The Best Tailgating Gear, According to The Athletic’s Tailgating Expert

A simple folding table is the cornerstone of a tailgate setup.

Almost all of Wirecutter’s folding-table picks are 6 feet long. Regulation beer-pong tables are a whopping 8 feet long. But for tailgating, Starrett recommends a 5-foot table.

“That one foot could be the difference between fitting in a car or on a roof or not,” said Starrett, who uses the Academy Sports + Outdoors 5 ft Half Folding Table.

If you have the cargo space, Wirecutter’s top pick is the 6-foot Office Star Resin Multipurpose Center Fold Table (it’s 3 feet long when folded in half).

You’ll want chairs that are easy to pack and unpack—and that you don’t care too much about.

“The first thing that gets damaged—always, no matter what—are chairs,” Starrett said. “It gets bent, somebody sits on it wrong, they get thrown around, blown on the wind.”

Starett likes Dick’s Sporting Goods Logo Chairs mainly because they’re cheap and easily replaceable (when they inevitably break). “It lets you use your limited space for food tables, and often they’ll have your team’s logos on them,” he said.

Starrett said he also likes these folding-style chairs because they’re easy to pack into their nylon carrying cases—so he can bounce around tailgate parties and always have a place to sit.

The Coleman Quad Portable Camp Chair is Wirecutter’s top pick for the best camping chair in that style.

“Charcoal is ideal since it will give you the best flavor, but the convenience of a gas grill is often worth the trade-off,” Starrett said.

In our testing at Wirecutter, we’ve also found that portable gas grills are useful beyond the tailgate party, especially for those with smaller outdoor spaces.

Starrett said he uses the Coleman RoadTrip 285 Portable Stand-Up Propane Grill.

He’s been using the Coleman 285 for the past five years, and he used a similar model for 10 years before that. Starrett said he appreciates that the Coleman grill’s cooking surface distributes heat evenly, which isn’t always the case with small gas grills.

“If the cooking surface is too small and doesn’t heat evenly, you’ll end up with people who are done eating before others have even started,” he said.

While he noted that smaller tabletop grills also work, Starrett said he prefers a standalone model so he can use table space for other items.

If you prefer a tabletop model, the Weber Q 1200 Gas Grill—which has an add-on portable cart you can buy separately—is Wirecutter’s top-pick portable grill. “That does make it more expensive than the Coleman,” said kitchen senior editor Marguerite Preston. “But I’d say the build quality would make it worth it if you want something more versatile.”

Starrett also uses the Pit Boss Pro All-In-One Stainless Steel Tongs. He said this item, which combines tongs and a spatula, is his grilling tool of choice because it saves space and allows him to easily maneuver most grilled foods.

Starrett recommends bringing two to three coolers to your tailgate party: one for food, and one or two for beverages. “A quality cooler will make your ice last all day long,” he said.

But which coolers should you get?

“Yeti coolers are pricey, but I think they’re the best in the business,” Starrett said.

The Yeti Tundra Haul Hard Cooler, which has heavy-duty aluminum handles and a sturdy plastic body, is one of our top-pick coolers.

If you don’t need something with wheels, the Coleman 70-Quart Xtreme 5 Marine Hard Ice Chest Cooler is also a fantastic value.

To see the best way to pack a cooler, check out this guide.

At a tailgate party, messes are inevitable and faucets are scarce.

“Napkins or paper towels are great, but you might be surprised how useful wipes can be,” Starrett said.

He said he buys Pampers Baby-Clean Baby Fresh Scent Wipes. Though Starrett also likes to have disinfecting wipes on hand, “I just feel a little better about using a baby wipe to clean my skin/face.”

Starrett said he’s a fan of having TVs at tailgate parties.

“In college, there’s a portion of the fans who don’t have tickets to the game. They are just there for the tailgate, and that’s how they watch the game,” he said.

To pull this off, you’ll need a portable generator. The Jackery Explorer 1000 is the top pick in our guide to portable power stations. It has more power than our other picks, so it’s more likely to last for the three-plus hours you’ll be watching the game while charging other devices.

We have more recommendations in our article on how to watch TV at a tailgate.

When you’re tailgating, silence can be a real buzzkill. And at a daylong event, it’s nice to keep the mood elevated with music or live game playback. A Bluetooth speaker can help.

“It’s a good idea to have one that is waterproof,” Starrett said. He’s been using the waterproof, dust-proof JBL Flip 6, which Wirecutter tested but didn’t name as a pick. Starrett said he likes that the Flip 6 is loud but not too loud: “You want to be cognizant of the group that’s 25 feet away from you. If you’re listening to music, you don’t want to make it difficult for someone else to listen to a game.”

“The JBL Flip 6 has a nice, full sound for its price, and it plays pretty loud, too. But its midrange is accentuated, and it can sound harsh with some vocal music,” said Wirecutter senior staff writer Brent Butterworth, who wrote our guide to portable Bluetooth speakers.

Wirecutter’s top pick, the Ultimate Ears Wonderboom 3, is highly water-resistant and dust-proof, and it has 11 hours of battery life, according to our tests.

Cornhole is a great game for tailgating because it’s easy to set up, anyone can get involved, and you can play with a beer in hand.

“A tailgate favorite,” Starrett said. “Bonus points if the design features your favorite team.”

Some Wirecutter staffers have had success making their own cornhole boards from plywood, but the AllCornhole Tournament Series Cornhole Boards are our favorites. These boards stood out in our testing due to their solid wood construction and smooth finish.

Football is played and watched across the country and across the seasons. And canopies can provide shelter from rain, snow, and heat.

Wirecutter hasn’t tested these types of pop-up tents. But Starrett said he likes the MF Studio Pop-up Canopy Tent for its accordion-style assembly: “It’s easier and faster to set up and take down, and it’s also more sturdy than tents where all the parts are separate.”

“For these all-day tailgates, you need a respite from the sun,” Starrett said. A canopy can also mitigate glare on a TV, and it can help you establish your space.

“It can be a recognizable landmark. You can tell people you’re by the big purple tent near Parking Lot A.”

This article was edited by Annemarie Conte and Ben Frumin.