Camping gear advice

[tenohfive]

A few mates and our respective better halves are planning a short camping holiday in the nearish future - possibly some point during the next month or two. Given it'll be somewhere in the UK I'm planning on the assumption that it could well be cold and wet and planning the gear accordingly. We'll be using camp sites and basically be car camping (and going in our own cars) so space for kit isn't an issue. Doing it on the cheap, so far I've been looking at middle of the range gear. I've already invested in the following:

Gelert Freedom 400 Dl Sleeping Bag
Gelert Comfort Micro Fleece Mummy Sleeping Bag Liner
Gelert Waterproof Bivvy Bag
A few Cree 160 lumens torches
Suitable wet weather clothing

My theory is that some damp could well find it's way inside (although I'll be investing in a decent tent) so the bivvy bags will keep the sleeping bags dry, and if it's warm them I can just use the sleeping bag liner inside the bivvy bag.

Next on the shopping list is something to sleep on. Do I go for a sleeping mat, air bed or camp bed? I don't get along with air beds but have always bought £10 argos jobbies so I'm open minded.
I'm currently looking for a double hob camping stove, I'd imagine we'll mostly be living off pub food but it's nice to have the option and it'd be handy for a brew. Any recommendations welcome.
Also on the shopping list are cheap pots/pans, a couple of camelbaks or similar and something larger for storing water for drinking/cooking that'll stay with the tent. Some sort of better tent pegs seem to be worth investing in, but I've not even looked at that yet.
Oh, and a few bottles/crates of something for the odd warm evening.

Finally (probably most important) does anyone have any tips or recommendations for things to bring or do that will make things a bit more comfortable?

[sploosh]

Never understood why camping = sleeping bag.

As long as you have space why not take a few duvets?

At this time of year we used to have a decent blow up bed with a duvet on top (instead of a sheet) and a couple of duvets on top. Warm and comfortable.

Get yourself a comfortable chair too.

[Melman Giraffe]

sploosh said:

Never understood why camping = sleeping bag.

As long as you have space why not take a few duvets?

At this time of year we used to have a decent blow up bed with a duvet on top (instead of a sheet) and a couple of duvets on top. Warm and comfortable.

Get yourself a comfortable chair too.

As he said

[tenohfive]

Sleeping bags arrived today and I'm pretty impressed - I may lob a couple of duvets in the boot just in case but I get on pretty well with sleeping bags and these seem very comfortable and more than warm enough.

Next big item is a tent. I've done a fair bit of digging and have settled for the Gelert Horizon 6 man tent:
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Gelert-Horizon-Six-Man-Ten...

Enough room to be comfortable and still have plenty of room to fit 6 people in for a few beers if the weathers rubbish. Total of more than 4 metres if I leave second sleeping compartment open...perhaps I'm being greedy, but also thinking that a tent like that is worth spending the extra on if it's going to be looked after.

On the chair front, any recommendations? I was looking at a tesco cheap and cheerful folding jobbie that are on offer at 2 for £12 - proper seat with a back and cupholder, but I'm open to suggestions. Also need some sort of folding breakfast table.

And last but not least I want some sort of tent pegs that are a bit more robust than normal ones without being diamond tipped and gold plated (and priced accordingly.)

Think that's the bulk of it, anything important I've missed from the shopping list?

[toxicated]

I've just been buying camping stuff - never been before but I'm not going to slum it

For tent I bought an Outwell Hartford XL which has 3 bedrooms but the Outwell Montana 6 person seems to get good reviews.

Have a scrounge through ebay and you'll find a lot of cheap tents. There are also some 2010 model tents around which are 99% the same mostly but much cheaper.

[tenohfive]

Ebay was more expensive than I expected, brand new I've found Amazon to be slightly cheaper and second hand tents were going much more expensively than I expected. Though I was looking at one specific type of tent.

Thanks for the recommendation but those tents are much more expensive than I can manage - my limit is around £160-175.

[rhinochopig]

Instead of the torches get a couple of these.

http://www.dealextreme.com/p/flood-to-throw-cree-q...

Cheap as chips, work very well - almost identical to the much much more expensive LED lesner versions (I have both)

Keeps your hands free for fighting off mossies

[tenohfive]

rhinochopig said:

Instead of the torches get a couple of these.

http://www.dealextreme.com/p/flood-to-throw-cree-q...

Cheap as chips, work very well - almost identical to the much much more expensive LED lesner versions (I have both)

Keeps your hands free for fighting off mossies

Lighting is one thing I'm not worried about, having bought an LED Lenser T7 (cracking bit of kit) I took some advice from here and bought a Cree P4. Whilst the P4 isn't a touch on the Lenser, for £3.50 from the bay it's a brilliant bit of kit. I now have half a dozen dotted about between the cars and house. I'm not going to risk taking the Lenser away and losing it, but 3 of the P4's should do me. I've bookmarked the above though and I'll probably get one at a later date.

Something else I've forgotten is a couple of lanterns for inside the tent. One more item added to the shopping list...

ETA:

Lanterns sorted - two of these at £8 each should do the job nicely:
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Varta-XS-LED-Camping-Lant...

Edited by tenohfive on Sunday 3rd April 15:33

[Balmoral Green]

A double sleeping bag, to use a single, is a good idea if you don't like sleeping in a straight jacket. Can be used as a duvet too.