Just wait until you think the Bear is too big for weekends then you can start looking for a "weekend" tent.
Seriously though its always nice to have decent kit although it does come at a price but should last a decent amount of time. I hope you enjoy your camping trips in the Bear
------------- Experience enables you to recognize a mistake when you make it again.
Everything has been said before, but since nobody ever listens we have to keep going back and saying it all over again and again and again
We used to take a great mountain of stuff. Then we went, just once, on a lightweight camping holiday by public transport, carrying our gear in bags. It was a great holiday, and we realised we do not really need most of the stuff we used to lug around.
As Colin Chapman (Lotus Cars) used to say, Nothing is lighter than nothing. In other words, instead of buying a super lightweight titanium TV stand, ask yourself, do we need this?
personally i think if you have a bad experience the first time you camp you wont do it again. I know this is not guaranteeing you a good experience but it bloody well helps. Take for example summer 2010. Me and the family spent 2 weeks on lovely site in Scotland called solway view. There is nothing for miles and we was blessed with typical Scottish weather. I really think if we didn't have all the home comforts we have it would have been a disaster.
Quote: Originally posted by bentondeep on 16/12/2012
I really think if we didn't have all the home comforts we have it would have been a disaster.
That's what I'm thinking. I'm not taking the telly or owt but we definitely need to be warm, dry and comfy otherwise the wife will never, ever let me live it down and my camping plans will be as damp as summer 2012.
------------- Hendo
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Holtkamper Cocoon Aero
Karsten 300 + CA, RA
heh I agree. We started going camping in 2004 when we got a 4 man dome style tent from Blacks as well as basic gas canister cooker. Used this tent 3 times (we only went camping once or so a year as we had no car) but after camping 4 nights in Devon, crawling in and out did our backs in, plus trying to cook in the tiny porch was a nightmare.
So we got a Coleman Ceder Creek and upgraded to a gas cooker as well as table and chairs. We used wind up lights for 2 years as we had no Electric Hookup but had more choice where we could pitch on campsites.
When we had our first son 2 years ago, wife wanted the bedroom pods to be one large pod, so looked at upgrading again and we liked the Outwell Montana 6 but go the newer Montana 6P. This year we have got:
Montana 6P, 6P Carpet, 6P Awinging, 6P Extension, Footprint, Windbreaker Lux, Richmond Kitchen, 2 Black Hill Sage Green, 1 Bredon Hills Junior, Calgary M table, Halifax table, Bermuda and Domingo cupboard, Flock Excellent Double, roor bars and roofbox.
I am hoping this will last years and so far this year we have been away 4 times which is most we havein a year, hoping this will be at least 6-7 next year.
To get back to the question how expensive is this lark?
It is as cheap or as expensive as one chooses to make it.
I've spent great weekends summer car-camping with very simple equipment and a cheap tent - gear for which I paid less than a hundred quid in total - and where the only other costs have been food and fuel for the car.
But in winter I use gear more appropriate to the conditions and inevitably that costs more - in the case of a viable sleep system, a lot more.
Obviously camping is going to be more expensive for a family than for a single chap. Also, although basic camping won't break the bank adding luxuries and all the comforts of home won't come cheap.
But even so, it is not strictly necessary to spend a fortune to have an enjoyable and comfortable camping holiday.
To each their own: some people are miserly, some love spending money on gear.
When we forst started we bought eveything we thought we needed and didn't use half of it!
I now have my perfect camping kit and, although it's nice to have a "wish list", I know I now have everything I need for a comfortable and cosy camping trip with my current set ups.
Apart from replacing any broken or damaged items, it's just petrol and ptich fees for me again next year.
We started with a cheap Vango tent with suitcase stove, chairs, and airbeds and bedding. We now have a Bear 4 and extention, trailer, newair beds, EHU, tables, chairs, electric cool box, kettle, toaster and now we have our perfect set up we are thinking of selling up. We have rented a house for the last 2 years off a friend and we quite like having our own toilet. Although we do miss sitting outside the tent and chatting to other campers.
It really is as cheap or as expensive you makeit. It all depends on what you want to take really.
For us getting our own kit was a no brainer, following years of renting statics in Southern France during July for a fortnight.
Prices had got well past £500 for a week and were starting to hit £750 per week.
So back in 2008 we decided to ditched the renting of a static, and replace all our old camping kit with new.
This we did and despite the outlay, we have now more than re-couped our outlay.
We only go camping once per year to the South of France in July, although we are only on the campsite for a fortnight we are away for 3 weeks, due to the over nights stops, to and from the main campsite.
For us it is working out a whole lot cheaper than renting a static, and we still enjoy the holiday just the same if not more.
Looking over these posts, I wouldn't want people to think you have to spend a fortune to enjoy yourself camping. We started very cheaply and enjoyed ourselves so much we thought it worthwhile upgrading our kit, even splashed out on an expensive tent this year which I never would have dreamed of when we started family camping 7 years ago.
One of the things I enjoy most camping is looking at other peoples setup and deciding how we could improve our own, not possible if we'd bought it all up front. This year I persuaded one of the kids to buy the I Spy Book of Camping. If people dont know I Spy books are basically tick lists, it was excellent, I could walk around the campsite with my little girl and this book being really nosey but with the perfect excuse of having to tick off the different camping items, tents, caravans etc.
It gets cheaper. Honest! I've got all the gear I need now for various types of trip so only really need to replace things as they reach the end of their life. The only exception is the pop-up crawly in tent I now need for quick overnighters to save us from the evil travelodge on the way to longer camps. What difference will one more make?!
------------- Mar - Milarrochy Bay - 9 days
Apr - Drayton Manor - 1 day
May - Saxdale - 4 days
May - Nantcol - 9 days
July - Weymouth - 1 day
July - Rozel Bay - 14 days
Aug - Corfe Castle - 2 days
Aug - Saxdale - 4 days
Sep - Stratford - 2 days
Oct - Stainforth - 2 days
Dec - Saxdale - 5 days
To be continued.....
A day of all things motorhome and campervan. The show is held both in the main indoor arena and across the grounds. Catering, hot drinks and food options are available. Easy access to the site and free parking included. Win one of five pairs of day tickets
Topic: How expensive is this lark?
