The Best Car Camping Kitchen Gear of 2022
A five-star kit for base-camp meals
Heading out the door? Read this article on the new Outside+ app available now on iOS devices for members! Download the app.
With help from innovative camp kitchenware, there’s no longer a reason to sacrifice meal quality when you’re posting up at a tent site for a few days. We spent two months putting pots, pans, stoves, utensils, and accessories through their paces—frying bacon and burgers, scrambling eggs, cooking chili and fajita feasts, and then cleaning it all up and packing our kit away. Here is the best camp kitchen gear that made our food taste better and our excursions even more memorable.
Sea to Summit Camp Kitchen Toolkit 10-Piece Set ($40)
Never forget cleaning or cooking accessories again. This kit rolls up with Velcro tabs and holds an included spatula, serving spoon, scrubber, towel, cleaning cloth, biodegradable soap, and bottles to fill with cooking oil or condiments. Each tool tucks into one of eight pockets.
Hydro Flask Tandem Cooler Cup Tumbler ($30)
This double-walled, vacuum-insulated cup fits 26 ounces of liquid or two 12-ounce cans. There’s no lid, but a rubber gasket holds the cans in place; still, the vessel delivered two chilled sparkling waters on a New Mexico summit after three hours of hiking. The narrow design fits in most camp-chair cup holders.
Primus LiTech Frying Pans (from $40)
Premium pans aren’t just for your home kitchen. This hard-anodized aluminum skillet has a ceramic nonstick coating that makes cooking and cleaning even eggs a breeze. At 10.2 ounces in the 8.5-inch size (there’s also a 10-inch version), and with a collapsible handle, it’s backpacking friendly.
Sponsor Content
Coleman® 1900 Collection™ 54-Quart Steel Belted® Cooler ($349.99)
A modern refresh of a timeless design, the new 54 Quart Steel Belted® Cooler celebrates 120 years of Coleman heritage without compromising on keeping your drinks cool. With a fully insulated lid and body, you can carry up to 42 cans even with one 27lb bag of ice and be sure you’ll have plenty of cold drinks to go around even on the hottest days.
Dometic HYD-WF Water Faucet System ($100)
The HYD-WF is a simple silicone hose with a faucet head that pumps 150 liters of water on a charge. Plug the hose into Dometic’s 11-liter HYD-J11 Hydration Water Jug ($70), or any container with a CPC quick connector, using the included adapter. An LED shines when you press the faucet lever—helpful for tooth brushing and evening dishes—and a stick-on magnetic baseplate allows you to stash the whole faucet-hose system on the side of your water vessel.
Benchmade Table Knife (from $160)
This stainless-steel, clip-point, nonfolding blade has a serrated tip and a 14-degree edge, which handles precise cuts better than standard kitchen knives with larger edge angles. It emerged from a year of hard use without a single chip. At five inches long, it’s also small enough to pack without having to think twice.
Kelty Camp Galley Deluxe Organizer ($70)
Use attachment straps to hang this zip-up, schoolbag-size kitchen organizer from a tree or cabin post. Mesh compartments and elastic loops hold spices, plates, and utensils. (Bonus: fast air drying!) Hang a paper-towel roll from a cord on the bottom.
BruTrek BaseCamp French Press ($60 and up)
BruTrek’s stainless-steel French press is double-wall vacuum insulated, so even late risers can grab a hot cup of joe. A metal plate on top of the mesh filter halts brewing more effectively than most devices (the plate flexes under pressure to allow liquid through, then straightens to trap the grounds when you’re done pressing). Available in 32- or 48-ounce sizes.