Off to Dorset and then Devon with the wife and kids in the tent next week. 4 days in Dorset and then 12 in Devon, hopefully the weather will be kinder than it has been over the last few weeks!
If we go camping for a couple of days we normally take sleeping bags but the kids and my wife find them too restrictive and want to take the quilts off their beds.
The kids will be on camp beds with a mat under them and we will be on a Coleman Comfort double air bed, with perhaps a fleece blanket between it and us.
What do you reckon, too cold or not and should we take the sleeping bags?
Cannot take both as the car will be creaking at the hinges as it is!
I garden-camped in our tent last night with my 8 year old daughter, to try out our new tent. We were on an air bed (which I am still not sure about - she had a lovely night's sleep, I've got achey joints ), covered by a sheet, and then a quilt for us. During the night the air bed did get a bit cold, so I can see that a fleece under the sheet would have been a good idea. But we did just fine with a quilt over us (not a particularly good quilt at that), with a blanket over that. In fact at one point my daughter got warm enough to kick it all off.
I cannot stand sleeping bags as I find them far too restrictive. Quilts however I find are too bulky so i just open out my sleeping bag and use like a quilt. Best of both worlds.
Autumn/Winter quilts have a higher tog rating than most sleeping bags so as long as you are insulated underneath from cold air in the air bed you will be fine. We only ever use our quilt with fleece blanket and sheet under us and we are never cold.
Last time we camped (the weekend of all the rain!) we took two quilts! Our light weight summer one to lay on and the heavy winter one to sleep under. I was much warmer than in my sleeping bag which is supposed to be safe to use down to 5 degrees. We have tried before with just a sheet on the bottom and that is very cold, you definately need something thick to lay on.
we take a single summer quilt to put on the airbed under the sheet and a 13.5 kingsize quilt to sleep under. We are always toastie - if your too hot it is easy to kick the top layer off for a while - too cold and you're screwed
We used to take sleeping bags, but now we always take the duvet - much easier to kick off if it's too warm, and much quieter than a sleeping bag zip when you get that call of nature during the night
I've just come back from Devon and I used a quilt brought from Asda. It was fantastic - nice and warm just had a normal fitted sheet on the airbed aswell.
Would definetly recommend a quilt - never been keen on sleeping bags - the zips always get in the way!!
Amazing family weekend with old steam engines, classic car displays, market stalls, and full catering and bar. And camping on site - Save £25 by booking in advance.
Topic: Quilts or bags?
), covered by a sheet, and then a quilt for us. During the night the air bed did get a bit cold, so I can see that a fleece under the sheet would have been a good idea. But we did just fine with a quilt over us (not a particularly good quilt at that), with a blanket over that. In fact at one point my daughter got warm enough to kick it all off.
