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Here’s two camping boxes that house some essentials I like to have on hand when we are out with the troop.  The smaller is a 8 gallon and the larger a 24 gallon Action Packer by Rubbermaid.

The contents of each are laid out and labeled in the first picture above. Around the center of the main picture there are a few items that are difficult to see:

  1. An old pocket knife with the old fashioned can opener blade that you pull instead of push.(I cannot use the new ones!)
  2. A bottle of Campsuds Biodegradable Cleaner. For washing everything from me to my dishes.
  3. Three containers of matches.
  4. Small bottle of Olive Oil
  5. Between the boxes are some miscellaneous BBQ utensils.
  6. On the far left is a small first aid kit.
  7. The zip-loc bag has recipes for French Toast, Dutch Oven Lasagna, Dutch Oven Beef Stew,

Most of the folding camp chairs I have seen (the one’s that fold up into a sack) tend not to last long. I finally found a sturdy, compact chair made of steel that I like: the GCI Outdoor Xpress Lounger Director’s Chair,

Over the years I accumulated quite a collection of knives that the adults use to prepare meals. Duluth Trading makes the canvas tool roll that I have adapted for knives and other utensils. It is sturdily made out of what Duluth calls “Firehose canvas” and leather. I haven’t found a purpose for the little pockets along the top yet. The knives used to be hazards just kind of floating around in the box; now they are organized and safer.

I really like the Light My Fire Outdoor MealKit my wife got for me. I only take the spork and a plate backpacking to save weight; otherwise the full kit stays in my camp box. It has two smaller cups/bowls, a strainer/cutting board and two sporks. It’s very adaptable and useful.

For most of my camping career as a Boy Scout I had an aluminum measuring cup that my mom gave me when she got a new Pyrex one. I had it for years but lost it somewhere along the way. I have a set of the brown plastic cups left over from an old four man aluminum cook kit. I usually take this cup backpacking when we are using dehydrated food. It has a pretty good handle and measurements to get the precise amount of water for dehydrated food. The old style brown cups are better (of course) than the newer, flimsier, versions I have seen.

Now I carry a virtually indestructible Coleman Wire Rim Coffee Cup with a wire handle on almost every campout. I was given a Sierra Cup  and I tried to use it for years. It was so cool I tried to like it although I never did. I have had the Peak 1 mug/cup for years, probably decades.

I also have a Bubbakeg (an insulated 52oz mug) that I fill with ice and and Gold Peak Sweet Tea (it gets hot down here in Florida!). This keeps me cool for an entire campout Saturday afternoon.

My brother in law lives in Kansas City near a Cabelas and a Bass Pro Shop. He sends me camping stuff for my birthday and I send him fishing stuff. He sent me a GSI folding spatula that I really like; I want to get the rest of the set.

I looked for a spoon with a longer handle for quite a while and particularly like the guyotdesigns large spoon and spatula set. The spoon has a handle long enough to get to the bottom of a dehydrated food bag like the Alpinaire packages we take on extended backpacking trips.

The Coleman utensil set in the roll up pouch is what I use most of the time and I have spares for new adults that forgot to bring utensils on their first camping trip. They usually appreciate it!

From scoutmastercg.com contributor Larry Geiger

Do you have a favorite piece of camping gear or a proven technique you’d like to share? You can participate by sending me pictures and stories about your favorite gear. [Email me your ideas](mailto: scoutmastercg@verizon.net) and tell me about your favorite gear,  how and why it works,  where you got it and how you use it.  Take your turn and go to the head of the class for show and tell!**Product link disclaimer