Looking to get build up a nice collection of camping gear ready for the summer so looking for a few items. Just looking to get the basics to start with as I'm going to camp for Japfest in may, already have a nice large tent, the Hi-Gear Sahara 6. The main things I'm looking for at the moment would be Latern - Must be rechargeable, Budget £20-£25 for the "living room" Latern and a cheap as possible one for the bedroom Sleeping bag - looking to spend £30 tops Mattress - What are inflatable ones like? gooutdoors sell a double one for £12.99, plus a pump. Windbreaker - would be useful for sheltering a fire or BBQ from the wind, is it worth spending £20-30 on one or just buy the cheapest out there? Table - while not essential it could be handy and the living room part of the tent has plenty of room for a small one, was thinking of this but not sure how sturdy they are Chairs - GoOutdoors have some for £5 , not sure if they are any good but its cheap and will be buying 3 or 4, might buy myself a decent one and laugh at the peasants using the el cheapos Camping Stove - haven't looked at these yet so any recommendations would be nice, would like to keep the budget low as I need to get so much but don't want to end up with crap These are just the basic things I can think of that I will need to start with to be able to go for a night or two stay somewhere, hoping to build up my collection so that I could stay somewhere for a week but for now I want to keep it simple.
Those chairs are ok, or atleast the ones we've got are (which weren't £5 Go Outdoor ones but the same design). Fold up reasonably good too.
I have found that alot of my camping things have come from budget shops. B&M have a good collection in the summer months, also shops like QD and Wilkinson are good to find small pieces cheap. Pound shops are great for finding cutlery and cooking equipment.
Having been family camping for 10 years + a Scout leader for a few less, I have camping experience all year round. Good sleeping bags will make your life more pleasant and relaxing, no particular recommendations I'm afraid. Lantern - Must be rechargeable, Budget £20-£25 for the "living room" Lantern and a cheap as possible one for the bedroom. ** No recommendation, but using AA rechargeable cells in C or D adaptors are good for saving money and easier to charge than a dedicated battery pack. Mattress - What are inflatable ones like? gooutdoors sell a double one for £12.99, plus a pump. **I'd suggest a decent thickness >5cm self inflating 'roll mat' mattress, not a li-lo type blow up Windbreaker - would be useful for sheltering a fire or BBQ from the wind, is it worth spending £20-30 on one or just buy the cheapest out there? ** Get as long a one that you can be a**ed to carry, as it can make things more comfortable if you can create a corner. We have used a wooden pole one which can be a pain, but £5 of guy ropes bought the other year made it infinitely better. Table - while not essential it could be handy and the living room part of the tent has plenty of room for a small one, was thinking of this but not sure how sturdy they are Chairs - GoOutdoors have some for £5 , not sure if they are any good but its cheap and will be buying 3 or 4, might buy myself a decent one and laugh at the peasants using the el cheapos **Start cheap, and upgrade if you get to camp more regularly - like the better chair for teh boss plan Camping Stove - haven't looked at these yet so any recommendations would be nice, would like to keep the budget low as I need to get so much but don't want to end up with crap. ** The single burner gas ones that use aerosol cans get expensive if you use them regularly, and you only have one thing to cook on. My hardcore camping mate tried a petrol stove which was cool, but frankly scary... A Camping Gaz 2 burner (with grill if you can afford) is great, and try to get a Calor 4.5 Kg bottle on Gumtree for a few £ (and the right regulator!), as they are much more economical than a Camping Gaz bottle to refill. HTH and enjoy the outdoors
A £30 sleeping bag will only be any good in the summer, you will freeze your nuts off otherwise. I have a £80 vango thing and still gets chilly in the early spring. I have a pair of self inflating roll mats and there fantastic, i recommend getting a decent thickness. Do not get a li-lo one as said above that needs a pump, they dont pack small, there heavy and you will need a massive tent to fit one in. The self inflating roll mats can be blown into via the valve to give it a bit extra thickness. Be careful with camping kit as i find you can pay a lot of total sh!t. Do your research. On the other hand my self inflating roll mats where super cheap new from ebay and clip together to make a double bed and they are better made than stuff twice there price.
Blow your budget on a sleeping bag and hang everything else, a good nights kip makes the world of difference to a camping trip; http://www.snugpak.com/military/military-sleeping-bags/softie-elite-3
For the stove, I'd suggest ditching the idea of gas canisters (expensive to run and heavy to carry even when empty) and instead pick up something like the Firebox Nano. Just feed deadwood sticks in the side and you've got yourself a lovely fire at zero running cost, and the thing folds up ultra-tiny. For even more weight savings, there's a titanium version too. You could carry that and a camp axe (to split larger deadwood and make it suitable for the feed holes) and need less space and less weight than a gas stove.
I have a similar chair but it was not a fiver and it is great. Easy to fold/unfold. If you are going to be using them on a regular basis then buy quality saves having to replace the cheapos every five minutes.
Some great comments and advice, the firebox nano seems great but too small for my liking, would take ages to cook for 2-4 people, a larger one would be great but I think im going to stick with a BBQ until I get more into camping. As for sleeping bags I dont want to spend more than £30, if I find camping doesnt work out for me then it wont be a waste, only going to be camping in the summer and the odd day or two in spring/autumn for now. Those snugpack sleeping bags look pretty good, maybe i'll treat myself to one next year if all goes well. Those self inflating mats look pretty good, going to have a look out for one.
