Couple of camping questions if I may - what do you do for seating and do you have an icey tek?

[SmileAndNod]

We camp, for long weekends mostly but we have worked up to booking for two weeks in the summer. Firstly, what do you sit on inside the tent? We have tried an inflatable sofa before, it lasted about two days before it deflated and went out of shape? We need something comfy enough for a two week stay and there are five of us. Any ideas?

Secondly, our electric coolbox packed up at the end of last summer so we need to replace. We were thinking of an icey tek. Anyone have one? Would you recommend? We need to stand up a bottle or two of wine and keep milk, butter, yogurts etc chilled. Are they worth the money? And which colour should we get

[Blu]

We just have the umberella fold chairs and find them comfy enough for lounging in and reading, though we almost never sit inside the tent - only if it is raining. We sit outdoors - round the fire, usually.

We have an Icey Tek and I do find it good. Pre-chill it, pack as much stuff as possible frozen and it will stay very cold for a long time. A wine bottle will not stand upright in the 25l one, but I believe does in the 40l. A wine box fits snugly though, and the inner from a white wine box can be pre-frozen. It is also important that the lid is not opened uneccessarily, or left open: I don't allow kids to open the cooler. It's hard to say whether they are worth the money. My old 'usual' coolbox was at ambient temperature within 24 hours and everything melted. That does not happen with an ITek. Stuff will stay cold, and even frozen, for a couple of days. Just top up with ice every so often.

[Callmecordelia]

We have these -

m.gooutdoors.co.uk/hi-gear-vegas-xl-chair-p286361

I bought two after I saw them recommended here, and they are the best camping purchase ever. They are so comfy and I cart them everywhere I have to sit outside now, because they have spoiled all other chairs for me.

The only small fault is there is no cup holder. So you have to hold your wine.

[Blu]

Cordelia, you need something like www.lakeland.co.uk/50015/Hands-Free-Wine-Glass-Holders?gclid=CJzTp7XHm8wCFUHGGwodP1YKLw&src=gfeed&s_kwcid=AL!49!3!105381236189!!!g!43456181542!&ef_id=VhpMDwAABdDYAAbY:20160419203846:sthis

[Callmecordelia]

An excuse to go to Lakeland! Bring. It. On.

[Thumbcat]

I just have cheapy folding camping chairs for sitting on. Nothing fancy but comfortable enough.

I have a regular coolbox and change the ice packs usually twice a day if it's hot weather. I wish it didn't work so well as then I could justify an Icey Tek, but I've never had a problem with food not staying fresh.

[mercifulTehlu]

Folding chairs here as well. And no Icey Tek but a cheap coolbox that you can plug in when we have electric hook-up and a normal coolbox for when we haven't.

[SmileAndNod]

Thank you I've only just got back to this thread. We're going to go outdoors next week so will look at that chair. We do have fold up chairs at the minute but they're not overly comfy...

We're still undecided about the icey tek. They seem quite expensive. I think we can freeze / replace freezer blocks where we're going this year so that should be ok. Time to get tape measure out and see how much room it would take up I guess. Despite having abigger car, we never seem to have enough room!

[FrozenAteMyDaughter]

We have a couple of high-back padded chairs from ALDI that we bought last year. They weren't too pricey and are warmer than the unpadded sort and also mean you can rest your head. They will no doubt be back in store soon.

We don't have an iceytek but do have a 3-way fridge from Dometic that you can run with gas, electric or on 12v in the car. It is brilliant but takes up quite a lot of packing space. Previously, we had a Coleman Xtreme which seemed to keep things cold for several days used correctly. If we hadn't got the fridge we probably would have succumbed to an iceytek.

[Blu]

The campsites we usually go to don't have freezers / facilities for ice packs, so I need the box to stay cool for a few days. It all depends on the type of camping you do.

[AnnPerkins]

We have camped in the south of France in July and the IceyTek really comes into its own in those temperatures. On a previous holiday we had to throw the contents of our ordinary coolbox away after two days, despite swapping the ice packs every day. The IceyTek kept everything properly cold for the whole fortnight.

[flupcake]

Not an Icey Tek, but an igloo max cold icebox, and I think it's really worth the money. Just went camping and still had ice after 4 days.