Camping is an activity that many people find daunting, either due to the activity itself or the amount of gear needed, but there is a new company in the Phoenix area that is looking to change this.
Campsite Outfitters is a small business that serves the greater Phoenix area. The company provides camping gear rentals to those who don’t own the equipment to enjoy the outdoors. The company was founded by a married couple, Donnie and Danielle Atkinson.
“There are so many public forests and parks within a short driving distance of the Phoenix metro area,” co-founder of Campsite Outfitters Donnie Atkinson said in a press release.
“The more we can get people outdoors, the more people will see the value in protecting nature to continue enjoying it responsibly for generations to come,” Atkinson said.
There are three levels of service that the company offers: campsite outfitting, backyard outfitting and delivery.
The campsite outfitting service is where the company will set up and break down the campsite at one of the locations they have a permit with for customers. According to a press release, the parks that the business currently services are Apache-Sitgreaves National Forest and Maricopa County Parks. This service costs $175 per day, according to the company’s website.
The backyard outfitting service is very similar to the campsite outfitting service with one small change; they set up in the backyard of a customer, as well as break it down once they are finished. This service costs $150 per day according to the company’s website.
The last of their services, the delivery service, delivers the camping gear to a customer’s home or chosen location in the Phoenix metro area the day before the appointment and they come back to pick up the gear when it is done being used.
All of the packages include one four-person tent, two sleeping pads, two sleeping bags, two chairs, and two small lanterns.
There is a two-day minimum booking on all equipment and the customer is responsible for the booking of a campsite.
All gear is cleaned and sanitized in accordance with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidelines.
The company currently operates by servicing two areas depending on the season. For the summer season, they operate in campsites near Payson, Arizona at Forest Lakes. During the winter and fall months, they service campsites in the Phoenix and Maricopa County area, the co-founders said.
The company plans to expand to other parks in the Phoenix area. In the short term, they are looking to expand to Lost Dutchman State Park, and they are looking to expand to more state parks in the area in the long term.
“I think it at the very least it would eliminate barriers to camping,” Phoenix resident Kate Ourada said. “It might not get the person who is like ‘no I won’t go camping I hate the outdoors and getting dirty,’ but it could definitely help someone like me who grew up camping but just doesn’t have the space to store equipment.”
There is a promotion running during the months of September and October that will give a 30% off of a rental using the code “fall30”, according to the co-founders.
Contact the reporter mdmarsh4@asu.edu.
