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 :-)
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...
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.
Pitching
So
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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...
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 :-)
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.
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.
