Game-Changing River Camp Kitchen Gear

Note: This post was updated on April 13, 2022, to include new items and new categories of camp kitchen gear.

We spend an inordinate amount of time on multi-day river trips thinking about how to make our camp kitchen more efficient—and by that we don’t necessarily mean minimalist. After all, if we wanted to travel light, we would be backpacking.

Over time, we’ve discovered that certain pieces of gear—some of which are not cheap by any means—pay off in years of utility and time savings. In some cases, we’ve put off buying these items because they were pricey and we thought we could jury-rig something that would work just as well.

River camp coffee pot — *Some pieces of kitchen gear are worth the expense*

But then after too many trips coveting these things that other river trippers had, we finally just bought them and we’ve had no regrets about laying out that cash (or receiving them gratefully as gifts).

Here’s our list of river kitchen game-changing splurges (and one super-affordable classic) that we believe are worth the C-notes. Side note: Some (but not all) of these are affiliate links. Most of this gear we’ve used and loved for years. In some cases, we point out products that look intriguing but we haven’t used ourselves.

River camp kitchen floor

A “floor” (a foldable mat) in the kitchen camp is a revelation that has multiple advantages. Its main purpose is to catch all the crumbs (or bigger spills) in camp so that you can successfully leave no trace when you pack up the kitchen.

The one that we first saw in action (and now have ourselves) is the CGear Sand-Free Multimat, which has a unique double layer that not only catches debris but also keeps the beach sand on the downside so if you drop a lid or a spoon it isn’t immediately covered with dirt. The Down River Kitchen Floor is a variation on the same concept. An unexpected plus of the floor is that it marks off a designated area for the kitchen so that the cook team can do their work and the rest of the river party knows where the lines are drawn.

River camp floor — *A river camp kitchen floor helps you leave no trace and marks the kitchen area*

When we’re packing up camp, we fold the floor from the outside in. At the end of the trip, we shake it out at home and run it through a commercial washer as needed.

Dish-drying bag

The first few times I saw the Down River Dish Drying Bag, I thought it was kind of silly—certainly not worth the money and the space in the dry box. Why not just dry the dishes and stack them up somewhere?

But then I saw how the dish-drying bag magically freed up precious table space, conserved paper towels (or helped us save our cloth towels for other uses), and made a convenient dish dispensing rack for the next morning’s breakfast. Sold!

The Down River bag has cam strap buckles so you can hang it around the edge of the table. This attachment system works better on roll-up tables than it does the big steel tables.

River kitchen dish-drying bag — *The Down River Dish-Drying Bag hangs from the camp table, giving wet dishes a space-saving spot to dry*

Big kitchen camp table

I spent years griping about the little blue roll-up tables before I finally just shut up and ordered a big sturdy river kitchen table. Although we still bring along a few of the roll-up tables on any trip (they certainly have their place at a lunch stop), I don’t like having to screw the legs in (so much wasted time!), the porousness of the plastic, and their general lack of stability.

But the Down River Standard Table excels where the roll-up table fails: It takes two seconds to fold out the legs and set it upright. It’s heavy and sturdy: By shoring it up even more with big rocks inside the legs, it will withstand remarkably heavy wind. It’s easy to clean and doesn’t hold stains. It’s available in a counter-height option, which gives the cooks’ backs a big break.

Big sturdy river camp table — *A big sturdy table that unfolds quickly is great for lunch stops as well as the overnight campsite*

The downside to the Big Table is that it’s big and heavy. But again, that’s why we travel in rafts. We’ve found that packing the table in front of the dry box makes a nice extended seat for passengers or a level platform for stacking other gear. A big table—especially for a multi-day trip with a big party—is absolutely worth the money and space it commands.

For a lighter-weight, slim-packing option, check out the GCI Outdoor Slim-Fold Table, which has plenty of support along the 54-inch length of the table and has a heat-resistant, aluminum top. It folds up into a neat little package that’s about 2 feet square and only 3.5 inches thick, making it an efficient secondary table or the primary table for a minimalist trip.

Big coffee pot

It’s so sad to watch the last of the coffee be poured into someone else’s cup, leaving you to wait for the next pot. You can avoid that anxious misery by getting a big, sturdy coffee pot. We have the GSI Glacier Stainless Percolator 36C, which is easy to clean, has withstood years of use and—as the name implies—delivers 36 cups in one round. That’s at least enough to take the edge off for everyone in camp. For small trips or for groups that are less caffeine-dependent, consider the GSI Glacier 6-cup version.

Big sturdy camp coffee pot — *A big sturdy coffee pot gets the day started right*

Continuing our fixation with GSI products (in our experience, they make the best coffee gear in general), here are some other options for on-river caffeination: For groups with a mix of coffee and tea drinkers, consider going with one big kettle for heating water and one or two large coffee presses. (If you have any super-finicky coffee snobs, they can bring their own pour-over setup.) The hot water can be divvied judiciously between the coffee and tea drinkers. Go for the biggest kettle that will fit with your gear: This simple GSI Outdoors enamelware kettle holds 36 cups and is reasonably priced.