As with most things, quality will cost you. For sleepingbags it's easy, they have an indicator for temperature that shows you a comfort zone, and an extreme zone. Forget the extreme zone, the comfort zone is realistic. So for instance it has a comfort zone 10°-20°C and a extreme zone to -2°C this means youll feel good at nighttimes between 10°-20°C and may not freeze to death at -2° (but will feel like it). Good for summer or sleeping over indoors, rubbish for fall/spring. A lot of heat for little money are used military sleeping bags. Self-inflating mats are great, in your price region, try getting one at least 5cm one. The better ones are more expensive, for a first timer get an el cheapo from Aldi Table-chair...difficult, if weight/bulk isn't an issue, anything cheap will do. If you go to a Festival, nothing but cheap will do (as there's a high chance of gear beeing destroyed anyway) Splash out if you like portable/durable. Stove...again difficult. If you just go to a Festival once, take the cheapes gas stove you can find., or two of them for 2-4 people. I use a petrolburner, as I camp with a motorcycle, and the two use the same fuel
For cooking, you can do a lot worse than these basic units. They're not light, but they provide a really good stable cooking base, light effortlessly and take really common cartridges. Top tip, use the box it comes in as a windshield and you'll slash your cooking times. Sleeping wise, I got my girlfriend one of these recently (and they say chivalry's dead), and although it's not fantastic, it is for the money. An inflatable airbed is ok for comfort but it's a faff and not actually that pleasant to sleep on. The self inflating kind are warmer, lighter, pack smaller and are less effort. If you want the best of both worlds, get a 5cm thick one but prepare to pay for it. A table can be a really nice thing to have so if you have space get a cheap one. Xir speaks the truth on sleeping bags, good ones cost but it's miserable being unable to sleep because of the cold. If you're doing it on the cheap get a bulky one that doesn't pack down small. No point paying for that premium if it's going in the car and not being carried any distance. My girlfriend has an old basic one that's as warm as my £170 Alpkit bag, the trade-off is that it's four times the size and six times the weight. And look into gas lanterns, they're a bit more effort but they really belt out the light compared to battery units. There's no comparison in that sense, but they're not as robust and have a bit of maintenance. And if you've not already, get a Go Outdoors discount card. It costs £5 a year but you can easily recover that in a single purchase.
Many years of camping experience here. Was a even scouting leader for some of them. Now camping with my own next generation. They've only had the easy life so far when it comes to camping. One day I'll take them to Yosemite Bear country so they can experience proper camping like their Mom's did when they were young and crazy. As to advice: 1. I set myself one guiding rule when it comes to outdoor gear. Either buy the cheapest one 'that will do the job' or the one you really REALLY want. I find the middle ground to be extra expense for little gain. Buy cheap, use it well and upgrade when you have to. I've only ever retired one bit of gear (a tent) for being old and knackered, and even then it's component parts are still going strong today in other uses (EG The canvas became rucksack covers) 2. Don't be afraid to mod and adapt. String, duck tape, cable ties and wire will fix and improve just about anything. Take safety pins and a needle or two and some strong thread. 3. Using 'indoor gear' is okay. Sleeping with a normal duvet, a fitted sheet on an airbed and your everyday pillows is awesome and a hell of a lot easier than a sleeping bag. 4. Once you've packed everything, throw in a couple of extra fleeces and a spare trousers to wear under your trousers. 5. If you're car camping then pack everything in stackable plastic boxes. 6. If camping in a camper van with double bed in the raising roof. Don't put children with stomach upsets in the high bed and sleep under their heads. Best you don't ask why. Bed Inflatable airbeds are nice and comfy but not too warm when it's proper cold (Because you're sleeping on a big bag of air at close to ground temperature). You'll either need lots of blankets under you, or a spare duvet. A really warm sleeping bag will help a bit, but the bit under you will still get squashed flat. Self-inflating mattresses are a good compromise for 'lightweight' camping. Comfy(ish), cheap(ish) and warm. I use some first generation thermarests (Always an early adopter) when packing light, a roll up foam mattress when really light and big-ol inflatable airbeds when camping from a vehicle. Sleeping bags A cheap £30 bag will do you fine for half the year. You can warm it up with a cheap cotton or fleece liner, extra thick PJs and as many fleece blankets as you can stuff in the car. A decent 3/4 season bag is a lovely thing to have, and I say it's worth pushing the budget on bedding if you can. I use an old Mountain Equipment down bag for nearly everything but most of the bags we have are in the £30 to £60 range. Stove A low profile cooker that runs off standard resealable canisters will give you the best price/performance/ease of use if you want something portable. Something like this is what I've used a lot (Although mine has a pre-heater tube for cold weather use) http://www.cotswoldoutdoor.com/vango-folding-gas-stove-97110109?id_colour=180 We've also got an MSR pocket-rocket as backup or extreme light weight. Something like this would be a great family cooker. I've never owned one like this, and I've now got a camper van for this type of camping so never will. http://www.cotswoldoutdoor.com/outwell-appetizer-cooker-97120048?id_colour=180 Chairs & Table I'm sure those cheap ones will be fine. I bought a couple of £5 chairs a decade and a half ago and they are still fine now. Windbreaker I'd rather die than be seen using one. I've only ever cooked by the porch of a tent or the open air. Actually I have a flexible metal windbreak for a portable stove but again that's for backpacking. I'd recommend something like this http://www.amazon.co.uk/Camping-Kitchen-Stove-Stand-Larder/dp/B001960CLG instead and then camp as close to 'indoors' as you feel comfortable. In a big tent, I'd be careful and cook by an open door and make sure everyone had access to exits but I wouldn't try making a brew out in the storm if my tent was big enough. Lights I favour head torches over lamps. I do have an old-school tilly lamp in the garage but haven't used it in years. Can't really recommend any specific lamps. A friend once had a set of LED tent lights strung up and I did lust after those though.
We used to use one of these to feed an entire scout patrol, but they're quite an investment. Coleman Unleaded Two Burner
