Why You Can Trust CNET Camping in your home's backyard? Here's some great gear to get you started
Re-create some of the joy of camping out right in your backyard with these products.
A crackling campfire, hot dogs and marshmallows roasting, the stars glimmering overhead... It sure sounds relaxing. And you don't have to trek into the woods to enjoy this tranquil scene either. All you need is your own backyard, and the right equipment.
In this list we've gathered everything required to transform your lawn into a cozy campsite. We haven't used all of these products ourselves, but all are rated highly or are best sellers wherever they're sold. So, even if summer camps are closed this season, you can recapture the feeling of sleeping in the wilderness without needing to roam too far.
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First things first, you'll need a tent with enough room for everyone. A four-person tent should do the trick for most families, and this model for Ozark Trail fits the bill. Measuring 8 by 8.5 feet -- enough room for a queen-size mattress -- it'll offer plenty of space for people and camping gear alike, but it's also compact enough to shoehorn into tight spaces. On top of that, it's one of the least expensive models you can buy of this size, and it carries a 4-star review rating with over 100 reviews.
For a bit more room, there's the Ozark Trail Dark Rest Cabin Tent. It has a 10-by-9-foot footprint and enough space for two queen-size airbeds. That's bigger than many other tents sold at this price. And according to Ozark Trail, the tent won't allow sunlight inside, so you can sleep in after sunrise.
Want a campfire but don't feel like building a permanent fire pit? Consider the Pop-Up Pit from Fireside Outdoor. This portable fireplace is not just distinctive in appearance. It assembles in minutes, weighs just 7 pounds and is constructed from rust-free steel. It also comes with a heat shield that sits between the fire and the ground so you don't end up scorching your yard.
Here's a highly rated fire pit with a little design whimsy. The Landmann Big Sky sports playful air holes cut into the shapes of stars and crescent moons, perfect for adding a little bit of atmosphere to your campfire singalongs and stories. While you can buy metal fire rings with similar patterns seperately, few fire pits have these markings straight out of the box. The Big Sky also has a big 12.5-inch fire bowl and comes with a food grate for cooking.
No camping trip is complete without an ice-cold beverage. To that end we suggest the Igloo Maxcold Cooler. It's an all-around great pick for solid performance at a low price. It may not have a fancy rotomolded design like the competition from Yeti and Rovr, but it still performed quite well in our tests, and kept drinks chilled for just as long as coolers costing multiple times more. That makes it our value pick in the cooler category, and a great cooler to have on hand for backyard camping.
Don't forget to supply a place to sit. These Garden Treasures camping chairs are foldable, portable and affordable at just $12 each. They even have handy cup holders for your drinks.
Your best bet for a good night's sleep in a tent is either an air mattress or a sleeping bag. If you're going the latter route, consider this one, from MalloMe. Available in multiple colors for just $30, it's one of the most popular sleeping bags of its kind sold by Amazon, carrying a 4.6-star review rating with over 1,600 reviews. Fans appreciate the lightweight, compact, waterproof design.
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