Travel Tips From Triz: What to buy at REI

So REI really has everything and anything you could need for a road trip. Outside of the obvious things like tents and sleeping bags, there are lots of things that you’ll probably need for any road trip that involves car camping. Here’s the gear that I’ve brought with for our trip and some other things that you could possibly need:

Jet boil: A jet boil is a device that hooks up to a fuel tank and boils about 2.5 cups of water at a time. These are great for a trip like ours where we’ll be eating instant oatmeal, drinking instant coffee, and camping meals that require hot water. They’re fairly small and, depending on the size of the tank, can fit all of its parts inside for travel.

Camping utensils: Camping utensils really come in handy because you can find some that are collapsable and/or versatile. I have a collapsable silicone bowl that packs flat in my bag, a spork that has a serrated knife on the end, a mug for coffee, camping cleaning soap (one small drop will clean your stuff easily), and a life straw for emergency use (filters water 99% from any water source).

Coolers: These are really your best friend for any kind of trip. You absolutely need a cooler if you’re going to be traveling and plan on eating anything because no one wants to drive around for two weeks and only eat McDonald’s or gas station food because ew. I’ve taken coolers full of food on road trips and to festivals and it’s always really nice to have some degree of homemade food. On our trip right now we have two coolers: a small one for lunch meats, cheese, veggies, and any other perishable items, and one for beer because any sensible camper is gonna need some emergency brews.

Sunscreen: because DUH

Bug repellant: this seems like another duh but it’s really important to have. Not only are bug bites incredibly annoying but mosquitos and tics carry blood born pathogens and diseases and it’s important to stay healthy on your adventures.

First aid: THIS IS REALLY SO ESSENTIAL TO YOUR TRAVELS!!!! Not only to make sure that minor scrapes and abrasions are taken care of but also in case of emergency. You can, and should, buy first aid kits that are already packed because they’ll have everything you need in them, but you want to make sure that your first aid kits have all of the following: gauze, bandaids, alcohol wipes, moleskins (for blisters, )tweezers, medical tape, antiseptic wipes, electrolytes (for dehydration)medical scissors, pain killers, ice pack, Benadryl for allergic reactions, compression wraps

Tarps: If you don’t have a rainfly for your tent a tarp is an important addition to your packing list. You’ll need one for under your tent to keep the floor of your tent dry, then a second to tie toughly above the tent to keep it dry. On this note, you’ll also need 

Bungie cords/roaps: so you can tie your tarps up, and for a million and one other purposes. 

Camping stove: This will really ~come in clutch~ if you want to cook breakfast or any other simple meals that you don’t want to buy in a bag. It’s great for things like eggs and pancakes. Some things you’ll want to consider with this are: spatula, frying pan, and cooking spray

Chairs: chairs are an easy thing to bring along to be able to sit comfortably at your campsite or around a fire. There are also collapsable tripod type stools that are easy to strap to your pack.

Some things that are important to have that you can’t really buy at REI include:

Non-Perishable food items: Peanut butter is likely gonna be your best friend on long trips because it will stay good for a really long time, plus it’s really easy to slap on a piece of bread and call a sandwich. Other things that are nice to have on hand on a trip are:tuna (good source of protein and easy to keep around)peanut butter (another good source of protein and you can eat it with lots of things)power bars (cliff bars, nature valley, etc.)trail mix (salty sweet goodness)instant oatmeal (just add hot water and you’ve got breakfast)

Cleaning supplies: You’re definitely going to want some additions to keep you and your space clean. Here’s a few to think about:Paper towels: so you can make sure that your spaces are free of any spills (to avoid attracting any bugs). Toilet paper: is essential for camping because some campsite bathrooms can get *gnarly* and you probably won’t want to use the soggy toilet paper that’s left behind from other campers. It’s also really good to have for hiking, you know, in case of emergencies. Baby wipes: because sometimes taking a shower isn’t an option and you want to at least have the illusion of being clean

Stay curious and happy travels!