Discussion
Myself and a mate are camping 1 night every month this year, May's camp was last night and the best yet. Warm, no midges, great sunset & sunrise and an inversion. Worst was probably February, was about -3 and had to sleep in every item of clothing I had, including hat & gloves! Still, great fun. Can see my doing this every year now.
May
April
March
Feb
Jan
May
April
March
Feb
Jan
Lecket said:
Myself and a mate are camping 1 night every month this year
April
I mean, if youre gonna camp that close, you might as well just have one tent April
My regular camping pal snores so badly i try to be about 100ft away (and often still hear him...)
Good going on the annual target. I'd have to check my stats but i think ive been out every month this year, although my overall # of nights in a tent is down vs 2024.
That reminds me - I''ve seen lots of these on the road: https://tentbox.com/
Given the cost/hassle/fuel economy compared to a traditional tent, I'm not sure I see the point.
You're guaranteed a flat sleeping area and better insulation from the ground, but that seems about it?
Given the cost/hassle/fuel economy compared to a traditional tent, I'm not sure I see the point.
You're guaranteed a flat sleeping area and better insulation from the ground, but that seems about it?
silentbrown said:
That reminds me - I''ve seen lots of these on the road: https://tentbox.com/
Given the cost/hassle/fuel economy compared to a traditional tent, I'm not sure I see the point.
You're guaranteed a flat sleeping area and better insulation from the ground, but that seems about it?
They are becoming evermore popular with Tentbox being the Dryrobe of the rooftent world. Given the cost/hassle/fuel economy compared to a traditional tent, I'm not sure I see the point.
You're guaranteed a flat sleeping area and better insulation from the ground, but that seems about it?
The lack of hassle is a bonus with having a rooftent as, within 18 seconds (in my case) it raises at the push of a button with a heated mattress, 12v and 240v points. In reality, comparing a rooftent to traditional camping is tough as the experience is very different.
Edited by Joe5y on Friday 26th September 15:53
They even have their own, ahem, 'tribute group' on FaceyB! 
https://www.facebook.com/groups/1852224658615620
https://www.facebook.com/groups/1852224658615620
Possibly not true "Wild Camping" as I used the bothy for socialising, cooking and ablutions, but a night in a tent in snow. Quite a comfy night, I was warm and dry with minimal condensation. Now I've got a bit of confidence in the kit, I'll go further afield. I bought some snow shoes on my return - so all the snow will now melt and it won't snow again this winter!
Managed a proper Wild Camp, no warm Bothy as a back up. As predicted by my previous purchase of snow shoes, all the nice snow has gone but I did manage to get high enough in the Cairngorms to practice snow camping techniques.
Used the snow shoes to stamp out a platform for the tent. Waited 30 mins (should have been an hour but I wanted to get set up) for the snow to sinter, then shovelled and scraped it flat. Set the tent up and then dug half the porch area out as a standing area. This ended up being really comfy as I could sit in the tent with my feet down like a chair. Made it so much easier getting in and out too. Other half of the porch was the shelf for cooking although using the stove was a challenge.
Was warm enough. The winter night sky and the stars were amazing and made any discomfort worthwhile. Minimal condensation and nothing got damp as it was below freezing so everything stayed dry even after contact with the snow. I reckon I burnt a few thousand calories just sleeping! Hopefully both increasing fitness and confidence will encorage me to do some long distance end to end 2-3 day winter backpacks.
Used the snow shoes to stamp out a platform for the tent. Waited 30 mins (should have been an hour but I wanted to get set up) for the snow to sinter, then shovelled and scraped it flat. Set the tent up and then dug half the porch area out as a standing area. This ended up being really comfy as I could sit in the tent with my feet down like a chair. Made it so much easier getting in and out too. Other half of the porch was the shelf for cooking although using the stove was a challenge.
Was warm enough. The winter night sky and the stars were amazing and made any discomfort worthwhile. Minimal condensation and nothing got damp as it was below freezing so everything stayed dry even after contact with the snow. I reckon I burnt a few thousand calories just sleeping! Hopefully both increasing fitness and confidence will encorage me to do some long distance end to end 2-3 day winter backpacks.
TVRBRZ said:
Managed a proper Wild Camp, no warm Bothy as a back up. As predicted by my previous purchase of snow shoes, all the nice snow has gone but I did manage to get high enough in the Cairngorms to practice snow camping techniques.
That's brill. What's the axe? Looks collapsible...?Is that a thermal sleeve on the gas canister? Neat idea!
Thanks!
Ice axe is actually a snow shovel with an axe attachment by Ortovox called the "Pocket Spike". It is NOT an ISO approved ice axe, but for just a bit of safety on easy ground it is ok. I did practice both a front fwd and front rwd arrest at slow speed and it worked ok. Just don't do the North Face of the Eiger with it!
Gas cozy was an old billy can pot carry that was surplus. I think it came free with an 850ml billy can I got years ago. I slept with the gas can at the foot of the sleeping bag, which was a bit weird until it warmed up and then I didn't notice it. Not sure how effective the gas cozy was, but I was wanting to do everything to make sure the gas worked as well as it could.
The stove has leg supports by the valve so the gas cylinder can be turned upside down when it looses performance, but I didn't need to do that
Ice axe is actually a snow shovel with an axe attachment by Ortovox called the "Pocket Spike". It is NOT an ISO approved ice axe, but for just a bit of safety on easy ground it is ok. I did practice both a front fwd and front rwd arrest at slow speed and it worked ok. Just don't do the North Face of the Eiger with it!
Gas cozy was an old billy can pot carry that was surplus. I think it came free with an 850ml billy can I got years ago. I slept with the gas can at the foot of the sleeping bag, which was a bit weird until it warmed up and then I didn't notice it. Not sure how effective the gas cozy was, but I was wanting to do everything to make sure the gas worked as well as it could.
The stove has leg supports by the valve so the gas cylinder can be turned upside down when it looses performance, but I didn't need to do that
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