Inexpensive Camping Gear for Beginners in Hong Kong

Hong Kong has some of the most amazing natural beauty to explore by hiking and camping. It’s home to four long distance hiking trails, one of which is on National Geographic’s list of global ‘Dream Hikes’ as one of the best hikes in the world for its diverse terrain and dramatic views.

Ham Tim Beach

Despite the accolades, camping isn’t that popular of an activity relative to the population of Hong Kong. Finding and purchasing gear in Hong Kong can be quite maafaan. There are amazing outdoor shops dotted around HK but they can be cost prohibitive and overwhelming for newcomers to the camping scene.

If you are keen to camp out in the wilderness in Hong Kong, here is a starter list for camping gear that is inexpensive but solidly built. Special attention has been paid to price to value ratio, and gear that is available to purchase from Hong Kong retailers locally.

This list is designed specifically for people who have either infrequent or no camping experience, who want to try camping for several trips before investing in more expensive gear. It was inspired by a list I wrote for friends who wanted to accompany us camping, but didn’t own any gear. If you do end up loving camping, using this gear list will help you inform yourself on what you want from any gear upgrade purchases you may make in the future.

When choosing camping gear, my philosophy is the lighter the better (within reason). It’s going to be much easier on your shoulders and your back, especially when most of the campsites in Hong Kong include a bit of walking to get to. I’ve included weights to help you add them up and understand what stress you are putting on your body. Just remember this is not an ultralight-weight camping list for thru-hiking the 100km Machlehose trail. You should be able to walk for 2–3 hours comfortably with the gear on this list.

This list features both Mastertool and Decathlon quite heavily. They have the best quality gear for the lowest price in HK. I’d also really recommend looking on Carousell or Facebook marketplace for great deals on eco, secondhand gear. I’d be very wary of buying gear that was priced any lower than the items on this list.

Zero waste, leave no trace. Any of the recommendations I make are made in mind with a zero waste philosophy as you shouldn’t be bringing any single use plastics or materials to a campsite. If you need a source for zero waste food like dried fruits, nuts, pasta or sweets, I highly recommend going to Live Zero in either Sai Ying Pun or Sai Kung.

Sai Kung East Country Park

Gear List

Let’s start with your ‘core four’: Tent, Backpack, Sleeping bag and Sleeping mat. These will be the biggest investments to your camping gear, and the specialised gear you will most likely need to buy. Most of the other things you will need to bring camping can likely be found around your own home.

Tent

The best budget tents I’ve found in Hong Kong are from Decathlon. It’s a famous french retailer with a goal to make quality gear accessible to everyone. They’ve opened a few stores in Hong Kong recently.

Top budget pick: Decathlon MH100 Tent $249 HKD

Source: Decathlon.com.hk

Pros: This two person tent is super affordable, waterproof and dead easy to assemble. A great tent if you’ve never assembled a tent before and want to learn how. It rolls up nicely into a well designed carry case that helps keep your tent stakes separate. The floor material is a waterproof layer meaning that you do not need to use a groundsheet under your tent. It’s light enough and small enough to strap to the outside of your bag at 54cm x 16cm x 16cm or 8L volume and 2.4 kg.

Cons: These aren’t really cons as much as they are things that have not been designed into the tent in order to get the price down so low. The tent only has a single door, with single directional zippers, in more expensive tents this isn’t the case. There are less vents, so condensation inside the tent from a night’s worth of body heat might be more of an issue in cold temperatures. Though for Hong Kong camping this isn't much of a problem as it is quite warm here, even when it is cold. The floor material is a waterproof plastic tarp so it is crinkly sounding, but fine. The tent poles are the old plastic style of the 1990s that work just fine, but are more inexpensive than the newer ones available today.

Alternatives: Arpenaz Fresh and Black 3 Person Tent , or This version of the same tent but all white. These are 57x16x16 cm or 14.6 L folded up, a weight of 3.2kg. It’s slightly larger and can accommodate 3 people, or a good tent for 2 people who want a little more space inside.

Want to upgrade but still save? Go with either the Decathlon QuickHiker Trekking Tent or the ‘Fresh + Black’ Option. These are 2.7 kg. Folded size: 12 litres or 40 cm x 19 cm x 16 cm and are for more serious campers.

