Choosing your camping kit

How do a tent, sleeping bag and mat work together?

A tent, a sleeping bag and a sleeping mat work together as one sleep system, and the weakest of the three decides how warm and dry you are. The tent keeps off wind and rain. The sleeping bag traps warm air around you. The mat stops the ground drawing heat out of you from below, because the filling of any sleeping bag is crushed flat where you lie on it.

That is why cold nights on a first camp are usually a mat problem, not a bag problem. Buy the three together, or at least with each other in mind: a winter bag on a summer mat is wasted money, and so is a four-season tent over a sleeping bag rated for July.

Our wild camping kit list puts the sleep system alongside everything else you carry for one night.

Which shelter: one man tent, 2 man tent or bivvy bag?

Choose a one man tent if you camp alone and want the lightest proper tent, a 2 man tent if you camp as a pair or want room to sit up with your kit inside, and a bivvy bag if you want the lightest shelter of all and can live without space.

Shelter	Best for	What it won't do
One man tent	One person, small or rough pitches, carrying the least tent weight	Leave much room for a wet rucksack or for sitting up to cook
2 man tent	Two people sharing, or one person who wants space	Pack as small or weigh as little as a one man tent of the same design
Bivvy bag	The lightest overnight shelter, tiny pitches, clear forecasts	Give you anywhere to shelter, cook or change out of the rain

For any camping tent, check the flysheet's hydrostatic head: the water pressure the fabric resists before it leaks, measured in millimetres. The figure describes the fabric only. Taped seams, a good pitch and a flysheet that doesn't touch the inner decide whether you actually stay dry.

• One man vs 2 man tent compares the two sizes for one person and for a pair.
• What is a bivvy bag explains the three types and the condensation trade-off.
• Hydrostatic head explained tells you what the waterproofing numbers mean in UK rain.

Browse one man tents, 2 man tents and bivvy bags.

How do sleeping bag temperature ratings work?

Sleeping bag temperature ratings come from the ISO 23537 test, which gives each bag a comfort rating, a limit rating and an extreme rating. Choose your camping kit by the comfort rating: the lowest temperature at which a standard adult woman sleeps comfortably in a relaxed position. The limit rating is the lowest at which a standard adult man sleeps curled up for eight hours, and the extreme rating is a survival figure you should never plan around.

A UK three-season camp between April and October usually needs a comfort rating somewhere around 0°C to 5°C, lower on high ground and in early spring. If you sleep cold, pick a bag rated a few degrees lower than the forecast. Down packs smaller and lighter for the same warmth; synthetic filling keeps more of its warmth when damp and costs less.

Shop sleeping bags.

What R-value sleeping mat do you need?

For camping between April and October in the UK, buy a sleeping mat with an R-value of at least 3. R-value measures how well the mat resists heat flowing from you into the ground, and higher is warmer. Most brands now test to the ASTM F3340 standard, so figures from different makers can be compared directly.

R-values add up: a closed-cell foam mat under an inflatable mat gives roughly the sum of the two, which is the cheapest way to make a summer mat work in autumn. Inflatable mats pack small and are the most comfortable; foam mats are cheap, can't puncture, and weigh little but take up a lot of room on the outside of a rucksack.

Sleeping mat R-value explained covers the numbers season by season. Shop sleeping mats.

What size rucksack do you need?

A rucksack of about 40 to 50 litres carries one night's camping kit for most people. Two or three nights, or bulkier kit, usually needs 50 to 65 litres. Pack everything at home before you buy, then choose the rucksack that fits it, rather than buying the bag first.

Fit matters more than volume. The hip belt should carry most of the weight on your hips, with the shoulder straps holding the pack close to your back. Heavy things (food, water, the stove) go close to your spine, between your shoulder blades.

Shop rucksacks.

Do you need a stove for camping?

You need a stove if you want hot food or drinks, and on a cold night in the UK most people do. A small gas canister stove is the simplest camping kit for one or two people: it screws onto the canister, lights in seconds and boils half a litre of water in a few minutes. Add a pan, a lighter, a spoon and a mug.

Cook outside the tent, in the porch at most with the door open, and never in the inner. Stoves use up oxygen and give off carbon monoxide. Never light a fire instead. Dartmoor's backpack camping code rules fires out, the Cairngorms bans them from 1 April to 30 September, and they scar the ground everywhere.

Shop cooking kit.

What else do you need?

Beyond the sleep system, shelter, rucksack and stove, a night out needs a head torch, a waterproof jacket and trousers, a warm layer, a map and compass, a small first aid kit, water bottles, a trowel and a rubbish bag. None of it needs to be new or specialist for a first night. A charged phone is useful, but it isn't a map.

What are starter kits?

Starter kits are sets of camping kit chosen to work together, so you don't have to match a tent, a sleeping bag and a mat yourself. Each kit is built for one situation (a first solo night, a wild camp, a pair, or an upgrade from old kit) and says what each item is and why it was chosen.

See the starter kits.

Questions people ask

What is the most important piece of camping kit?

The most important piece of camping kit for a comfortable night is the sleeping mat, because it stops the ground drawing heat out of you. A good mat with an average sleeping bag sleeps warmer than a good bag on a thin mat.

What should you buy first?

Buy the sleeping mat and sleeping bag first, because they decide whether you sleep, and you can borrow a tent more easily than a warm bag. The tent, sleeping bag and mat are also the three heaviest items, so compare their weights on each product page before anything else.

Can you use a festival tent for wild camping?

A festival tent can do a summer night on a sheltered campsite, but most aren't built for wind and rain on open hills. For wild camping, look for a stated hydrostatic head, taped seams and a pole design that stands up to wind.

Is a 2 man tent too big for one person?

No. A 2 man tent gives one person room for a rucksack and space to sit up and change, at the cost of more weight and a bigger pitch, which is why some solo campers choose one.