I didn't realise how mental camping had got.
Discussion
Not so much wild camping, Dads one on the right (named Cilla since he didn't tell mum he was buying it before she laid into him about wasting more money but when she went inside turned around and said "Suprise Suprise it is actually quite nice") He normally takes it to Race events and Horse events we keep meaning to do a camping holiday with it but not got around to it yet.
Everything from a bivvy and small jetboil type stove on the bike, through to a fortnight in our Conway folding camper with it's two King size beds with memory foam mattresses, fridge, awning, and all the goodies.
With the Conway, most "camping gear" is kept in it, so no packing to do - although I do take my Pro Q bullet smoker to use as oven/grill/firepit.
We've had some bemused looks when serving up a 3 meat roast with all the trimmings cooked over charcoal...
With the Conway, most "camping gear" is kept in it, so no packing to do - although I do take my Pro Q bullet smoker to use as oven/grill/firepit.
We've had some bemused looks when serving up a 3 meat roast with all the trimmings cooked over charcoal...
God know how much gear we have now. I recon £8/10k in 2 years spent.
Having said that, we have 2 small kids so convenience is key.
8x4m zempire tent £1600
Dometic fridge/freezer
Weber
Toilet and tent
Lifetime 1.8m folding catering table and bench seats. (Fab)
Batteries, solar, lighting. Semi rigid foam blow up beds.
Cooking table, sink etc.
And the latest addition is a Debon c255 trailer. (Upgraded) £3500
Everything is permanently kept in the trailer in clear plastic boxes so easy to pack away/find.
Get home on a Friday and say let’s go camping. Wife gets kids clothes buckets loaded and I load the Weber. We could be out the house within 30 min.
Having said that, we have 2 small kids so convenience is key.
8x4m zempire tent £1600
Dometic fridge/freezer
Weber
Toilet and tent
Lifetime 1.8m folding catering table and bench seats. (Fab)
Batteries, solar, lighting. Semi rigid foam blow up beds.
Cooking table, sink etc.
And the latest addition is a Debon c255 trailer. (Upgraded) £3500
Everything is permanently kept in the trailer in clear plastic boxes so easy to pack away/find.
Get home on a Friday and say let’s go camping. Wife gets kids clothes buckets loaded and I load the Weber. We could be out the house within 30 min.
Literally have camped with nearly nothing : eg done 1000’s of miles walking, cycling carrying all my kit ( little 1.25 kg saunders tent), a whole range of Vw campers in addition, to latter years camping with my family
Family camping means doing it comfortably: if the weathers great brilliant, but there are times you need electric, heaters and comforts. Camping gear lives in a trailer, which is an easy way to do it.
Just bought another Vw camper to throw into the mix too. Perfect for me to have nights away on my own, with the lads walking, cycling or as a decent back up with the family.
I’d always recommend a cadac for cooking though. Genius bit of kit: albeit clearly needs a car to carry it.
I still throw scorn on people with tv’s. That I do not understand.
Family camping means doing it comfortably: if the weathers great brilliant, but there are times you need electric, heaters and comforts. Camping gear lives in a trailer, which is an easy way to do it.
Just bought another Vw camper to throw into the mix too. Perfect for me to have nights away on my own, with the lads walking, cycling or as a decent back up with the family.
I’d always recommend a cadac for cooking though. Genius bit of kit: albeit clearly needs a car to carry it.
I still throw scorn on people with tv’s. That I do not understand.
Mazda Friendee Bongo or GTFO, if you're having a camper van.
We are a multitent family. At one end of the scale we have the bulky, heavy, inflatable 4 man thing I can easily stand up in (6ft4). Very easy to erect. Room for changing nappies, putting kid to bed in own room, playing undercover of weather be s
te
Then we have the car tent that fits over the back of the Hilux Surf allowing the car to become a double bed, while tent provides loads of space for clutter and drying walking great. Good for pre-child unstructured trips to Lakes and Highlands.
Then we have a venerable lightweight, low profile two man tent weighing in at a fraction over 2kg. It's more than 30 years old, but still in perfect shape. Bit of a pain to erect the main hoop, but perfectly stable in gale force winds. Good for winter hiking.
And finally my latest folly. I bought an ex-army bivvy bag on eBay last week and am experimenting with ways to pitch a basha to give a bit more protection. Spent one night in the paddock out at the beginning of the week and might have another go tonight. So far so good. Army bivvy and basha together weigh almost as much the tent, but for a fraction of the price, and if the bivvy/tarp concept seems good, then very much lighter weight bivvy and tarps are available. Initial reaction is that it feels more convenient and pleasant than using a tent. Sheltering under a tarp while cooking or monkeying around with kit is a bit more civilised than doing the same stuck outside your tent. Obviously the tent gives you better protection from the elements when you really need it, and it gives you privacy if you are in a refugee camp. But for wild camping, I reckon bivvy is the way to go. The one unresolved issues for me is hiding from the midges. The thought of being committed to bivvying for the night because you've already wandered into the middle of a moor without a tent only to discover the midge net is a suffocating POS that also fails to keep the midges out ... well, it doesn't bare thinking about.
