Tell me your camping must haves

[Coffeesnob11]

I am taking my 6 year old camping next week on the uk. What are your camping must haves that make your life easier or small things or tips that help you camp easier? We used to take sleeping bags but both of us prefer duvets as an example.

We just take thermorests, sleeping bags, inflatable pillows, and folding chairs, works just fine. We do NOT take any cooking equipment whatsoever, my excuse is space on the motorbike but the reality is I hate camp cooking. Crocs and an umbrella for nighttime toilet dashes I do take though.

Wine
Lots of lovely twinkly solar lighting for ambiance
A bell tent with king size airbed proper duvet and pillows (airbed not cold if you pop
It on top of cardboard and have a snuggly blanket on top if the bed underneath your bottom sheet.)

As you take duvets, I highly recommend teddybear fitted sheets to go over your air beds/SIMs rather than regular cotton ones. They are too sweaty for me at home, but when camping they are just right and add a bit more insulation from the cold ground. We also use picnic blankets in the bedrooms as a carpet/more insulation.

If you’re going camping without EHU then camping batteries are fantastic. We take one along with rechargeable work lights.

Plastic storage boxes to pack all your stuff in. Straight out of storage into car and vice versa.
We have a double and single camp bed with air mattresses. Takes up a bit more room in the car but far less cold being off the floor.
Lots of warm clothes and wellies. And flip-flops. Extra loo roll.

Headtorches and lights to hang in the tent (and outside it if needed)
I've also invested in a separate shelter with sides this year to cook/shade/shelter under in case of rain etc. Previously we've been cooped up in the tent.
Aldi have got some brilliant camping bits in at the moment.

Oh!!!! And decent tent Pegs. I'm talking heavy duty things that cannot be bent. Most Pegs supplied with tents are crap cheap ones

Oh and I forgot- a tent that you can put up yourself if you aren't going with any other adults to help you. (Although tbf, most times I've been camping there's always been a helpful family around who offer)

We have the coleman octagon 8 man tent. Bloody fantastic and super easy to put up.

Never ever go camping or to a festival without a roll of bin bags, a pair of scissors, a roll of duct tape and a loo roll.

Lint roller to collect any stray bugs in the tent!! Will be testing that out next week end in Scotland...

@DeathStarCanteenGal freezing a wine box is genius!

Useful thread… can it be moved to the Camping board?

Meanwhile: S hooks / butchers hooks to put over the shower door. Never enough hooks and your clothes fall onto the manky wet floor. I hang a plastic bag on the hooks and out my clothes in the bag to protect them from splashes, too.

But actually, I try not to take too much ‘stuff’ .

Wellies, yes in summer, so the first and last walk to the loo won't leave you with wet feet. Head torch for spotting guy ropes at night. Putting exact amount of water in kettle for your cup of tea, saves very expensive gas. Hook so you can hang your lantern up in the tent. Electric hook up and camping fridge if you don't want to be eating out all the time. And if you've got a fridge, take frozen home cooked sauces eg for spag bol.

This is excellent advice.
Can I add velcro cable ties to the list? I discovered them a few years ago and now keep a bunch permanently with our camping gear: versatile, lightweight, strong, linkable, and reusable.

Heated blanket (if you're going EHU)

Flasks for hot water, that way you can boil kettle and fill them so you have instant hot water ready whenever you fancy a brew

Absolutely, a good night's sleep is the foundation of camping. A layer under the sim to insulate from the cold ground, the sim, blanket, then good quality sleeping bag eg double Outwell. Also, a good adage is that it's easier to keep warm than get warm.

Top tip. Also write a master list, it's a bugger to find that you've forgotten something in the middle of nowhere at 9pm at night.

A good torch.

A bathmat for stepping onto after a shower.
Eye mask.
Torch

Solar powered fairy lights

Fairy lights make everything special,

Two sticks

DH keeps a Stanley knife in the pouch pocket of the bedroom compartment in case we have to cut ourselves out

Hot water bottles

I always book us an extra night on a campsite. So if we were staying until Sunday I also book the Sunday night which means we don’t have to frantically pack and leave before 10am. You can have a nice last day and cook a meal before breaking camp at your leisure.

Electric pitch. We have an extension lead with four plug points for phone chargers. Also we have an electric cool box to plug in and keep drinks and food cool. I have a battery lit lightbulb, it hangs from the tent 'ceiling'. Plus fairy lights for ambience. I noticed lots of people took windbreakers to put up at the entrance and made a cooking area there. We wished we had - the camping stove kept going out with the wind!

I'd go for the self inflating mats if we went again. The airbeds were so bad that the family didn't want to camp again. I found the whole experience refreshing.

Plastic backed door mat for stepping into the tent, can then step out of mucky boots and into clean sliders/slippers.
Extra pegs
freeze pre-made meals to pack out cool box and keep booze cold

bucket to pee into.
We put the foam sleep mats on the floor of the bed area with silver foil blankets underneath provided brilliant insulation. DP sleeps on a sim, I’m on a camp bed with my sim and both kids are in bunk beds.

We're putting together motorbike camping kit for next month which has really challenged me regarding essentials. My non negotiables were a chair and a pillow, both tiny folding ones from Decathlon.

Came here to say this! I’ve camped my whole life and the Octagon 8 has been a GAMECHANGER. Space for beds, space for storage, space for your very wet and disgruntled friends when their tents flood out….