Beginners' Basics - Camping

Camping eh? There's something uniquely liberating about carrying your home on your back, not having to rely on bed and breakfasts or hostels, getting terrible back ache and cooking nasty dried food for dinner...

But hey, why learn from bitter experience? Our Beginners' Basics guide to camping brings you the sort of hard-won tips that can make the difference between a night of cossetted luxury and an evil restless torture session. And no, we don't know why you always end up pitching a brand new tent in the dark , in a storm, drunk. That's just how it is :-)

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Your Tent

See our Buyer's Guide to tents for some detailed buying information - the nub of the decision though is always going to be what you intend to do with the tent. If you're going to be camping from the back of a car then weight and bulk don't really matter, unless, of course, you drive a Smart Car or a Ferrari with limited luggage space.

If, on the other hand, you're going to be backpacking and carrying your home on your back, you need a combination of lightness and strength. It's quite possible to get this, but it'll be more expensive simple because high tec fabrics, design, materials and construction all cost more.

The things we look for regardless of cost, weight or function though are: a sheltered cooking area, enough room for the number of people you're catering for, a god quality sewn-in ground-sheet and a decent insect-proof mesh at the door.

Camp Tip Cheap, light, bombproof - pick two...

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Where To Camp

The majority of UK campers use organised camp sites which will have washing and toilet facilities, charges vary according to the level of facilities, the whims of the campsite owner - they're an odd breed - and the basis they charge on. Some charge per tent, others per person, or per car and tent and person or, well, it can be quite random. It's polite to check in at the site office / farm house on arrival, but your chances of escaping without payment are minimal.

The attractive alternative is wild camping or simply pitching a tent somewhere in the hills and getting on with it. Unfortunately it's not that simple. In some areas it's tolerated, in others it's allowed above a certain altitude, in others, the Peak for example, it's frowned upon. Theoretically you need permission from the landowner before camping in most places, but our tip for national park areas anyway, is to check the relevant park authority web site for more information.

Regardless of legality, you should be discreet, carry out anything your bring with you and be careful not to set fire to or otherwise damage vegetation.

Camp Tip Try not to pitch in people's gardens, it can be embarassing once the sun comes up and you realise exactly where you are.

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PitchingSo you've decided where to camp, how do you decide whereabouts to put your tent? In still, summer conditions shelter doesn't matter, but in more changeable times, think hard about where wind is coming from or likely to come from and pitch your tents so it's end-on to the wind. Think too about where the doorway is going to lie. Ideally you want it pointing away from any wind to allow sheltered cooking. If there's a large boulder or similar between you and the oncoming weather, so much the better. Be aware that cows can move away...

Be wary of natural valleys and depressions which can funnel winds giving a nasty wind tunnel effect as well. More specifically, although a flat area will be more comfortable, most people will find it more natural to sleep with their head slightly higher than their feet, so before pitching, lie down on the chosen spot and make sure you're not going to roll sideways, or find yourself bedded down with your feet in the air.

If wild camping you'll need a water source, but don't be tempted to camp too close. Heavy rain can raise stream and river levels rapidly, so you could easily find yourself in the middle of a pond. For the same reason, a slightly raised pitch is better than a depression which can fill with water for that prized midnight goldfish effect.

Camp Tip You wouldn't buy a bed without trying it, so check the lie of the land before pitching.

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Getting It Up In The Wet

Pitching a tent when it'd dry, light and calm is straightforward. It's harder when it's pouring with rain and the site's being raked by strong winds. First, practice putting your tent up before you use it for real, or at least read the flipping manual. If you have a selection of poles of similar but different lengths, colour code them with tape or paint so you know which is which.

If it's windy, lay the tent flat on the ground and insert the poles before trying to erect it. If possible peg the groundsheet too so it can't blow away once you do start erecting it. If you have the option, it's better to pitch the flysheet first - it's waterproof, whereas the inner tent will be showerproof at best. Whether that's feasible depends on the tent.

Some, like Macpac, will pitch as an all in one single unit, which saves messing around inside the fly connecting bits of Velcro and rubber band...

Camp Tip When the going gets tough, the bed and breakfast gets going.

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Cooking

In fine weather you can cook pretty much everywhere. In poor conditions, a sheltered vestibule will make your life much easier. Make sure it's well ventilated though and keep naked flames away from the tent fabric and whatever you do, don't try to cook inside the inner tent itself. You risk either asphyxiation or setting fire to the tent. Neither are a good idea.

