Great Camping Hunt

coinchaser

I mentioned large tents being a problem in an earlier post and now find a thread with sites that accept large tents on the brilliant ukcampites.co.uk messageboard, so I am happy now :-)

The_Ubiquitous_Mrs_Smith

We're planning some "proper" camping trips this year!

It'll be my husband and I, sensible shoes, our bicycles to get us where we need to be and whatever we can fit in our rucksacks! No portable fridges or cars here!

I'm in the process of checking the mentioned sites but can anyone suggest a light and small 3 man or large 2 man tent? It has to fit in a rucksack and be light enough for wimpy me to carry! Similarly can anyone suggest some good sleeping bags that fit this criteria?

I never thought of the space bags under sleeping bags ideas but I like it and I will definately make surewe keep a roll of gaffa tape with us even if I have to wear it as a bangle becasue it won't fit in our rucksacks!

lola_r_hamster

we recently bought a 'COLEMAN 70QT Xtreme Cooler COOLBOX HOLDS ICE FOR 5 DAYS' and it worked excellent in May with a couple of ice packs for 4 nights away! The lager was too cold for me to drink on 4th night, hubby loved it, more for him!

I am sure it will also work well in the high summer and filled with a bag of ice- as suggested- excellent value for money as no need to have electric hook-up, or running the car to charge the box or paying the campsite between 25p-£1.00 to refreeze your ice packs!

thanks everyone for all your tips!

lola_r_hamster

What also works well is making a bolognese / chilli / curry and taking it with you frozen. It keeps your food cold for the first day then is thawed ready to heat & eat on the second night.


we do this too! we had lots of comments from other campers last year about the lovely smells (chilli one night, curry the next) coming from our end of the field and the frozen (double freezer bags to aviod transfer of spices onto your cheese) food helped keep the milk etc cold longer:j

jamtart6

why do people think thin thermarest type things are better than airbeds? I'm intrigued?? I found in our smaller tents, the bedroom would stay nice and warm (with airbed) as it only fitted one double airbed in..our new tent fits 2 double airbeds in, has a vent in he bedroom, and i was flipping freezing last time....so any ideas to keep warm much appreciated!

gingerdad

jamtart6 wrote: »

why do people think thin thermarest type things are better than airbeds? I'm intrigued?? I found in our smaller tents, the bedroom would stay nice and warm (with airbed) as it only fitted one double airbed in..our new tent fits 2 double airbeds in, has a vent in he bedroom, and i was flipping freezing last time....so any ideas to keep warm much appreciated!

i find them much more comfortable and warmer. hate airbeds with a passoin esp, if it goes down slightly over night.

we have a wildcountry homestead 5 which is a fantastic tent and comes with the foot print.

by the best sleeping bags you can afford, theres nothing worse than waking up cold. i hate when parents used to send cubs and scouts on camp with the cheapest, thinest sleeping bags and the kids freeze. though a good tip if you get cold is to slowly put on more clothes through then night and not start off with them all on....

as for a small 2-3 man tent would recommend the vaude hogan if they stilll make it about 2.7kg and can split between each of you easliy.

avoid campsites with electric hook-up, sod saving batteries, i thinks its awlful that some people need the tv, toster, electric kettle and dvd player on camp... but thats me.

get the kids involved as young as possible my 2 (6 and 7) are a really good help now running round with pegs, hammers and poles its great.

most of all have fun....

GD

big_gay_kirk

If sleeping on the floor use a roll mat.. adn kick a hole in the floor where your hip will go.. much comfier.. trust me... and for food if lightweighting.. boil in the bag meals are good, but can be got cheaper at the army surplus by buying surplus rat packs... usually these contain three meals (breakfast, dinner and pudding) with biscuits (and trust me, the bisuits brown are of great use in areas with limited toilet facilities!) tea, coffee, soup, gum, loo paper, pate... and fizzy lemon powder and chocolate. all for the price of two bib meals.... make sure you buy the surplus ones in the brown boxes though.. you can buy them new, usually in tartan but these cost nearly twice as much.. there are veggie and kosher/halal versions too, but these are harder to find.. lancashire hot pot is particularly nice!

jamtart6

interesting to know! we have 1970's style sleeping bags, not mummy ones, they zip together to make a double and are an interesting shade of orange and blue. probably where im going wrong with staying warm, thanks for the tip about putting clothes on slowly!

big_gay_kirk

footprints.. at our Scouts we make these for all our tents using old mattress bags.... not only do they come free, it gives the scouts something to do!

paulfoel

jamtart6 wrote: »

ahem... yes, I'm not the best at spelling Welsh names! I will amend! Place is called outdoor world or something.

LOL. I thought you'd deliberately changed the name to that for a joke or something !!!!

I think I'd like to live in a place called Port Mad Dog !!!!

Thats cheered me up a treat. Dont know how the locals would react.... :-)