Camping questions

Shelldean

cubegame wrote: »

Actually I disagree.....the repellent applied in the factory is normally pretty superficial and the outer fabric will wet within minutes a light shower.

This will not cause leaking but it will cause additional condensation.

In addition it would be wise to apply a UV protector anyway (as per the freebie product I linked to)......although this might not be appropriate in the UK at the moment.

I still maintain a new tent does not need reproofing, and if any of mine did I would be looking for a refund ASAP.

elsien

And if the tent poles aren't colour coded, do it on your trial run before you go.

Pee

I would say that getting cold is a big issue. It can be very cold at midnight in the UK, even when the weather is quite warm. (I have been camping in March and found it less cold then than when I have been sat just a bit too far from a campfire for a couple of hours and my bum is cold...) I think this can be worse with children who often don't think in time to put an extra layer on. Last thing hot chocolate is a great thing, maybe with Baileys for the adults, and the fan heater sounds ace! I do agree that a good sleeping bag is important, but for the first trip, spare duvets should do the job if you have enough room in the car for them.

booter

I've just remembered there's a couple of other threads in a similar vein, so I thought I'd pop back with the links so you can see others bright ideas!
https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/3771997
https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/3820937

cubegame

Shelldean wrote: »

I still maintain a new tent does not need reproofing, and if any of mine did I would be looking for a refund ASAP.

You're confusing waterproof and water repellent. A PU lined polyester tent will not let water in, much in the same way a plastic bin bag won't. That's what the PU lining does.

But the polyester of a new tent (the bit on the outside) will wet pretty quickly. Thus very rapidly destroying the breathability of the PU liner.

Richard_T_

I havent got ny expeirience of family camping, although i have got plenty of expeirince camping as ascout, and a Scout leader...

Know your tent - practice putting it up, and taking it down a few times at home if you can/have the space.

There are very few pitches on campsites that are perfectly level, always sleep with your head at the top of the slope if you have a slight sideways slope, and your sleeping on ground mats such as foam carry mats, or semi inflatable therm-a-rest type mats you will end up moving slightly in the night - whioever is downwards may end up with the person at the top sliding towards them, also beware of guy ropes and other obstructions at night

Food - do not ever ever ever bring food, or drinks ( other than water) into the sleeping area in a tent, its an open invatation for insects to invade, and posibly other animals as well - i know of one campsite where the squirels can undo the latches on most types of food container

Keep it dry, tents are expensive, and if you pack it away wet you must let it dry, putting it away wet will allow mildew and mould to grow on your tent, and it will soon be ruined

Electricity - unless youve got equipment specificly designed for the task keep clear of mains power, torches and gas or petrol such as coleman type stuff will be much better.

Using gas lamps? make sure you know how to change the gas safely, and change the mantle, mantles are fragile and can easily break if the lamp is bumped or dropped, its a good idea to have a few spare mantles just in case, to help keep a gas mantle from breaking during transportation and storage when the lamp has cooled, and just before your going to pack it way spray it with a little hair spray but only when its cooled

Torches - make sure you know where your torch is, i usualy place mine in my sleeping bag so it can be found quickly once night falls, again take some spare batterys, and while your at it get a decent torch i use a fenix TK40( expensive) and a Fenix LD2 to find out more about torches go to the candlepower forums.

Water: why lug water back and forth when you can roll it, a barrel device such as an aqua roll will save time and your back, as its basicly a barrel with tyres that rolls behind you attached to a handle.

Cold at night? dont feel tempted to sleep in the clothes you have been wearing ( ie shirt / T shirt) as they can hold moisture form the day making you feel colder, put some clean fresh clothes on if you can, if your camping in sub zero temperatures put your clothes for the next day under your sleeping bag ( especialy socks/Tshirts etc) to prevent the frozen like cardboard issue.

jackyann

ITA about putting the tent up before having to do it for real - and if you get coloured tape or markers you can mark the poles which can be helpful.
I also agree about the cold box - our rather large family bought one 25 years ago (after much thought, it was expensive!) and it was a seat for the 2 littlest. At a recent get-together, we realised that the box was still going strong and took another photo of them on it!!