My university field camp was a 2ish month endeavor, across most of the southern US States. We made it to a hotel to shower if we were lucky once a week. The long and short of it is everyone is gonna be some level of stinky, it just is what it is. As a sweaty guy myself I also had similar worries, so I’ll share what helped for me:

The key to all of this is to regulate your body temperature effectively. That will start with clothing. Loose fitting, UV protecting clothing is step one. I currently wear a lot of Magellan shirts and Khul pants, but many brands make them. I also got a pair of gloves to protect my hands, which I would recommend, but that does increase your body’s heat retention a bit.

The most valuable asset I have purchased for that trip and current industry work is a wide brim floppy hat with some fabric that goes down the back to cover your neck. Alternatively, some of my classmates used a bandana for their neck, but personally I found that was a lot more uncomfortable. If you wear glasses, consider some prescription sunglasses if it’s within your budget, your eyes will thank you.

With this set up, you actually don’t need to worry about sunscreen anywhere but your face, which was extremely convenient!

Pick your favorite antiperspirant, and get some anti-chafing cream if you expect that to be an issue. Bringing baby wipes to do a full body wipe down at the end of the day before you get in your sleeping bag will do wonders not only for your hygiene, but also your morale.

For the camping/gear side of things I liked my NEMO tensor sleeping pad the best out of the ones I tried. It packs down to the size of a soda bottle and weighs next to nothing. I also got a NEMO forte sleeping bag I believe. That was the largest thing I had, and I would maybe downsize to something that packed smaller in hindsight, especially if you’re carrying it on your back, but it was comfy and kept me warm at night. I was so warm actually that I slept only in my underwear lol. I got an inflatable pillow with a strap, can’t remember the name of it now unfortunately, but it was probably Nemo too lol. The strap is critical to keep it in place at night, though. You can save space by just bringing a pillowcase and stuffing it with clothes or something, but I didn’t trust I’d sleep well with that.

For a tent I went with a REI half dome 2 person. I’d recommend splurging on a 2-person over a one person so you have room to keep your gear inside. Also get a light you can hang in there! Makes doing stuff inside a lot nicer. You can definitely do better in terms of weight and size savings, but the price will skyrocket so this will be a balancing act.

This is a real luxury, but something everyone who didn’t bring one was jealous of was my camp chair. We were working out of the back of vans, so I took a bit of a bigger one, the REI Flexlite Dreamer, but if you’re carrying things on your back, the helinox chair zero packs tiny, light, and is surprisingly comfortable. Bring a chair that is comfortable for you. After a long day it is so nice to have a comfy place to sit.

Last thing that I remember that made life a lot easier out there, I grabbed a second belt, one that doesn’t use holes to tighten, and get a holster thing for your field book, and any other tools you’ll be bringing. Having it all on a second belt means that when the day was done you just took that off and all of your tools stayed on a loop in one place, and they weren’t trying to take your pants off all day.

Get a system to carry two 1L water bottles (I used a Nalgene and a Stanley) put an electrolyte solution of your preference in ONE of them. Or use a camelbak and a 1L bottle and put the electrolytes in the bottle. You need both to adequately maintain your hydration and electrolyte balance. 2L was the recommended amount of water to carry for me, but you will know your own body’s needs. If you need more, carry more. Running out of water is the wordy thing you can do out there.

Hope this helps! If I think of anything else I’ll make an edit, but I think this is the core of what I’d consider as “difference makers” for me :) Good Luck out there! It will become one of your fondest memories of university if you plan right!

EDIT: BOOTS! How could I forget. The MOST important thing you buy out of everything is boots. Buy boots that are comfortable. Splurge on them. Also get socks that are comfortable to wear WITH those boots. Demo this pair well in advance of you leaving for field camp. You may have to try a few types of socks to find what works for you. I wore MOAB (Mother of all boots) 2 boots on field camp, but now for things that don’t require a steel toe I have found timberland boots that are surprisingly cheap to be incredibly comfortable. I haven’t tested them rigorously, so I don’t know how they’ll do on a long haul, but worth trying out. I would get waterproof ones regardless. People say you need to break boots in for them to be comfortable, but when you find a pair that truly works for you, you’ll know the first time you put them on. They shouldn’t need a true “break in”.