What do you wished you’d known when you started camping ?

[Lardlizard]

Ok I’ve done it once now, well for one night ! but I’m still a beginner really so start from the beginning what do you wish you knew before you started camping ? Any hint n tips ?

Definitely double duvet not sleeping bag. Thin foam camp mats over tent floor, air bed on top, blanket on top of that then duvet. Wear thick socks and tracksuit rather than PJs.

Don't let inner touch the outer or rain will come through.

Keep night clothes in pillowcase or wrapped in duvet so a) they stay warm when it gets damp later on and b) so you can find them in the dark

Always leave the torch where you can find it

We buy Quechua tents as in our experience they are invincible (pop up or nowadays inflatable)

That it's much nicer staying in a building with running water , a roof and a comfy bed.

It won't get better, even with copious wine.

I always tell our scouts to make themselves as comfortable as possible as camping is about enjoying the outdoors. I bring loads of layers to wear, put a waterproof blanket on the floor of the tent and sometimes bring a blow up mattress too.

Wine = weeing in the night 😳 I won't camp, ever but apparently a she we and bottle or child's potty work well at night 😬

Look up the address and phone number of the nearest camping/outdoor shop to your site before you go (for all those things you forgot to pack)!
I love camping as I can sleep in my own bedding, surrounded by my own and nature’s decor. I take a proper mug for tea. I make breakfast and lunch but often go out for dinner. I let my electronics run down. Camping makes you feel free and there’s something very special about it - it connects you to nature and your wild ancestors.

That after a Particularly stormy night with a baby and a toddler we bought an old second hand caravan. If you progress onto such luxuries don’t buy a fecking awning.

Proper wine glasses, not plastic.
Wellies whatever the forecast.
Expensive sleeping bag and a proper pillow.
2 wees before bed - before and after teeth brushing!

I wish I'd known the number of a nearby hotel to be honest.

Camp beds are loads better than airbeds- you're off the ground so you don't get that cold, dampness in your back in the early hours. And you have storage for all your clothes etc underneath.

Prepping and packing can cancel out the enjoyment of the holiday. Dont take everything.

Sorry I go for 4 season sleeping bag and mat with a good woolly blanket for backup.

Kids will spill their cornflakes in the tent.

Take a bag for life to hang on the shower door. And crocs or flip flops.

Head torch for every person.

Dont skimp on good gear in your camping kit. I'm going to get another Aeropress this year.

The only - only- time in an almost twenty year marriage that I looked at my husband and started to metally work out a division of assets was three days in to a rained-out camping holiday with three kids.

I love camping, the back to basics life, camp fires. I sleep well in the tent- I use ear plugs.

Best advice is relax the rules and bedtimes for dc. Get a blackout tent (we have one, so no early waking up. I pee in a bucket in the main part of the tent in the night.

Air beds are really uncomfortable. Double ones invariablybgo a but soft after the first night so you spend the night going up and down every time dh moves, before hitting the ground when he gets up to go to the loo. The air inside the air bed gets cold making it really cold to sleep on. Self-imflating mattresses and blankets are much better.
I wished someone had told me how much I would enjoy camping before I turned 30!

Things slide off tables (irritating if drinks, dangerous if candles). Bring a spirit level to ensure perfect horizontality.

We go camping every month. These are our essentials:

-King size triple layer air bed with automatic plug in pump. It's comfier than my 5k bed at home
-Air tent. Up in 10 mins
-A decent table and chairs
-Electric cool box

Get very good air beds, always have electric hook up and have an airbeam tent (this has saved my marriage as you can't argue about where the poles go and you can put it up in minutes).

Pre-prepare food in advance, freeze it and take it with you. Handy as it acts like an ice pack.
Use an inflatable mattress.
Put your pyjamas early - avoid getting changed just before bed as it'll make you cold.
Wear lots of socks.
Don't take anything you like camping - use old clothes etc.
Note that when camping, EVERYONE has curly hair. Unavoidable.
Flip flops and wellies.

1. Extra thick blanket on top for expised arms etc

Bedroll or blankets underneath air bed

Air bed

Hot water bottle

I actually sleep in very little, it's warmer

Cotto. Sleeping bag not that awful shiny sweaty stuff. If you get the shiny sweaty stuff, buy a liner. But just but a cotton sleeping bag

Electric pump not manuel

Tent with a porch that you can at least get onto your knees in.

Travel John's.

Trav John's.

Travel John's.

Oh yes, keep your clothes in the car. It's less humid.

Earplugs
Cider
Go with the flow

Ear plugs
Eye mask
Self inflating mat
Proper pillows
Jetboil for hot drinks
Chairs (we sat on the ground the first year and that was no fun)
Marshmallows on sticks

Then it is all good as long as it doesn’t rain. Don’t go if it is forecast to rain.

Tidy the tent during the day. Pjs under pillow, warm clothes in a bag, toothbrushes with toothpaste in the same place each day.
You don't want to be rummaging in the dark when you either have tired kids or are pissed

Invest in a decent tent and sleeping gear this year, and beg and borrow the other basics for now.
We tend to invest in a couple of additional 'luxury items' each year.
A teddybear fleece fitted sheet was a fantastic (and cheap) addition to our camping gear last year. I also bought 2 Ikea Drona boxes (the ones that go in the Kallax units) to put coats and shoes into, as I was fed up of trying to locate shoes.
This year we've upgraded our airbed to a 10cm thick SIM. We haven't slept on it yet, but when we tried it out it was definitely more comfortable than the airbed and you don't get as bounced about when the other person rolls over/gets on etc.

General things we've learnt:
Buy a tent that accommodates at least 1.5 times (ideally x2) the number of people you plan to house, unless you really really like them and plan on saving room in the tent by sharing toothbrushes.
If buying from Go Outdoors, buy the tent, carpet, porch, footprint in one go. We thought we'd spread the cost and get the porch and footprint for our current tent the following year, only to find they change models every year. Cue much hunting on Ebay...
Get kids (and consider getting adults) into PJs before sundown with at least a onesie on top. Once you get cold it is very hard to warm up, and stripping down at bedtime to put icy PJs on is horrible. Choose onesies that have a short pile (ideally fleece) unless you enjoy picking grass out of faux fur.
Duvets are far superior to sleeping bags. This is particularly true of double bags which are a very snug fit and leave a column of cold air between you where the bag is stretched taut over the top. We take our superking feather duvet for the standard double mat, which is amazingly cozy and doesn't cause arguments over duvet hogging.
Veggie meals are much easier when camping as you can get away with several days of food without the need to refrigerate.
If it rains, just drink a little more heavily.

Also, if you enjoy it and want to go again, make a list on a spreadsheet of all the things you need to take as soon as you get back from your first trip, then add to it as things occur to you. And put those things in a box so you can just pick it up and go. I nearly didn’t go back after trip two because packing was so horrific. Now we have specific camping boxes and it is a matter of minutes to pack a bag of clothes and put it all in the car.