We are a multitent family. At one end of the scale we have the bulky, heavy, inflatable 4 man thing I can easily stand up in (6ft4). Very easy to erect. Room for changing nappies, putting kid to bed in own room, playing undercover of weather be s
te Then we have the car tent that fits over the back of the Hilux Surf allowing the car to become a double bed, while tent provides loads of space for clutter and drying walking great. Good for pre-child unstructured trips to Lakes and Highlands.
Then we have a venerable lightweight, low profile two man tent weighing in at a fraction over 2kg. It's more than 30 years old, but still in perfect shape. Bit of a pain to erect the main hoop, but perfectly stable in gale force winds. Good for winter hiking.
And finally my latest folly. I bought an ex-army bivvy bag on eBay last week and am experimenting with ways to pitch a basha to give a bit more protection. Spent one night in the paddock out at the beginning of the week and might have another go tonight. So far so good. Army bivvy and basha together weigh almost as much the tent, but for a fraction of the price, and if the bivvy/tarp concept seems good, then very much lighter weight bivvy and tarps are available. Initial reaction is that it feels more convenient and pleasant than using a tent. Sheltering under a tarp while cooking or monkeying around with kit is a bit more civilised than doing the same stuck outside your tent. Obviously the tent gives you better protection from the elements when you really need it, and it gives you privacy if you are in a refugee camp. But for wild camping, I reckon bivvy is the way to go. The one unresolved issues for me is hiding from the midges. The thought of being committed to bivvying for the night because you've already wandered into the middle of a moor without a tent only to discover the midge net is a suffocating POS that also fails to keep the midges out ... well, it doesn't bare thinking about.
My dad used to take us as kids and it was tent,air beds,sleeping bags and pretty basic cooking stuff,couple of gas stoves,portable BBQ and my fond memories of doing beans in a little army tin 
we never had electric and spent time out and about,playing frisbee,cricket,football and whittling down sticks with a pen knife.
we never had electric and spent time out and about,playing frisbee,cricket,football and whittling down sticks with a pen knife.
Went moto camping for the first time last week. Loved it.
Took as much as I could get on the bike which isn't much.
2 man tent full of bike gear. Had 3 teeshirts, pants, socks and a jumper. Wash bag, towel, tent, roll mat and sleeping bag and that was about it. The only luxury I had was a fold up stood that wasn't as comfy as first thought so wasn't used.
'camping is what refugees do' brilliant. I'm using that
Took as much as I could get on the bike which isn't much.
2 man tent full of bike gear. Had 3 teeshirts, pants, socks and a jumper. Wash bag, towel, tent, roll mat and sleeping bag and that was about it. The only luxury I had was a fold up stood that wasn't as comfy as first thought so wasn't used.
'camping is what refugees do' brilliant. I'm using that
I think we are just catching up on "them there furreners". I remember going camping in Brittany back in the eighties. We flew to Paris with all our camping gear packed into two rucksacks, then hired a Fiesta and headed to Brittany. Imagine our surprise when we we given an "emplacement" half the size of a football pitch for our little Vango force10 and Triagia stove. All around us large families of French, German, and Dutch campers manage to fill their spaces right to the boundaries with sleeping tents, dining tents and toilet tents while we sat like Billy no mates in the centre of a vast space.
I think we are catching up now in our old age, with a six berth tent between two of us complete with camp beds, fridge, and gas cooker when we go on a big trip, but I've still got my wee Vango for solo expeditions.
I think we are catching up now in our old age, with a six berth tent between two of us complete with camp beds, fridge, and gas cooker when we go on a big trip, but I've still got my wee Vango for solo expeditions.
As we only started camping when we retired (I had slept in tents when walking when younger), our set up was dictated by the requirement of a combination on old bones and Mrs BVD!
A five man tent, double height blow up bed, electric for a kettle and a heater for those cold nights(not my idea) along with an electric cool box. A 15 tog duvet - I know!
Couple of camping chairs and a table and that’s pretty much it.
Can get it all in the car at a push but that requires a degree in spatial awareness which I don’t possess when packing up so a roof box makes life so much easier!
A five man tent, double height blow up bed, electric for a kettle and a heater for those cold nights(not my idea) along with an electric cool box. A 15 tog duvet - I know!
Couple of camping chairs and a table and that’s pretty much it.
Can get it all in the car at a push but that requires a degree in spatial awareness which I don’t possess when packing up so a roof box makes life so much easier!
Desiderata said:
I think we are just catching up on "them there furreners". I remember going camping in Brittany back in the eighties. We flew to Paris with all our camping gear packed into two rucksacks, then hired a Fiesta and headed to Brittany. Imagine our surprise when we we given an "emplacement" half the size of a football pitch for our little Vango force10 and Triagia stove. All around us large families of French, German, and Dutch campers manage to fill their spaces right to the boundaries with sleeping tents, dining tents and toilet tents while we sat like Billy no mates in the centre of a vast space.
I think we are catching up now in our old age, with a six berth tent between two of us complete with camp beds, fridge, and gas cooker when we go on a big trip, but I've still got my wee Vango for solo expeditions.
That's because they go away for two weeks and into some really nice camping places!I think we are catching up now in our old age, with a six berth tent between two of us complete with camp beds, fridge, and gas cooker when we go on a big trip, but I've still got my wee Vango for solo expeditions.
Here we are crowded in to a lumpen field that's slopped with 50% rain and near people with dogs.
The closest I got to UK camping abroad was I'm Brugges.
Close, cramped, noisy with occasional rain.
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