Touchlights. They are really handy in the pitch-dark, and don't emit so much light that you wake up everyone in the vicinity.

Heh, I noted that the last time we'd been to King's Canyon we had film cameras and used paper maps. Mapquest either didn't exist or just wasn't as ubiquitous as it became (to be superceded by Google). So I suppose a digital SLR and a gps nav were luxury items.

And the air mattress. Our tent would have been, having previously had tiny 2-person tents that you could barely crouch in, let alone stand. But the whole rain fly thing kinda made that suck.

For me everything we bring is a luxury. I started backpacking before I started camping so the idea of having anything but a sleeping back a pup tent and cloths is a luxury. Out of everything though I think the bed frame and mattress are the two that I get the most joy out of and the easy-up over the bear box is probably the most useful.

I interrupt this useful thread to mention in passing, FP your new avatar scares me.

The power tools were more of a joke than anything. Since we have the nice big van, it was easy enough for us to just throw the bag in.
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But yes: to each his/her own. The reason for the big tent was that we got sick of having to lie on a partially deflated air mattress to get dressed in the morning. We already have the bed, so it is nice to have around. And I just like the silliness of overkill in what can be brought (also, because of the SCA stuff we do, some of our gear is targeted towards accommodating larger numbers of people).

I could bring Joyce back:

I come from the school of no tents. That said, I always put one up, even if I don't use it. Mainly for stuff storage.

We're kind of camping starting tonight. I'm considering going somewhere to get a GPS nav system. We have many of the other amenities. Need to buy some food. We're just putting the air mattress in the back of the Xterra this time, though... Nothing fancy. Minimal swank. We're just digging in dirt for treasures!

Get yahoo maps to back up your nav system though. Mine occasionally makes some very bad road choices!

I'm intrigued! What and where?

My son and I love to look for cool looking rocks - nothing of particular value really. He's got one we call the meat rock as it looks like a small steak with marbling.

We're heading out to Middle of Nowhere, Nevada - just south of Denio - to mine for black opals (and other miscellaneous cool stones). We've been wanting to do this for a while, and between work and other stuff, it's just taken until now for us to go.

So excited! I love to dig!