Glamorous camping is all about enjoying the great outdoors while indulging in select creature comforts. It may seem like a paradox to some, but resort vacations to rustic locations have long been a tradition with travelers the world over.
Insider secret: If you are camping with an RV from Outdoorsy, you are already glamping it up. You have most of the comforts of home wherever you go. But, of course, you didn’t hit the road and head outdoors just so you could sit in an RV all day—which is where these crazy cool glamping gear suggestions come into play. They’re the perfect traveling companion for those looking to get out and about in the great outdoors, without having to sacrifice the luxuries of the great indoors.
Hot tubbing
Soaking in a hot tub in the great outdoors is an amazing experience. Of course there are resorts that offer this, and there are some great natural hot springs scattered throughout the country, but if you want to soak in a tub wherever the road takes you, you need one of these.
With hookups
The Coleman SaluSpa (pictured below) needs an electrical outlet, so it’s best for places where you have a full RV hookup available. Still, if you have a strong generator, you might be able to boondock with it. What you get is an inflatable tub big enough for four people, an electric pump water heater, and lots of air jet bubbles. Although it’s too big to go backpacking with, you could easily store it in a good size RV and set it up on any flat surface.
For boondocking
Just because you’re off the grid doesn’t mean you can’t enjoy a good hot tub. The Nomad Hot Tub (pictured below) is your ticket to blissful wilderness relaxation anywhere you can find a source of water. It uses your propane tank to heat up and is designed for maximum portability. The whole kit weighs 50 pounds, but divvy up the parts and your crew can carry it nearly anywhere. If you want to fill it and drain it fast, they recommend using a Hoda WX10 Water Pump. Having a gas-powered water pump is incredibly handy when boondocking, even if you aren’t hot tubbing.
Communications
It’s true, there are places in the U.S. where you can’t get cell service. Which begs the question: what’s a glamper to do?
Friends and family
GoTena Mesh is a great product that allows you and your companions to use your cell phones to text one another while outside of cell service range. Here’s how it works:
- Everyone gets a Mesh device they connect to their phone using Bluetooth.
- You download the GoTena app ahead of time, along with any maps of the area you are headed to.
- Then, the GoTena devises a network between all your phones, regardless of their make and model, so you can send texts and GPS information to one another within 1 to 5 miles. It’s great for allowing you the freedom to explore your surroundings, while also allowing you to stay in communication and not lose one another. They don’t cost much more than a good walkie talkie.
The whole world
If you really want to go anywhere and be fully connected, then a BGAN (Broadband Global Area Network) device is what you want. These give you internet access via satellite networks. They don’t come cheap, and they require a service contract that will put a premium on any heavy data use. But if you want to watch the latest cat videos in the middle of a remote desert, its the only way to play. The Inmarsat network is one of the worlds largest and best, while Hughes makes many of the premium receivers. This Hughes 9211 HDR Inmarsat BGAN is a great example of premium satellite internet hardware.
Sitting
If you aren’t comfortable, you aren’t glamping properly. Having an ideal seat from which to enjoy the natural splendor around you is essential. We suggest what is perhaps the ultimate in camping chairs, The King Camp Directors Chair (pictured below). Its big, its sturdy as heck—holding up to 330 pounds—it’s comfy, and it includes a side table, drink holder, and a cooler compartment. You have a nice place to put your drink and your food, off the ground, not in your lap, and not on your armrest. In the insulated pouch you can either store cold beverages, hot food, or stow away your electronics or books. If you wish to do, you could stay planted in your comfy chair for hours on hours of fully provisioned chilaxin.
If you’re getting a bit more sun than you’d like, grab a Sports-Brella Versa-Brella to clip onto your King Camp and laugh at the sun’s pathetic attempts to make you uncomfortable.
Snoozing
Although your RV is nice and cozy, you may want to catch some z’s out under the stars or take a nap while listening to the river run past. For the ultimate in outdoor reclining pleasure, we recommend the Everest Bug-Free Double Hammock. It has a built-in mosquito net and being up off the ground means you can snooze free of worry that creepy crawlers will ruin your rest. It’s big enough for two people to snuggle together in bliss, and you can buy a rain fly for it to keep the drizzle away. Just note you need to buy hanging straps separately for this hammock.
And while we know you can get cozy in your RV, what if we told you that you could wear a sleeping bag like a suit, and what if we also told you it would make you look like a Star Wars character? Such dreams are a reality in our modern age and while you may not need the Selk’bag Adult Star Wars Wearable Sleeping Bag, you may want to wear one anyway!
Outdoor movies
Sure, you could tell ghost stories around the campfire, but if you’re glamping, why not watch a Hollywood horror movie on a big screen? To do so, you’ll need a hangable screen, which can be attached to your RV using bungee cords or a nearby tree. You can also get free-standing screens, like this one.
Once you’ve chosen your screen, all you’ll need is a projector—preferably one with high resolution—good speakers, and a range of video inputs so you can plug in from almost any device. The ViewSonic PA503W meets all these criteria and is quite reasonably priced, considering its top-end features.
Campfire time
While there’s certainly nothing wrong with using your standard campfire pit, a dedicated glamper is looking for the optimum experience. A portable campfire pit like the Solo Stove Bonfire has a number of advantages. They are always dry, reduce smoke, are easy to start, protected from the wind, burn wood completely, reduce spark danger, and they are easy to cook over. But why stop there? How about turning your campfire into a kaleidoscope of colors? Just throw in some Magic Flame Packets to the amaze of your kids and camp neighbors.
Want to add a sense of adventure and style to your marshmallow or hot dog roasting? How about using this collection of handmade lightsaber and sword hilts!
If you want to do some seriously glamorous grilling, strap on your Grill Seargent Apron and check out Outdoorsy’s recommendations for the best camp grills money can buy.
Cocktails and coffee
Nothing quite crystalizes glamping like making cocktails while enjoying a grand vista of natural splendor. To make this possible, we recommend two handy items. Firstly, a portable bartenders kit with all the classic tools of the trade and a great carrying case. Secondly, a portable blender—one just big enough to mix the ingredients needed for a drink. This Elite Gourmet portable juicer is ideal and even comes in a glamorous pink color.
If you think what you might need is to stow your drink in a driveable cooler, then what you clearly need is the Crazy Cooler. It’s a drink cooler and an ATV combined into one ridiculous package. Somewhat less silly, and ideal for sobering up, is the Oxx CoffeeBoxx, a decidedly rugged Keurig cup coffee maker designed for outdoor use.
Looking at stuff
A good spotting scope is an incredible tool for looking at stuff in the great outdoors. You can use it to check out the wildlife during the day and to look at the planets, stars, and moon at night. Pair it up with a camera and you can digiscope, taking pictures or movies of everything you can see through the scope. This Celestron Regal spotting scope has incredibly great optics at a reasonable price. You’ll want a good tripod to go with it too, both for stability and because it’s a bit heavy for just holding onto. That said, at less than 5 pounds, its light enough to take nearly anywhere.
Decorating
For some reason, nearly every glamping photo you can find features decorative string lights to give your campsite a look of glamor and sophistication. Look no farther than these Beach Themed Battery Powered LED string lights. You can put them nearly anywhere, and they also come with a remote control and timer. Best of all, they include a pink flamingo option, the unofficial mascot of glampers the world over.
Ready, set, glamp
Now you have everything you could possibly need—beside the RV—for some serious glamping. The last thing you need to do is to jump on over to Outdoorsy to find the right, luxurious RV to take with you on your journey!
