New Zealand outdoor camping equipment: best gear stores

Image credit: 100% Pure New Zealand

New Zealand’s wilderness has so much to offer the well-prepared adventurer.

Whether you are camping in a motorhome, campervan, a caravan, a tent, or swag, you need all the right camping gear to make your adventure as warm, comfortable and safe as possible.

Tents, sleeping bags, camp kitchen accessories, hiking boots, bags and hydration equipment, snow gear... The list of outdoor equipment you might need is long and expansive. Doing your research and thinking ahead will save you time and money, and help make sure you don’t stock up on stuff you don’t need.

There are loads of reputable, high-quality camping equipment stores in New Zealand. Here we round up the best of them across both the North and South islands, and online stores as well.

Hunting and Fishing New Zealand

This classic New Zealand business has a reputation as one of the country’s leading authorities on outdoor equipment. Started in 1986, it has stores in various locations across both islands. The locations of these stores, often in the smaller cities, makes them the perfect place to stock up or replace gear whilst on your camping trip or grab anything you might have forgotten in the planning and packing stage.

Hunting and Fishing New Zealand’s stores are all staffed with people who love the outdoors and owned by people who have tried out every product they stock. They offer great prices on a large range of camping gear, including camp meals, sleeping bags, fridges, and hiking gear. They also stock gear for fishing, hunting and diving. All their stock is also available online, with reasonable shipping fees.

Ready to go? We've rounded up some of the best campsites with fishing nearby in New Zealand for an unforgettable outdoor adventure!

Gearshop

Gearshop is New Zealand’s premier online camping gear store, with no physical locations. It’s a great store for grabbing a bargain on a brand name camping gear, with frequent sales and discounts available.

With a huge range of gear available, Gearshop’s stock includes tents, sleeping bags and footprints, and a large range of camp meals, supplements, and camping snacks. They also have brand name apparel including shoes and thermal gear. Gearshop also caters to recreational and professional climbers, with climbing ropes and accessories at a reasonable price.

While shopping online comes with the drawback of not being able to see and feel the gear you are buying, it can also offer great prices and a huge range of products to choose from. Search up reviews online and research gear and sizing before you buy, and take advantage of Gearshop’s free shipping for orders over $150.

Image credit: 100% Pure New Zealand

Torpedo7

Torpedo7 is a cutting edge New Zealand store whose range focuses on outdoor adventure gear. As well as camping equipment, Torpedo7 stocks electric bikes and mountain biking gear, snowboards, fitness gear, and a huge range of winter and snow-ready clothing.

The Torpedo7 camping equipment range is extensive, with good deals available on tents, sleeping bags camp furniture and kitchen equipment.

With almost 20 stores across the North and South Islands, including numerous stores in Auckland and Christchurch, they also offer online shopping with reasonable shipping rates. The Torpedo7 website is worth checking out even if you’d rather shop in a physical location - it has a fantastic community section, with interesting articles, featured athletes, and comprehensive help and advice section.

Outdoor Action

Outdoor Action is a family-owned business run out of Aotearoa, which operates as an online-only store, allowing them to offer brand name gear like CamelBak, Coleman, Kiwi Camping, Wild Country and ThermaTech at very competitive prices.

Outdoor Action offers a range of camping gear, hiking gear and apparel including hiking shoes, and climbing equipment. They offer low prices and excellent service, with free shipping within New Zealand for orders over $150.

Bivouac

Bivouac New Zealand has stores in Auckland, Dunedin, Christchurch, Wellington, Palmerston North, Hamilton and Tauranga, as well as their extensive online store. They sell camping gear, hiking gear, outdoor sports accessories, as well as camping and trail food. They also have a range of hiking footwear and apparel, including thermal clothes and accessories for extreme weather sports and conditions, not to mention a large range of travel and urban exploration gear.

Bivouac’s Christchurch store offers snow gear for hire, with boots, skis and boards available.

Macpac

A well known international outdoor gear manufacturer and retailer, Macpac has stores all over both the North and South Islands. Macpac offers an extensive range of camping gear, with speciality tents, sleeping bags and accessories for the colder weather. They also offer lightweight outdoor gear designed for hiking and tramping.

Everything in Macpac stores is Macpac branded, and they have a reputation for durable, high-end clothing and gear that lasts. Their outdoor clothing range has men’s, women’s and kid’s hats, pants, tops and socks available in merino and geothermal options. Macpac also has hiking boots and shoes.

Their gear is on the pricey side, but worth it for the excellent quality and good warranty conditions. Gear and clothing are available both in-store and online through their website, with free shipping for orders over $100.

Complete Outdoors

Complete Outdoors is a Christchurch store owned by avid outdoors people with over thirty years of outdoor experience. With a passion for outdoor gear and a solid customer service policy, Complete Outdoors also operates an online store with an impressive range of camping, snowboarding and outdoor products.

Browse the online store for reputable brands at reasonable prices, with a range of tents, sleeping bags, kitchen equipment, outdoor furniture, and backpacks. They also offer outdoor clothing and hiking boots and have an extensive range of snowboards, snowboarding gear, and winter gear such as jackets, goggles and headwear.

Dwight’s Outdoors

This business was founded in 1978 by the same family that still owns it today - the Dwight family, headed by David Dwight.

With three storefronts in Wellington, Tawa and Upper Hutt as well as an online store, Dwight’s Outdoors designs and manufactures all the gear they sell, crafting it especially to meet the demands of New Zealand extreme conditions. With a focus on innovation and customer service, the Dwight’s Outdoors team strives to offer well-made products at competitive prices.

Dwight’s Outdoors offers a small selection of tents and a large range of luggage and hiking packs. They also have a range of outdoor clothing for adults and children and offer clothing treatments to increase the longevity of your gear.

Kathmandu

Born in New Zealand 30 years ago, Kathmandu is now an internationally recognised outdoor brand with a huge following and a reputation for well made and comfortable clothes, shoes and outdoor gear.

Kathmandu has stores across New Zealand and offers a huge range of camping gear, travel accessories and apparel, hiking boots and outdoor shoes, and fashionable ski and snow gear. Their camping gear includes tents, sleeping bags, kitchen accessories and camping and hiking bags. They also act as a sales point for Department of Conservation hut permits.

While they tend to be on the high end of the price range, you can wait for their sales and clearance deals to get your hands on their gear at a more affordable price.

Equip Outdoors

Equip Outdoors had humble beginnings in 2003, starting off as a simple DIY website and an online Trademe account. Since then they’ve grown into one of New Zealand’s most popular online outdoor equipment stores and they’ve opened a physical store in Hamilton too. Equip Outdoors offers a huge range of tried and tested outdoor and camping products, with everything you need to be comfortable at camp and on the trails.

Equip Outdoors range includes an array of tents, sleeping bags, and outdoor furniture, outdoor toilet supplies and camp laundry accessories. Hiking boots and packs, dehydrated meals, and lightweight camping gear are also available.

For # vanlife travellers with caravans or campervans, Equip Outdoors has an impressive list of equipment available instore and online, including fridges, awnings, toilet accessories and furniture.

Image credit: 100% Pure New Zealand

Considering New Zealand’s outdoor adventure culture, it’s no surprise there’s a huge array of camping and outdoor stores available to serve Kiwis. From massive chain stores to online-only stores and small family-run businesses, you shouldn’t have trouble finding exactly what you need to make your outdoor adventure as safe and comfortable as you need, with a range of gear, prices and brands to suit every taste and budget.

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