6 Home Depot Finds For Your Next Camping Trip
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As the world's largest home improvement retailer with more than 2,300 stores in North America, Home Depot is your one-stop shop for all your home and hardware needs. You can find many necessities like Home Depot's unexpected services to the latest trends in home decor from many well-known brands. However, can the retail chain provide for other areas of life like a weekend camping trip?
Home Depot sells several power tools that can be useful during a camping trip, but there's also a wide selection of other products that would either come in handy or simply make your life a bit easier. Based on our own hands-on experience, as well as an accumulation of reviews from buyers, here are six Home Depot finds to bring with you on your next camping trip. The methodology we used to select these items will be explained in more detail at the bottom of the article.
Outsunny 40-inch Portable Folding Dish Sink Table
It's always nice to have the convenience of a table while you're preparing your evening meal. With a 4.7 out of five-star rating, the Outsunny 40-inch Portable Folding Dish Sink Table gives you a bit more than a flat surface, though. There are two shallow camping sinks built within the plastic of the table, but it also comes with two flat boards you can place on top, so you don't have to commit to the sinks all the time. These sinks don't interfere with the portable concept either — you can still easily fold the legs for simple packing. Additionally, the legs are durable enough to support heavy coolers or other items up to 132 pounds on top of the table as well.
This table also comes with a faucet you can install that can swivel between either sink. If you're doing off-grid camping, you may not have access to running water unless you have a pump system with you. However, at a campground with water at your campsite, you can use a garden hose to hook up to the end of the faucet. Not too bad for food prepping and cleaning up after dinner.
USW 10-pound Canopy Weight Plates (Set of 4)
If you search "video of tent flying away," you'll see several fun videos to watch of the wind taking tents, canopies, and other unstaked items to the sky. However, it wouldn't be very much fun if that happened to you. Home Depot sells USW Canopy Weight Plates that can save you the embarrassment of a flying tent. It comes in a set of four, each plate weighing 10 pounds and filled with safe, restyled iron cement for the weight. It also comes with an easy-to-assemble carrying strap to transport the plates when they are not in use. You can stack the plates on top of each other to secure a pole, like for an umbrella, or separate them to keep all four corners of a canopy down.
These weight plates received a 4.8 out of five-star rating. The only negative written review for the plates wasn't even about the item — the customer returned them because they didn't arrive on time. However, the other written reviews state that the product is well made and was just what was needed to hold down a canopy.
Gasone Propane and Butane Dual Fuel Portable Stove
Not everyone likes to cook over a fire, and sometimes, the option isn't available, especially if you're camping in an area that has a fire burn in place. Instead, you can opt for a smaller grill instead of packing a larger one to make cooking outdoors while camping much easier. The Gasone Propane and Butane Dual Fuel Portable Stove comes with a 4.8 out of five-star rating and has two options for fuel use. You can insert a butane canister inside the flip-up compartment or attach a 16-ounce propane tank and the propane adapter to the stove. Make sure you connect the adapter first and then the propane, and do the opposite when dissembling the stove.
The stove is easy to use, with a safety knob and a built-in pressure cartridge ejection. One notable downside of the stove is that it doesn't come with a windscreen, and from experience, if it's windy, the flame may blow out. Unfortunately, Home Depot doesn't sell a windscreen for this size stove, but you can find a reliable one on Amazon with decent reviews.
Alvantor 10-foot x 10-foot Instant Pop Up Screen House
With warmer weather and camping comes the biggest annoyance — bugs. To combat that, a type of tent with netting is many people's go-to. At Home Depot, the Alvantor 10 ft x 10 ft Instant Pop Up Screen House is an option if you don't want to waste time with assembly because it automatically pops up. The frame is made of fiberglass and is also incredibly lightweight at 15 pounds. For ratings, it received a 4.9 out of five stars, with many reviews raving about its durability as well as how easy it is to fold down back into its carrying case.
This screen offers 7 feet of headroom on top of the 10-foot by 10-foot walking space, which can easily fit four to six adults along with patio furniture or a grill. There are also six mesh walls that give plenty of ventilation, so while the bugs stay out, the air can still flow in. The fabric is UPF 50+ UV, so you can rest assured you won't burn while sitting comfortably in this screen house. However, be aware that it is not waterproof or rainproof, so using it for shelter during a rainstorm probably isn't the best idea.
VINGLI Portable 5.3 Gallon Flushing Camping Toilet
Having a portable bathroom setup is always a nice convenience during a long camping weekend. There are different types of off-grid shower gadgets you can use, but what about when you need to use a toilet? The VINGLI Portable 5.3 Gallon Flushing Camping Toilet is an upgraded option that's easy to use. All you need to do is fill up the top portion with water, do your business, open the sealing slide, and push the piston pump down to flush. There's also a level indicator that will tell you when it's time to dump the waste. For that, just rotate the waste pipe outwards, and the top portion comes off by sliding the side handles out.
Though this toilet does come with a 3.4 out of five stars, it is only from three buyers. Additionally, only one wrote a review stating the seat is too small for an adult. However, from personal experience, along with others who have used it, it is about the same size as the 5-gallon bucket toilet seat snap-on covers. In terms of going to the bathroom in the woods, this is about as easy as it gets. Just don't forget your bathroom privacy tent.
Makita 18V LXT Electric Portable Inflator Kit
Whether you've found yourself with a low tire or you want to fill up your air mattress quickly, you may want to consider bringing a portable inflator with you. With a 4.6 out of five-star rating from almost 400 reviewers, Makita's 18V LXT Electric Portable Inflator Kit is a great place to start, especially if you're looking into investing in Makita's well-known 18V battery line. The kit comes with the tool, a 1.5 Ah battery, and a charger.
This inflator has the capability to deliver up to 120 PSI and comes with a digital pressure gauge to keep an eye on it. However, you can use the preset air pressure feature so you don't overfill if you have to walk away — the inflator will kick in its auto-stop function once it has reached the preset PSI. It also comes with a 25-1/2 inch hose, which should be plenty. It also comes with a ball needle and a valve adaptor, so you'll have everything you need to fill up any camping must-haves that require air.
How we chose these Home Depot camping products
The camping items featured in this article were selected based on high ratings and personal recommendations from an experienced outdoor enthusiast who is always searching for products to make their camping experience better. Five of the six products have at least a 4.6 out of five-star rating. The product that has a lower rating was selected by the writer due to years of positive experience with the item during their off-grid camping experiences.
Additionally, each of these items is under $260 — three of them are under $100 — making them all relatively affordable for what they are. However, we advise you to do extra research to make sure the products will fit your camping needs. For example, a 10-foot x 10-foot canopy may not be the best thing to bring if you tend to camp in high-wind areas. In the end, use your best judgment.