For this article we asked campers from our community what is really still in their van after a hundred nights, and what quietly stayed at home after the third trip. The result is shorter than you think.
The foundation: sleeping
- Sleeping mat or mattress topper, more important than any decoration. The cold comes from below, not from the side.
- Sleeping bag + wool blanket: the combination beats any single super solution, because you can adapt it to the night.
- Your own pillow from home. Sounds trivial, but it turns your first unfamiliar night into a familiar one.
- Blackout: thermal mats for the windscreen, clips and cloths for the rest. Sleep needs darkness, and privacy anyway.
Water & kitchen
- 10-litre canister with a tap: you don't need more for one night, and it fits behind the driver's seat.
- Gas stove, one pot, one pan. According to our community survey, the espresso maker is «not up for negotiation».
- Head torch instead of a torch, because you will need both hands.
What you can safely leave at home
The axe (you won't be chopping wood), the folding table for six people (there are two of you), the third pair of shoes and the travel kettle, because the pot can do that too. The most honest answer from the survey: «Everything I packed for emergencies that only existed in my head.»
💡 The most important item on the list is not one you can pack: book your pitch before you set off. Your first night will be twice as relaxed if you know where it is going to be.
The pro trick to finish
Pack everything into exactly two boxes: one for the kitchen, one for everything else. After the first trip you rearrange what was in the wrong place, and after the third the system works. Campers with a hundred nights behind them don't pack better. They just pack less.
