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Outdoor bootcamp equipment: what survives a season outside

The outdoor session on this site needs a park bench and nothing else. Once you add kit, the question changes from what to buy to what still works after a summer of sun and a few wet mornings.

By María de Benito Hernández

An outdoor calisthenics park with pull-up and dip bars

Start with what the park already has

The outdoor bootcamp session runs on a bench, open grass and a stretch of ground for sprints. That covers step-ups, dips, incline push-ups and the sprint station. Buy something when a station is missing, which is the same rule the equipment guide applies indoors.

What holds up outside and what does not

Agility conesPlastic, light, fine wet or dry. They mark the sprint lane and the stations, and a whole set fits in one bag.
Resistance bandsLatex breaks down in sun and heat. Store them indoors and inspect them every session.
Battle ropeBuy poly dacron or polyester. Manila soaks up water, sheds fibres and rots if it is left out.
KettlebellCast iron rusts wherever the coating chips. Wipe it dry and take it home after the session.

Bands are the cheapest item and the first to fail

TheraBand's care instructions are short: "Store in a cool, dry place, out of direct sunlight, and avoid extreme temperatures." A bag of bands left in a hot car boot all summer is the storage they warn against.

Outdoors, bands also get looped around rough posts and bench legs, which is where they rub. TheraBand tells you to check "where the band may have been tied or attached to an anchoring point" before and after each use, and not to use a band that is "torn, punctured or nicked." A band that snaps mid-rep comes back at your face, so throw out a nicked one.

Ropes and iron

Rope material matters more outdoors than in a gym. Manila is a natural fibre: it absorbs water, sheds small fibres with use and starts to rot within a year or two if it is left outside untreated. Poly dacron and polyester ropes do not shed and cope with sun and wet grass much better. Either kind picks up mud on grass, so hose it off and let it dry before you coil it.

Cast iron rusts when water sits on it. Powder-coated and e-coated kettlebells resist that until the coating chips, and a chip on a bell that lives outside is where the rust starts. Wipe the bell dry after a damp session and store it indoors. It is also the heaviest thing to carry to the park, which is a good reason to buy it last.

A season kit, in buying order

  1. Agility cones, to lay out the sprint lane and the stations.
  2. Two resistance bands of different tension, for rows and assisted pull-ups on the bars.
  3. A poly dacron battle rope, if the session is short on upper-body work.
  4. One kettlebell, last, and only if someone is willing to carry it.

Everything on that list fits in one bag, and a bag you carry home keeps the bands out of the sun and the iron out of the rain. For band tensions and kettlebell sizes, the equipment guide has the manufacturer figures.

Weather affects the people as well as the kit. Heat changes an outdoor session more than cold does, and the outdoor session page covers when to shorten the work intervals.

Frequently asked

What is the best equipment for outdoor bootcamps?

Agility cones first, then resistance bands, then a poly dacron battle rope if the session lacks upper-body work. A park bench already covers step-ups, dips and incline push-ups, so an outdoor circuit needs no equipment to start.

Can you leave resistance bands outside?

No. TheraBand says to store bands in a cool, dry place out of direct sunlight and to discard any band with a nick, tear or puncture. Sun and heat break latex down, so bands last longer in a bag indoors.

Which battle rope is best for outdoor use?

Poly dacron or polyester. Manila rope absorbs water, sheds fibres and rots if it is left outside, while synthetic ropes do not shed and cope better with sun and wet grass.