The Camping Gear Thread

[dip]

I still need pretty much everything, except a tent. What do you take to Glasto in regards to sleeping bags ect and what deals are about at the moment?

[James Bolivar]

If I were taking a sleeping bag I'd take a 2-3 season, synthetic in case it gets wet and to keep the price down. Weight* isn't a problem as you won't have to carry it far so any old toot from Millets would do (though I might put a "My other sleeping bag is a Western Mountaineering" sticker on it). Don't be tempted by a warmer bag as you will boil. If it is cold, then just put on some clothes.

Really useful is something to sleep ON. A sleeping bag works by trapping air, but the bit underneath you gets crushed and provides no insulation. An airbed is OK - chilly, but comfy. A foam mat is OK too - warm, but not comfy. Best of all worlds is a self-inflating mattress - you still need t blow them up till they are stiff.

Cookware - might save you a bit of cash at Pieminister. Get a cheap gas cooker and a lightweight pan and you can feast on noodles. You'll need a fork to eat with too.

A torch - a head torch is most versatile.

* If you are worried about weight just don't take any sort of air pump; five minutes of puffing on Wednesday will see you through and save a kilo.

[StormCrow]

you still need t blow them up till they are stiff.

[chopper4001]

Really useful is something to sleep ON. A sleeping bag works by trapping air, but the bit underneath you gets crushed and provides no insulation. An airbed is OK - chilly, but comfy. A foam mat is OK too - warm, but not comfy. Best of all worlds is a self-inflating mattress - you still need t blow them up till they are stiff.

[Spindles]

Buy a festival blanket, for sure, in my opinion as essential an accessory as a sunhat, both will prevent hours of discomfort spoiling your festival and despite evidence to the contrary in the realworld, at a festival you look COOL wrapped in a blanket wandering around at 3am.

I'm never, ever, ever going back now I have used an airbed. I've tried the cheap lilo thing and it is no substitute. It costs as cheap as £6 and as expensive as £15 (pre-inflated) for a single airbed (yeah, you can spend more, but frankly if £15 gets you one that someone else has inflated how much more luxury do you want?), you can get bellows for under a fiver and hey presto, no more cold back on hard ground.

I use a budget millets tent and it does me great, veteran of several festivals and recently bought a second as, with the kids, we need more tent space.

I have to admit to being a cheapskate with the sleeping bag, since I throw clothes on top at the start of the night, kick them off during the night and have abandoned the sleeping bag altogether before I'm done with sleeping (or trying to!)

[chopper4001]

It costs as cheap as £6

[Spindles]

Yeah, shop around. Aldi have them this week at £9, but I've seen them cheaper. The company I work for has certainly had them as cheap as that (who I don't name for a couple of reasons, but they are a retailer who have camping equipment among their range and if you look at the fact that I will name just about any OTHER retailer you'd probably be able to figure it out) when we had a camping offer on, it helps to keep an eye open on the major sites for bargains (such as my brilliant tent which I got for around 1/3 the price it is currently selling for by watching prices). I bought a bellows pump last week from wilkos for less than £4 (£3.84 iirc) and they and a few other high street retailers have lower priced (and potentially lower quality) kit that brings the cost down.

[Runner]

This is actually a fairly important thing to think about when you're camping. If you sleep just in your sleeping bag on the floor of your tent you can wake up feeling pretty cold and rough (I've found this out the hard way).

My mates swear by foam mats, but what I tend to do is buy a load of cheap blankets when I get there (Salvation Army or somewhere like that). They'll be fairly cheap, warm, hopefully laundered (maybe dont buy them if not ), and will keep you off the ground at night. Obviously the more you buy the softer it'll be.

You may struggle to get it as soft as a self-inflating mattress, but it should prove cheaper and easy to sort out. Also means you don't need to carry anything onsite (more room in your bag for booze!).

[TimmyP's Mobile Disco]

I fully endorse the airbed plan. Often I don't even need a sleeping bag as the insulation is from the ground is enough. I've toyed with taking a duvet, a pillow and a bottom sheet and it'll be just like a home!

I'd recommend some sort of lantern/light. You can get these flat round led lights for about a pound in places like B&M or Aldi and they are ideal for lighting a tent and better in my opinion that head torches/standard torches.

[Spindles]

Poundland, 12 LED lantern thing. Batteries (probably with the lifespan of a packet of cheese and onion at adele's place) included.

For a quid, who'd have believed it?

I love poundies..it probably says something about the town I live in that our poundies was recently made larger and now an even bigger 99p shop has opened.

[Runner]

Poundland, 12 LED lantern thing. Batteries (probably with the lifespan of a packet of cheese and onion at adele's place) included.

For a quid, who'd have believed it?

I love poundies..it probably says something about the town I live in that our poundies was recently made larger and now an even bigger 99p shop has opened.

