8 Foldable Finds From Home Depot That Are Great For Camping Trips

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Having the right gear can make or break a camping trip, but there are some compromises that any camper needs to make before they can perfect their setup. Space is one of them: The more gear you take with you, the more prepared you'll be, and the more comfortable and convenient you can make your trip. However, take too much gear, and you'll be weighed down. Plus, there's only so much room in your vehicle — or in your backpack if you're on a hiking trip — so choosing which gear is worth bringing along is key.

Folding gear is a great way to make the best of that compromise, since it offers all the utility of non-folding gear but can take up less space when you're lugging it to and from your campsite. There are a multitude of retailers to purchase said gear from, including some less conventional ones. Home Depot might be best known as a place to stock up on tools, but it also offers a larger range of camping equipment than you might expect. We've already put together a rundown of Home Depot's top-rated camping gear, but now it's time to zero in on the foldable finds that are hiding within the retailer's range.

Whether you're picking your folding finds from Harbor Freight or you prefer to shop at Home Depot, there's one piece of equipment that remains a must-have: a folding chair. Sitting down to enjoy some food and a beverage of your choice is one of the quintessential camping experiences, and the Picnic Time portable camping chair lets you do exactly that.

The fold-out table also gives you a handy place to put your food down, while the multiple pockets on the other side of the chair can store drinks, snacks, or accessories like sunglasses or sunscreen. There's even an insulated pocket to keep beverages cooler for longer.

The chair is available in multiple colors, although at the time of writing, the purple colorway is the cheapest option among them. It retails for $81.99. If you prefer something that blends in with your surroundings a little better, the Hunter Green colorway is only $3 more.

A multi-tool is one of the best tools you can get if you're looking for maximum versatility with minimum bulkiness. The Gerber Suspension NXT 15-in-1 multi-tool is one Home Depot's best-selling folding multi-tools, and as its name denotes, it offers 15 different functions, from opening cans to fastening screws. It also features miniature scissors, a bottle opener, a file, and a serrated blade, all of which might come in useful on camping trips.

It's compact too, with a folded length of 4.25 inches and a weight of 6.7 ounces. The Gerber is made with stainless steel, so durability shouldn't be an issue, but the brand also offers a limited lifetime warranty for added reassurance.

Gerber took a mid-place spot in our multi-tool brand ranking, with its tools lagging behind the best in class for overall quality and versatility but still scoring well on value. A more expensive multi-tool might be worthwhile for the most dedicated outdoors enthusiasts, but Gerber's offering strikes a good balance between usefulness and cost. The Suspension NXT multi-tool retails at Home Depot for $45.

Larger camping setups require larger pieces of furniture, such as the HDX 6-foot folding utility table. With seating for six, it's a good way to get the whole family together, or it could alternatively be used to keep coolers and personal belongings off the ground. The table top is made from resin, while the frame is made from steel. An auto-lock feature helps keep the table from folding up if you're moving it across the campsite.

When it's not in use, the table is designed to fold in half, with its legs tucked away neatly in the middle of the folded top. According to its maker, it measures 36.4 by 30 inches when it's folded up. The table is available for $60 from Home Depot with two colors offered: almond gray and black.

Solar panels aren't just for the roof of your home. They can also be used while you're camping, to keep portable power stations topped up, and the EcoFlow 110-Watt portable solar panel is Home Depot's top-rated, camping-ready solar panel. It folds away when it's not in use, and EcoFlow says it's compatible with most power stations.

Although you won't see as much power being generated during bad weather, the brand says that the panels are IP67 rated, and so it won't matter if they get caught in a rain shower or two. They're a useful addition to most camping setups, but at a price of $425.16, these solar panels are far from cheap. Still, reviewers at Home Depot are mostly very happy with them, just like they are with all the other foldable finds here.

EcoFlow has a track record for making innovative solar panel products, although some look stranger than others. We at SlashGear have reviewed the brand's solar panel PowerHat, which features multiple panels incorporated into a sun hat. It sounds like a silly idea — and certainly looks like it at first glance — but if you don't mind drawing attention on the trail, we found it to be more practical than you might think.

A bag chair, such as the Everbilt folding bag chair, is a more compact alternative to a standard folding chair. It's cheap, with a retail price of $15, and it can be brought along more easily if you're trying to pack lighter. According to its maker, it can support weights of up to 225 pounds, yet the chair itself weighs less than 5 pounds. It misses out on the folding table and pockets that are in many camping chairs, but the Everbilt chair does still feature a single mesh pocket to hold beverages.

Like most other affordably priced camping chairs, the Everbilt chair's frame is made of steel while the seat is made of polyester fabric. However, unlike many similar chairs, there's no choice of colors to pick from. Buyers can choose the blue colorway or nothing at all, although its budget price more than makes up for its lack of features and single color choice.

Home Depot's 5 inch, 3-in-1 personal portable fan is one of the cheapest ways to keep cool on hot days outdoors, with a retail price of just $5.65. The device folds out to reveal the fan, but there's also a flashlight built in for additional usefulness.

Its maker says it should be able to run for up to 18 hours on the lowest speed when its battery is fully charged, and when it goes flat, it can be recharged using the included USB charging cable. The fan can also be run directly using the USB cable, so if you have a larger power bank handy and don't want to wait for the fan's battery to charge back up, you'll be able to switch from one power source to the other.

There are three fan speeds, with the slowest speed offering the longest cooling period and the highest speed being best suited for particularly hot days. Anyone who isn't happy with the fan's performance can return it to Home Depot for up to 90 days after purchase, and it also ships with a one-year warranty against defects.

Plenty of the foldable finds here should be just as appealing to tailgaters as they are to campers, and none more so than the Phi Villa canopy pop up tent. From its carrying case, the frame unfolds into a full 10 by 10 foot canopy in just a few seconds. From there, all you need to do is fit the canopy top, adjust the height of the tent to suit your campsite, and attach the wind rope to keep it securely in place.

The tent retails for $127.87, and it's backed by a year of manufacturer warranty. It's not a small investment, but it should come in useful both on camping trips and when you're back home. As mentioned, it's also a great gadget to bring to tailgating events.

There's no single answer to the question of how many lumens you should look for in a camping flashlight. Anywhere between 300 and 1,000 lumens should do just fine, with the Husky 500 lumen flip light being in the middle of that optimal range. Husky's flashlight folds too, which reduces the amount of space it'll take up in your luggage. The head of the light is also fully adjustable, which means the light can be stood on its base to provide illumination in almost any given direction, as well as being held like a conventional flashlight.

The light is powered by a rechargeable battery and can be topped up using the built-in USB-C port. That makes it compatible with the same charging cables you might already have on hand to charge your smartphone or any other small electronics. There are multiple brightness settings, with the lowest providing 100 lumens and the middle setting giving you 250. There's certainly plenty to like about the flashlight's features and flexibility, and budget-conscious campers should like its price too, since it retails for $24.98.

Home Depot has a wide selection of camping and outdoor gear, but not all of it gets the seal of approval from the retailer's customers. Each item is among Home Depot's top-rated products in its particular category, and at time of writing, they all had a minimum average rating of at least 4.2 stars out of five from at least 100 reviews. Each of these picks was selected based on my experience going on camping trips, both while hiking and at events and festivals.