There’s another factor for us: we travel with three dogs. Beds and resting spots, food, leashes, towels, and everything else you need when traveling with dogs already take up plenty of space. So if camping gear is going to stay in our vehicle permanently, it above all has to work.

Not just in theory, but in the morning, when that first coffee is urgently needed. In the evening after a long day by the sea. In the wind. When the dogs come out of the water completely soaked. When nobody really feels like cooking anything elaborate anymore. And also when everything has to be stowed away in the motorhome again the next morning.

Over the years, a few things have emerged that now come along with us as a matter of course.

If I could choose just one item from all our gear that I would really miss when camping, the Petromax Percolator would be pretty high on my list.

That’s not because coffee from a percolator looks particularly spectacular. Quite the opposite: the principle is surprisingly simple and fairly old. When heated, the water rises through a tube and then flows back into the pot through the coffee grounds - and not just once. The coffee keeps circulating through the system.

We let our percolator run for about 15 minutes. This brewing method extracts a lot of flavor from the coffee. At the same time, the drink retains the coffee oils that partly get caught in a paper filter when brewing that way. In my opinion, you can clearly taste the difference: the coffee is strong and very aromatic, yet surprisingly well-rounded.

That’s the main difference from regular drip coffee for me.

Of course, you have to experiment a little. The grind size, amount of coffee and brewing time all make a difference. After a few attempts, though, you quickly figure out how you like your coffee best. For us, around 15 minutes has become the standard.

The waiting time has really become part of the ritual: sitting outside the motorhome in the morning while the percolator does its thing, slowly waking up and eventually pouring the first cup. It’s one of those little experiences that, for me, are an essential part of camping.

Of course, I drink coffee at home too. But coffee from the Petromax Percolator outside the motorhome still tastes different.

Maybe it’s the percolator. Maybe it’s the time you take for it. Or maybe it’s simply because you’re looking out at the sea, into a forest or - in the worst-case scenario - at your neighbor’s motorhome.

Either way, it tastes damn good.

With coffee, we use our Petromax enamel mugs, and with meals, the matching plates and bowls.

You still often see melamine dishes at campsites. That’s understandable: they’re lightweight, relatively shatter-resistant and easy to stack. That’s precisely why melamine was considered almost a camping standard for many years.

Even so, I now clearly prefer enamel. The first reason is very simple: to me, it feels more like proper tableware - and less like a practical camping solution.

There’s another aspect, too: melamine dishes can be problematic at high temperatures. The consumer advice centre recommends not using melamine-containing dishes for hot food or drinks such as coffee and soup. At temperatures above around 70 degrees, melamine and formaldehyde can leach from the material and get into the food.

And that’s exactly where it becomes impractical for me when camping. Our plates don’t just hold a cold breakfast sandwich, but also pasta straight from the pot, grilled food, hot sauce or soup. In the morning, I also don’t want to wait for my coffee to cool to a certain temperature before pouring it into the mug.

When eating, I honestly don’t want to have to think about whether something is currently 65 or 75 degrees hot. With enamel, that simply isn’t an issue for us.

Of course, I could also use any old plastic plate. But when we’re sitting outside the motorhome in the evening, having cooked together, with perhaps a bottle of wine or a cold drink on the table, I don’t necessarily want to eat my meal from a plastic plate.

After all, camping doesn’t have to mean going without.

Unser Blick auf Campingausrüstung hat sich im Laufe der Jahre verändert. Früher haben wir uns oft gefragt, was wir noch gebrauchen könnten. Heute überlegen wir eher, was wir tatsächlich nutzen.

Denn gerade mit drei Hunden ist Stauraum im Wohnmobil kostbar. Ausrüstung darf deshalb nicht nur praktisch wirken, sondern muss sich im Alltag bewähren.

Das gilt für den Perkolator, weil ich guten Kaffee liebe, genauso wie für unser Emaillegeschirr und das Besteck in der Ledertasche. Die Dimego-Kochausrüstung erleichtert das Kochen und Abwaschen, der Camping-Backofen erweitert unsere Möglichkeiten, und der Atago Gasgrill ist schnell einsatzbereit, wenn es unkompliziert sein soll. Die LM500 sorgt abends für angenehmes Licht und bleibt deshalb oft stundenlang neben uns stehen.

Lebensnotwendig ist davon nichts. Aber Campingausrüstung muss für mich nicht nur das Nötigste leisten. Sie soll dazu beitragen, dass wir unterwegs eine gute Zeit haben.

Wir fahren mit dem Wohnmobil los, weil wir gerne draußen sind, mit unseren Hunden neue Orte entdecken und die Freiheit genießen, morgens irgendwo anders aufzuwachen. Camping bedeutet für mich deshalb nicht, auf möglichst viel zu verzichten. Es bedeutet, die Dinge auszuwählen, die man wirklich braucht – und die das Leben unterwegs ein Stück schöner machen.

Wenn morgens vor dem Wohnmobil der Perkolator läuft, die Hunde noch in ihren Körbchen liegen und der erste Kaffee des Tages richtig gut schmeckt, ist eigentlich schon ziemlich viel richtig gelaufen.

Wrought iron and cast iron are classics of outdoor cooking for good reason. Both materials are robust, heat-resistant, and develop a natural patina. Even so, they offer different cooking experiences.

Wrought iron is the right choice for fast, direct heat. The pan heats up quickly, is easy to move, and is especially suitable for steaks, fried potatoes, and quickly sautéed vegetables.

Cast iron excels with long-lasting, consistent heat. It is ideal for large portions, longer cooking times, braised dishes, and baking over the fire.

However, you don't have to choose just one material. In a versatile outdoor kitchen, the two complement each other perfectly: wrought iron handles quick searing, while cast iron retains heat and slowly finishes cooking dishes.