Renting Camping Gear in Australia – Where and How Much?

This post was last updated in 2024

Hello there my eco-conscious warriors 😊

There are so many good reasons to look into hiring camping equipment and hiking gear. If you have school-aged kids going to camp for the first time, if you don’t typically go hiking but want to give it a go with some friends plus so many more reasons outlined below. 

But is this possible in Australia?

Well, in Australia renting camping gear is possible. You can hire both camping and hiking gear from most locations in Australia through Rooze, Overnight Aventures and Outdoor Adventure Hire. And there are quite a few state-based hire companies where you can rent camping gear.

The state-based companies can be hard to find but in this blog post, you will find a comprehensive list of places where you can rent camping gear.

In addition to this list, I did a price comparison to work out if renting equipment is cost-effective. And I would say it is cost-effective – but it does depend on who you hire from, what you would buy if you didn’t hire and how likely you are to hire the gear again.  

All topics covered in this blog post are linked below:

If you are open to renting equipment, peer-to-peer sharing might also interest you. Contrary to its name, peer-to-peer sharing does not involve borrowing something for free – peer-to-peer sharing platforms are essential rental sites, where you can hire or rent all types of equipment from someone in your neighbourhood. If this interests you, I have a blog post on all available platforms in Australia, which you can check out here.

But let’s get back to the reason you are here…

Where to hire camping and hiking gear in Australia

I’ve put together a list of companies in Australia that rent camping gear and hire hiking equipment, along with where these companies are located and the range of products they have available for hire (refer to the section here for what I mean by “limited”, “good” and “wide” range). 

Australia-wide camping equipment hire sites

State-based camping equipment hire companies

Note: Enter the initials of your state in the search function below to find places near you. 

So not a massive range of companies operating in each state.

If you know of any not listed or if you find that some of the ones listed above are no longer operating, it would help me – and most importantly anyone else reading this – out a lot if you could let us know through the comments section below.

Type of camping and hiking gear available for hire

Those with a limited range of stock would have these basics: 

• Tents
• Sleeping bags
• Sleeping mats
• Bags

Those that have a good range of stock would also have the following:

• Cooking gear
• Torches
• Clothing
• Boots
• Hiking poles
• Chairs
• Tables

Those with a wide range may also have the following:

• Phones
• Location beacons
• Radios
• Lightweight water bottles
• Water tanks
• Fridges
• Stoves
• Compass
• First aid kits
• Cooler box
• Pillows
• Various little items you might need

So in the tables above, if you are looking for a place that rents camping cooking equipment, you would be looking for a company where the range is “good” or “wide”.

Cost-effectiveness of renting camping equipment

So as a fun exercise (!) I thought it would be interesting to compare hire prices with the cost of buying the items new and calculate the number of uses you need to get out of an item before it makes more sense to buy the item.

I did this for the equipment my son uses for Scouts. I got the hire costs from two places – Overnight Adventures and Rooze –  based on a two-day hire. As the table below shows, the prices they charge vary greatly. One was chosen because of the range of products and the other I looked into because of quality and price. 

The product prices I got from Anaconda. I am not comparing apples with apples here i.e. I didn’t look up the price of the same product under hire. What I looked up was the price of a mid-range alternative that I would likely buy if I were to buy the equipment outright. 

From this information, I worked out how many separate 2-day hires I would get before I hit the purchase price. 

So that was all very unexpected.

The table above demonstrates a number of things and a few things to keep in mind: 

(1) If I had compared the hire price against the price of the product being hired (they seem to be premium brands), the price difference would have been much greater and therefore hiring would be even more cost-effective. Why did I compare the hiring price to the price of mid-range products? It’s because I imagine most people in my position are tossing up between a mid-range product and hiring the equipment – so that’s what I compared in the table above.

(2) It really pays to shop around. The charges varied greatly between the two sites I compared with Rooze being the most reasonably priced by far, without compromising on quality. But then again it does not have the range of products that Overnight Adventures had. 

(3) It seems that when it comes to sleeping bags and smaller items, it doesn’t seem cost-effective to hire if you are going to go on at least 3 different 2-day camping trips i.e. across 6 days of use. 

The question of whether it is cost-effective or not really depends on where you are renting from, whether you intend to purchase premium products outright or something cheaper and how often you are going to rent such equipment. And the cost-effectiveness does depend on the product in question. 

But this should show that it is worth looking into at the very least. And if you are coming at this from a sustainability and space-saving lens, not just an economic one, camping rentals pay off.

Benefits of renting camping equipment

Here are some situations where camping and hiking gear hire makes sense:

• School camps
• First time camping
• Occasional camper
• Extra gear needed for specialised camping/ hiking trips
• To try expensive equipment before committing to the purchase
• Groups needing extra backup gear
• You live in a unit or have limited space to store extra equipment

And renting is associated with a whole host of benefits such as:

1. You can save money – if you are not going to use the equipment frequently, hiring can pay off. Or if you are thinking of purchasing really expensive equipment, hiring is a good way to try before committing to a large purchase
2. You can save space – this equipment can take up a lot of space in the home and if you do not use the items frequently enough, that space could be put to better use
3. You get to use a premium product – use quality products on your trip instead of low-quality products you would have otherwise purchased
4. You save time – since taking care of the item and fixing repairs can take up your time if you own the items outright 
5. You are saving resources – by participating in the circular economy, you are saving further resources being extracted from the planet.  

Of course, it was the last point that brought me to this idea – the fact that it doesn’t make sense to buy something new when someone has the same item available for me to use at a fraction of the cost. 

If you’re not sold on this or you haven’t found what you need from the options listed here, buying new is not the only option out there. Try to borrow from friends, see if there are any local community groups (like Scouts) that can help out or check out the second-hand market through eBay, Gumtree, Marketplace or your local op shop.

And there are some peer-to-peer rental sites that often have camping and hiking equipment. 

If that interests you, check this out:  Peer-to-peer sharing in Australia

And keep on exploring these options because it is through these conscious choices we can collectively work towards a more sustainable future 🌎

xxx Tahsin

A Heads Up: This post may contain affiliate links that earn me a small commission at no additional cost to you. Also as an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases. I only recommend products and services that will help you take steps towards a more sustainable life and will not recommend anything that does not align, in some way, with these values.

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