camping advice

me_and_me_monkeys

My DS has badgered me into camping. so I need a little advice please (I went one at school and hated it). We are easing me in with a nights camping and will have a gas ring and a BBQ tin. We will be using a cool box to keep stuff cool. My question is how long will meat (sausages/burgers) last in a cool bag and how many freezer packs would you reccomend? I intend to take the meat frozen and let in thaw. Any ideas would be great!

Keeping_Positive

Go to ukcampsite.co.uk. You will find loads of info and really helpful people. Use the search tool at the top first if no luck and I would be surprised if this hasnt come up before ask the question on there.

With regards to freezer packs I used two and switched them at the camp shop. I now have a coolbox that runs of electric and car battery that makes things easier. I find meat lasts 2 days max but there are better models out there which is why you should look at the website as there re far more experienced campers than me.

PS modern camping is very comfortable these days. Dont think its that cheap either because there's always something new to buy!!

me_and_me_monkeys

thank you

I have just bought him a 2man tent (he's going into cubs in september and they have camping nights!) off ebay £18 new and double layered?. and I bought a couple of mess tins (£1 each) and a coolbag £4, and some enamal cups and bowls £1 a set. So far its not been too bad.

I've also been bidding on a tent for the whole family but I'm in no rush for that so not getting into the silly bidding wars on ebay

jobbingmusician

If you are looking for a tent for the whole family, look in Asda Sainsburys and Tesco at the moment. Tents are really cheap right now because of the lousy weather - after I looked at other threads on this site I popped into my local Sainsbury at the weekend and got a 3 man tent for £6.25. (sorry if this comes as bad news)

Ebay is actually quite a good place to buy tents - lots of silly people don't have the knowledge to ask for advice before camping, try it once and don't get the best from it.

When you buy your tent, multiply the number of people in the family by at least 1.5 to decide how big a tent to buy. In fact, if you are going by car, buy the biggest tent you can! As you will see when you put your son's tent up, the amount of notional space they allow per person when deciding how many people to advertise a tent as housing........:D

Keeping_Positive

Be careful with ebay tents. Dont go for Rage or Leben. There are goods deals but with our weather its not worth buying a really cheap name tent. Ours wasnt v expensive (a gelert) and stood up really well to the dreadful June weather.

me_and_me_monkeys

Hi - The tent was one reccomended by the leaders at scouts so I'm not fussed about cost for that one. I did get the version with a porch (which is why it cost a bit more) and was double layered (most of the cheap ones I saw in tescos were single).

As for the family tent - There are 5 of us and I'm looking at an 8 or 9 person. It has to be high enough for me to stand (I am often on sticks or crutches) Hopefully goiing to pop into the camping shop in town at the weekend and see what advice they can give me.

fudgem

On the subject of ice packs, I just freeze a litre bottle of water or two, and find it lasts much longer than the little ice packs. Also freeze any food I can, it all helps

jobbingmusician

me_and_me_monkeys wrote: »

Hi - The tent was one reccomended by the leaders at scouts so I'm not fussed about cost for that one. I did get the version with a porch (which is why it cost a bit more) and was double layered (most of the cheap ones I saw in tescos were single).

Yes, I was thinking overnight that I hadn't said anything about single and double skins. The supermarkets do make double skinners on their better ranges. I have to confess that the 2 I bought were single skin, but they are going to be a present to people who are new to camping and would otherwise not have their own tent

Hotspur

Before purchase decide the features you need in the tent e.g. size, packed size, weight, number of bedrooms, ventilation etc. and if possible go and have a look at some on display. Yeoman camping and Decathlon often have good display areas. I'd consider tents made by Vango, Outwell, Coleman and Khyam and ensure they have at least 2000mm water resistance for general UK camping (more is better). Decathlon have some own brand Quecha tents that are very reasonable and could be what you want. All are double skinned which is essential for reducing condensation.

I have a Vango tent and it's great value compared with some other brands.

Last weekend Blacks had several larger (last years model) tents in their sale at up to 50% off

me_and_me_monkeys

Hi dont know if its of use to any of you.. I've just had lunch in tescos (not MS buy seeing as I can get a meal for my 2 youngest for £1.99 the pair its not too bad). The little boxes the childrens sandwiches come in (about 3" square by 1/2" or so (enough for 1/2 sandwich) is the perfect size for sauce portions/teabags/sugar. The sauce sachet fit perfectly!!!!! might be good if you can grab a few empty ones off the trays for camping!!

jobbingmusician

Just thought you might like to know that the 2 tents I bought in Sainsbury's turned out to be double skinners, after all!