I'm a camping virgin. Please tell me what we will ^really^ need to take.

[Bohica]

Buying a tent this weekend & apart from wanting to buy a nice big torch for spider patrol walks to the toilet in the dark I'm ready to go.

But DH wants to buy the whole shop in one go, chairs, fridges & portaloo.

Can I join you?

We are virgin campers too

Choose my tent today, looking for air beds and sleeping bags tomorrow.

What tent did you get?

I have seen a khyam Ontario 8 that I want but seeing a vango Icarus 600 tomorrow so will decide then.

We went to Go Outdoors today & they have a hi gear kalahiri 10. I like it because it has lots of little shoe racks like you get in wacky warehouse. And I can store shoes things in them

There is 5 of us so we need a big tent.

Air beds are next & I have been well informed that the bed makes the experience so no cheapo ones.

Are you buying a footprint & carpet? I think a footprint is needed but DH thinks a carpet is more important.

Will you practice in your garden before you go? I'm worried that the tent erecting in public will be stressful & cause us to scream the air blue struggle.

a duvet.

it will be much colder at night than you think, no matter how much your dh tells you it won't.

loads of lighters.

washing up bowl

Hot water bottles
Fat airics or similar to sleep on
decent sleeping bags
we have a Kampa Karzi and it's been so useful
blankets
Me and DH Take pillows but DSes don't bother

a 10 berth tent for 5?? Thats HUGE!!

we have an 8 berth tent for 5 of us and it's plenty big.
beware that some campsites really don't like biiiiiiiiiiig tents... something to consider when choosing one!

if i was choosing between a footprint and a carpet i'd go with footprint. if your tent gets wet/muddy you need to clean and dry it before packing it away properly which is a right pain. if you have the footprint then there is less of that to do!

carpet is nice, but not that necessary IMO.

Camp Beds,
Sleeping bags,
Blanket/duvet (for the cold or more comfort)
Table to eat at
table to put camp stoves
camp stoves
chairs
cool box/mini fridge
somewhere to store your food
wash up bowl
tea towel and other washing up stuff
loo roll
a torch each
a lamp for the main tent (we found it better anyway)

erm what else do we take?

Fuel for camp stoves (campingaz)

We will get the footprint and carpet too I think.

Definately going to have a go in the garden first

All very helpful & I know the tent is bloody huge but DH is a bit anti camping unless he has the luxury of space & we do drive him mad with our girly clutter. Plus it is a bargain at £250.

We are thinking 3 bedrooms for 5 people & the 4th room for storing clothes & equipment?

Get a really big tent and a lot of stuff - this keeps other people amused watching you arrive at the campsite, put up the tent between you and wathcing the dc at the same time, falling out a bit, then getting all the stuff inot the tent (look how much stuff they have) and then two days later you do the same in reverse.

it keeps me happy watching whilst I sip my wine and read my book whilst watching - I like people wathcing and small tents are never as intresting to watch

If you're camping in the UK outside of a heatwave, you need a 3 season sleeping bag, or a load of duvets. If it doesn't say what season then it's not going to do the job!

All of the above plus the MOST IMPORTANT THING: a corkscrew. Don't leave home without it.

More seriously, as well as the stuff listed above I've found a good Swiss Army knife very useful while camping.

Do practise putting your tent up before you go. That way you can get the guys sorted out and get the hang of which bit goes where. If you've got a huge tent then this will definitely be needed.

ivy you really made me laugh. That IS going to be us, the camping virgins with their bargin pimp my ride tent & all the crap they think they need so bought from Ebay on the cheap for there cheap holiday.
shouting taliking through gritted teeth at the children because it may well be bloody lunch time but the tent is still not erect & I'm not talking to your daddy so, no. I do not know how long lunch will be as I don't know where the fricking 2nd hand camping stove is

ENorma I think the Ontario is the updated version of ours - I have to say that it is fab, and withstood 24hours of completely non-stop torrential rain (at least 8inches) last year. The space and the tent carpet are fantastic, and it is relatively simple to put up

We also have a footprint, I think it helps if you are camping on already wet ground, and keeps the base of the tent cleaner.

It depends on how minimal you want to be, but for us,
airbeds (plus electric inflator), sleeping bags (plus blankets if England) and pillows
stove, pans, plates, etc
camping whistling kettle
matches
table and chairs - if your DC are 8+, they will deffo want chairs too
Freezer bag and ice blocks
torches
plus
windbreak
camping kitchen (folding thing with shelves for the stove and all the cooking / eating stuff)

Thanks tilly.

Reassuring to hear a good review from someone who has one.

Is an electric hook up a must?

No, we've never had one. What do you think yuo will need it for?

We take car chargers for all the electonic stuff, like ipods, etc.

I don't think we will need one for weekends but thinking of one of those electric cool boxes if we go for longer periods.

That won't be this year though.

Well we have camped in France for 10 years, through hot, hot, hot weather, and have been fine with a freezer bag and ice blocks. The campsites let you freeze them in their freezers, usually free and so you just swap the "melty" ones for 2 new ones every morning when you get your fresh milk and croissants. Simples!

big tilly mint - have you ever been to the tortoise sanctuary in cornwall?