Dead Reckoning’s camp favorites

All the camping gear we love (so far)!

Training for the Rebelle pushes you to solve problems you never knew existed. Suddenly you’re thinking through scenarios and their solutions and what might be practical or impractical to be prepared for. What gear is worth specializing and what do you have that you can just make due with?

Here are a few of our favorite solutions to problems that may or may not exist. Lani likes to say there’s a purchase for every problem and every item on this list has been field tested by the team and has earned our highest recommendation. As Amazon affiliates we earn a commission on any purchases you make from this post. Thank you for your support and we hope you love these items as much as we do!

First Up, Staying Hydrated

One of our biggest concerns is staying hydrated. The Dometic Electric Cooler is a must have for Team Dead Rec so we can enjoy cold beverages while on trail. We asked 2022 X-Cross First Place driver Melissa Clark which luxury she allows herself during the rally and this was her answer. The fridge takes up quite a bit of our limited cargo space but we feel like its worth it!

One of our essential beverages is Biolyte, AKA the IV in a bottle. This is an awesome electrolyte beverage that tastes great and isn’t too sweet - its sweetened with monk fruit. We were lucky enough to get product support from Biolyte during training and did our best to share the love with our fellow competitors. It definitely helped us get through those dry desert days, especially when you’re on your third or fourth stuck of the day.

Rally regulations require us to carry five gallons of water at all times. We’re a little extra, so we carry six. We use the Dometic GO Hydration Jugs and the rechargeable Dometic GO Hydration Water Faucet. The jugs are so easy to secure, carry, refill, and are sturdy and leak proof. The faucet is a little fancy for us but it is nice to not worry about pouring and spilling water. Especially when so many other tasks will be demanding our attention!

Danielle in the Imperial Sand Dunes in Glamis during our Barlow Adventures training early 2023

Getting Great Rest

Dead Reckoning loves our sleep. Even simple tasks are so much harder when you’re not well rested. Early on in our Rebelle journey we made dialing in our sleep systems a priority. We’ve tested out new gear each time we’ve been out in the field and we’ve landed on these essentials.

We’d heard from a few veteran Rebelles that they’ve had challenges with leaking inflatable sleeping pads. To eliminate that as a possibility we started looking at lightweight cot solutions. We landed on this Homful cot and we’ve been very happy with it. It assembles in seconds which means more time for sleeping/plotting/hydrating/whatever else needs doing.

The cot is comfy and its nice to get off the ground but there is no insulation! So we carry backpacking mats like this NEMO Switchback Foam Sleeping Pad. We can deploy as needed and again, not rely on something to hold air (and keep holding air) when we can’t just run to an REI for a replacement.

Lani’s sleeping bag was only rated for 30 degrees and Danielle’s sleeping bag didn’t have a rating - it was a down bag from when she went to camp when she was 12. So its safe to say we were both due for an upgrade. We tried out a few options, including the Selk’Bag that 2022 X-Cross Third Place finisher Carey Lando swears by. We finally landed on the the Synthetic Sea to Summit Basecamp Sleeping Bag. Its a 20 degree bag with a zipper system that allows a lot of configurations for comfort. Its available in a long version so you have a bit more room to move around. And the fabric has a great feel - not the typical sleeping bag nylon. There’s webbing on the back to hold your sleeping pad in place so everything stays where its supposed to no matter how much you toss and turn. It’s a wonderful bag and it makes camp sleeping cozy and restful.

Our favorite camping pillow, which we learned about from our fellow Bronco team Amanda Walden, offers the comfort of a full size pillow but compresses down to an easy to pack cylinder.

Even with a 20 degree rating, Lani still gets cold. For back up she carries HotHands Body Warmers and Sea to Summit Sleeping Bag Liner. Pro-tip, if you put the HotHands in a ziploc bag in the morning you’ll stop the reaction and you can use them again by opening the bag again when you need them.

And what about when we get further south and we have the opposite problem? We have a few strategies for that as well! This muslin blanket is so lightweight and doesn’t take up much space but its great to have when you’re tent sleeping in 90+ degree temps. We also make room for this battery powered rechargeable fan.

That’s a lot of gear. We use a large duffel to keep it all organized. We got this tip from 2022 4x4 second place winner Laura Wanless. All of this camp bed gear fits neatly in the Patagonia 70L Black Hole Duffel along with a few other items that we’ll likely only need at basecamp. This way we aren’t digging around the truck for gear each time we roll into a new basecamp. And, this bag has backpack straps for easy carry!

Camp Lighting Faves

Once you’re removed from the ambient lights of civilization you need some clever solutions to make camp safe and easy to navigate but again, we don’t want to add to much gear! This tailgate light doesn’t take up any cargo space but it adds a ton of light to the back of the truck for packing up pre-dawn or cooking at the tailgate table.

We’ve tried a lot of headlamps and we finally landed on this rechargeable Fenix model. There are three brightness settings and you can pop off the light for a compact flashlight if you need to get some light into a tight spot. This could be especially helpful if we need to investigate any mechanical issues with the Bronco.

For supplemental lighting in the tents or in camp these solor powered inflatable Luci Lanterns provide a lot of light and are super compact. We’ve used these for years so hauling them onto the rally kit list was a no brainer.

Other Dead Rec Camp Essentials

As we’ve been deep in Rebelle prep these past few months we’ve discovered a few other items that make things just a little bit easier.

While packing up at the conclusion of our Glamis training in early 2023 we had a hell of a time pulling up our tent stakes. Luckily Lola Wolford had a stake puller we were able to borrow - a total gear blindspot for us! In the spirit of multi-use lightweight items we added this carbon steel aluminum combo stake-puller and hammer. We keep it in the bag of our tent so its always handy when we need it!

This Jet Boil Stove is a favorite among Rebelles and its another super handy lightweight compact piece of gear. You can boil water in just 90 seconds! So you’re only 90 seconds from your coffee, tea, or starting the rehydration process of your freeze dried back-packing meal. Espcially useful on the self camp “Marathon” leg of the rally.

As for the dehydrated meals, Mountain House is a classic for a reason! We’ve tested a few other brands and nothing else really has the tasty comfort food quotient Mountain House has to offer. We buy this kit at the start of the summer and toss a few meals in if we’re headed out for a few days. Its great to have when its too hot to cook or if your dining plans don’t quite work out how you thought they would. We both live in the Bay Area so they’re in our home emergency kits as well!

We’ve always loved this Kershaw knife and its super cool “assisted open” feature. Now it comes in fun colors and we’ve added one in Dead Reckoning orange to our camping kit.

We hope you find this list helpful as we head into camping season! Happy Trails!