Novice Camper - Site booked, No Tent (yet)

[Feelingforty]

I've been looking at the very good advice on here & seem to have found what I think may be the perfect tent. It's this one kampa filey 6

I am keen because it apparently has some sort of blackout lining to it...do you think it will be any good ? I've also looked at the Outwell Montana, which is a little bit bigger..but you'd need to pay extra for the awning where as the kampa has it included

Am keen to order it, but am wondering if by leaving it, there may be bargains around ?

The next think is to get the self inflating mats sorted out. Had a look at the weekend & I don't get how they work at all..are they any good ? BTW Find the blow up beds to uncomfortable & the DD's don't like them either. If the self inflating ones are good, am thinking of buying 2 x doubles, for the 4 of us. Should i buy childrens sleeping bags ? Dd1 is tall, DD2 is short. Should I buy 4 season bags ? assuming from reading here, we'll be cold !

One more thing, could anyone recommend a cooking stove ? I think I would prefer one that I can cook on standing up.

Yes, I really am a novice

Hi Feelingforty. I'm a camping novice too. I didn't go to festivals for years because I HATED the idea of camping. I don't hate it now so much as it is a necessary evil...!

It's a bit of a plug for my friend's site, but it's worth checking out www.perfectpitchmagazine.co.uk. Go to the Field Tested section, there's loads of info on good tents, stoves and other camping accessories, plus there are some really nice recipes!

We hated blowing up beds but someone said campbeds are much more comfy, easier, fairly cheap and warmer - off the ground you see. We're returning to camping after many years ( second childhood) and find Go Outdoors good for bargains. Got our small tent in autumn sale - I guess spring isn't the best time to look for bargains.
Whether you stand up or not to cook always used to depend if you had a kitchen stand to put everything on. I used to love my camp kitchen with three tiers, but threw it away when we moved house - never imagined we would ever camp again. Now we've gone basic with two little camping gaz stoves. can't wait for the weather to improve to try out all our Xmas presents.

the lady in the shop said folding ones were colder - with foam or blow up your body warms the air underneath you. we have both and i couldn't sleep on kids folding ones - which are good quality - as too hard and uncomfy. i've just bought a foam one as tried my friends out and it was lovely - she said it was warm too - you need 5cms apparently! you unrol them and then the air goes in - think you have to blow in a bit first few times. we have 2 little stoves and a small barbecue. ref sleeping bags - buy really warm ones as its always colder at night than you think and being cold is horrid

Feelingforty - nice tent it's quite a biggun. I'm not sure I have been in a tent with a black out lining, is this to help with getting/keeping the dc asleep?

I doubt very much there will be bargains on new tents now. You might find stores trying to sell 2009 models but for anything new you'll probably find the prices are fairly fixed. It's worth doing a big internet search though first.

Selfinflating mats are definitely the way to go (imo). Much more comfortable and warmer than air beds, and a doddle to set up.

unroll
open nozzle
wait a few mins
tighten nozzle

voila

The only downsides are the price (spenith) and storage. We have thermarests and they recommend you store them unrolled, nozzle open (inflated) during the times you are not transporting them.

There is a hefty mn contingent of fat airic lovers on here, just search the archives.

We have a camping gaz stove which came with legs that you kind of push and screw in underneath the stove. They are a giant pita to attach with little butterfly screws flying off and falling in the grass causing to to swear and curse and become enraged with your dh for no good reason.

We now take the stove and put it on a table - much easier

edwardiansnowdropexpert, I've been advised to get a 6 berth for the space...there are 4 of us. Do you think it's too big ? The blackout lining is for my benefit I am a bit princess & pea like !

Have read all about the fat airic's on here, but they only come as singles & as (i think) we'll be sleeping 2 + 2 thought it would be easier to buy double self-inflating. The ones at the camping shop looked a bit thin & crispy though.

Interesting point about the stove legs...and I think we must need a table..any recommendations ?

The Kampa doesn't seem to be in stock yet...hope it doesn't become too popular & sell out.

blackout lining in a tent is not really a goer for me, campsites can be noisy at night so wouldn't do any good on that front, and once the sun gets up in summer it gets v. warm inside. suppose it might block a bit of the sun out but still, i feel claustrophobic once sun is up. If you're new at the camping malarkey I'd borrow as much as you can.

£500 on a tent is quite a lot in my opinion unless you know you're going to use it a lot over lots of years.

