Camping Gear for Women

Love camping and hiking, and want to upgrade your gear? Here are a few of my favorite camping gear ideas for women!

Ladies! If you’ve spent much time looking for hiking and camping gear, you’ve probably noticed something.

A lot of the standard camping gear out there is not made with women in mind.

Some of the standard gear is too large for those of us who are a little vertically challenged.

Other gear (like hiking boots) most definitely exists, but for some reason the women’s sizes aren’t stocked as well as the men’s sizes in a lot of outdoor gear stores.

And that, my friends, means we have to shop online.

Here’s a list of my top camping gear recommendations for women. Everything’s available online, so you don’t have to hunt it down in person.

Planning a camping trip? Check out my camping + hiking travel guides!

The Best Women’s Camping Clothing

The following are the clothes that I grab when we head out for a camping or backpacking trip.

These clothes make my hiking trips more enjoyable and comfortable, and I highly recommend them!

I own everything listed except one item (the wool leggings), and I included the leggings because I wish I’d bought a pair before heading out on a cold-weather backpacking trip last fall.

I plan to buy them before our next trip!

Headbands (Sweat Bands + Ear Warmers)

I love these stylish and practical BLOM headbands headbands.

Why?

Camping often means fewer showers.

Or even if you have showers available, you might not have a mirror, hair dryer, straightening iron, mouse, gel– whatever you normally use at home.

Camping trips mean messy hair and ponytails.

That is one of the reasons I love my BLOM headbands.

And yes– headbands. I have more than one.

BLOM headbands are cute, and you can fold them different ways to make them thin, or wide to make them into turbans. You can even layer multiple headbands.

They also work as a sweatband for hot days or sweaty hikes, ear warmers for cold days, and they wash out beautifully.

Merino Wool Underwear

Wool undies are a little bit of an investment, but are well worth it.

Merino wool dries quickly, and will keep you cool when it’s hot out and warm when it’s cold out.

Plus it naturally keeps odors away longer, and is easy to wash and air dry on the go.

I own several pairs of Icebreaker’s merino wool undies.

Merino Wool Leggings

Full disclosure– I haven’t purchased wool leggings yet.

BUT.

After freezing at night in Yosemite’s back country, these will be my next cold-weather backpacking purchase.

Merino wool leggings can be worn at night as pajama pants or layered under your hiking pants to keep you warm during the day. And if you sweat (because you’re hiking!), you’ll stay dry.

Women’s Hiking Pants

I like hiking pants that roll up to be capris, and I like it even better if they can pass for casual, non-hiking pants for travel.

I wear these PrAna Halle pants often (and love them). 

I also own several pairs of Columbia capris and pants, and have always been happy with Columbia hiking clothing!

Women’s Outdoor Coats

One of the quickest ways to turn my mood upside down is to get me chilled to the bone.

Everyone is happier when I have a warm coat.

My favorite coat is my North Face Triclimate Jacket— it has a waterproof outer coat, a fluffy down inner coat (that can double as a pillow in a pinch!), and the snowboarding snow skirt fits around my hips nicely!

And no, I don’t snowboard.

Best Women’s Camping + Hiking Shoes + Boots

These are the shoes I bring along on each camping trip!

I love the jellies as shower shoes or a cute ballet flat when we go into town (in summer), the hiking sandals make a perfect campground shoe, and the hiking boots are my current favorites.

If you’re staying at a campground, and plan on using their shower or pool, bring along some rubber shoes.

You could definitely just use rubber flip flops, but I like to wear these cute Croc jelly flats.

They double as a ballet flat if we go somewhere in town.

I like to bring hiking sandals along when I go camping, even if I’m not going on a hike.

My favorite hiking sandals are my Keen Newport sandals.

They’re great campground shoes, and if you’re walking through creeks or streams, they have good grip in the water.

If you’re doing a lot of hiking, invest in a pair of good hiking boots.

I recommend any Keen or Merrell boot.

More Camping Gear for Women

Here are a few more things that I always throw in the car before heading out on a camping trip.

Daypacks + Backpacks for Women

Guys, I’m short.

And when I went backpack shopping (especially for overnight backpacking packs), I found that even some of them women’s packs were too long for my torso.

If you’re on the petite side, I highly recommend a pack with an adjustable torso.

This Osprey Day Pack is large enough to hold water, snacks, and whatever else you need for an extra-long day hike, and is made with an adjustable torso.

If you’re on a budget, I personally use and love this inexpensive Rupumpack daypack.

I’ve been using this Deuter Kids 40 pack for several years.

If you’re short and are looking for a sturdy overnight backpacking pack– I highly recommend this one.

It’s made with an adjustable torso, and isn’t just for kids!

Cell Phone Holder

My phone won’t fit into the pockets in my hiking pants.

And yes, we could go on and on about why women’s pants don’t have large pockets like men’s pants do, but instead I’ll just show you what I use to solve that problem.

The Clakit Smartphone Backpack Shoulder Strap Pocket clips onto your backpack strap, and keeps your phone within arm’s reach.

Do you have any favorites that I missed? Let me know in the comments!

Looking for more gear ideas? Check out this guide for the best filtered water bottle for travel from Travelgal Nicole