Be Excellent To Each Other

yeah, that's good, i think.

August is a safer bet weather-wise. The weather up there is sketchy at the best of times but after August it gets even wetter.

FTFY

It has arrived! All 16kg of it. Going to be a right pain to stick back in the bag when wet. Most pelased, I am.

2 camp beds and a sleeping bag are on the way! Hurrah! This is getting expensive.

No need: just 'borrow' a hay bale from some cavalrymen when they aren't looking.

Get leathered and sleep on the floor.

Zeex

Excellent news! Went to Morrisons and got 4 solar powered lights that you stick in the ground for £5, and two 12 LED lanterns for £3 each. My sleeping bag has arrived and the beds are on their way. HUrrah!

Are you not just building a house?

Cripes, where we are staying is right on the border. Swim the river and I'm in Wales!

MrsA's "Essential Camping equipment" list includes cushions, a carpet and bunting. And an electric cool box.

Stick the bunting on the guy ropes to avoid serious injuries when you stumble back to the tent late at night.

FTFY

Does Beex have a preferred product for the following:

A camping stove - if it were only me, i'd take a tranjy, but MrsA seems to want a dual ring gas burner. Yeah, I know
A table to put this on - if i were only me, I'd stick my tranjy on the ground, but MrsA seems to want a table. Yeah, I know
A cool box - if it were me, I'd just have black coffee and eat salted meats, but MrsA seems to think this is needed. Yeah, I know


We've booked to go to Low Wray soon, so that'll be super fun, and I'm quite looking forward to it.

Camping stove;


Table;


Cool box;

Not used this particular brand or model, but from experience those cans of gas do the job really well, and the rings are big enough for most kinds of pans.

On iPad until tomorrow night so hard to search but

Stove - do you need a double burner ? What do you expect to be cooking on it ?
You can get a single burner quite cheaply or there are many small burners which are great at heating up water which is probably all you'll actually need on a regular basis ?
Also normally double burners use large gas canisters which are a bit awkward to store and transport
We've gone through many cookers and often a single burner has been fine - we also had something like a campingaz party grill which can be used as a hot plate or a burner (and packs up quite well)

Tables - you can get a number of collapsible ones which include a larder or shelves - its often best to look at these to get an idea of size - check out blacks / towsure for ideas of what's around

Cool boxes really depend on what your intending to store a basic one will do for milk but you can run into hundreds of pounds for a fridge if your wanting more

These are supposed to be excellent. I have the 36L one and it did well enough to keep last year's BeexBeeQue meat chilled down to South Wales and back up to Bedford in a hot car, so I've been pleased with it.

As it turns out, we want a bigger tent. Looking at the 4m Soulpads now. This si getting expensive, quickly. The woodburner is £230 and the flue is £190 for goodness sake! I think we'll go without them, although I've convinced MrsA that winter camping is a good idea. We'll be getting some duck boards for the ground by the tent entrance and make a shelter using <stuff> for outside the front.

Don't scrimp and use a barrel:

Jesus, Mali.

Why not just buy a caravan?

It would have been fine if Private Numb Nuts wasn't chucking rocks at it.

I'm not buying the burner or flue. The 3m is good, but having extra space inside would be good.
Inside we can get a camp bed either side of the pole, with a folding table between them, and stuff in the middle. We think the 4m would be a bit better, and we'd quite like an awning. I love it. Everyone should have one.

Or book hotel rooms. Like camping, but with central heating, television, room service, and bedbugs.

I was going to suggest that, but I know Mali loves the romance of the outdoors.

Mind that for camping in winter you want as small a tent as you can manage so that there's less air to heat...

or just use bivi bags & a tarp

Wullie, thems a good point. I'll consider that.

this is what i want.

Campsites are for poofs & England's access laws are silly FTFY

We are considering getting a 5m one. But the 6m is only £70 more and has the port for the flue...

Should we get 6m?

Go big or go home. And if you buy one extreme of these, you can go big AND be at home in it. Win/win.

Yes! Am discussing it with MrsA and trying to not say "Yes, that's how mathd works" when the salespetson tells her it is "44% bigger than the 5m tent".

Downsides: 48kg. Possible 2 people needed to put it up.

https://soulpad.co.uk/products/soulpad-5000-hybrid

Ordered one of those in the end.

It has arrived. It is heavy. And totally not a body.

Be interesting to get feedback on how easy this is to set up, looks a really nice tent.

Never been into camping just had a few shit experiences as a kid, (mostly due to us being idiots and not having the right gear)

Fancy giving it a go once 2nd child is a bit older as I think kids will like it.

I am camping in Edinburgh right now!

1) Don't use a Forester to carry a 5m tent and all the atuff MrsA deems necessary. Use a megabus.

2) The 3m tent is a doddle to put up. This is why i take it to BeexBBQ and Meatfests.

3) The 5m should be like the 3m but heavier.

4) This is the 3m tent interior with my very comfortable bed and MrsA's lilo. Which is stupid.

First go, about 30mins to put up. Dead easy.

20 mins to take down and get in the bag.

We went camping this week too. One friend also has the 5m tent you used, Mali. It's an impressive beast.

Ours is one of those inflatable ones that doesn't have poles. A doddle to put up and take down.

Yeah, those inflatable ones are brilliant. I have a new pop up which is really easy to put up, not so easy to put down again.

I got the knack of taking down my pop up tent after many video watches. Now I get to feel a bit like a jedi when I can swipe it down super quick. Practice recommended for a warm feeling!