Cheap Tent for 1st time Camper

culpepper

Lidl are doing camping stuff at present see here [img]chrome://targetalert/content/skin/new.png[/img]
dont know what its like but could be interesting!

johannamse

I back up the Tesco advice - I was in there the other day and 2 man tents were £9 something and there was even a six man tent, but I cant remember how much it was. It was a really big tescos though.

fluffbrain

Hi Frizz,
Right, now I have the low down on you & your family here's some advise based on experience, I will try not to bore you with too much detail!

Tent - The one you have chosen looks pretty good, I would recommend one with a large door flap that forms a canopy, ideal for sitting under if there is a shower without having to be in the tent. Also one with a large "living" space or the ability to remove a sleeping chamber to make what there is larger is ideal especially with kids. Look for one with good ventilation as well, it may be cold at night but as soon as the sun's up it can get pretty hot & stuffy inside. 2 doorways are ideal for a through draft but as a min. make sure the sleeping chambers have good vents you can open or close. I guess from where you are going you must be based down south so suggesting a trip to Betwys-y-Coed (Snowdonia) where they have lots of outdoor shops is not really much use! (For anyone who this may be of use to there are at least 5 shops to test & try stuff in but for low cost go to the one at the top of the town (swallow falls direction) that is in a converted chapel - sorry dont remember the name, it might be Snowdon Ranger??)

Things to take - Chairs are a must, you WILL get fed up of sitting on the floor otherwise! It might be worth investing in one of those table & chair all in 1 fold up things as the table's useful for food prep and you have somewhere to sit up and eat but that depends on if you plan on cooking or eating out. Even if you do get 1 take 2 chairs for you & Mr Frizz for sitting in later once the ankle biters (sorry kids!) have gone to bed as they will be more comfortable! Head torches have been mentioned, dont even bother with an ordinary one, take it from us, being hands free is invaluable - BUY ONE! (at least 1) Take the advice offered about foam mats & airbeds, at £3.50 each from Tesco Extra it will be money well spent, you can also put them down in the "living" area when not needed under the beds to provide a more comfortable insulated area especially in the evening or if wet. (we have an old one we use for kneeling/sitting on, as a door mat, for everything really!) If you do take to this camping lark then there are other self inflating matresses that are half the price of thermarests and do as good a job for summer, Lidl's are doing them from the 23rd as posted before. It is also worth splashing out another £3.50 while you are at Tesco Extra for a foot pump to inflate the airbeds, unless you have one already of course or you like that breathless dizzy feeling!

Other things that will be useful - Wet wipes, lots. String to use as clothes line for drying towels, childs dust pan & brush (coz they are smaller!) to get the grass out that your kids will constantly trail in! Pillows, because rolled up jumpers etc just dont work if you want a good nights sleep! Chopping board, even if you are not cooking this provides a flat surface to stand your wine glass on-essential! I have mentioned a duvet already, in fact as you have a big car for total warmth & luxury you could go for an old underneath & one on top! Actually it's not as mad as it sounds, I would buy 2 mummy style sleeping bags for the kids only and use duvet(s) for you. That way if you dont like it you wont have 2 spare sleeping bags and the 2 you have brought will always be used by the kids as they get older for sleepovers etc. You can always buy yourselves 2 better ones if you like it and if you spend a bit more money you tend to get better features like warmth, zip together etc.
Right that's it, except to say that you must dry the tent throughly before putting it away properly in order to preserve it's life & stop it going mouldy! If it's wet when you packed up at the end of the weekend then dry it off when you get home by putting it up in the garage or garden if poss.
Hope this all helps, have a great time!

frizz_head

Thats brilliant stuff fluffbrain - I've copied and pasted it to our camping friends as there are loads of good tips in there.

Thanks again!!!

frizz_head

Oh by the way fluffbrain - welcome to MSE!!!

Frizzo

Midget_Karen

Hi Frizz
7 and 4 are just the right age to start in a tent of their own! I used to have my own tent at 4 when my little brother (9 months) went in with mum and dad.
I loved it!

Savvy_Sue

for all you keen campers, buy a cheap plastic sheet, doesn't have to be a proper groundsheet, and put it UNDER your tent before you put it up. Tuck all the edges out of sight under the tent groundsheet and forget about it ... until you take your tent down. Then you will have a nice clean 'bottom' to your tent and hopefully a clean dry surface to fold the tent up on. Fold the plastic sheet dry to dry, wet to wet, until it fits into a carrier bag and it's ready to use if you're re-pitching your tent somewhere else tomorrow. If not clean it up properly when you get home.

(If it's really wet you may get water between this bottom most sheet and the tent groundsheet. If it's really really wet and your tent groundsheet isn't up to much you may have to lift the tent to mop up a bit or it will soak into your tent because it can't soak away underneath your tent. I mention this as a theoretical possibility only: don't think I've ever seen it happen!)

If you HAVE to pack your tent wet on the last day get it out and dry it thoroughly as soon as you get home or it will rot / get mildew. It's best to clean off all mud, grass etc as well because this isn't good for tents.

chinagirl wrote:

I too was a camping virgin 3 years ago, but was persuaded to go on a Scout 'Family Camp' (who better to go camping with for the first time, eh).

Well, there's the Guides, who really know about camping - or certainly used to! Don't think my brothers ever really did proper camping with the Scouts.

Jay-Jay_4

Just to back up the duvet theory....

I once went camping with some friends, as one friend unpacked her blue flowery duvet I sneered "oh dear...not a proper camper" I thought. :rolleyes:

I got out my Karrimor 'synthetic' mummy bag with all the bells and whistles....and spent the entire night FREEEEEZING cold which my friend slept snuggly in her duvet.

At 7.30am when she woke up, I was still awake with the cold and as she got out of her duvet I climbed underneath it and slept until lunch time :rolleyes:

The moral of the story....SOD all the fancy equipment....take the duvet, take the pillows...... take as much as you can fit in your car because a couple of cold sleepless nights are enough to REALLY REALLY put you in a bad mood.

p.s. three words 'HOT...WATER....BOTTLE!'

Midget_Karen

Just to back up the duvet theory....

I once went camping with some friends, as one friend unpacked her blue flowery duvet I sneered "oh dear...not a proper camper" I thought.

I got out my Karrimor 'synthetic' mummy bag with all the bells and whistles....and spent the entire night FREEEEEZING cold which my friend slept snuggly in her duvet.

At 7.30am when she woke up, I was still awake with the cold and as she got out of her duvet I climbed underneath it and slept until lunch time

I have to disagree, I wouldn't take a duvet because if it's cold you get drafts up your back.
I have two sleeping bags - a quite expensive £60? snugpak - thin and shiny intended for hiking, which is fine but it's shiny fabric inside and doesn't have the comforting "weight" of a duvet.
and a super - dooper dead comfy "calliburn" (not sure what the make is) which was £20, is really thick and cotton inside and comfy and I'm never cold in it.

Also, it's warmest in sleeping bags to wear nothing between your skin and the bag :rolleyes: This is because if you wear pyjamas, you only heat up the air between you and the pyjamas, and the cold air in the sleeping bag gets in.
if you don't wear pjs then all the air gets warm!
...at least, that's the theory.....

Peakma

I can't be bothered to read all of this thread,so apollogies if this is already listed.
I was looking at this site the other day,some of their tents look quite reasonable.
http://www.cybercheckout.com/edealinv/servlet/ExecMacro?nurl=control/StoreDirectory.vm&ctl_nbr=918&catLevel=1&scLevel=1&thisCatLevel=0&theActualParent=421&catParentID=2954&scId=2954