[HurrahBrother]

I still need pretty much everything, except a tent. What do you take to Glasto in regards to sleeping bags ect and what deals are about at the moment?

[chopper4001]

Yeah, shop around. Aldi have them this week at £9, but I've seen them cheaper. The company I work for has certainly had them as cheap as that (who I don't name for a couple of reasons, but they are a retailer who have camping equipment among their range and if you look at the fact that I will name just about any OTHER retailer you'd probably be able to figure it out) when we had a camping offer on, it helps to keep an eye open on the major sites for bargains (such as my brilliant tent which I got for around 1/3 the price it is currently selling for by watching prices). I bought a bellows pump last week from wilkos for less than £4 (£3.84 iirc) and they and a few other high street retailers have lower priced (and potentially lower quality) kit that brings the cost down.

[Spindles]

I seem to recall that inflated this year is about £15 from cosy camper or whoever they are. Last year we cheated and bought 2 pre-inflated single ones from Millets onsite, I have tried the ones with the self inflator bit in the pillow and they are annoying, so bought the sub 4 quid bellow to reuse last years ones (which I brought home with me, naturally, and have road tested for this year)

[Spindles]

Yeah, it would be great if they had those points where you can deposit airbeds, tents, sorted camping equipment like they do at reading. In 2008 we didn't want to lug a double airbed back and being able to place it in a container safe in the knowledge that it was being redistributed in a sensible manner was nice.

At glastonbury travelling weight is a key consideration and I take everything home, single airbed, rolled up, however, is less weight than a 4 pack and easy to transport if you tie it up in a roll.

[Abster]

I'm so buying myself a blanket on site, was going to take one but may as well buy one if they are that cheap!

So Blanket and hammock are on my list to buy when there

[Spindles]

Blankets are great to fashion into flintstones style nightwear for bimbling around the site, dumping on dewy grass to sit on and then throwing on top of the tent to air when you wobble home in the morning. Not that I do anymore, I'm wrapped up in mine at sensible o'clock these days.

[LusciousLucy]

Best camping investment of my life was my Gelert Extreme Lite self inflating mattress the sort which has the honeycomb of airpockets inside. £35 when I bought it...now just £18.99!!!

Now 2 years old and attendee of over 20 festivals. Its light, it packs down fairly flat once rolled up (I attach it to my rucksack when travelling), I have comfy warm sleeps wherever I am. Despite the mattress being only 3 or 4 cm thin when inflated I cant feel lumps of bumps beneath me.

I cannot recommend this investment more highly. Compared to those cold, unreliable self DEflating big blue heavy mattresses that so often puncture and are dumped in their thousands at the end of every festival, parting with £10 more than a one use item you will not regret it. Ok so some people will state that their blue mattress has lasted a couple of festivals but its heavy, a faff to carry and just waiting to go to the big blue mattress pile in the sky.

[Krowa]

Can anyone point me to shop in London when I can buy sleeping mat and tent pegs? Preferably as cheap as possible (I will have to leave them after the festival) and open from 9-10 am? I've got to buy these between airport and coach...

[stevenc]

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Gelert-X-Treme-Lite-3-4-Self-Inflating-Camping-Mat-NEW-/120727151781?pt=UK_SportingGoods_SleepingMats_Airbeds_CA&hash=item1c1be624a5#ht_1179wt_905

Them mattresses are here to

Dammit, its only 4 foot long, should of checked that before i bought it

Edited June 6, 2011 by stevenc

[LusciousLucy]

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Gelert-X-Treme-Lite-3-4-Self-Inflating-Camping-Mat-NEW-/120727151781?pt=UK_SportingGoods_SleepingMats_Airbeds_CA&hash=item1c1be624a5#ht_1179wt_905

Them mattresses are here to

Dammit, its only 4 foot long, should of checked that before i bought it

[LusciousLucy]

And a wool blanket is a must. Not a knitted one, more a thick felted style one. I 'borrowed' the one I had on my bed in my hostel in Sydney, took it with me to the festival in 09, found it works so well with the Gelert mattress combination that in comparison to previous years freezing my bits off even with 3 or 4 various blankets (not made of felted wool) and a space blanket for good measure on top of that, I can and now just need my sleeping bag and my trusty hostel blanket which did not remain in the hostel once I left and travelled Oz with me and came home strapped to my rucksack.

[Lucyferrr]

I saw in Asda today that they have single air beds for £8 quid and doubles for £10 I think.

[Runner]

I'm so buying myself a blanket on site, was going to take one but may as well buy one if they are that cheap!

So Blanket and hammock are on my list to buy when there

[halfpint]

Can anyone point me to shop in London when I can buy sleeping mat and tent pegs? Preferably as cheap as possible (I will have to leave them after the festival) and open from 9-10 am? I've got to buy these between airport and coach...