Reluctant first time camper - help 🙈

[JustAMum31]

So DH has a dream of us being a proper camping outdoorsy family 🫠 personally - I think it sounds like hell but he’s got our (pre-school aged) kid all excited at the thought so I’m taking one for the team and going along in the hope that I’m proved wrong and actually love it 😅

DH hasn’t camped since he was a child so we’re complete beginners! We’re borrowing all the gear from a friend for our first try and then will invest in our own set up if we like it.

Campsite booked an hour from home - great reviews. Site has proper toilets/showers etc and is 10 mins walk from a small town with decent shop and farm shop. We’ve booked a pitch with electric.

Any tips and tricks for beginners would be very much appreciated. Any “must have” items to make it comfortable? Any top tips to make a more successful trip?

We’re borrowing - Air tent with carpets, extension for the electric, camping tables and chairs & air beds.
We’ve got - decent sleeping bags, portable gas stove, electric cool box

Aah that’s so great you had a good first trip. Well done - camping takes organisation and also an ability to see the bigger picture!

I’ll look out for your new thread.

My main advice would be to spend ALL THE MONEY on beds and sleeping. Obviously you need a waterproof and wind proof tent but having good beds and bedding turns an endurance test into a holiday. I am not one for hiking-camping or anything other than taking a car that can be loaded up and driven alongside the pitch. Others’ views may differ 😂

Decathlon’s Air Seconds tents are pretty unbeatable for value and good design. I’ve got the 4.1xl family, I’m not sure it’s made any more, but it’s perfect for a small family (we are 3+ dog).

I also have a whopper poly cotton traditional poled Dutch workhorse which is amazing, but so heavy and I can’t manage it alone any more as I’ve got arthritis. If you’re younger and value space above weight and inconvenience of putting it up then you can get some absolute bargains on eBay. Most people have gone over to air tents now leaving the poled ones a bit unloved.

BRILLIANT, OP, so glad you enjoyed it.

What did you enjoy? What ‘style’ of camper do you think you will be? Air Fryer, Hair Dryer and Kitchen Sink? Campfire, BBQ, Simple Pleasures off grid?

I found a camp bed essential or I couldn't walk next day

@BangersAndGnash Our trip was definitely more like first one 😂 but I severely overpacked 😂 we didn’t use half of what we took but it’s all a learning curve ☺️

We did have electric hookup and had an electric cool box and self inflating air beds which I did like - why not be comfortable 😁. Took a 2-burner stove, half my kitchen, hairdryer and straighteners (although only used once in 4 days when I’d use them everyday usually so that’s progress 😂), enough food to feed the campsite for a week, enough clothes for a week long holiday 🫠

We’ll definitely be able to pack much lighter next time 😅