DH would like to get a tent, tell me the basics pls.

[mygirllollipop]

With us being a family of 6, DH said it might be a good idea to get a tent for holidays (it's unlikely we would ever holiday abroad). PIL have a caravan on a site near Penrith so we could always go there if there wasn't anywhere else to go.
However, I am a total novice having only ever camped for 2-3 nights with school when I was about 12!
So we are looking at tents ATM but I have no idea what we are looking for and what else we need.
Please give the lowdown in absolute basic terms please, TIA.

[Kbear]

Keep it simple and start cheap is my advice. You are going to need a pretty big tent for six of you and someone will be along soon to advise on the best ones (mine is from Argos, sleeps 5, was £89 in the sale and is fantastic so don't automatically think you have to spend hundreds on a tent).

My camping stove and grill I got on ebay second hand, immaculate.

Now, lighting - real campers (me!) don't have an electric hookup but if you have toddlers you might find it useful and safer to not have gas lamps and a gas stove.

I haven't got a fridge yet, looking for one in the sales all the time! Managed without - got used to runny butter and bought fresh milk each day.

what else....

[slayerette]

Look for one with a nice spacious porch/living area - space to eat inside if it's wet without having to go into the sleeping areas.

[hercules1]

Ukcampsite has a great forum btw.

[spudmasher]

Tents can get very hot in the summer so it is good to have one with a living area that opens out on both sides to let the breeze through.
Gives it all a good airing out too.
DH suffers horribly from campers bum.

[Blandmum]

You need a tent larger than the suggested 'sleeps X' numbers. For a family of 6 you should look for at least a sleeps 8 tent

If you intend to use the tent for a full weeks holiday you should look at a sleeps 10-12 tent IMHO

Don't go below a hydrostatic head of 2000mm if you want to be fairly sure of no leaks.

See if you can borrow a tent, go on a holiday with ready put up tents to see if it is your 'thing' *before you shell out lots of money.

Only buy a tent on E-bay if you recognised the brand as being a good one, there are some very poor tents sold at silly prices on E-bay

[mygirllollipop]

Brilliant. Advice so far:
ebay good for camping stove and grill but not so great for tents (for people who don't know what they are doing).
get electric hook-up so babies/toddlers don't mix with gas.
posible look at a fridge.
get a spacious living area with a through breeze.
check out forum.
get tent larger than suggested berth with at least 200cm head room.
try before you buy!
Thanks, will rely this to DH.

[Blandmum]

this would be the sort of side tent I would look at for 6 of you, if you want reasonable comfort

There are lots in this style, shop around and you can get some good bargins

[dustystar]

I would second trying to borrow a tent for a trial run. Camping isn't for everyone and you can shell out a lot of money on stuff you will never use again if you don't like it. However if you do like it you'll also have an idea of what you want to buy. Dh and I borrowed my sisters tent 4 years ago and all her camping gear so we didn't have to buy anything. we had a great time and knew that for us a bigger tent would be a better option etc etc. We don't use electric hookup and simply turn off the gas on both the cooker and the bottle when we are finished cooking. Ds (6)has AS/ADHD tendencies and has to touch,press,turn etc any buttons or knobs that he sees but we haven't had a problem.

We found high back chairs to be much more comfy than the standard ones but we made do with the cheapies till last year Take warm clothes for night-time. A bucket with a lid can be very useful for night-time weeing. A windbreak is good as it doubles as a bit of privacy/ area for the kids to play in. Plenty of games to play - both outdoor stuff and indoor in case the weather is bad.

[Blandmum]

How could I forget a bucket with a lid!!!!!!

essential!

Also when you get a table, get a table and cairs rather than the fold out table/chairs combo. Whe you sit down all the stuff wobbles alarmingly.

Plus I am a lardy arse and ours only lasted 18 months

[dustystar]

lol ours too martianbishop. we bought a new one last year when our old one gave up the ghost but in hindsight a decent sized fold up table with seperate chairs would have been better.

[dustystar]

Also don't forget essentials like a bottle opener and a tin opener, lights/torches for going to the loo at night (Wilkos do some for about 4 punds that you can use one bright or dimmed)

[Blandmum]

That is what we got. Only problem is that the chairs are slightly too low, so when you eat is is generally easier to eat at the table with your food on your lap! Which seems rather odd!

[Blandmum]

there are fabbo torches that convert to lamps We all use them while reading in bed in the tent. Help to make you feel like 'real' explorers! LOL

[dustystar]

hmmm - I was looking at a new fold-up table today as we are trying to cut down on what we need for weekend trips and i thought the picnic table might be the thing to go. Not sure what to do now.

[Blandmum]

We got an aluminium slatted one that folds to the size of one of the chairs. and fits into its own little bag

[Mercy]

Agree with others re seeing if you can borrow a tent - just try one of 2 nights away somewhere nearby.

You will also need

a torch
a lantern of some kind (for inside the tent)
sleeping bags/duvets
airbeds/camp beds
a cool-box & ice-packs - if you don't get a fridge
pots/frying pan/kettle
cups/plates/bowls
cutlery
tin opener
corkscrew
penknife
windbreak


errmmm, can't think what else right now tbh; I did have a pretty comprehensive list but it was lost when we had a massive problem with our pc earlier this year.

[Blandmum]

like this but paid about £12 for ours in France last year!

[Mercy]

Like the look of those torches MB

[Blandmum]

They are good. They take ordinary batteries, and don't re-charge, but the batteries tend to last us a week of good use

[dustystar]

The range are doing single gas ring portable cookers for £9.99 at the moment. The gas cartridges to go in them are £1.49. You can easily and safely take the gas bottle out of these and don't need to fart around with regulators etc. that would solve any problems with fiddly fingers. We have just got one for weekends and short breaks as TBH we mostly use the cooker for cups of tea and occasionally warming soup/ hot dogs if the weather isn't good enough for a bbq. You can buy one of those toasting things to put on it if you like toast.

[dustystar]

We use these but MBs look better

[housemum]

The ones in the Argos link below are in our local TK Maxx at the moment for £1.99 - just bought a couple, also got a genuine Maglite large torch (so that I can clobber anyone I don't like in the middle of the night!) for £10.

[mygirllollipop]

WOW loads more replies, relayed everything to DH and he was impressed (as am I).
Will see if we know anyone can lend us a tent.
He has to be a bloke about it and his only comment was 'make sure we don't get up to any naughty business with a torch on! So I guess he's greatful for the advice!