Camping 101...for beginners.

[Scythe13]

This is a quick thread for people newer to camping the alike.

Camping is one of the ways we get to practice bushcraft, team skills, and many other things. So this thread is for all people newer to camping.

Please do not think this an "I know best" thread. It's just a few select bits of information that I'd recommend for people new to camping. There may be bits that I forget, or bits that I think are important, when they may not be too important for you. But that's the fun of the forum, it's about practice, and learning from each other.

1. Practice putting your tent up and taking it down. Your garden is perfect for this. Safe, enclosed, and generally not too weird a thing. Loads of us had tents up as kids in the garden, or have friends, neighbours, or family that do similar.

2. Practice packing your tent away. I HATE packing my tent away, and generally default to brute force to pack it all in the bag it came from. The wife recommends rolling tent material because it removed more air and thus makes it smaller and easier to pack away.

3. Practice getting your tent up and down in many different conditions. Our latest Dartmoor trip saw me putting my tent up in the middle of the night, under gentle windy conditions, damp ground and clothing, oh and while in shorts and tshirt (my winter wear haha). Thankfully being good with the tent made it much easier than you'd expect.

4. Before camping, remember to put up your tent and make sure it's all waterproofed, and no damaged need to be repaired. Any work that needs to be done, make sure it's done, and add a waterproofing coating. I like to put the tent up and give it a quick waterproofing spray after each trip...when I remember.

5. After each trip, remember to dry out your tent. You can put it up in the bathroom, if it fits, or you can put it up on a clothes line to dry out.

6. Try to get all your food ready before the trip. Personally I like to do some shopping the day before. Word of warning Pain Au Chocolate might well attract foxes, if my experiences are anything to go by.

7. Make sure you have enough gas in your cookers well before you set off. Nothing more demoralising than getting out in the wilds, cold and wet through, ready for your first warm meal in the woods, only to find you've not got any gas to cook on. Major bummer.

8. Make sure you have a way to light your gas cooker. You'll need a secondary and tertiary way. Experience speaking.

9. Spare socks, boxers, and even top and trousers are a God-Send, if you need a quick morale boost from bad weather.

10. Gaiters...dry shoes make life much easier and makes drying shoes...oh wait.

11. Check all water bottles. Stinky water bottles are no fun to drink out of.

12. A hat and gloves can really increase your body heat in a sleeping bag. Add a great pair of warm socks (Heat Holders are stunners) and you'll be smiling.

13. Remember to take more 'warming' stuff for your sleeping bag than you think you'll need. Thermal liners, e.g. fleece or micro-fibre, can add a nice insulating layer. If you think you'll need 1, make sure you have 2 or 3. The weather has a habit of 'surprising' first timers.

14. Sleeping bag ratings are good ideas, but not gospel. If it says good for -4 degrees, you'll probably not want to take it below +5 degrees.

15. Toothbrush + Toothpaste. Useful for insect bites too.

16. Torch. Does it work? Do you have good life in the batteries in it? Do you have spares? Do you have doubled up spares (spares of your spares)? Do you have a back up light and batteries galore for that light too?

17. The right shoes. Very helpful. Personally I like to practice with various footwear, which everyone at the Dartmoor camps will agree to seeing. It turns out my favourites are skateshoes. But the Vibrams are holding out pretty well for me. Will be trying them with Gaiters next camp...maybe. But good sturdy boots are usually best.

18. Toilet paper. You got it? You got spare for everyone else? Seriously, be a team player.

20. Camping mat. Infaitable...any punctures? If it's foam, will it be thick enough for the season you're camping in?

21. Is your phone charged? You never know if you'll need to call an emergency 999. Most trees don't come equipped with a phone charger.

22. Remember not to take it too seriously. If you're not having fun, you must be doing something wrong.