9 Best Camping Products for People Who Hate Camping

There's a 95 percent chance Senior Editor Christine Sarkis is thinking about travel right now. Follow her on Instagram @postcartography and Twitter @ChristineSarkis.

Christine Sarkis is an SATW-award-winning journalist and executive editor at SmarterTravel. Her stories have also appeared on USA Today, Conde Nast Traveler, Huffington Post, and Business Insider. Her advice has been featured in dozens of print and online publications including The New York Times, Conde Nast Traveler, and People magazine. She has also shared travel tips on television and radio shows including Good Morning America, Marketplace, and Here & Now. Her work has been published in the anthologies Spain from a Backpack and The Best Women's Travel Writing 2008. She is currently working on a travel memoir.

The Handy Item I Always Pack: The Trtl Pillow. It's easy to pack and comfortable, and makes it so I can actually sleep on flights.

Ultimate Bucket List Experience: Seeing the Aurora Borealis from the comfort of somewhere warm, like a glass igloo or hot spring.

Travel Motto: Curiosity is an amazing compass.

Aisle, Window, or Middle Seat: Aisle all the way.

Email Christine Sarkis at editor@smartertravel.com.

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We walk among you—those of us who love the outdoors but hate camping. You can sing the praises of a night sky full of stars, but the whole time we’re glazed over, thinking about sleeping on the cold, hard ground. You want to know how to convince us that camping is fun? Make it comfortable. We’re not talking over-the-top glamping here, but a few well-chosen items can ease the discomfort of camping and pave the way for all of us—Team Rugged and Team Hotel—to gather happily around the campfire.

Tenaya Lake Fast Pitch Cabin

A pile of clothes stuffed into the corner of a tent you have to crawl into? No thanks. When you're trying to make camping a comfortable affair, you want to have enough space to stand—and store your stuff. The Coleman Tenaya Lake 6P Fast Pitch Cabin with Cabinets delivers plenty of headroom and an additional just-like-home bonus: two "cabinets," additional closet-like spaces where you can stash your gear—or make into a cozy nook for a pet. There's also an optional room divider that creates two spaces, each big enough for a queen-size air mattress.

Tenaya Lake Fast Pitch Cabin

NeoAir Dream Mattress

You know what's not comfortable? The ground. If a thin camping mat isn't doing enough to convince you there's anything great about sleeping in the Great Outdoors, it's time to do something about it. The NeoAir Dream packs small but delivers big comfort. The camping mattress doubles down with an inflatable Thermarest core and a foam pillowtop for four inches of padded bliss. The extra height keeps you off the forest floor and gives you a fighting chance at a good night's sleep outdoors.

Besito Sleeping Bag

Sleeping bags may keep you warm, but they're a far cry from the comforts of home. Clingy fabric and constricting design dooms sensitive campers to long nights of poor sleep. Which is why the Ticla Besito 30/45 is such a find. The sleeping bag has a roomy semi-rectangular shape, and the interior fabric feels like soft sheets. The bag is light, packs up small, and has variable insulation that helps you adjust to different night temperatures. It also has a two-way zipper so you can put your feet out, if you're that sort of sleeper.

Flannel Camp Pillow

You've got the comfortable camping mattress and the soft sleeping bag, but a great night's sleep also requires a comfortable place to lay your head. And balling up a sweater is no substitute for a proper pillow. There are plenty of camping pillows out there, but we're partial to the flannel goodness and just-right softness of the LL Bean Flannel Camp Pillow. It delivers more pillow support per square inch than any inflatable camping pillow we've tried, and it can be compressed into a stuff sack for portability.

Lowboy Lantern

Light. It's one of those things you take for granted until it's gone. Most camp-friendly solutions to the lighting problem come with their own challenges. Traditional lanterns require special gear, flashlights aren't great for creating ambient light, and headlamps have the unfortunate side effect of temporarily blinding anyone you're looking at. That's why we like the evrgrn lowboy lantern. The LED lamp creates a lovely soft (and dimmable) light that effectively illuminates a space, yet it's small enough to fit into the drink holder of a camping chair. It can be hung, which is perfect for nighttime in-tent use. And the cover is made of silicone, so it's durable.

Slacker Hammock

Camping is supposed to be about relaxing into nature's embrace. But if you find that embrace to be more than a little dusty, you're going to have to get creative. That's where a hammock comes in handy. Coleman's Slacker Hammock packs small and weighs nearly nothing; with a couple of straps and two sturdy trees, you can essentially create an easy chair out of thin air. Best of all, the double size fits two, so you can share your al fresco comfort with a friend.

Campfire Rocker

Even when you're miles from the nearest porch, you can still rock away the hours gazing out on the peaceful scenery. The evrgrn Campfire Rocker is lightweight, stable, and far more comfortable than the average camping chair. But like a camping chair, it folds up and has its own carrying bag. It's also low, which makes it ideal for anyone who wants to relax around the campfire but doesn't want to sit on the ground (you know who you are).

Center Stage Rug

The Big Lebowski was right when he said a rug really brings the room together. An outdoor rug such as the Center Stage Rug from evrgrn turns a campsite into a home, with plenty of space for a group to gather in style. Add a low table and some chairs and you've got a living room with the best view imaginable.

Pack-N-Prep Tote/Table

Camp cooking is a crapshoot. Often, surfaces aren't clean, there's never quite enough room to set up properly, and there's always one ingredient that goes missing at a vital moment. Not to mention that cleanup often leaves dishes dirtier than when they started. REI's tidy solution to this is the Camp Pack-N-Prep Tote/Table. The tote has compartments to keep food and supplies organized in a single place. The pop-up table provides a clean prep or cooking surface. And at the end of the trip, tuck everything back into the tote and you're ready to go.

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