camper

Photo: Frank W. Ockenfels 3

Zealous car camper Jason Williamson, of Columbia, South Carolina, did two years ago what any enterprising adventurer does these days: obtain sponsorship to support his habit. With high-tech and recreation-oriented entities anteing up for banners on his www.virtualtravelers.com Web site, not to mention his van, Jason and his black lab, known as Barnabus the Traveling Dog, are able to car-camp the country nearly full-time out of Williamson's 1974 Volkswagen Bus (they've logged 25,000 miles to date). Most of their necessary swag is piled inside, but up top are the Wenzel Family Enamel Cookset, Outdoor Research Camper Kitchen Kit, Eclogue Go-Blanket, Tec-40 flashlight from Princeton Tec, Wenzel Deluxe Two Burner Propane Stove, Quest Redwood tent, Uco Candlelier, and (look closely) a Leatherman Wave multitool.

SHELTER

In large, family-style tents, look for small-shelter innovations, like shock-corded aluminum poles, sealed seams, a generous fly, ventilation panels, and nylon that can fend off abrasion. A pack of huskies could feed 'neath the 24-square-foot vestibule of L.L. Bean's Vector Dome 4 ($279), a tent for a party of three or four that takes only one to set up. The 64.5-square-footer has lots of zippered vents and a huge fly to ensure dry hermitage in foul weather, but only five feet of headroom. The four-person Quest Redwood ($240) borrows intelligently from backcountry tent designs. It's a stretched-out version of a dome tent with three ventilated doors and vestibules at the ends. (It also imitates backcountry tents in height: a mere 4.5 feet.) Gear is stashable fore and aft, and an extra-heavy-duty floor should keep ground moisture from wicking up. Finally, there's a solution for those bare-bones Forest Service campgrounds with no (or gross) facilities: It's the TePee from Paha Que Wilderness ($200), a portable outhouse tent that can hold the camp Porta Potti and/or solar shower bag. It comes equipped with towel bars plus caddies for shampoos and other toiletries.

With lots of room to spread out, car camping encourages culinary indulgences. You can flame-lick the catch of the day and boil pasta simultaneously on the Coleman Powermax Grill ($110), which has one burner and a foot-square wire grill. Its 12,000-Btu output runs on Coleman's Powermax propane/butane fuel and boils a quart of water in under five minutes. Wenzel's Deluxe Two Burner Propane Stove ($56) comes neatly packaged with fold-down legs that double as a lid lock for traveling; two 5,000-Btu burners will have water boiling in about eight minutes. If you're really into British thermal units, check out the 25,000-Btu Camp Chef Sport Utility Stove ($160), which nukes water in a mere four minutes. It comes with four removable legs so it can support itself or rest on a tabletop; in any event, it's the heaviest of these stoves. For slow-cooked dishes like a fiery chili, fill up one of Action Africa's Potjies (seven to 75 quarts; $38–$350), dutch-oven-style cook pots made of cast iron for protracted simmering. If you're a traditionalist, you'll appreciate the enameled-steel Wenzel Family Enamel Cook Set ($47), a 13-piecer in chuck-wagon blue that's more dent-resistant than aluminum pans. As for utensils, the Outdoor Research Camper Kitchen Kit ($40) contains implements for measuring, stirring, and serving, all in a zippered pouch that also has enough spice containers to please the Frugal Gourmet.

COMFORT

Moonlight is romantic, but you can't read a book by it. The Wenzel Double Mantle ($35) is a self-igniting lantern that doesn't skimp on the beam, with 300-candlepower brightness fueled by a 16-ounce propane canister that lasts more than five hours. Coleman's 125-candle- power Quick Pack Lantern ($55) also uses electronic ignition and runs off any of the company's Powermax fuel canisters, which, in this case, will double as a stabilizer for tabletop use. If the brilliance, or the hum, of a gas lantern seems intrusive, light up the Uco Candleier ($32), which triples the old candle-lantern concept, throwing the warm glow of three burning wicks. The most spartan terrain is La-Z-Boy City when you sink into the Crazy Creek Therma-Lounger($40), a three-quarter-length air mattress– cum–camp chair. Likewise, Therm-a-Rest, maker of the ubiquitous sleeping pads, offers the Easy Chair Lite 20 ($38), though it has fewer adjustments and a shorter back panel. Whether you're inclined to sit upright or sprawl, the revolutionary yet simple design of the Eclogue Go-Blanket ($99)—30 square feet of gecko-adorned, super-soft fleece with a waterproof nylon underside—makes even the soggiest marshland siesta-ready. Or go purely horizontal in the Rokk Panamint ($80), a roomy (34-by-78-inch) rectangular sleeping bag. The 15-degree bag is fluffed out in Hollofil II (bulky, but who cares?) and includes a soft-against-the-cheeks fleece pillow-pocket. If you prefer levitation, the Aerial Chair Superlite from Above Ground Designs ($199) is a mini hammock-seat that serves as a hanging basket for one slothful camper. Just find a shady tree with a stout branch that'll support your weight. Then hang out.

UTILITY CHEST

If you've maxed-out your trunk and still have a ton of gear to pack, look to your roof for extra storage. The eight-cubic-foot (that's about three big duffel bags' worth) Kanga Typhoon Roof Pouch ($144) is sewn from the same heavy vinyl/polyester material used in dry bags. Nearly three times as big, the fancy Packasport System 90 ($835; $1,060 for a custom paint job) attaches to a car's factory or aftermarket sport rack and protects goodies in a fiberglass, carpeted, rocket-shaped shell complete with gas struts for easy hatch-opening. To organize your gear, True North's Gear Boxes(four sizes, $8–$15.50) range in size from 108 to 912 cubic inches, with mesh panels and big zippers for easy visibility and access. Bugs are a car-camping tradition. If you don't care for the toxicity of deet-based repellents, try Tender Corporation's Natrapel lotion ($4 for a four-ounce pump bottle), which relies on pleasant-smelling citronella to fend off pests. Two must-haves: flashlight, pocket tool. The waterproof Tec-40 four-watt halogen flashlight from Princeton Tec ($20) turns on and off with a twist and fastens to wrist or belt via lanyard for three to five hours of light. The Leatherman Wave ($98) packs 13 blades and implements into its pliers handles. All your old favorites are there—screwdrivers, wire stripper, can/bottle opener, knife blade, and scissors. Coleman's Pro-Lock Cartridge Tool System ($40) incorporates similar necessities, but here the tools are stored in removable cartridges in the handles of the pliers. May your next luxury campout not require their implementation.—GORDON BLACK

To contact manufacturers, please click here.