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.

[Lanky Yankee]

I've never done proper camping, just glamping (my wife likes toilets and showers). I was wondering about doing a more roughing it type of camping with my son, but not sure about our equipment. I have a good stove and torches ect, but my tent is rather large. do most of you more experienced campers use the smaller 2 man tents? Mine is a 8 person as big as a small bedroom thing but works well with the elements as we find out every time we go camping.

[bigpaul]

the best tent I ever owned(and which I still have) is an old fashioned 1980 2 man Ridge Tent, purchased for about £25 as I recall. one time spent a weeks holiday in North Wales, wind was blowing at gale force from the sea onto the camp site(near Conwy),had to find some large stones to keep the tent from taking off in the morning all the frame tents had collapsed and the only tents still standing were mine and 2 other ridge tents!!

[Scythe13]

(21 October 2013, 17:01)Lanky Yankee Wrote: I've never done proper camping, just glamping (my wife likes toilets and showers). I was wondering about doing a more roughing it type of camping with my son, but not sure about our equipment. I have a good stove and torches ect, but my tent is rather large. do most of you more experienced campers use the smaller 2 man tents? Mine is a 8 person as big as a small bedroom thing but works well with the elements as we find out every time we go camping.

The best thing I can recommend it what you're capable of carrying with relative ease. I'm a huge fan of just using a basha, but I'm getting a new 1 man tent soon.

If you can carry the larger tent easily enough, then why not glamp it up?

If it's a bit bulky, I'd opt for taking something a little smaller and easier to carry.

[Midnitemo]

I have a fantastic little north face vector 22 , 2 man geodesic but it really only fits me + gear 2.2 kilo's with extra footprint 1.1 kilo's if i choose to leave the inner at home...would be perfect if the color scheme was green and grey but its a copper bronze(ok in the autumn)like a basha only less drafty and free standing.

[I-K-E]

I've got a 2 man, a 4 man (both seen in windy south wales last april) and a 6 man monster tent (that leaks ..... waterproofing in spring fabsil at the ready)

will be getting a basha soon for the GHB, sleeping bags got a few but don't bother with the one season ones in the uk they are more use for in house sleeping for the kids when they have friend on a sleep over (got that to come in a few years). Also it's very important to get the under the sleeping bag sorted to both for comfort but more importantly insulation and keeping warm. You can use natural materials such as thick layer of ferns or get a self inflating mattress but there are a wide range to choose from from ultra light thin ones to big bulky 10 cm thick ones

Got a few options for cooking from a 7kg propane (got butane reg if needed to) linked to 2 ring and grill stove to a small cylinder stove and the fire starting kit. When funds allow I'd like to get something else for the GHB such as the crusader stove system.

[Scythe13]

Please note I-K-E's version of a 4 man is a small palace!

[I-K-E]

(21 October 2013, 19:25)Scythe13 Wrote: Please note I-K-E's version of a 4 man is a small palace!

you sound see the 6 man

[Scythe13]

(21 October 2013, 19:31)I-K-E Wrote:

(21 October 2013, 19:25)Scythe13 Wrote: Please note I-K-E's version of a 4 man is a small palace!

you sound see the 6 man

Complete with draw-bridge?

[BeardyMan]

(21 October 2013, 17:01)Lanky Yankee Wrote: I've never done proper camping, just glamping (my wife likes toilets and showers). I was wondering about doing a more roughing it type of camping with my son, but not sure about our equipment. I have a good stove and torches ect, but my tent is rather large. do most of you more experienced campers use the smaller 2 man tents? Mine is a 8 person as big as a small bedroom thing but works well with the elements as we find out every time we go camping.

You can't "rough it" in a tent!

Get yerself a DD 3x3 tarp, a hammock (DD, TW, Hennessy) and you're good to go. MUCH better than a tent, more comfortable, much lighter. You do need trees though, so find woodland!