A note on Decathlon’s ‘Fresh + Black option: I’m not sure if it is great. I’ve heard mixed reviews. I recommend going without it, but if you are someone that sleeps with blackout blinds at home then maybe you’d like it.

Backpack

I recommend searching for something around 40–55 litres in size when you are looking for a camping backpack for Hong Kong, especially during the colder seasons. We personally camp with 35L packs each in Hong Kong but we end up strapping too much to the outside of our packs during the winter, which is when we tend to camp the most.

Top budget pick: Forclaz 50 litres — Grey $249 HKD

For $249 HKD this is a steal. It is opens at the top via a drawstring and side like a suitcase, meaning you can easily access items at the bottom of the pack. It has loops at the bottom for these highly recommended but optional straps ($20 HKD) to carry your tent underneath your pack, and side straps for tightening the bag or strapping other bulky items such as camp chairs to. It’s only 1.6 kg with dimensions H 62 x W 32 x D 24 cm. If you are a petite person, try the kids’ size: MH500 Kids’ 40L Hiking Backpack — Blue.

Alternatively, if you’re going with friends who will be carrying the majority of the cooking equipment and food, going for just a night with few extra clothes, or going in the summer, you could maybe get away with this 30L bag: NH100 30 litres at $139 HKD. I don’t recommend it for winter camping.

Want to upgrade but still save? Try the TREK 100 50L Womens and TREK 100 50L Mens, check out stores like protrek.hk for their sales, or Carousell for some great deals on second hand gear.

Sleeping Bag

For winter camping in Hong Kong, you need a sleeping bag to keep warm. In summer, you can go without a bag entirely by using a normal sheet and sheet blanket on your sleeping mat.

Top budget pick: Decathlon 15 degree celcius bags at $249 HKD. Decathlon have some great value bags. They increase in price proportionally to how much insulation they have.

Pros: These are solid, comfy bags and are impressively light. At only 680g, they pack down to a volume 4 litres making them a breeze to hide in your pack. If you are a couple and want to snuggle, it is good to know that these bags can join together as shown in this video, even at different sizes. I think these bags are fine for year-round camping in Hong Kong. Make sure you get the right length for your height and if you are between sizes, size up.

Cons: If it’s winter and you sleep cold like me, I’d recommend going one temperature rating down to these at $349 HKD. They weigh a bit more and are bulkier at 970g and 7 litres. I am a little sceptical of the temperature rating system at Decathlon, it seems quite optimistic. I personally was cold in the 15 degree bags during winter. This can be fixed easily with a hot water bottle and extra warm clothes for sleeping.

For a winter camping upgrade, these Vaude bags from Protrek’s HKTvMall store seem great and are quite a steal for a higher end bag at $449 HKD.

Sleeping Mat

Why do you need a sleeping mat? It’s twofold: it provides you with insulation by separating you from the ground, and it makes it more comfortable to sleep. In a pinch, you could probably just use a yoga mat if you own already own one. I don’t recommend it in terms of weight, bulkiness in your pack, and sleep quality, but it will work if you are just trying camping and want to shell out the least amount of money on gear possible.

My recommended budget pick: MasterTool Single Ultralight Inflatable Mat with Pillow $268 HKD or their double mattress version for couples at $448 HKD

I love this mattress as its super lightweight for the price, and even the double version packs down quite small. It needs an air pump to blow up, but if you get one of the electric wireless air mattress pumps, or a manual one like this one at $49 HKD, you’ll be good to go. You’re getting a two in one deal with the included pillow and as an added bonus, and the diamond shape of the air pockets keeps sand off of your sleeping bag if you are beach camping. It also works well as an air mattress at home for sleepovers or house guests. As a bonus, HKTvMall is exceptionally easy to shop at using the app on your phone. You can pay using PayMe and pick up at one of their many kiosks dotted around the city.

Super budget pick: Trekking Foam Mattress M100 $59 HKD. Less comfy foam, but a better price.

Great Alternatives: Mastertool Single Ultralight Inflatable Mat Curved $228 HKD. A more traditional camping mattress shape that saves on weight by cutting corners (literally) and by not including a pillow.