The easiest cooling fuel is gas - see OM reviews for detailed stove information - it's efficient, easy to control and, with the right stove choice, light too. It's not a cheap option however, gas canisters are pretty expensive, particularly if you camp regularly. Liquid fuels are effective, but potentially messier and, in the case of meths, also quite slow burning.

For backpacking, use lightweight dried food and, to minimise fuel use, select those that need as little heating as possible. If you're camping out of the back of a car however, just eat whatever you fancy.

Our top tip is to carry wine in boxes rather than bottles - glass is heavy and you'll be carrying it our with you as well...

Camp Tip Tomatoes, potatoes and cans of sweetcorn are not, repeat not, efficient lightweight camping foods.

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Sleeping Mats

Wherever you camp, you'll need a mat or pad under your sleeping bag. It'll be more comfortable, but more importantly, the pad will prevent you from losing body heat to the cold ground and keep you significantly warmer.

Self-inflating mats like Therm-a-Rest, which have a slim, inflatable, foam-filled core are more efficient than ordinary Karrimat-type closed-cell foam pads, but cost a lot more and tend to be heavier. To start off with, a budget foam pad is fine. If you sleep out a lot, you can always upgrade when you can afford the splash the cash.

Camp Tip For ultimate car camping luxury try layering pads on top of each other or check out the down-filled inflatable option.

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Sleeping Bags

The first choice is between down and synthetic bags. For a starter, unless weight is a big priority, a decent synthetic bag makes a lot of sense. Good modern synthetics are almost as warm relative to their weight as down, but are cheaper, easier to care for and don't collapse into a soggy mush as soon as they get wet. Down costs more, lasts longer, but needs more care.

We'd also treat sleeping bag temperature ratings with caution. There's no accepted standard and different people sleep warm or cold depending on their personal metabolism as well. We'd opt on the cautious side when buying a bag. Generally though, quality brands like Mountain Equipment, Rab, MHW, TNF, Nanook and so on, are more likely to be accurate with their ratings according to a Which? report.

Camp Tip Use a sleeping bag liner and your bag will stay cleaner and pong free for longer.

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Tent Living Tips

• Get organised If, like us, you're accustomed to a palatial mansion, then the snug confines of a tent can become a bit of a chaotic mess. Most tents have internal mesh pockets to help you organise stuff, be methodical and muller that mess. It'll make it easier to clean up and go as well.
  
• Get illuminated Reading in a tent used to be a battery killer, however the latest LED head torches are miserly with batteries so a more economic option. For general illumination, try hanging a headtorch from a lamp loop in the ceiling.
  
• Stay dry If it's wet, consider leaving soaked outer clothing and boots in the vestibule and changing wet inner layers for a new dry set. Keep damp kit away from your sleeping bag too.
  
• Pillow talk You can buy camping pillows, but it makes more sense to improvise using a fleece and spare clothing. For super luxury, stuff a fleece top with a down jacket :-)

Camp Tip Using vents effectively will help to prevent condensation on the inside of the tent as will not exhaling...

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The Luxury Breakfast

Our toppest of top tips is to revolutionise your morning. By sorting out all you need for breakfast before going to bed, you can cook while still lying in your sleeping bag, which is a definite good thing and a massive bonus when you wake to the thunderous drumming of rain on your tent.

Bear in mind too, that the drumlike acoustics of the average tent always makes rain sound worse than it really is. So it really might not be as nasty out as you think.

Camp Tip For that touch of luxury, you can't beat a stove-top expresso maker :-)

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Tent Etiquette

If you're sharing a tent, you'd better get on. Lightweight tents in particular tend to assume a level of familiarity with your camping partner, that you may or may not have. If the tent's cramped, it's always better for one of you to do the active stuff, like cooking, while the other stays well out of the way.

The same goes for getting up or packing and unpacking bags and packs. You'll work it out pretty quickly anyway as an accidental elbow in the face often offends... You'll also need to be generally a little more careful with food and liquids than at home as there's nothing more depressing than a tea-soaked sleeping bag.

Last, but not least, be considerate with your personal belongings. Have a side of the tent each and use stowage pockets to prevent total anarchy and confusion. Oh, and as for snoring, we think you know what to do ;-)

Camp Tip If you want to recover a little personal space, ear plugs or a personal CD player / iPod are a good option, your mate will probably get bored though, which isn't a good thing.

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More Help and Advice

Hopefully this article will have given you some basic pointers. The good news is that there's a load more advice on OUTDOORSmagic:

• Ask on the gear forum about general issues or specific items.
  
• Check the member reviews section for user experiences of kit.
  
• See OM editorial reviews on the front of the site for our impressions.
  
• Ask Richard Gear if you have a specific question you need answering.

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