Camping is basically pretending to be poor for a couple nights, so it shouldn’t be expensive.  That being said, there are entire brick and mortar stores filled with expensive, space-age camping shit you probably don’t need.  Seemingly, one way to justify the fact that a customer just bought a new camping stove from REI that uses expensive proprietary fuel pellets for $87, or spent $375 on a tent with carbon fiber poles is to blog about it on the internet.

I’m going to do the opposite.  I’m a cheap bastard.  I like camping.  I like to go camping with a motorcycle loaded with gear.  I pack all my cooking stuff in a handy tote.  Let me show you at how I do it.

1) Cheap aluminum cook set – I got mine for less than $5.  It has a plastic cup, frying pan, plate and a tiny pot.  These can take a beating, just bend them back into some sort of shape and you’re good to go!

2) Silverware – Plastic disposable utensils suck.  Camping specific utensils equally suck.  Go to any thrift store and pick up cheap silverware.  If you need to use a butter knife as a flathead screwdriver and fuck it up, the item was only $0.50, no big deal.  I would like to add that a sharp paring knife is essential.  I dropped some serious coin on mine, $12.

3) Single burner stove – I picked mine up for under $20 and it came with a can of propane/ butane fuel.  These work pretty good and you can get fuel for them pretty much anywhere that sells camping stuff in North America.

4) Hot Sauce/ spices – You can get small bottles of sauce for a buck at the grocery store.  Having a variety is extremely important.  Don’t skimp on this one!  Salt and Pepper you can steal from a restaurant (or buy for $1) and small containers of spices are cheap.

5) Olive Oil – This stuff really needs no introduction.  Better than Vegetable Oil; higher smoke point.

Not pictured is a can opener – This is essential!