Optional, Non-Essential Gear

For casual camping in Hong Kong, I like to bring these things and do recommend them. They are not essential in the slightest, but they will upgrade your camping experience. If you know you will make an effort to camp several times, you may want to invest in these.

Lighting

If you have a flashlight at home, you could bring that and it would be free. Otherwise, I highly recommend getting a headlamp. They are small, practical for pottering around the campsite at night, and important in an emergency when you need to be hands free.

This headlamp on HKTvMall ($100 HKD) is cheap and shines bright enough for camping at 200 lumens. You can find secondhand ones easily on both Carousell and FB Marketplace. Decathlon often have headlamps that are under $100HKD, but at the time of writing they are all sold out. For a known brand that is still inexpensive, try the basic line from Black Diamond.

Tents Illuminated with Lanterns

As a campsite upgrade, it’s great to have a tent lantern in addition to the headlamp. You can get away with just using a flashlight or headlamp, but I recommend having a tent light to hang from the ceiling. This will not only help you see things inside your tent at night, but light up your tent if you stray from your site in the dark.

This rechargeable one is only $68 HKD, and the battery version is only $29 HKD.

Upgrade: this rechargeable, multicoloured one is on sale from Black Diamond for $199 HKD. It’s my favourite lamp I’ve used and has a magnetic back that’s useful if you have a car.

Camping Furniture

I bring this style of chair every time I camp in Hong Kong, whether on the sand or in the hills. They’re light, fold up really small to fit inside your backpack, and are practical to take for day trips to the beach in the summertime too. Camping chairs can be a little expensive, $800+ HKD each. These ones are a great deal for under $200 HKD. I don't recommend buying the traditional camping chairs, as they are heavy and bulky.

This chair from HKTvMall is only 0.88kg, and $195 HKD. Alternatively, Decathlon have a nice chair at 1kg (3.6L) that folds up to be 38 x 12 x 8 cm. It’s $249 HKD. and it matches the colour scheme of the tent and backpack above.

If there are two of you who will be going regularly together, consider this set which throws in a table and two chairs together as a bundle at $499 HKD.

Personal Things to Pack that You Can Likely Find at Home:

This list doesn’t include communal items for the camp kitchen and BBQ, as I’ve assumed that whoever has invited you to go camping would be bringing them. If you are camping for the first time, I suggest bringing homemade food in reuseable containers that you can heat on the BBQ, in addition to some marshmallows.

The cheapest and least wasteful way is to pack whatever you have around the house, but I’ve included a few links for convenience. So in addition to your core four, lighting and whatever clothes you will wear, you should also pack:

• A waterproof jacket, just in case it rains. Also great for compact wind protection to provide you warmth.
• Winter: A warm layer, I recommend something fleece or down that you can put under the waterproof jacket. Uniqlo makes great compact down jackets.
• Winter: Something warm to sleep in — you’ll want leggings and a warm top. Again, Uniqlo’s heat tech range works really well here.
• Winter: Wool Socks, essential for keeping warm in your sleeping bag. Thick socks do in a pinch too.
• Underwear
• Reusable mug for drinking hot chocolate or coffee around the firepit. I use my stojo from Live Zero as it folds down flat, seals with a lid and is lightweight, but you could just pack a regular ceramic one from your home. These ones are cheap from HKTvMall at $69 HKD and include a clip.
• Reusable water bottle, the bigger the better for bringing water to drink and cook with. However, if your campsite has a clean water source, don’t bring too much. For an overnight stay, 2 litres per person will do. However, remember that each litre weighs a kilogram. A stainless steel water bottle can double as a hot water bottle for your sleeping bag at night.
• Reusable food container or lunch box — for carrying food and eating out of. I use the silicone ones from Livezero.hk but you can use the metal ones or plastic/silicone combo ones if you prefer to.
• Fork, spoon or both. Bring whatever you have at home. There’s no urgent need to buy a camping spork. If you do want one for fun, grab it here or here .
• Toothbrush and toothpaste.
• Toilet paper (end of a roll will do)
• Firelighters and a lighter. Good to have just in case someone forgets. If you have cotton wool balls at home, you can soak them with vaseline and bring them to use as fire starters.

Hopefully you should be all set for your first HK camping trip. Any feedback on this list is greatly welcomed.