Camping

[colhint]

With camping, and taking your partner and kids, it's all about comfort. If its cold and horrible, or water gets in the tent, well forget it after that. Any money you spent will be lost. It'll just be stored in the loft for years. So equipment is as important as the tent. 

Now as for tents. It depends on your budget. 

There are several types, the most common are Tunnel or dome. 

Tunnel will give you more space on a pitch, so that would be my first option. 
Then there is the bedroom set up. Rear bedrooms or vis a vis. Vis a vis have bedrooms either end, so the entrance is through a side door. I don't think this is so good, as they tend to be darker inside, as rear bedroom tents generally have more windows. 

Next is the hydrostatic head. This is just a measure of waterproofness. It is usually shown as HH on the tent, and measured in 1000's. So a 1000 HH is not as good as a 5000 HH A 1000 will still be waterproof to a degree, but after 2 or 3 hours of showers, will seep rainwater. Think of the HH as a sponge, the higher the HH the bigger the sponge and soak more water. For camping in the UK I wouldn't consider anything less than 3000, and to be honest 5000 would keep you dry in a monsoon. To be honest, this is where the Lichfields and brands like this fail.

Next is height. Do not think you can get your partner to enjoy camping if she can't stand up to get dressed. 

Poles. 

There are steel,  fibreglass and a mix of the 2. 

Do not go for 9.5mm fiberglass. They will break, If not on your first trip they will on your second. On any campsite you will see the broken ones in the bins.

Steel ones are far more sturdy, but heavier. Steel covered fibreglass, often called duratec are quite good. 

Sewn in groundsheet is a must. No mud rain or creepy crawlies can get in from underneath.

Then you have to consider how long to pitch. 

We can get a 6 berth and all equipment up in under an hour(we have a lot of equipment) It is definitely a two man job. 

Practice putting the tent up in the garden before you go. You don't want your first time to be doing it in a drizzle. Also if it is a new tent put it up and then turn the hosepipe on it. This seals it, you will also spot any leaks. 

Also get a Tarpaulin. to put under the tent. This stops mud and keeps it drier. Never put a tent away wet. It will go mouldy. If it's raining when you get home put the tent up again in the garden ASAP to let it dry.

The other tent I would consider is a bell tent, they go up in about 15 minutes for one person are very sturdy but expensive. The other proble albeit minor, is you have to crouch to get in.

 

the other rule of thumb is, if it only takes 15 mins to put up a strong wind will probably bring it down in 

that time

Then there is the equipment, cooking sitting eating sleeping and keeping warm.

There are plenty of cookers on the market but you should probably go for briefcase cookers, quite cheap but relatively expensive to run (aerosol canisters) If you enjoy camping then you can upgrade. If you go for proper gas bottle cookers, these are much cheaper to run, but the gas is usually sold on a returns basis, so if you haven't got on to start with it'll cost an arm and a leg to get started. Better of going to the local tip, there are usually a few there, then use that for the exhange, It' ll save you about £25. 

Sitting and eating, just whatever table and chairs take you and your budgets fancy.

Sleeping   DO NOT SKIMP HERE. If you  can afford it get an aerobed, worth their weight in gold.  Don't bother with sleeping bags. Take sheets and quilts from home, plus three  extra blankets. Put one blanket under the bed, it creates a barrier between the ground and the bed, makes it much warmer.

You will need some lighting and heating, plenty on the market. To be honest though the best way is to get EHU  (electric hook up) cable 
Nearly all campsites have EHU, so you just plug in to the metre and bring it into the tent, then you can just bring a table lamp and a fan heater from home. An inspection lamp works really well. One of the good things about EHU is the comfort, you can charge you phone, use hair straighteners, Use IPOD etc.

Campsites

After the location and facilities the most important thing is the bogs and showers. If you get the ideal spot on copacabana beach, but the bogs are dirty, she'll never go again. 

Check UKcampsite, people do leave lots of reviews about cleanliness. Plus they have a fantastic campsite search facility. 

Now this all comes from a long time camping and a few costly errors. But now with about £2500 worth of gear, most l picked up from ebay and a spend of about £600. we have fantastic holidays for about £25 a night for 4 of us. 

 

Now is a good time to buy. Check out ebay, You get great second hand tents at this time of year, no one starts buying till after Easter. 

And think of it like this, if it was your first car, would you buy a brand new one. Probably not more likely second hand but better quality for the same money

 

 

 

[colhint]

If you really want it to go up in 15 minutes, I would look at this bell tent

 

http://www.ebay.co.uk/sch/rachfizz/m.html?item=231475173195&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT&rt=nc&_trksid=p2047675.l2562

 

i would get the lot. 

Edited February 12, 2015 by colhint

[tonyh29]

Practice putting the tent up in the garden before you go. You don't want your first time to be doing it in a drizzle.

Thanks for the info , very helpful

Last year saw me do just this ... Cue the source of much swearing , Mrs h getting a deckchair and a beer out to better enjoy watching my attempts .... I finally gave up after the 10 photo she posted of me on facebook

Tried again the next day having found the instructions and manger to get the tent up fairly easily and then come the real event it went like a dream .... But boy am I glad I did the trial run

Edited February 12, 2015 by tonyh29

[AVFC_Hitz]

This is **** intense.

[Jon]

This is **** intense.

Gag was done on the tagline by tone loc himself