My fiancé and I are avid campers.
Both our families spent long weekends out in the wilderness when we were younger building a tent, cooking makeshift dinners on a simple stove and going on long walks to fill the time between sunrise and sunset.
And the one thing we often talk about before preparing for these camping trips is the amount of gear we have accumulated to take on these relaxing (after the tent is up, not before) camping expeditions along the NSW north and south coast.
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Everything you could possibly need fits into the back of our 4×4: Multiple head torches, a blow up mattress, our trusty tent, plenty of food, a drum full of water, beach games and surfboards.
But what often gets overlooked is the many clothing items you need to be prepared for all of the elements — particularly in autumn where the days are still warm but the nights are cooling off.
So you could say Kathmandu has become our version of Disneyland to stock up on the wadrobe necessities.
I’ve had the same Kathmandu rain jacket for five years, since I bought it in New Zealand during a skiing holiday, and it’s still just as effective and aesthetic as it was then.
There is something so tried-and-true about Kathmandu’s stock and it’s extremely reliable, so on a recent camping trip my fiancé Charlie and I put some of the brand’s best-selling pieces to the test.
We were heading to Seal Rocks on the NSW north coast for this particular trip and the weather was set to be scorching hot.
Despite this we always pack a rain jacket — for me it’s Kathmandu’s Andulo variety ($199.98) and for Charlie it’s the Bealey GORE-TEX Jacket ($399.98) — to ensure we have protection on long hikes even if the sky turns grey.
For me, I prefer to take a very lightweight rain jacket because I don’t want to be lugging around anything too heavy, but Charlie places precedence on the wet weather efficiency, hence the choice to take a GORE-TEX option.
GORE-TEX is one of the most breathable, windproof and waterproof fabrics on the market.
And when the nights cooled down, the pair of us matched in the Epiq 600 Fill Hooded Down Jacket ($399.98).
While you don’t have to match completely we both prefer navy and black for our adventure gear so that it can’t be so easily stained — remember we are outdoors for the most part and eating dinner (mainly) on our laps.
This Epiq Jacket is incredibly light despite being so warm and comes with a hood so you can really keep your top half warm when winter rolls around.
The best part is it includes a separate stuff sack so you can decompress it when it’s not in use.
Now despite it being autumn in Australia, the weather tends to be fairly warm when you wake up and start the day from the tent, so we like to have lighter layers around so we can get straight outside.
I have recently become obsessed with Kathmandu’s Makino Travel Skort ($139.98) and I’ve worn it repeatedly since adding it to the wardrobe mere weeks ago.
I pair it with a T-shirt or singlet top but it falls perfectly just above the knee, has shorts underneath the skirt lining so you’ll never be caught out with a gust of wind and the front pocket fits my enormous Google Pixel phone.
They have hundreds of five-star reviews on the website and rightfully so, I switched between this skort and the 7/8 Leggings ($139.98) on our camping trip.
These tights in the shade Dark Quartz fall just above my ankle and are the ultimate tool to navigating long grass or just avoiding sunburn on exposed trails.
Charlie wore the EVRY-Day 5” Shorts ($79.98) in black throughout the entire weekend.
They’re not too tight around the waistband but they’re long enough to feel comfortable on both a run and a walk.
After a long day of outdoor adventuring, Charlie and I showered at the campsite (we’ve got a portable option but a river works wonders too).
After towelling off we both put on the brand’s Heritage Logo Slouchy Hoodies ($99.98) — I’ve got the lilac shade and Charlie’s got grey — because they’re so unbelievably soft and cosy.
Then it was time to sit back with a glass of wine and take in the stars above us.
Kathmandu has recently partnered with the world’s leading trail exploration app AllTrails.
Recently awarded the 2023 Apple iPhone App of the year, AllTrails removes barriers to getting outdoors, by providing its global community of 60 million trail-goers access to over 420,000 trail guides worldwide.
From January 23, higher level members of Kathmandu’s loyalty program — called Out There Rewards — will be rewarded with an exclusive AllTrails+ free trial membership, as a launch pad to help them get into nature.
AllTrails+, the app’s premium offering, unlocks a series of features and benefits for Kathmandu’s Level 1, 2 and 3 members to explore including offline maps, immersive trail previews, alerts for wrong turns, 3D maps and more.
Level one members will get AllTrails+ free for three months, level two will get six months free and level three get a whopping 12 month subscription for free.
So not only can you get all of your gear from Kathmandu you can now plan your next trip outside with AllTrails+, it’s a win win.
To shop the latest and greatest at Kathmandu and plan your next camping trip, head to the website.
