Tech Support Camping Gear

A brief blurb on tents. Unless you’re backpacking and trying to conserve weight, you ideally want a 2 man for 1 person, 3 man for 2 people, and so on.

I’m a firm believer in avoiding pop-up tents, they have no structure and are generally single skinned so you get loads of condensation inside and the waterproofing can be bad.

Brands

Plenty of other options, but I’ve used all of the above.

Waterproofing

British weather is well British weather, so waterproofing is important.

Hydrostatic head “HH” is how waterproofing is measured, it’s essentially a measurement of the pressure a fabric can withstand. 1000mm of HH will hold a 1m column of water before leaking, 2000mm will hold a 2m column and so on.

Tents owned by myself or someone I know.

Eurohike Ribble 2 & 3 | £49-£55

There is a 2 man and 3 man version of this tunnel tent, one of my mates used the 3 man version back in March in Wales and despite being a tunnel design it withstood 65mph winds.

3000mm HH.

2 man 3 man

Vango Banshee 200 & 300 | £148-£169

I have the 300 version of the Banshee, this is more of a backpacking tent. It’s significantly lighter than the Ribble. Side opening so it’s a bit more difficult to get in and out of.

It’s got a cool tension band system inside to keep it really rigid in high winds.

3000mm HH.

200 300

Tents with decent specs for the cash.

Eurohike Cairns 3 DLX | £55

Spotted this one while researching, it has decent specs for the cash and seems to be blackout which can be nice if you don’t want to be woken up early by the sun.

Only 2000mm HH but might be worth the gamble.

Final note on tents

You probably can’t go wrong with anything in the “Weekend Tents” section on the GO Outdoors site. I wouldn’t personally buy anything with a HH lower than 3000mm but if you’re only planning to camp in the summer lower is probably fine. The cheaper stuff should at least last a season or two.

Down vs Synthetic is the big choice with sleeping bags. Down bags are lighter, pack smaller and are generally warmer for the size. Synthetic bags are cheaper and will still keep you warm if the worst happens and your tent leaks.

For car camping I’d ignore down bags and go for a synthetic.

Avoid the Eurohike snooze bags, they are cheap and shite.

Temperature ratings

Decent bags give you three figures. Only one matters.

Manufacturers shout about the limit or extreme figure because it’s a bigger number. Look for comfort. The Adventurer 300 is 3°C, plenty for British spring through autumn.

Your body weight squashes the filling flat underneath you, so the bag does almost nothing between you and the ground. Hence the mats section below.

Mummy bags

Eurohike Adventurer 300 & 300 XL | £30-£35

Can’t go wrong with these bags, mummy style is more constricting but keeps you warmer. If you’re larger like myself go for the XL.

300 300 XL

Square bags

Berghaus Transition 300C | £40

A square bag gives you more wiggle room, this Berghaus one is decent. I used an older version in cadets.

Sleeping bag or duvet?

You don’t really need a sleeping bag if you don’t want, a spare duvet is a great option.

Sleeping mats are in my opinion something worth spending a bit more on as they make or break a comfy night’s sleep.

I’m an airbed hater, they are wobbly and deflate so easily so I won’t be recommending any.

Berghaus Air Single Self-Inflating Mat & Double | £99-£149

This mat is the best sleeping mat I’ve ever owned, it’s 10cm thick so super comfy and insulates you really well from the cold ground. R rating of 6.9.

I have the single but they also have a double version if you like to sprawl, perhaps a good pairing for the duvet or if you can convince the missus to come camping in the future.

Single Double

Hi-Gear Composure LXM 7.5 Single Sleeping Mat & Double | £50-£89

Not used this but looks good for the price, 7.5cm thick.

Composure LXM 7.5 Composure LXM 7.5 Double

Simple one this, if you’re light get a cheap one. If not you need to buy something more substantial :). A cup holder is always a plus.

Wide selection here.

Peak Folding Chair | £8

No blurb needed, it’s a chair.

Vango Titan 2 | £100

Looks like GO Outdoors don’t stock this anymore, but my chair is something like this.

Some less obvious things that are good to bring from home or buy if you don’t have:

• Pillow(s).
• One more set of clothes than you think in case the weather turns and we get drenched.
• Sunglasses.
• Hat.
• Warm hoody or jacket for the evening, it can get bloody cold.
• Towel, campsite has showers although they are cold water only.
• Sliders or flip flops to wear in the shower.
• Earplugs if you are a light sleeper.
• Torch/Headtorch.

Between us we should make sure we have:

• Deck of cards
• Any favourite board games

A couple of tables and general camp stuff.

Tarp we can use as shelter/sunshade and all the kitchen equipment.

Big battery for charging stuff.

Lots of spare tent pegs, and a mallet for wacking them in.

Bin bags, cleaning stuff.

First aid kit.