When shopping for a river camp coffee press, look for one that is big and stable. This GSI Outdoors Glacier Vacuum Java Press produces 33 ounces of coffee, keeps the coffee hot for up to an hour, and the mesh plunger sits tight in the cylinder to minimize grounds in your cup. (If your river trips are typically in the 16-person range, you might want to have two of these on hand.)

Chicky pails

Chicky pails (plain old metal buckets) don’t seem like game-changers: They are certainly not a new concept on multi-day river trips. But after trying a few collapsible buckets, we keep coming back to metal pails because they work and they last. And they are, happily, about as cheap as they’ve ever been. You can pick up simple galvanized steel buckets (like these Behrens 4.2-gallon pails) at a hardware or farm supply store for about $25.

We bring three that we line up for the dish routine (hot wash, rinse, bleach dip). They stack neatly in the dry box with a little room to spare width-wise (ours are 14 inches in diameter).

After all this time, chicky pails are still the best in our view, not only for doing dishes but for other essential functions, including:

Impromptu cocktail or card-playing table
Rhythm section for musical numbers
Extra seat
Ice dispenser
Driftwood collector

Chicky pails or galvanized metal buckets — *Three chicky pails ready for action, and one good dog*

However, sometimes you just don’t have room for chicky pails in your setup. In that case, these SOL Flat Pack Collapsible Sinks are worth a look because they have some structure to them so they won’t flop around when you pour water into them. But even the largest one holds only 16 liters of water: That’s not much capacity when you’re washing dishes for 16 people, but if you tend to run rivers with smaller groups, these might be a great option.

Low-profile kitchen plates and bowls

Another kitchen essential in our view is a set of low-profile plates and bowls. Rather than having each river tripper bring their own plates and bowls (which inevitably get mixed up during the course of the trip), we assign one rafter to bringing the entire kitchen setup, including plates and bowls for the number of people on the trip. Since we sometimes have 20+ people on trips, we have a stockpile of dishes that are thin and form compact stacks that can be tucked into a compression sack and dropped in the dry box.

Although metal enamelware dishes look great, they tend to hold heat, so a steaming bowl of chili will fry your fingers. If your heart is set on metal plates, check out these super-chic Hydro Flask Tough Shield plates, which cost a lot but protect your hands from heat. For low cost on a high volume of dishware that will stack well, go with high-quality (BPA-free) plastic plates like these GSI Outdoors Cascadian plates, which have nice high rims to avoid spillage. Also check big-box stores like Target for thin, BPA-free plates and bowls like these.

Durable campstove

Although we have long envied the Partner Steel two-burner stove—which you can set up as a free-standing unit that packs down into an ammo box and frees up tons of table space—the cost is eye-watering. This is really an outfitter-grade stove setup, but if you do a lot of multi-day river trips, it honestly might be worth the splurge. Especially on a Grand Canyon-length trip, the convenience and efficiency of this stove is compelling.

However, for most trips, a two-burner Coleman works just fine. We’ve used the same one for about 20 years now with no calamities. One note about fuel: The small, 16.4-oz propane canisters are a pain to recycle, so if you can, either buy a stove that works with a large propane tank (the size that you use with your grill at home, if you have room in the raft for it), or purchase a converter kit to retrofit it. We also like the Eureka Ignite stove because it’s compact, but test it with your largest pots to make sure they’ll fit.

Kitchen lighting

We’ve gone through a lot of different kitchen lighting options. Ideally, you’ll be able to get dinner cooked and served before the light fades from the sky. But when that’s not possible, it can be inefficient and somewhat dangerous to light stoves and handle boiling water with only headlamps. A good, strong kitchen light is essential for those nights when you’re doing kitchen duty in the dark. Although we dearly love our collection of solar lights (like the Goal Zero Crush Light Lantern and the classic MPOWERED Luci Inflatables, it’s hard to position them to light the kitchen and the light often isn’t strong enough. For lighting the camp kitchen, look for a lantern that puts out 400 lumens and doesn’t have weird fuel requirements, such as this Coleman LED. We like this model because it has a big, handy hook for hanging from a nearby branch, but also is tall enough that you can just set it on the kitchen table and it will cast enough light. Plus, it has a rechargeable battery. We also like the looks of the Lander Boulder Rechargeable Lantern: It’s expensive but doubles as a charging hub if that piques your interest. If you aren’t using it to charge devices, it will run 300 hours on one charge, so should power enough kitchen cook sessions for most river trips.

Camp utensil bag

This item is certainly not essential (and we don’t have one), but it looks super-handy: The Kelty Chef Roll Bag, which is big enough to hold long utensils like tongs, spatulas, knives, and other items. We usually just put these pieces in a large plastic tub (secured with a cam strap to avoid disaster), but it would be nice to unfurl this on the table and have a specific spot for each tool. This would be a perfect gift for your favorite river runner.

A more efficient river camp

Most of these kitchen gear picks aren’t cheap and can’t be classified as “essential,” but they will either save you time or frustration or both. They clearly are the inventions of river people who contemplated how to make things work better in the camp kitchen—and then did something about it.

We still think there are some river kitchen conundrums to solve, but these gear items have been worthwhile investments, in our view. Want more tips on river camp meals? Here’s our take on river trip meal planning.)