...sorry to "p" on your campfire.

..no worries..campfire still burning brightly...can you suggest other good quality tents that provide same space for less money ? the other one I was looking at is the outwell montana.

Light early morning is a killer for me, btw.

feeling - if in doubt about size of tent - i would measure your beds (or the ones you plan to get) and then add a bit to each side for storage etc. the amount of room allowed per person seems to vary with each brand.

Feelingforty, the general rule of thumb when buying a tent is to add 2 to the number of people you plan sleeping in it, hence why you have been recommended to get a 6 man.

A 'man' size is the width of a standard air mat (pretty much the width of you in a sleeping bag plus a few extra cms on each side, it is not the size of a single bed I've made that error in my head when starting out.

Saying all that, there are 4 of us and we sleep in a 4 man, and we all fit perfectly, there is not much space on either side of the mats but then atm we all like snuggling up together in a big lump.

If you want to go for a double I'm pretty sure outwell did double self inflating mats last year.

With this buying kit malarkey there are ALWAYS pros and cons to everything, so if you want a lovely big tent to camp in then the down sides will be pack size and weight, and length of time to pitch and strike.

Have you seen any of these tents in the flesh yet? I strongly recommend a mooch around a camping store, so you can see what you are getting for your money.

The other thing to consider is what you are getting for your money. There is probably a good reason that the Kampa is a bit cheaper than the Outwell, and that is most likely to be quality.

If you want to become a giant camping nerd go and have a feel of the quality of the fabric the tent is made out of, look at the zips, zips the zips, zip the zips some more until a bloke from the store comes over and gives you a special look, how many guys does the tent have (the more the better) what are the poles made out of? If you plan on camping in the UK you want to get the most waterproof, strongest and most wind resistant tent your budget can stretch to (imo)

I second flutterbye's advice, borrow as much stuff as possible, or go for a w/e camp with some frinds and share their stuff, then you can see before you buy and go and check out other campers set ups too.

re black out material - what about those eye mask jobbies they give you on a plane?

re tables, we used one for several years that we got in Aldi - wait a few months and they start selling basic camping kit at very reasonable prices.

cor that was a bit long and lecturey sorry

You need to see how big the tent is when down too. Those big ones come in several kit bags. Are you getting a trailer or do you expect to get it all in the car? In the olden days(!) our kids used to bounce along sitting on top of half the kit in the back seats - gives me the shivers to think about it now.

ooh love the lecture thanks !

I've looked at the outwell (sorry, didn't pay that much attention to the zips) & was a bit put off by the slanty bits at the front. The Kampa goes straight down if you see what I mean ? Is Kampa not good ? I think they are fairly new but the reviews on ukcampsite where very good.

Yes I think we'll be going for the outwell doubles. I think I'll also be taking DD's memory foam topper too - we like our comfort.

I've used the eye masks before & not that keen...so was very excited with the idea of a darker interior. I'm miserable if I con't get any sleep. (am now considering a caravan !)

I was going to go for a 4 man, but DD1 is tall & thrashes around at night & Dh is also tall.
The only people I know with tents have massive ones..we have a very old 3 man tent , I suppose DH could sleep outside ?!

Have subscribed to aldi, thanks for the tip.

We'll have a people carrier, so assume no problems with space ?

considering a caravan......

considering a caravan

you have fallen at the first hurdle feelingforty (and your nickname smacks of half glass empty as well)

COME ON NOW, where is your Everest spirit?

I would def go on the ukcs comments, they are usually harsh in the extreme if the thing is a pile of shite. I've not read anything bad about Kampa, I don't think they have as big a hold on the market as say outwell or vango, so there will be less reviews iyswim.

I do like a good zip testing session though. You can tell a lot by the sound of the zip

People carrier sounds fine. There is always an annual packing the car/roofbox/trailers thread on here when you can come and bewail your lack of space when you come to actually pack the car

half glass? whats a half glass?
[hic]

GLASS HALF I meant obviously

I knew what you meant I could do with it now...I need to change my name as feeling much older these days.

Will have my eye on the zips & also looking for erect Kampas (oo-er) to feel.

oo-er indeed.

Come back and tell if you find it and have had a good feel.

After 2 years of tenting, cramming it all in the huge car and roofbox, our last 1st may Bank Hol away was sooo cold we've bought a caravan this year (doh), can't wait to go away in Easter for once!