We're in the process of equipping ourselves for our upcoming journey and have been amazed by the number of handy camping gadgets out there.  In our younger days, camping trips basically meant packing the sleeping bags, throwing in a couple of saucepans and a tin opener.  Now there are portable Hills Hoists, gazebos, fish smokers, etc. etc.
Do any of you experienced nomads have advice about what gadgets have been really useful and are worth getting?  All these products look like they'd come in handy at some point in the trip, but we don't want to over-pack (and over-buy!)
Any feedback would be appreciated.

if you have been camping before then you know from experience what you need, now as far as what you would like WELL if you are towing a trailer just to carry all the toys then that is great, there is just so much absolutely bloody useless stuff out there it makes my eyes water, gazebo, great if you havent got an awning, foldaway clothesline, my 10mm super cheap rope has sufficed for 25 years or more, fish smokers, now if you do a bit of fishing and you like smoked fish then by all means grab a small one, portable washing machine, got one, it sits in the shed if you are interested in it, I will sell it cheap, my philosiphy is (1) keep everthing simple (2) if I dont use it at least twice in 6 months then I dont need it (3) be comfortable in camp but not austentacious, I'm as happy as a little black duck beside the camp fire on my $35 fold up chair sipping my whiskey from a $2.50 kmart glass beaker, friends are the best gadget you can invest in, stuff is for bragging about when you get to the caravan park, having said that I would not be without my cobb, it roasts, fries, deep fries, has a wok, barbecues, and smokes anything, but plenty of people out there have other things that they swear by, not for me, travel is important, stuff is not.   one thing I did see that I absolutely loved (but didnt like me) was a pocket knife thing, it has got all sorts of things on it, pliers, screwdrivers, things to get stones out of horses hooves, and anything that you could think of to fix up all the little things that go wrong in the campsite, it comes in its own little leather pouch (ah- hahhh!!! thats what it was a leatherman) really usefull I thought until, I had a fiddle with it, on opening it hooked under my finger nail and tore it to the quick, opening up the scissors (to repair first wound) they flicked around and stabbed me in the centre of my hand, the pliers came open easily and immediately tore a piece from the back of my other hand, I went for the band aids, couldnt open the paper, opened the knife section to cut the paper and yep it bit me as well, so with blood freely flowing from both hands I proceeded to close all protrubrences and thereby sustaining more pinch injuries I sheepishly handed it back to the owner, I love it, but it didnt like me, never mind, if you could somehow tame one I am sure it would come in handy.

no doors on our camp fires Grizz, be an honour to have ya

I love gadgets but I do tend to make a lot of my own....I have always wondered though at what situation could possibly arrise that would require me to use the "hook" bizzo on m Swiss Army knife to presumably slide down a zip line whatst escaping from a Swiss Chalet under the control of Zigfried...

ahhh!!! ziegfreid, terror of the free world, you do know that the swiss army has only that knife as its main means of defence, and to date the shear mention of that knife strikes terror in to the hearts of millions, and makes grown soldiers weep ( a bit like that bloody leatherman and me) probably why the swiss army has never been defeated nor attacked nor ,well, anything for that matter, i was talking to a swiss gentleman a long time ago and even he said that he doesnt know what half of the blades do 

dave06 wrote:

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ahhh!!! ziegfreid, terror of the free world, you do know that the swiss army has only that knife as its main means of defence, and to date the shear mention of that knife strikes terror in to the hearts of millions, and makes grown soldiers weep ( a bit like that bloody leatherman and me) probably why the swiss army has never been defeated nor attacked nor ,well, anything for that matter, i was talking to a swiss gentleman a long time ago and even he said that he doesnt know what half of the blades do 

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Hmmmmm and if you want to actually need inconinence knickers find Jimmy Connely's "Swiss Army Knife Drill" somewhere.... "Littel Blade OOOOOOOOut... as you were, as you were...etc" Well I wet myself lauging at it....Only ever had one accident with it and that was closing the blade accidentally on my thumb.... but to compensate I did on one occasion use the saw to cut down a couple of saplings to use to get a Tarago out of a bog....And the maginfiyng glass and tweezers are handy when repairing ones glasses or getting splinters out...